Transition Town Wandsworth

Transition Town Wandsworth - finding our common ground

Residents and community groups in the Wandsworth area are combining their local knowledge and neighbourhood spirit to address and tackle the issues of Peak Oil and climate change by volunteering their time for projects, workshops and skills swaps in the Wandsworth Town area. Transition Town Wandsworth, spurred by the burgeoning nationwide Transition town movement, is a way for local people to take a direct hand in planning resilience for tomorrow by getting involved in sustainable projects today.

Peak oil, the theory that most of the cheap and easier to extract oil has already ‘peaked’ in terms of discovery and extraction, has slowly gained ground over the last few years; tellingly the October 2008 report of the UK government’s ‘Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil & Energy Security (ITPOES)’, plainly sets out its expectations for a supply ‘crunch’ around 2011 – 2013. These realities, coupled with the ever present challenges of climate change, have resulted in a decisive shift in recent years towards clean technologies and sustainable, local commerce.

As people increasingly recognise the need for action to tackle this and other issues directly affecting their everyday lives - dependency on cheap imports, increasing instability in fuel markets and unsustainable levels of consumption - Transition Town Wandsworth have decided to turn to the community for many solutions to these problems, believing that some of the answers to the Boroughs most pressing concerns are likely to be found at the local level.

Although working with pre-existent initiatives to create community gardens, growing projects, green transport solutions and skills share projects, whilst recognising the need for close cooperation with the local authority, Transition Town Wandsworth want as many volunteers from the community as possible to come forward, join in and make Wandsworth a model of cooperation and sharing.