In the second week of my Sustainability and Community Relations course, I was fortunate to hear from two South Islanders leading two separate sustainable initiatives. The first speaker was Michelle Colussi from the Victoria Region Transition Initiative (VRTI). The VRTI “fosters a postcarbon way of life in the Victoria area by raising awareness and building connections, supporting positive vision and action to help create more resilient, joyful communities that no longer rely on fossil fuels as their primary energy sources.” The second speaker was Mara Jernigan from Cittaslow Cowichan. Both women are making incredibly positive changes in their communities.
Michelle Colussi started the morning off by telling us a little about the Transition movement. She said it was founded by environmentalist, author and teacher Rob Hopkins from the UK. “Transition Towns” is a world-wide movement focused on reducing a village/town/city’s carbon footprint and increasing the ability to withstand the negative effects of “Peak Oil” and climate change. It’s a great way to engage communities, increase resilience and decrease fossil fuel dependence. She thinks that there has been a lot of talk about climate change blah blah blah, an explosion of uncertainty, BUT now its time for experimentation with solutions. Our current society is experiencing economic instability and inequity, our resources are depleting at an uncontrollable rate and we are experiencing food security problems. Below is a list that compares our current way of life and how it could be changed through “Transition”:
From Global to Local, from centralized to diverse, from growth to steady state, from consumption to self-relience, from depletion to stewardship, and finally from individual to collective. I thought this was a great comparison and one that could really show people what we’re all missing out on! Another interesting point Michelle made had to do with our current societal structure. We’ve lost the resilience to cope with energy shocks, but by starting a Transition movement we could become better prepared to deal with energy problems rather than always being surprised when they do hit.
Mara Jernigan was the second speaker of the morning. She came to talk about Cittaslow Cowichan: North America's First Cittaslow designated community. “While many local governments see the economy of "build it and they will come" philosophy for sprawl, development and especially big-box developments: a Cittaslow community focuses on ensuring we have access to local foods, knowing our neighbours and supporting our local growers and artisans.” The most important thing I remember Mara saying that morning was “What’s different when you travel somewhere?” This question really made me think. When I travel to anywhere in North America, I see the same box stores, gas stations, fast food (very “homogenous”). It’s not until I travel overseas do I see new things. But some corporations are now overseas (I saw 7-11 & McDonalds in Thailand!)
I truly admire what the people of Cowichan Bay have accomplished. Preserving the uniqueness and values of an area is incredible! In this way they have protected their town and community from developers. They are satisfied with the slow pace of life and that’s the way its going to stay. We are living in some pretty interesting times with many decisions to be made. I believe changes will have to happen at municipal levels like Cowichan because each community has different values and dreams.
