Mundaring in Transition (MiT)

VISION:

A resilient and sustainable global community.

PURPOSE:      

To encourage and support transition to a resilient and sustainable future for the Shire of Mundaring.

STRATEGIES:              

• Engage Mundaring community in the transition movement.
• Support sustainable practices.
• Connect with other transition initiatives.

VALUES:

• All life is important and interconnected.
• Continual growth is unsustainable.
• Community and stakeholder input are vital.
• Sound knowledge and research must be utilised when making decisions.
• A culture of respect, accountability and transparency is essential.

ACTIVITIES:

• Dispense information on existing groups.
• Develop an Energy Descent Action Plan.
• Encourage the development of sub-groups to research and focus on specific topics.
• Listen to and learn from community concerns about sustainability issues.
• Engage with other organisations.
• Raise awareness of the international transition movement as a positive alternative to Business As Usual.
• Support and encourage local community action on the use of fossil fuels, climate change and related threats to our local and global environment.

ABOUT US:

Mundaring in Transition (MiT) consists of a group of passionate and concerned residents of the hills, east of Perth, Western Australia. Our state’s current prosperity and low unemployment depends significantly upon the export of non-renewable resources. Our climate is drying and warming: four of our five hottest years on record were 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009 and our driest years were 2006 and 2010. Recent droughts measure years in length, leading to restricted water use for gardens, significant overuse of groundwater and the construction of energy guzzling desalination plants to supplement the dwindling water supply.

The Mundaring hills is a natural haven between the more densely populated coastal plain and the more sparsely treed “wheatbelt”. With experience in Permaculture, organic gardening, and climate change and energy minimisation awareness raising, MiT is a wonderfully committed eclectic group of folk who flock to three-weekly gatherings to chat about sustainability and resilience in their local municipality. The group has recently completed their charter, and is now forming sub-groups which have begun working with local business owners, groups and craftspeople to help prepare for a challenging future.

MiT is fortunate to have the enthusiastic support of the Mundaring Shire, which is committed to and actively involved in creating a sustainable and resilient community. This is reflected in its association with the Environmental Advisory Committee, local businesses, community and friends groups, as well as extensive research and development of sustainability initiatives within the municipality.

We are thrilled to be joining the transformation towards kindness and community.

GROUP AGREEMENTS:

We aim to:

• listen deeply and respectfully to one another.
• allow each other the time to express thoughts and feelings without interruption.
• communicate concisely in order to honour each person’s wish to participate.
• invite ourselves to go beyond our patterned, habitual responses.
• make our best effort to arrive prepared and informed for each meeting.
• discipline ourselves to begin and end our meetings on time.
• be truthful but to avoid hurtful criticism and provocative language.
• think it possible that we may be mistaken.
• share leadership.
• give facilitators permission to keep the meeting on topic even it if means interrupting.
• prioritize the objectives of the group.
• recognise we are all human and fallible.
• be kind to ourselves, the earth and each other.