2011: Another year into the Transition

The beginning of our seasonal climb from the shortest day of the year towards the longest reminds me of the image (provided by Rob Hopkins, I believe) of the iconic peak-oil Hubbert Curve turned upside down.  In this more positive representation, we are swimming upwards from the depths of our oil dependency toward a satisfying and happy, albeit different, life.  Transition Houston has been exploring that future in small pieces with our awareness-raising, our community-forming, and manifestations of resiliency such as our permabiltzes.  During the new year we will continue that work, but also explicitly connect with other aligned organizations through our Action Groups, and progress toward a Great Unleashing.
 
There are several events of interest in the works for January 2011, including the Urban Harvest Fruit Tree Sale, screening of Climate Refugees, monthly meetings of Transition Houston, Transition Old Sixth Ward, and the Clear Lake Transition Initiative, and a Clear Lake permablitz.  More details will come soon regarding the monthly meetings and permablitz, but for now here is information about the fruit tree sale, a related volunteer opportunity, and the movie screening.

Urban Harvest Fruit Tree Sale, Saturday, January 15
Fruit trees offer a great opportunity for abundant food with minimal effort, and can be a core element of personal resilience.  Fruit tree sale season is coming up early in the new year, with a number of organizations holding sale days.  One of the sales coming up soon is the Urban Harvest Fruit Tree Sale.  This annual sale brings together far more types and varieties of fruit trees than can be found anywhere else in the greater Houston area  This year the sale is going to be held at Robertson Football Stadium, on the University of Houston Main Campus (Scott Street at Holman Street).

Event: Urban Harvest Fruit Tree Sale
Place: Robertson Football Stadium on the University of Houston campus Scott Street at Holman Street
Date: January 15, 2011
Time: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. or until sold out

Buy a tree or two from the largest one-day fruit tree sale in the U.S. and learn “the how to’s” at the presale talks:

Presale talks: Heidi Sheesley and Ray Sher
Place: United Way of Greater Houston, 50 Waugh Drive at Memorial Drive
Dates: Tuesday, January 4 (7 to 9:30 p.m.) and Saturday, January 8 (2 to 4:30 p.m.)
Learn more at www.urbanharvest.org

Volunteers needed for Fruit Tree Sale, January 13-15
The Urban Harvest sale can not happen without the contributions of volunteers, both for setup on Thursday and Friday, January 13 and 14, and on the actual day of the sale on Saturday, January 15.  You do not have to volunteer for every one of those days!  If you are interested please contact Bob Randall as soon as possible.  His contact email is baeb at comcast dot net.  This is a great opportunity to learn about the sorts of fruit and other productive trees and bushes which are well-suited for the Houston area, and to meet other interesting and like-minded people.

Movie Screening:  Climate Refugees, Wednesday, January 26
Transition Houston, the USGBC Emerging Professionals (EP), and the Rice Environmental Club are presenting the next film in our green film series on Wednesday, January 26.  The movie is Climate Refugees, a documentary film about “the human face of climate change.”  Information about the movie can be found at www.climaterefugees.com, including film trailers.  More details will come soon, but please save the date!

Climate Refugees film screening
Place:  Rice University Media Center, corner of University Blvd and Stockton, entrance #8 on the Rice University Campus
Date:  Wednesday, January 26
Time:  6:30pm

Transition Houston is looking forward to another great year of community, connection, relocalization, and resiliency in 2011.  We wish you a happy and joyful New Year!

November is Transition Time too

It is very nice here at the beginning of November to have the return of cooler weather, but the farmer (and avoider-of-lawn-watering) in me is hoping for for some rain as well.  October certainly wasn’t a dry spell as far as events and activities of interest to our Transition community go, from our very interesting Transition Houston meeting with guest speaker Richard Johnson, to the Global Work Day on 10-10-10 in which so many of our members were involved including at Transition Houston and Clear Lake Transition Initiative’s Permablitzes, to the most excellent GreenWeek activities which engaged at No Impact Project workshops and the Green Fest at The Last Organic Outpost…what a month it has been!
 
Now here we are in November and our activities continue apace in learning from each other and from experts in our communities.  We hope that you might have time to participate in these many opportunities to learn about–and build–a resilient Houston area.

Transition Houston monthly meeting, Monday, November 1
It is hard for me to believe, but it is time for our November monthly meeting already!  We will have a special focus on Permablitzes at this meeting, with a recap of the 10-10-10 Permablitzes and discussion of upcoming ‘Blitzes including the one discussed below on November 13.  We will also have reports from neighborhood Transition Initiatives, Action Group reports, announcements, and our traditional time for snacks and conversation.

