Transition Bay St Margarets

Climate Emergency! Solutions for Survival
2019-11-14 18:30 - 20:30 (America/Halifax) | Halifax Central Library, 5440 Spring Garden Road, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3J 1E9, Canada
The best from the land of Greta Thunberg. Act now! Grow Local Resilience!
The climate emergency is far worse, & growing faster, than expected – with shockingly rapid deterioration of food, weather, and ecological systems upon which we depend. Green, resilient technologies are better for economy, community, children’s future, environment, and democratic government.
Learn the power of localizing and working together as a community to build self-sufficiency. It’s not only about “technologies,” but very much about cooperation and action at a local level. We can transition workers, and all of us, from damaging forms of energy and out-dated processes —and be much better off!
Join Tina Clarke & TransitionBay.ca to learn to translate these ideas into tangible actions!
Scientific evidence is now irrefutable and new reports suggest alarming trends. We are, at last, where we need to be: transitioning to a green, more resilient future. The moment to act is now. We in the industrialized, wealthier, democratic western nations are the ones to lead, from the bottom up.
Bring your questions, concerns, ideas, and voice to a community gathering of local projects working for our common good. Invite your neighbors who share your care and concern for the well-being of all.
Our guest speaker, Tina Clarke is a global educator and community resilience consultant from the Transition Movement who has been working with climate leaders in Denmark, Sweden, and communities across Europe. She will share stories and inspiring models from the lands of Greta Thunberg and the two “greenest” cities in the world, and elsewhere.

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Bio:

Tina Clarke has a B.A. from Macalester College and an M.A. from the University of Chicago. Tina has been a program director, trainer and facilitator since 1985. She has directed several national and regional citizen initiatives, facilitated multi-stakeholder coalitions, led educational and training programs on environmental issues, and led several grassroots nonprofit organizations. Since 2008, Tina has been a Transition Towns Trainer (www.TransitionNetwork.org) and served over 240 communities worldwide, delivering 65 Transition Training courses and providing hundreds of presentations. She is currently in a four-year consulting contract in Denmark and Sweden, supporting several NGOs, universities, and a collaboration of six networks across Europe. Tina can be reached at: TinaClarkeOz@gmail.com.

Climate Change: Heading for Extinction (and What to Do About It)
2019-10-06 14:15 - 16:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Rd., Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, B3Z 1H3, Canada
~ Transition Bay St Margarets hosts Extinction Rebellion NS
for them to present their exciting, informative, and timely program! ~
This is telling the truth, the genuine truth we all need to understand!
This public talk has been given hundreds of times around the world and is the main tool in increasing the numbers that have stood up to rebel against a course set for extinction.
We will share the latest climate science on where our planet is heading, discuss some of the current psychology around climate change denial, and offer solutions through the study of social movements.
Our speaker is Lisa Strickland-Clark, a leader in Extinction Rebellion NS and a psychologist with kids and families in Bridgewater. She has given this talk numerous times. She has actively applied compassion and meditation to her life for 30 years.
Note – we are not trying to “save the planet”…we are at the point where we need to save ourselves and ecological systems.
The Earth itself will go on…the issue is whether we as humans and all other species will be here too.
ALL WELCOME! – FREE! – No Registration Needed – just come!
To learn more about XRNS, click here for an intro letter, and sign up if the movement speaks to you.
https://actionnetwork.org/forms/join-extinction-rebellion-nova-scotiaCome learn more about exciting upcomming events with XRNS! And with Transition Bay!
Come learn more about exciting upcoming events with XRNS! And with Transition Bay!
There will be an opportunity for folks to talk with one another and meet others who share your concerns + Q & A.
This event takes place on UNCEDED, and UNSURRENDERED Territory of the Mi’kmaw People. We are all Treaty People and have responsibilities to each other and this land. (More info on the Peace and Friendship Treaties: http://mikmaqrights.com/negotiations/treaties )
This is an emergency.
We need to build a mass movement that is prepared to accept what is happening and act accordingly. We need rapid change. We need to rebel. – Extinction Rebellion

