6 - 21 february 2010 | melbourne australia

Main Event | Federation Square, Melbourne

Sat 20th February 11.00 am - 11.50 am

venue

Transition Towns - From Oil Dependency To Local Resilience

Light on talk and heavy on action, Transition Towns is an international movement that has swept the globe since its inception in 2005. Today there are 245 'official' involved communities and over 1000 mulling it over! Central to the idea of Transition is that re-localising our basic needs and wants is inevitable given the realities of resource depletion (especially oil), water shortages and Climate Change. This presentation provides a context illustrating why we desperately need to Transition as well as drawing on global and local examples of Transition Towns. Described as "more like a party than a protest march" Transition Towns have been incredibly effective in attracting 'non-greens' and engaging wider audiences than traditional sustainability approaches. Presenter

Andrew Lucas has worn many hats - sourdough baker and wholefoods cook, eco-backpacker hostel manager and even a brand manager for an appliance manufacturer. In recent years he has focused on practical sustainability education working as a food-garden specialist with the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation and as an environmental sustainability officer within local government. He is currently working on an exciting project called 'Eco Living' with nine Victorian Neighbourhood Houses and also runs a sustainability consultancy. In 2008, Andrew started Victoria's first Transition Town in the 3215 suburban postcode of Geelong where he continues to illustrate how Australian suburbs can be retrofitted for sustainabilty and resilience.