Transition Houston November Meeting
Monday, November 1
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Urban Harvest
2311 Canal St.
Houston  77003
for more details:  transitiontexas.ning.com/events/transition-houston-november

Pallet Building Workshop starts Monday, November 1
New Jura Natural Building owner and Transition Houston member David Reed is holding a free pallet building workshop near Waller starting on Monday, November 1.  Natural building techniques have much to recommend them during transition times, as they often recycle materials or use low-cost and low-embedded-carbon materials.  Says David:

We will be teaching YOU how to build a home out of the highly abundant waste material: PALLETS!  We will be insulating the pallet walls with slip straw and then plastering the inside and outside with an earthen plaster.  The roof will have a rainwater capture system and the home will have a grey water system.  We will be working on this pallet house until it is finished, hopefully in time for the cold to set in!
 
Please RSVP to Dude@newjurabuilding.info or call 832-775-3930.  Lunch will be provided, a $10 donation/person is suggested.

Clear Lake Transition Initiative meeting, Thursday, November 4
The Clear Lake Transition Initiative will be holding their monthly meeting on November 4.  Among the agenda items are Fall permablitzes, film screenings, and a Transition Town introduction.  Rob Williams from CLTI shares this:
 
Interested in having a suburban farm on your property? Maybe just harvesting and recycling water? Or maybe you just want to get involved. You won’t want to miss the next CLTI meeting on Thursday November 4th at 6:30-8:30 pm at the Coffee Oasis in Seabrook.
 
Call me at 281.705.4307 or email me at clearlaketransition@gmail.com for more information.

Clear Lake Transition Initiative Meeting
Thursday, November 4 ·
6:30pm – 8:30pm
Coffee Oasis
4650 Nasa Rd 1
Seabrook  77586

Transition Houston Permablitz #4, Saturday, November 13
Our next Permablitz promises to continue our tradition of excellent learning and community-creating opportunities while building resilience one bit of land at a time.  This one will be held in the Transition Japhet Creek community.  Current plans include driving a well, adding drip irrigation to existing garden beds, installing a rain barrel, planting an herb garden, and a cob building workshop which will result in a cob oven.  While most of the Permablitz will be finished around mid-day, the cob workshop will continue to 5pm.  As is our tradition, we will have a potluck after the morning portion of the Permablitz.

“Cob or cobb is a building material consisting of clay, sand, straw, water, and earth, similar to adobe. Cob is fireproof, resistant to seismic activity, and inexpensive. It can be used to create artistic, sculptural forms and has been revived in recent years by the natural building and sustainability movements”.- Wikipedia

Preparation work for the cob oven will begin on the weekend before the Permablitz (November 6 or 7).  If you would like to participate in that as well please RSVP to Jim Ohmart (JMOhmart at AOL dot com or 713-674-2528).

David Reed of New Jura Natural Building (www.NewJuraBuilding.info) will teach the cob building workshop.  This workshop will cover the basics of mixing cob and plastering techniques involved in building a cob oven.  David also offers more advanced cob building classes for building larger structures including homes. You can learn about and sign up for those classes at this workshop.
 
The Japhet Creek Community is on the near-Eastside of Houston.  The hosts offer these directions:  If you’re coming US-59 exit I-10 East.   Once on I-10 East exit at the Waco St,  Exit 771-A, first exit past US-59.  At Waco St turn right (south) to the first stop light at Clinton Dr.  Turn Left (East) on Clinton to the second street on the right (Emile).  Turn Right (South) on Emile and go two blocks to Inman.  Turn in the next driveway on the left at the warehouses and park there.  Our house is 4510 Inman on the left.  Enter on through the gate on the right side of the house.  If you get lost call 713-674-2528.

Transition Houston Permablitz #4
Saturday, November 13
8:30 am – 5 pm
4510 Inman St.
Houston  77020
Please RSVP to Mark Juedeman (mjuedeman at gmail dot com)

Sustainability seminars and workshops
Members of Transition Houston have passed on word about several seminars/workshops coming up that will address sustainability issues:
 
Sustainability Pay$ – The Copenhagen Experience, Tuesday, November 9
The Royal Danish Embassy, the Royal Danish Consulate in Houston, the American Danish Business Council, and the Shell Center for Sustainability invite you to join us for this workshop which will present some of the best examples to reflect on the path Denmark has followed to make it the most energy efficient country in the EU.
 