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Transition Bay is offering this spot to Extinction Rebellion because we want to hear their perspective on the truth about climate change and associated effects. Hosting their talk is not taking a position on their actions. Rather it is providing a forum for public discourse. Transition Bay is a non-political group by design so we can focus on other essential needs towards transformation. We are part of a global network of over 2,000 groups in over 50 countries worldwide that contributes towards building resilience on a community level. We help local communities act on what really works to prepare for: Climate Change/Ecological Disaster, Economic Fragility, and Going Beyond Fossil Fuels, AND we have fun in the process by helping each other! See www.transitionbay.ca for much more!

Crossroads Educational Vegetable Garden - Fall Harvest
2019-09-28 09:00 - 11:00 | St Margarets Bay Crossroads, 5209 Saint Margarets Bay Road, Tantallon, B3Z 4R5, Canada
Join us for the 2019 eight-season’s main harvest of the Crossroads Educational Vegetable Harvest. We have already harvested of kale and carrots. During this main harvest, we will pull the carrots, rutabaga and onions – they all look huge! And, dig potatoes and parsnips Also, we will harvest more kale.
All vegetables go to the St Margarets Bay Food Bank.
We hope to see you there. For more information contact info@transitionbay.ca
Free – All welcome – No registration, just come!

Discover Solar PV 2019
2019-06-26 18:00 - 20:00 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
In partnership with communities throughout the province, Solar Nova Scotia will be offering public information sessions on solar electricity (PV). These presentations are designed to de-mystify the technology, economics, and regulations that apply to homeowners interested in producing their own sustainable energy.
Solar PV is one of the lowest emission sources of electricity available!
Please visit www.solarns.ca for more information about Solar Nova Scotia, including details about grants and incentives, solar providers, and a list of other scheduled events. Community groups interested in hosting or helping to publicize an event are invited to get in touch with Solar Nova Scotia: 902-852-4758 or info@solarns.ca.
Questions? Join the conversation in our event on facebook!
RSVP to info@solarns.ca is greatly appreciated, though not required.

8th Birthday Celebration
2019-06-23 14:00 - 17:00 | SMB Community Enterprise Centre, 1-5229 St. Margaret's Bay Rd., Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, B3Z 4R5, Canada
Transition Bay St Margarets – 8th Birthday Celebration!

Free! Cake and refresments offered! All warmly welcome!

Pizza provided. Bring snacks if you like.

As part of the celebrations, join us for playful Visioning
— for anyone with ideas, like YOU!
Fishbowl format visioning with questions like:
“What ways do you most want to contribute to our resilience in the next few years?” and
“What would you like to see happen in your community over the next few years?”
What are your questions?
Please do come!
RSVP requested but not required, just so we know about how much refresments to bring.

For more information: www.transitionbay.ca and info@transitionbay.ca

The Clean Bin Project: Film Screening & Discussion
2019-05-05 14:00 - 16:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Is it possible to live completely waste free? In this multi-award winning, festival favourite, partners Jen and Grant go head to head in a competition to see who can swear off consumerism and produce the least garbage Their light-hearted competition is set against a darker examination of the problem waste. Even as Grant and Jen start to garner interest in their project, they struggle to find meaning in their minuscule influence on the large-scale environmental impacts of our “throw-away society”. Described as An Inconvenient Truth meets Super Size Me, The Clean Bin Project features laugh out loud moments, stop motion animations, and unforgettable imagery. Captivating interviews with renowned artist, Chris Jordan and TED Lecturer Captain Charles Moore, make this film a fun and inspiring call to individual action that speaks to crowds of all ages.

View a trailer: http://www.cleanbinmovie.com/

The film will be followed by discussion. Free and open to all.

