Transition Towns is an international movement started in England that is gathering momentum in the US. The purpose of Transition Town is to help local communities become resilient to the challenges of climate change, peak oil and economic crisis. So far there are 36 US communities formerly designated as Transition Towns and another 600 who are “mulling over” getting their communities involved.

As a member of government or as an educator you can work with people within your community without having to re-invent the wheel. The process is already formed and the specific actions are determined by the individual communities.

According to the Transition US website, the stages for Transition initiatives are:
The Initial Stage: typically, a group of people start to meet each other, start to discuss the Transition concept, and begin the process of enthusing each other to initiate the process.
At this stage you have an opportunity to reach out to community leaders who are interested in sustainability.

The ‘Mulling’ Stage: contact is made with Transition US and the individuals or groups read the Transition Handbook, download the Transition Primer, and let us know of their ‘mulling’ status.
This is a great stage to listen to the concerns of people in your community and give them a chance to “lead” the government.

Formal Transition Initiative: the ‘mulling’ stage can last for a few weeks or for many months, depending on the group. In order to proceed to formal status, the group completes a declaration of intention, which lists the guidelines and asks for information about the initiative, as well as checking that the initiatives in the best possible position to proceed successfully. Many initiatives have told us that they cherish their formal status, and are very proud of having reached that point.
This stage provides the opportunity to mesh citizen and government priorities.

Transition US provides training, resources and events. The website has a 12 step process to transition and even has answers to the 7 “buts”.

The next training is in Ashland, OR on August 16. Trainings in October include Los Angeles and Monterey, California.