The morning session presents a focus on the municipalities that are leading the way to carbon neutrality. In the afternoon we will present the business case and the technology to assist in implementing these practices to allow Denmark to reach its aggressive goals.

Sustainability Pay$ – The Copenhagen Experience
Tuesday, November 9
9:00 am – 3:30 pm
Shell Auditorium, McNair Hall
Rice University.
Please register at:
http://shellcenter.rice.edu/Content.aspx?id=2147483654

Houston-Galveston Area Council Fall Planning Workshop, Friday, November 12 
Join us for our annual fall planning workshop to learn how your community can plan for sustainable growth. This free workshop will feature presentations on encouraging conservation through development codes, integrating density and a mix of uses, revitalization, and sustainable economic development.
 
Topics of Discussion:
 
Establishing the Framework: Why Sustainable Growth?
Revitalization as an Economic Engine
Dealing with Density
Successful Strategies for Designing with Nature
 
Space is limited, so please reserve your place today.

Houston-Galveston Area Council Fall Planning Workshop
Friday, November 12
9:00 am – 12:30 pm
H-GAC Conference Room A, Second Floor
3555 Timmons Lane
Houston  77027
713-627-3200

Houston Peace and Justice Center Awards Dinner, Friday, November 12 
Last, our friends at the Houston Peace and Justice Center (and good friends they are, acting as our fiscal sponsors and providing significant financial support for the May 1 Local Business Conference) are having their Annual Awards Dinner on Friday, November 12.  This really looks like an exciting event, as they will have as their guest speaker and honoree Dr. Helen Caldicott:

Dr. Helen Caldicott is our 2010 National Peacemaker Awardee.  She resides in Australia, but travels worldwide to promote peace, justice and protection of the environment.  Dr. Caldicott is co-founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her outstanding advocacy work over many years.   The Smithsonian Institute named Dr. Caldicott one of the most influential women of the 20th Century.   She is the subject of several films including “If You Love This Planet” which won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Film in 1982.  She is author of several books which will be available at the dinner, and she hosts a radio show on KPFT Radio titled “If you Love this Planet”.   More information on Dr. Caldicott can be found on the HPJC website www.hpjc.org.

As the HPJC says, this is a wonderful opportunity to network with other people and promote our cause.  The dinner is a fundraiser for the Houston Peace and Justice Center, a 501(c)(3) organization, so that they can continue their vital work for peace and justice in the community.

Houston Peace and Justice Awards Dinner
Friday, November 12
6:00 pm
Marriott Houston West Loop
1750 West Loop South
Houston  77027
Go to the HPJC website www.hpjc.org, or call 832-288-4099 for more information

One amazing thing to me is that these activities all take us up only to mid-November!  The Transition Movement, and other organizations which share our concerns and values, are increasingly active in the Houston region.  While our challenges are tremendous, we continue to believe that these community-based efforts to raise awareness and build resilience are our best hope.

All of that wishing for good weather must have paid off…

It is really good to see the long-awaited and hoped-for cooler Fall weather finally arrive.  I find my personal reserves of energy restored, and I’m looking forward to a full plate of activities during the beautiful days of October, including our monthly Transition Houston meeting.

Transition Houston October meeting, Monday, October 4
As highlighted in our last newsletter, Richard Johnson, Sustainability Director at Rice University, will be a special guest speaker at Transition Houston’s October meeting.  Richard will be discussing climate and resource depletion threats, the current status of Houston sustainability, and opportunities to build our community’s resiliency.  We will also be discussing plans for our 10/10/10 Permablitz (our project for the 350.org Global Work Party), No Impact Project workshops, reports from Transition neighborhoods, and plans for Transition training in early 2011.  As always, we will close out the meeting with refreshments and conversation.

Richard Johnson at Transition Houston October Meeting
Monday, October 4
7:00-9:00PM 
Urban Harvest, 2311 Canal St., Houston, 77003
For details see  the event listing

No Impact Man Screening, Friday, October 1
Priyanka Johri sends word of a free screening of “No Impact Man” on Oct 1st in the Woodlands area:

There are several screenings all around Houston and we wanted to bring it to our neighborhood too. Please pass it on to your friends, neighbors and group members in surrounding areas who may be interested. We are located at the boundary of The Woodlands & Conroe. Everyone from The Woodlands, Conroe, Willis, Kingwood, Spring, Tomball and Magnolia are invited.

Please carpool or ride your bike if you can.
Hope to see you here.

