Stratford

Timeline: exploratory meeting Feb 2009; key activists formed steering committee March 2009; first Open Space (Food) May 2009; provisional constitution adopted June 2009; "official" status confirmed, inaugural general meeting held and monthly newsletter launched Sept 2009; second Open Space (Energy) Oct 2009; website launched Jan 2010; Garden Share scheme launched Feb 2010; public meetings on sustainable energy for historic buildings (May 2010) and community ownership of renewable energy (June 2010); Energy Champions scheme launched June 2010; Harvest Share pilot run autumn 2010

Projects: arising from the Open Spaces held to date, Transition Stratford has or is developing a range of active projects, including the Garden Share scheme; a community garden which is being developed on permaculture principles; an Energy Champions scheme to promote home energy efficiency; a project on ways to make older and historic buildings more sustainable; and a pilot Harvest Share scheme. With Transition supporters across south Warwickshire, we have set up a separate renewable energy co-op Community Energy Warwickshire. 

Meetings: open meetings of the steering group are held monthly, usually in a member's home. There are quarterly general meetings to which external speakers are invited: to date, these have included representatives from Practical Action and ClimateXChange. Project groups meet informally, typically in the pub, and there are also lively group discussions at our regular film nights.

Partnerships: Transition Stratford has close links with neighbouring Transition initiatives and other like-minded groups and has established constructive relations with the town and district council, with whom we are working on plans to increase the availability of land for allotments and community growing. A workshop on energy efficiency in historic buildings organised jointly with the Stratford Society and featuring speakers from Marches Energy Agency, English Heritage and the Building Research Establishment took place in May 2010 and has led to the establishment of a partnership project to find ways to improve the sustainability of older buildings. A South Warwickshire-wide conference on community ownership of renewable energy projects in June 2010 has led to the establishment of a co-op Community Energy Warwickshire. Our Harvest Share pilot in autumn 2010 has led to a partnership with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (owner of the main buildings associated with Shakespeare in and around Stratford) which has brought the orchard at Anne Hathaway's Cottage (70+ trees) into the Harvest Share scheme for 2011.

Ethos: Transition Stratford believes strongly that we must not increase local sustainability at the expense of others, particularly those living in parts of the world which are already experiencing the effects of climate change. For this reason, we have adopted the promotion of social justice as a key driver of our activities alongside climate change and peak oil and are building links with the Warwickshire-based charity Practical Action, which helps communities in the developing world to adapt to climate change.