Transition Edinburgh Activities 2018-19
The last year was a busy one for Transition Edinburgh – the community-led network connecting and supporting individuals and groups, initiating practical projects that strive for a greener, fairer, healthier and more resilient Edinburgh. These highlights focus on our concerns: Energy, Food Sovereignty; Air Pollution / Transport, Plastics + Climate Crisis.
Imagining Edinburgh city in 2050
Following Fire Starter Festival events in February on a Just Transition for Scotland and a Carbon Neutral Edinburgh we co-hosted a visioning process in June with many of the city’s heritage bodies. 60 people gathered at the City Chambers to explore what needs changing and how. Councillor Neil Gardiner, convener of the Planning Committee, responded positively to the ideas shared.
Food Sovereignty
A stakeholder gathering on a Sustainable Food City Plan in June explored how a diversity of initiatives in Edinburgh – food growing, healthy eating, availability of fresh local produce, reducing food waste and ending food poverty – could be brought together on some sort of online hub, gateway or map. We contributed to Kitchen Table Talks with Nourish Scotland and Scottish Food Coalition – aiming for a strong Good Food Nation Bill.
Plastics / Circular Economy
An interactive workshop with Nicola Peel explored the impacts of our oil addiction. Nicola promoted open sourced machines to chip and melt plastic into new saleable products.
More recently this February a Plastic Problems: Human Solutions workshop explored what can be done about the plastic plague to free us from fossil-fueled plastic addiction. Our Circular Economy working group – jointly with Friends of the Earth Edinburgh – is looking into strategies for reducing single use plastic packaging.
Healthy Streets
We gathered the city’s Sustainable Active Travel advocates in May to discuss ways to promote an attractive and livable city and cut ill-health caused by vehicles congesting the city of Edinburgh. This was just before launch of City Centre Transformation consultations.
Climate Emergency
The climate crisis loomed large in early 2019. We jointly hosted, with Councillor Karen Doran, a successful Climate Emergency forum in the City Chambers. In May we spoke at two deputations to the City Council urging a 2030 target for the Declaration of a Climate Emergency for Edinburgh and the creation of a Climate Emergency partnership. As a result of the deputations we have met with City Councilors to discuss how to implement these challenging initiatives for the city and the wider environment.
Join our Working Groups
In all this work we have collaborated with a wide
range of civil society organisations.
We invite you to get involved with one of the above strands of work by joining one
of the action teams progressing each topic.
See these at www.transitionedinburgh.org.uk
and visit our members page www.facebook.com/transitionedinburgh/
Mike, Johanna, Reem, Katharina, Pat and David, TE trustees, 19 June 2019
Transition Edinburgh: Collective hopes for 2018
On Friday 26 January friends and supporters sat down for a convivial evening meal at the Greyfriars Charteris Centre on the Pleasance. A new social enterprise “Prep Table” offers pop-up Friday community meals and fifteen of us went along for a delicious two-course meal for just £12. See Fiona’s next one on www.facebook.com/preptableedinburgh.
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