No Impact Man free movie screening
Friday, October 1
7:00 PM
Indus Valley Sustainable Living Institute & Pure Mutts Animal Sanctuary
2463 Bill Smith Rd., Conroe, TX  77384
Contact – EcoLiving@IndusValleySustainableLivingInstitute.com

Solar Tour and Social, Saturday, October 2
Please remember the Houston Solar Tour and Social this Saturday, October 2.  Matthias Jung of Transition Houston is the chair of this year’s tour, and he and his colleagues have arranged for an excellent renewable energy and green living experience.

Solar Social (pre-Tour event)
Saturday, October 2
9:00AM to Noon
at the University of Houston, College of Architecture Building
 
Solar Tour
Saturday, October 2
Noon to 5:00PM
Self-guided tour
 
For details about both go to the Tour website.

Transition Houston Permablitz, Sunday, October 10 (350.org Global Work Party)
Quealy Antin, our Permablitz coordinator, has been working with the Permablitz team to hold a Permablitz on October 10:  Learn by doing!  Work with us at Transition Houston’s October Permablitz on the 10-10-10 Global Day of Action. We’ll apply Permaculture principles to create an example of local resiliency and turn a suburban landscape into a gorgeous food garden. The ‘Blitz will take place in Sharpstown, Houston’s oldest modern suburb. Bring shovels, gloves, loppers, clippers, and anything else you think we could use. Extra points for wheel barrows!  Early morning coffee, snacks, and lunch will be provided by the host family.

Transition Houston Permablitz
Sunday, October 10
8:30am – 1:00pm
7502 Croton Street
Houston, TX  77036
details at the Event Listing.

Clear Lake Transition Initiative Permablitz, Sunday, October 10 (350.org Global Work Party)
And Clear Lake Transition has a Global Work Party planned too!  The plant a seed ~ feed the need community garden at St. Christopher Episcopal church is a donation garden providing fresh organic produce to the food pantry at Interfaith Caring Ministries in League City Texas. We will be planting an orchard, fall veggies, installing rain barrels and irrigation, and building compost systems all under the counsel and direction of Certified Master Gardeners and Permaculture designers. This community event will provide labor for the garden and a hands on educational experience for the participants, with several guest speakers on permaculture, sustainability, making lifestyle changes, and building community resilience.

Plant-a-Seed Feed-the-Need Permablitz
October 10
8:30am – 3:30pm
2508 St. Christopher Avenue
League City , TX, 77573
details at the Event Listing and Blog

Transition Houston Leisure Learning class, Monday, October 18
We want to remind you of the opportunity for your interested family and friends to learn about Transition.  On the evening of Monday, October 18 Transition Houston will be presenting a class at Leisure Learning about the Transition movement and Transition Houston, followed by a visit on Saturday, October 23 to the Japhet Creek Transition community.  If you have family or friends who are curious about the Transition movement, what it is all about, and what it means for Houston please tell them about this class.  A portion of the class fee will go to Transition Houston for our projects.

Transition Houston–Strategies for the 21st Century
Monday, October 18 7-9:30pm (field trip on Saturday, October 23, 10am-noon)
Greenway Plaza Area: Richmond/Kirby
for registration and details see the class page.

GreenWeek Houston, October 10-17
GreenWeek Houston is a collaborative effort brought to the City of Houston by the USGBC Emerging Professionals, Houston Green Scene and the Last Organic Outpost.  GreenWeek Houston is designed to connect, educate, facilitate and inspire fellow Houstonians to live in a sustainable way that preserves and enhances our City.

Following the No Impact Man film, book, curriculum and experiment created by Colin Beavan, USGBC Emerging Professionals are implementing a week of No Impact activities taking place all over the Greater Houston area.  See the EP website for specific details on each event, and please join us!

Houston Training for Transition, February, 2011
As we mentioned in the mid-September newsletter, there has been a good deal of interest amongst Transition Houston members about having another Training For Transition (T4T) class, following up on last November’s very successful course.  The class is useful for those who want to learn about the Transition movement as well as those who are already involved.  We have now also received interest from Transition Dallas folks who are starting up their Initiative now.

There has also been a significant expression of interest from the Dallas Transition community in our class, and so it looks even more likely that the class might happen, probably in mid-February 2011.  There is still time for you to express your interest in attending by contacting Mark Juedeman (mjuedeman at gmail dot org).  The cost of the two-day class, including breakfast and lunch, Friday potluck, and optional garden tours, is likely to be around $200.  There will also be a few partial scholarships available.

Enjoy these good October days and myriad opportunities to learn Transition skills!