Over the past year Transition Town North Bay has expanded from 5 to 100 members showing that the potential for positive change in North Bay is strong.  Transition Town North Bay has incorporated as a non-profit organization and is applying for official status.

As the first Transition Initiative to gain a foothold in the region, we are temporarily acting as a regional hub for the area and providing support and assistance to parties interested in starting up initiatives in Callander, Powassan and Mattawa.  If you are from a neighbouring community in the Blue Sky Region and are interested in transition we will be happy to meet with you and assist with the startup of your initiative.

In recent member polls, the majority of our members said that economic re-localization and local food production are the most important things we need to do to adapt to post-carbon realities.  We have started to address this by launching an online local food map and yard sharing program on our new website, working on community gardens for urban residents, and holding focus visioning sessions with local sustainable farmers.  

Presently, the founding board has been pre-occupied with issues around our incorporation and learning how to meet various government reporting requirements.  This process will culminate in an AGM held sometime this fall where we will elect a board for a 3 year term that will hopefully have more time to initiate new projects and programs for members to get involved in.

Our plan for this year is starting an economic resiliency study group, facilitating workshops on permaculture and home gardening, and hosting our own movie night in Callander.  Key areas for improvement that were identified in our membership survey include making better use of the press, holding more events and workshops, and doing more to educate members on what exactly transition initiatives are.

Our group meets twice a month.  Our monthly potluck supper is held at St. Andrew’s church and typically involves a speaker, presentation or discussion topic.  We have also started holding monthly board/steering committee meetings that aren’t advertised to the general public…contact us via our website to get on the board mailing list.

Check out our website at ttnorthbay.org for more information.