Transition Scotland Support Case Study Series: Number 10 March 2011
Transition in Edinburgh www.transitionedinburgh.org.uk EDINBURGH IN FOCUS KIND OF PLACE: Capital City WHERE IS IT? East Coast, on the Forth POPULATION: 477, 660 INVOLVEMENT WITH TRANSITION: Affiliated to the Scottish Transition network TRANSITION Edinburgh is an umbrella network for the Transition groups and associated projects working on sustainable futures in Edinburgh. They connect and support community groups, as well as initiating practical projects that strive for a more resilient Edinburgh. Transition Edinburgh have a website for information and linking people together. They also meet fairly regularly to discuss the various different projects across the city and to work together on projects which are city wide. Transition Edinburgh are not a guiding body, but instead provide a place where people working on similar things can meet and design city wide projects. TE has support from the local council, who let them meet in
a room in the city chambers. Although this link with the local council is useful and in many ways necessary, it can also feel uncomfortable. One of the challenges for city wide groups is how to remain involved at a grass roots level while still remaining connected more strategically. A way to do this is to ensure that there is a good level of representation in the group from all kinds of projects. What does TE hope to do? ‘Our outcomes for 2011 are: New and existing Transition groups feel better supported, encouraged and connected. City government and institutions are more aware of, and give better support to local groups.
The broader city-wide, community-led movement in Edinburgh is more visible to more people, and so is able to be more effective.’ (http:// www.transitionedinburgh.org. uk/ 31st March 2011)
LOCAL CURRENCY Local Currency for Edinburgh Transition Edinburgh are currently developing an initiative on a currency for Edinburgh. This will be a local currency whose aim is to keep money in Edinburgh, and which encourages investment in local businesses and products. Local currencies do not seek to replace Sterling, instead they run beside it and act as a reminder to people about the possibilities of ‘living locally’.
TRANSITION EDINBURGH SOUTH
PEDAL
TES has received funding from the Climate Challenge Fund for two community energy projects in tenements, the ‘Switched on to Switching projects, an outreach project and just recently a ‘Transition for all’ project to develop sustainability projects in their local community.
PEDAL is the Transition group in Portobello. They were the first Transition group in Scotland.
All projects work closely with the local community to find out what the resources are in the community, what the barriers are to sustainability and what people would like to see to make them more sustainable.
own views on things without feeling pressured or judged, Often it allows for conversation that could not have happened if the person had been ‘told’ what the issues where. TES looks at transition ideas and helps to translate them in the community by training volunteers and staff in aspects of sustainability and in participatory approaches including MIS, carbon conversations, community mapping and many more.
Transition Edinburgh South TES used door to door visits supports many community to tenements to support people projects including community to make their homes warmer gardens at the Royal and less energy hungry. Edinburgh Hospital, and Through this, they developed Astley Ainslie Hospital, food a new way of working with localisation projects and many people on issues around more. sustainable living. See TES website at Motivation Interviewing for Sustainability (MIS) allows www.transitionedinburghsouth.org. the person to come to their uk
They currently have a community market, a community garden and orchard site, and are working on a renewable energy scheme in conjunction with Greener Leith. See TSS case study PEDAL
TEU TEU were funded by CCF to embed transition among staff and students at Edinburgh University. They also encouraged Transition in other universities, held several big events and had their report ‘Footprints and Handprints’ reviewed by the Guardian. The group was involved and informed by the University community by hiring interns from the student body, working closely with staff and faculty, and encouraging research into Transition. See TSS Case Study TEU
EDINBURGH PENTLANDS THE Pentlands group are currently holding meetings to discuss potential projects. Most recently they have been holding film nights to inform and encourage people to engage with both the issues and the group. They are also looking into a bulk buy discount on solar hot water panels for people living in the Pentlands area.
Find a range of useful resources at www.transitionscotland.org
GREENER LEITH GREENER Leith is a volunteer run, led and organised community action group. They have a number of initiatives running and are keen to make Leith Greener by promoting active travel and cycling, plating and caring for fruit trees in Leith Links, and encouraging involvement in community improvement processes. The website at http://www. greenerleith.org hosts an interesting and amusing blog, and a collection of podcasts on various local subjects. They also have a rather lovely story map.
NORTH EDINBURGH TRUST NORTH Edinburgh Trust is a community led development trust that aims to reduce poverty, and bring economic and community benefits to North Edinburgh.
LINKED COMMUNITY GROUPS BALERNO Village Trust BVT were set up as Balerno Village Conservation and Development Forum, an organisation looking to improve the economic outlook for Balerno. BVT does not call itself a Transition initiative as many of its activities do not relate directly to climate change or peak oil but to economic growth. However, there is an understanding, that this could not be done without looking after the environment and encouraging the community to get involved in various projects. Sustain Balerno (CCF until 31st March 2011) aimed to encourage local food growing and greener transport options. It now has a team of 50 local volunteers. The legacy from this project is an edible garden created from concrete at the local nursery, successful cycle maintenance workshops, two local events will continue Tattie Day in spring and Apple Day in autumn, a
community pocket orchard has been planted around the village with local people taking responsibility for individual trees. BVT have a hydro group who have been granted money from Community Energy Scotland for a detailed feasibility study on the hydro potential in the area. The group is also receiving training in community shares as a means of fund raising for local asset building. BVT is hoping to take on the lease of a beautiful Victorian walled garden to realise a long held dream of developing community allotments, allowing all the newly acquired growing skills to be put in to practice. There’s a Farmer’s Market on the 2nd Saturday of every month. People can cycle out along the Water of Leith and reward themselves with organic burgers or lunch in one of 3 local cafes running alongside the market. www.balernovt.org.uk
Through their Future Families project, they supported several families to live in a more energy efficient way. This brought down how much energy they were using and saved them money. However, Future Families participants also supported one another with hints and tips through groups and shared their energy diaries with one another. They developed relationships and community through the project.
Find a range of useful resources at www.transitionscotland.org
HEART AND SOUL
PAINTING EDINBURGH GREEN
Edinburgh has a heart and soul group. This is an area of Transition that often gets overlooked as people class themselves either as ‘doers’ or ‘thinkers’.
PAINTING Edinburgh Green is an annual event hosted by Transition Edinburgh which aims to celebrate community action to make Edinburgh a more sustainable place.
Climate change and peak oil bring both threats and opportunities.
It helps to bring people together to share information and to network.
Heart and Soul is about taking the time to discuss, react to, and create from our responses to these.
In 2010, it was a two day event. The first day was a market place with representatives from various different groups across the city holding stalls and talking to members of the public about their activities. There was representation from University groups, food groups, active travel groups, interactive artwork, storytelling and a
Edinburgh Heart and Soul group have ‘salon’ evenings that use special guests to introduce a concepts that let the group explore these issues in different ways.
children’s programme which ran alongside. The second day took the form of a day conference on resilience. People involved in making sustainable communities came together to look at how they could face the current issues of environmental and economic crisis. What benefits does an event like this have? For people who are coming along as members of the public it can be an inspiring experience. PEG had volunteers this year who had come along as public the year before. For those who work or volunteer in any of the associated projects, it is good to be able to see that there are other people out there doing similar things. Events like this become places to share ideas and create solutions. They also become places where a buzz can be created about what the action looks like. People who are interested or involved in community action tend to be busy, so a single event that allows people to come along, share and join together is a good idea. An annual event running along similar lines also allows you and the communities you hold the events in to see how much has been achieved in the passing year.
Find a range of useful resources at www.transitionscotland.org