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GREEN SPACE: A2 & Ypsi undergoing holistic sustainability training this weekend

Thursday, January 29, 2009

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Alternative Energy, Food, Sustainability

This weekend, about 50 participants from all over Southeast Michigan will gather to undergo training in the Transition movement, which emphasizes a local solution to the global issue of oil dependence.

Transition was founded by Rob Hopkins in the UK, and has spread across the world -- Boulder, CO, Portland, ME, and Ketchum, ID are all Transition towns. It addresses food and farming, medicine and health, the prison industry, education, the economy, transportation, energy and housing -- all with an eye towards local, sustainable thinking.

"We're working towards an effective and meaningful response to global warming and the end of cheap energy," says organizer Lisa Bashert. "Through this process, we hope to come up with some plans towards a more localized culture and way of life."

The planning team will be led by trainer Michael Brownlee from Boulder County in Colorado, who has been trained by Hopkins. The group consists of representatives from the Ypsilanti Food Co-op, Growing Hope, the City of Ann Arbor's Energy Office, Bioneers, Sustainable Ypsi and members of the Sustainable Michigan/Peak Oil Meetup group. Bashert hopes the training will encourage collaboration between participants.

While registration for the training is closed already due to the high level of interest, there are a couple of public events tied in. On Thursday, January 29, from 7:30 to 9:30, the Detroit Evolution Laboratory will host a welcome event for Brownlee in Eastern Market's Shed 5, on Russell Street. On Friday night, the group will show the film The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil at the Ann Arbor Friends Meeting house.

To learn more about the Transition movement, check out these websites:
http://www.transitiontowns.org/
http://www.hopedance.org/cms/content/view/540/86/
http://www.transitionus.org/
http://TransitionMichigan.ning.com

Source: Lisa Bashert
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh