Attraction Retreat/Natural Systems Solutions

www.attractionretreat.org/NSS

Natural Systems Solutions has a relocalization project in Tucson, AZ called Campaign For Our Lives. We table at peace/justice/environmental events and host workshops on getting reconnected with nature, natural consensus, and transforming despair into empowerment. We are also screening films for the general public such as End of Suburbia, Being Carabou, Oil on Ice, Independent America, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices, Naturally Attracted, and What a Way to Go.

Canadian Biodiversity Institute

www.biodiversityonline.ca

The Canadian Biodiversity Institute is a charitable ngo based in Ottawa. We are small, but often network and partner with other groups on projects to make them more effective. Currently, we are starting a Community Climate Change Action Project in Eastern Ontario(pilot phase of two years,)that engages women in informal discussion groups to explore, identify and commmit to making individual changes in their lives to help mitigate and adapt to climate change. These are changes in the home (family), workplace, recreation, travel, investing, voting, etc. A second part of the project is to hold four workshops (spring and fall over two years with networking and continued development in between) to develop a Citizen's Climate Action Plan for the City of Ottawa and then to work with the City to implement the plan. The reources in the relocalization bundle will help with this work.

Continental Bioregional Congress (Coordinating Council)

www.bioregional-congress.org

The CBC has been meeting since 1984 every 2-3 years and is in the process of creating a bioregional curriculum, which may have some common areas of interests with the relocalization bundles. In the same vein, we hope to provide materials that will be of interest to the relocalization effort, and will be happy to share these.

Bryce Gilroy-Scott

Norton Disney, UK

We are an organised affinity group that engages in public education and activism for a paradigm shift to a sustainable society. Based in the East Midlands of the UK, we put on local showing of movies, as well as screenings, workshops and discussions at conferences and festivals.

Christ United Methodist Church

www.christmethodistchurch.net

Our church and society work area is interested in the subject of voluntary simplicity, which includes an understanding of how to obtain the goods and services we need locally, where possible. We are interested in using this information to present to the congregation and hopefully form a study/steering group that will lead our 600 member church group in changes to our consumptive behavior.

Community Economic Localization (CEL)

cel.relocalize.net

CEL's mission statement is:
"Community Economic Localization (CEL) educates and partners within the Roaring Fork Valley bio-region to cultivate a healthy, resilient, self-sustaining, local economy." The resources in the bundle will help inform and educate our members about the problems facing our communities, and how we might address these. We have a biweekly movie night at a local restaurant in Carbondale, and the DVDs could be shown to help educate our members and others in the valley who are interesting in learning about these issues.

Community Renewable Energy Project

hm.swapspace.com

This group was started by residents of the Capitol region of NY. Some of us are also members of CREF, Capitol Region Energy Forum, college, primary and secondary teachers, and the general public. Some of us give talks to other civic, church and cultural groups for which we will use the bundle.

County Sustaianability Group

countysustainability.ca

CSG has a group lending library, with books and such videos. Some members are teachers, and show videos in school. We offer these to county councillors as well.

Crestone SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE

crestone.relocalize.net

An organization deveoted to carbon neutrality and sustainable living on the planet. Resources will help share with new people what this is all about.

Diablo Post Carbon

sfbayoil.org/dpcsg/index.html

We formed about a year and a half ago, and have been working to educate ourselves about peak oil and relocalization issues as well as getting the word out to the community. We have members from the local Green Party and Democratic Party organizing committees, peace & justice groups, organic and small scale agriculture proponents and many others. We are still small and are looking to grow our infrastructure and membership. We meet monthly, and every third month have a program meeting with a speaker or movie. We have tabled at local Earth Day and other events. We would use our resource bundle for presentations at our program meetings and for tabling supplies at public events.

Energy Forum of Western Pennsylvania

relocalize.net

EFWP is setting up a film festival in Mt. Lebanon cosponsored with the Mt. Lebanon Library and local township members of the Sierra Club to work on getting our Çommissioners and other key municipal persons to sign the Climate Agreement. As well we will begin sustainable community solutions emphasizing localization via education of what is happening around the world and in the US.

Ethos Foundation

www.ethosfoundation.org

The Ethos Foundation is a not for profit, sustainability learning and earthcare organisation. Our mission is to cultivate effective new thinking, values and action for positive, ecologically sustainable futures.We are based at Binna Burra in the mountains of south east Queensland – in Yugambeh Country and the home of the Wangerriburra People. We acknowledge and respect the Traditional Owners of this land.
We are a registered charity. Our activities are funded from revenue from our consulting service, educational and earthcare enterprises, education programs, partnership and sponsorship relationships, grants, gifts and donations, book sales and memberships.

FADA Newbridge

www.kildare.ie/fada

FADA Newbridge are a local network dedicated to creating and maintaining a vibrant,diverse, secure and sustainable community by fostering ingenuity through local projects and positive action. From 2006 - 2009 we are focussing on the principal areas of the local food economy and the enhancemnet of the local skills base for sustainable living through community meetings and workshops. We are in the process of establishing community gardens in our area, have assisted in opening a farmer's market, have run very successful Peak Oil seminars and an Energy Fair and run several successful courses and information campaigns. We need to involve all of the local community groups in our work to achieve our aims, including youth, elderly, parenting, business, lobby, religous and food producing groups, among others, with very limited resources. The resource bundle offered by the Relocalization Network would greatly assist us in informing these groups (and so the community in general)of our issues, would make the message accessible to all and so motivate others towards positive action.

Flagstaff Post Carbon

Flagstaff, AZ

Flagstaff Post Carbon began about three years ago with public showings (about 1 dozen) of The End of Suburbia. We tried to start a more focussed relocalization group that would discuss how to relocalize the Flagstaff area's economy, but it didn't really go anywhere due to lack of public involvement. We held one all-day relocalization conference. I would like to try to restart interest in the subject of peak oil and relocalization with screenings of Escape From Suburbia. The Flagstaff City Council and Coconino County Board of Supervisors has had a growing interest in these subjects, such as creating energy- and water-efficient building code changes. I am hoping to help break through the denial that is preventing more practical steps from being taken.

Friends Circle

Thanjavur, India

We are a small advocay group on environment and development. Our members work in the fields of Trade unions, agricultural workers organisations, media etc. We would use the bundle to organise meetings in which the video will be screened accompanying with discussions.

Greater Wagner Creek Community & Sentient Times Magazine

www.SentientTimes.com

Our neighborhood/watershed group calls itself the Greater Wagner Creek Community. We hold monthly potlucks in a different home each time in order to get to know one another, create intimacy, and brainstorm about ways in which we can create a more sustainable lifestyle. Our members are on call for each other in times of need and last season began sharing in some gardening and cob building projects. We will share the bundled resources in this group. Sentient Times Magazine, published every other month, has a circulation of 15,000 print issues throughout Oregon and parts of northern California, with an online archive at www.SentientTimes.com. It is a free regional magazine devoted to community, sustainability, health and wholeness. We publish articles by local writers, reprint national and international pieces, and also include book excerpts and media reviews.

Green Energy Action and Rersearch

www.tricountypartners.org/gear.htm

GEAR is a new group which formed under the aegis of an old group, TriCounty Partners, here in central West Virginia. I actually have not yet been to a meeting although I went to the Energy Expo we put on a week ago. I plan to propose at the next meeting that GEAR join the Relocalization Network. Their slogan is Gear Up and Power Down. I think it's more difficult but particularly crucial, that this work succeed here in the heart of coal country.

Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand

www.greens.org.nz

We are a political party in Parliament actively campaigning on peak oil issues. we would like to look at the bundle to see what we can pass on to members and use at events highlighting peak oil issues.

Haines Energy Task Force

The Haines Energy Task Force was appointed by the Haines Borough Assembly in 2007 to develop a set of recommendations that would help the Haines Borough navigate the issues presented by peak oil. The group consists of 12 citizens supported by part-time staff. Staff time is dedicated to the drafting of the final report.

International Society for Ecology and Culture

www.isec.org.uk

ISEC has been active for more than 30 years in promoting economic localization, not just in the nations of the North, but in the South as well. We are now working to formalize a 'localization network', consisting of many of the grassroots groups we have worked with in the South, and feel that the information in this resource bundle will be of value to those groups.

Lawrence Sustainability Network

www.lawrencesustainability.net

Our sustainability network, is modeled much along the lines of the "Relocalization Network", and "Community Solutions". We've been in existence for over 2 years now, and have 300 some sustainability networkers in our community so far. Our goals are to build community, and educate the public with regular speakers and workshops on the importance of significantly increasing local food production through growth of sustainable city-wide garden proliferation in yards and vacant lots. We're also working on city-wide resource-conservation and energy-efficiency measures (including having drafted a comprehensive "Municipal Peak Oil Resolution"), local energy efficiency green businesses which utilize local materials, and growth of more affordable, locally manufactured renewable energy production equipment, encouraging the growth of green businesses that emphasize utilizing the creative use of local resources and materials to help accomplish these goals. We've built our own photovoltaic panels in workshops that work great. For specific examples of what we're working on, go to: http://www.lawrencesustainability.net/vision.html

-Rich Wenzel,
Lawrence Sustainability Network

LivingFuture

www.tealfarm.com

We sponsor a film series in our town, Huntington, Vermont. We would like to use the resource bundles to bring more information and media opportunities to our series.

Lost Valley Post Carbon

lostvalley.relocalize.net

N.E.W. Ark Institute

Marble, Washington

We are a non-denominational fellowship (150 + peoples) that have purchased the city of Marble, Wa.. We have found all the information regarding sustainability to be of interest. Our transformation from what we know and agree upon... to what we do and believe... is "on-the-table" so to speak. Our goal of less dependance on the present systems is easier talked about than lived. As the only one in the group, that has lived and taught alternative ark-itecture and appropriate technology, the calling is clear. Our decision making process needs every piece of information and every tool available.

North Country Peak Oil Study/Action Group

www.ncpeakoil.org

We are a group that got together a year and a half ago to organize around Peak Oil issues in our area. We sponsor film showings and other educational events and have monthly pot luck get-togethers. Another group of people homesteading and implementing self-sufficiency and local living called the Art Community is a larger manifestation of our group. We are exploring contacting and meeting with our state reps with another Peak Oil group from Syracuse.

Oregon Rural Action

www.oraction.org

Oregon Rural Action supports and encourages community organizing around locally identified issues. Our mission is to bring people together to build strong communities. We do this by providing information and tools for local people to use in addressing the issues the issues affecting our communities and by helping community members develop and implement solutions that work. Our members work together to promote healthy and sustainable communities. In Eastern Oregon there is much interest in local food systems, green (local) energy, and local economies more generally.

Oregon Rural Action has played a vital role in bringing these issues to the forefront and getting people involved in them. Our most recent activity is a partnership with a new community group called Locavores, which intends to make of itself a loose-knit collection of persons all promoting and supporting local foods and gardening. Oregon Rural Action works hard to provide information and training to interested community members. One way we do this is by offering a lending library in our office space with pertinent books, periodicals and other materials. This is the valuable function that the resource bundle will serve for us (the staff), our members, and the greater community.

Paula V., SLO, California

I am part of a Central Coast grass roots community building group, very interested in peak oil issues and buying local campaigns. We have a growing interest in these areas and want to provide more info. I have helped to organize meetings with folks interested in BALLE, Vision Atasadero ( a local buy local association), and HopeDance Magazine.

Partners for Active Living

www.active-living.org

Partners for Active Living (PAL) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving and supporting active living habits in Spartanburg, SC. In 2000, Partners for Active Living was founded with the specific goal of addressing the dramatic rise in incidents of cardiovascular disease in Spartanburg County. Originally named Heartwise, the organization soon realized that increased physical activity and its relationship to the built environment was key to improving the community’s health. Thus, Partners for Active Living launched multiple initiatives to promote the benefits of a bikeable and walkable community and create new opportunities to be physically active in Spartanburg. While the organization was founded on the immediate health risks facing our community, our work to promote active transportation (biking, walking, and transit) is playing a crucial role in improving environmental health and sustainability and building social capital. Currently, we educate local residents about the health benefits of active transportation as a way to entice them to choose that daily activity. In the same vein, we will use the relocalization bundle materials to educate local residents about the environmental benefits of active transportation so that they will have even more convincing reasons to join in the active-living movement.

Permaforest Trust

www.permaforesttrust.org.au

Permaforest Trust is a not for profit centre for sustainability education. It operates a rural demonstration farm and training centre as well as an urban focused Accredited Permaculture Training program in Byron Bay Australia. The resource bundle will act as learning resouces for participants and students at Permaforest Trust.

Partnership for a Sustainable Methow

www.sustainablemethow.net

PSM is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a sustainable, peaceful and connected community in the Methow Valley. I think that the resource bundle will provide us with the opportunity to host some public viewings/presentations of some of the enclosed materials, which will lead to community discussions and a heightened awareness of some of the pressing issues that we are facing at this point in time. Hopefully this increased awareness, and the exchange of ideas within the community will encourage people to do what they can to be a positive part of the changes that are coming our way.

Pasadena Post Carbon Outpost

oilawareness.meetup.com/1

We are Pasadena group which is part of the Relocalize network. We meet monthly and organize relocalization type projects, including film screenings, street theater demonstrations and skills workshops. We also maintain the LAPostCarbon.org website which is a resource for the wider Los Angeles Community.

Post-Carbon London

postcarbonlondon.ca

Post-Carbon London is a group concerned with the local community's dependence on fossil fuels because of impending peak oil issues. The DVDs would give us additional options for materials to screen at events.

Post Carbon Marin

postcarbonmarin.relocalize.net

We are a new group and as I see it our first task is to create awareness. This is particularly important in our county as we are looking at implementing Community Choice Aggregation soon, which means that we will have the opportunity to purchase large amounts of renewable energy and lock us into nice long contracts. Naturally, I would like us to do this before peak oil hits. The co-founder of the group is a lecturer at the GreenMBA program and I think a very good idea would be to secure space to show these movies at Dominican University.

Project Lyttelton

www.lyttelton.net.nz

Project Lyttelton is a grass roots community group working within the Lyttelton community and to some extent the Harbour Basin. This is in the South Island of New Zealand. Lyttelton has a population of 3000, the Harbour Basin 6000. Although the group has been going for about 13 years it is just in the last four that it built the word 'sustainable' into its vision statement. An important move!

The group is largely driven by volunteers. We work on the basis that if an idea fits the vision statement and there is a champion to run with it, we go ahead!
So amongst our projects are a monthly newspaper - to get as wide an audience as possible to the ideas, an email list for newsletters - clear and open communication is key; community gardens; a community centre; a Time Bank; a Farmers Market that draws about 2000 each Saturday;a waste minimisation scheme - where we are fine tuning systems to deal with putrescent waste - saving it going to landfill and making our land more fertile (compost); we run street festivals twice a year - our aim is to make these zero waste; we run a community van taking especially seniors to appointments in the city; Energy Matters where we explore matters around energy(surprise!) - we have done a survey to get a base measurement - what are people's perceptions, needs, preferred way to get information, what forms of energy matters do they want to persue etc, so far we have installed a warm wall as a model of what can happen, currently we have negotiated a bulk deal within the community to get wool insulation for homes, as yet to explore generation of power - several options here.

A project just starting is to make Lyttelton plastic bag free - this with printed bulk purchased bags - but a teaser to the concept - colourful curtain fabric ends made into bags locally by Time Bank members. Adult education is being developed too. So you can see we are approaching creating our community in an holistic manner - we are covering many aspects. We also have forums from time to time - where we show a film and have discussion following. We link up often for this purpose with the Green Party. We like to have resources ready to hand for people to get on board with gaining information.

Ruben S.

I am interested in starting a group of relocalizers in the
artist/artisan and latino communities here, esp. among spanish speakers
and 1st generation immigrants.

Self Reliant Community

www.grahamlearning.org

Graham is a rural-becoming-suburban community south of Tacoma, Washington, above the fertile Puyallup Valley. There are no food farms in Graham, but lots of horse farms. Our food should come from the valley, but the large agribusinesses from California, etc., have beat them on price and most Puyallup farmers are barely hanging on. Our small Self Reliant Community group helps where possible in county legislative efforts to preserve those farms. Also, we developed a Community Garden last year which, on a main street, gave us some exposure. The land was sold, though, so we are looking for another location. We also are trying to start a farmer's market. You can see that we emphasize food growing. It is more acceptable to our population than mentioning peak oil, which turns them away.

We are fortunate to have some very talented people in our group who do not need the DVDs to tell them to prepare for difficulties ahead. We are best described by the Seven Tasks. The introduction says: "The activities of Self Reliant Community are planned to increase knowledge of things people can do to become more self-reliant, (that help to survive without outside help), and to practice those skills today. (They)...provide a visible and practical demonstration of the ability to live independent of outside resources for food, water, electriciy, phone, gas, etc." Very briefly, the Seven Tasks are:

1. build a greenhouse

2. Get friendly with neighbors
3. Grow a food garden

4. Preserve food (not freezing)

5. Create a "warm room" (no electricity)

6. Have rain barrel

7. Have emergency bicycle.

Two added group goals are: 1. Work to increase farm acreage, and 2. Develop neighborhood emergency meeting places.

