TRAINING for TRANSITION

February 27-28, 2009 Woolman Hill Retreat Center

Deerfield, Western Massachusetts

Transition United States (www.transitionus.org) is offering the two-day Training for Transition course as developed by Naresh Giangrande and Sophy Banks of the Transition Network in Totnes, England (www.transitiontowns.org).  The course is an in-depth experiential introduction to Transition for those considering bringing Transition to their community.  It meets the training requirement for local initiating groups to become an internationally-recognized Transition Town.

At the Training for Transition course, you will:

• Experience and explore the Transition ethos

• Learn ways of creating a positive, shared vision for your community’s future

• Receive tools for community outreach, education and engagement

• Learn how to summarize the Triple Challenge of Peak Oil, Climate, and Economic Instability in ways that move people to positive action

• Explore the obstacles that have prevented our communities from recognizing and positively responding to the challenge of energy transition

• Expand your knowledge of options for responding to common obstacles
• Receive support for becoming a Transition catalyst in your community
• Connect with others who want to help create Transition in this region
• Become a part of one a rapidly growing positive, inspirational, global movement!

Curriculum: The course describes how to set up, run, and maintain a successful Transition Initiative. It is packed with imaginative and inspiring ways to engage your community, and delves into both the theory and practice of Transition that has worked so well in hundreds of communities in the U.K. and around the world.

Who should attend:  People interested in learning about Transition Towns in greater depth and leaders already creating a Transition Initiative in their community

Instructors: Tina Clarke and Shaktari Belew, U.S. Transition Towns Trainers

Schedule:
Saturday, Feb. 27:  Registration: 9:00 AM.  Workshop: 9:30-5:00 PM with a 1-hour lunch break
Sunday, Feb. 28, Workshop: 9:30-5:00 PM with a 1-hour lunch break

Optional Friday evening potluck, conversation & film:  ALL WELCOME!

Friday, Feb. 26 at Woolman Hill Conference Center, 6:30 p.m. potluck, 7:30 Film.  Free. 

Cost: $180 per person by Feb. 19, and $200 after Feb. 19. A $100 deposit holds your place. Lunch, refreshments and materials included.  (Lodging not included -- see below.)  Some partial scholarships may be available for people with low incomes or for work exchange.  If you can give extra money for scholarships, your generosity will help those with low incomes to attend.  Bring a friend and both of you get 10% off:  $162 each ($180 each after Feb. 19).

Registration: Send a note and your registration fee ($180) or deposit ($100—with the remaining $80 due on the first day of the workshop), plus scholarship donations (if you can) to: Catherine Ratte, PVPC, 26 Central Street, West Springfield, MA 01089, with a check made out to Pioneer Valley Regional Ventures Center.  OR:  Contact Catherine Ratte at the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission to reserve a space and then send your check.  Email: cratte@pvpc.org  Phone: 413-781-6045 x311.

Preparation: Participants are asked to do advance preparation as listed below:

Reading
• The Transition Handbook: From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience, by Rob Hopkins
• Transition Primer (free at: http://transitionnetwork.org/Primer/TransitionInitiativesPrimer.pdf)

Suggested Viewing
• The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil   
• Crude Impact or A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash
• 6 Degrees

Location:  Woolman Hill is a charming, rustic Quaker retreat center above the Connecticut and Deerfield rivers in western Massachusetts.  www.woolmanhill.org  Come early and relax!  Historic Old Deerfield is two minutes away:  www.historic-deerfield.org

Public Transportation:  Amtrak (www.amtrak.com) serves Springfield, MA from Boston and NYC.  Peter Pan Bus (www.peterpanbus.com) and Greyhound provide connections to Greenfield, MA. Woolman Hill is only 5 minutes from Greenfield, and we will pick you up. 

Sleeping Accommodations:  Some overnight accommodations are available.  Bedrooms in the retreat center sleep from two to six people, dormitory style (bunks, twins, and three doubles).

Two rustic cabins may also be available. Guests generally bring their own bedding and bath towels, unless other arrangements are made in advance.  Cost is $85 per bed for the weekend (Friday 5:00 to Sunday afternoon)