Strathroy District Collegiate Institute

London, Ontario, Canada

Our organization is a large regional composite high school in rural Southwest Ontario. Many of us are trying to incorporate awareness and knowledge of the environmental issues facing us into our subject areas (Civics, History, Geography, English) as well as strategies that cutting-edge groups are taking to prepare for the realities of resource shortage. There is a vague and widespread discontent and apathy among students that on closer encounter is really fear of what they suspect - that there are crises ahead - and anger - that they do not know what to do and no one in a position of authority is talking about it. We owe it to our students who want to thrive and prevail, to inform ourselves and them as intelligently as possible and to show leadership in facing the most pressing issues at hand. It is my hope that these resources will offer a beginning for students to become informed, learn skills, and feel more empowered about both everyday choices and their unfolding futures. A world in change is not a new idea, but unless fear and ignorance are addressed, a world in change becomes an overwhelming chaos for even the most well-meaning citizens.

Sustainable Bellingham

www.sustainablebellingham.org

Vision (Where we want to go):
To promote and participate in the co-creation of sustainable community
in Bellingham and the surrounding bioregion, in partnership with other
groups and individuals.
Mission (How to get there):
To reach the goal of Sustainability, we advocate for the strategy of
Relocalization - becoming self and community-reliant (not
self-sufficient) at the local level and rebuilding communities based on
the local production of food, energy, and goods as well as the
relocalization of governance and culture. Relocalization includes a
firm commitment to reducing consumption and improving environmental and
social conditions.

Who We Are:
Sustainable Bellingham is a registered 501C3 Nonprofit Corporation.
We are a member of the Post Carbon Institute's Relocalization Network.
We are also a member of NECP - Naturally Creative Earth Politics.

Sustainable Berea

www.sustainableberea.org

The mission of Sustainable Berea is to assist in the development of a sustainable community. Sustainable Berea is a group of residents of Berea, Kentucky and surrounding areas who work together to develop stronger households, neighborhoods and community in the face of imminent threats to global sustainability including peak oil, global climate change, sky-rocketing national debt, rapid population growth, and the destruction of ecosystems worldwide. Sustainable Berea is a member of the Relocalization Network. We have approximately 150 members, and the resource bundle will be helpful in our continuing educational efforts.

Sustainable Orcas Island

some info available via www.orcaslibrary.org

Our Sustainable Orcas Island group is ready for some concrete demonstration projects in such areas as growing food locally, constructing some energy saving and/or alternative energy projects, and supporting bicycle transportation. We think that the Postcarbon Institute's resource bundle can facilitate us in this.

Transition Cotati

Transition Cotati

Transition Cotati has just submitted its application to the Relocalization Network. We are working to rebuild resilience into our town of Cotati, CA following the Transition Towns framework from the UK. In February 2008 we are launching our awareness-raising campaign. We are planning two events per month, including film screenings, speakers, a poetry event, and a local food fair, and would put the resource bundle to good use in this effort.

TriVillage Energy Committee

trivillageenergy.org

The Tri-Village Energy Committee (TVEC) serves the three villages that make up the town of Walpole, NH: Drewsville, North Walpole, and Walpole. TVEC works to promote energy conservation and energy efficiency, and explore ways to reduce dependence on non-renewable energy among the town’s residents, businesses, and in municipal affairs. One major thrust of our efforts is to increase awareness throughout the town of the importance and urgency of shifting to clean, renewable energy. We hope to do public screenings of films that promote this awareness.

V8A

www.v8a.org

We are a very new group, trying to start building interest in our region for some concrete action on sustainability and transition to the post-carbon economy. We're interested in learning more about how to get things going in a small community, and learn from the experience of other places.

Washington County Peak Oil

wcpo.relocalize.net

Our group holds two formal meetings monthly with peak oil as the topic -- a public meeting where implications and action ideas are addressed, and a book club meeting where relevant books are discussed. We also present film screenings and make presentations about peak oil in various locations of the county as arrangements can be made, and continually inform the elected County and City Municipality officials throughout the County about the peak oil issue and potential solutions. We have sponsored a television series, Peak Moment TV, that airs eight times weekly. We frequently refer to current books and solutions in our discussions, and make several available via the website via links to a local bookstore.