Crossroads Educational Vegetable Garden - 2019 Spring Planting
2019-05-04 13:00 - 16:00 | St Margarets Bay Crossroads, 5209 Saint Margarets Bay Road, Tantallon, B3Z 4R5, Canada
Join us for the eighth successful year of the Crossroads Educational Vegetable Garden. We will be doing soil prep in the four raised beds, and planting carrots, parsnips, potatoes, cabbage, turnips, onion and kale.

Last year, we harvested a total of 423 pounds of vegetables for the St Margarets Bay Food Bank.
Learn how to garden food successfully while helping your community.
Free – all welcome – no registration, just come!

Climate Emergency Preparedness
2019-04-07 14:00 - 16:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
This afternoon workshop will explore different aspects of climate change emergency preparedness. As we move into a new era of weather extremes and sea level rise, homeowners, neighbourhoods and communities will need to be more prepared for a host of new threats.
There is an increased importance for emergency preparedness due to flooding, wind damage and power outages due to increased storm strength; greater wildfire risks due to the increasingly severe summer droughts; and coastal erosion and flooding due to storm surges and sea level rise. In addition, there is a need for greater levels of community preparedness to cope with the potential for extended grid-down events, and supply- chain shocks to fuel, food or other basic necessities due to increased global fragilities.
Speakers:

Erica Fleck, Division Chief, Emergency Management, HRM Fire & Emergency – Community emergency preparedness. Community risks equal the hazards and the vulnerabilities, the exposures to the impacts and our capacity to cope with the climate variability and the extreme weather that we are seeing. Prevention plans and evacuation plans are more important than ever.
Kara McCurdy, Wildfire Prevention Officer, Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry – Home wildfire risk assessments and prevention/mitigation techniques. Why wildfires seem to be getting worse and what are some tools residents need to know to protect themselves. Increase your homes survivability in a wildfire.
Alex MacDonald, Climate Change Specialist, HRM Energy and Environment – Sea level rise, storm surges and other coastal climate risks. Coastal areas face multiple threats from climate change that pose significant risk to built environments and human landscapes. How do governments, communities and homeowners safeguard these built environments and landscapes? What tools are appropriate to mitigate climate change risks and/or enhance resiliency?
Robert Cervelli, Chair, Transition Bay St Margarets – Deep climate adaptation and resilience for neighbourhoods and communities. We may be entering a period in history described as the ‘Long Emergency,’ where there is increased stress and fragility around global systems. How can communities ‘future proof’ themselves through locally redundant supplies of basic needs, especially for food and power?
Ann Morrow, Community Activist, Level 2 Training – Trauma Resiliency Model – The Community Resiliency Model. After a stressful event, humans can experience a nervous system that is knocked out of its “resilient zone.” These reactions are normal responses (such as fight, flight and freeze). The Community Resiliency Model is designed to teach individuals and entire communities how to restore inner balance and a sense of wellbeing after experiencing a traumatic event.

Who should attend: individual residents, homeowners, community organizations, and municipal officials.
The workshop is free and open to the public. Advanced registration is required. Please visit our Eventbrite listing to reserve your spot.
For more information, contact: info@transitionbay.ca.

Eco-Rally: Pictou Rising! A Conversation with Joan Baxter
2019-04-02 19:00 - 21:00 | St. Margaret’s Centre, 12 Westwood Boulevard, Upper Tantallon, NS, B4Z 1H3, Canada
Incisive, no nonsense, take no prisoners. Joan Baxter’s brilliant exposé “The Mill – Fifty Years of Pulp and Protest” tells the story of shocking government/industry collusion and a community that refuses to take it. Having destroyed the Pictou Landing First Nation’s Boat Harbour, now Pictou’s Northern Pulp mill wants to dump its effluent in the Northumberland Strait. An extraordinary battle is playing out on our province’s north shore and Baxter’s award-winning book is at its very centre.
Journalist, anthropologist, development consultant, mother of two much of Joan’s career was in Africa. Home again at last, she now applies her deep knowledge of direct investment in Africa, extractive industries, regulatory capture, environmental rights and justice, food sovereignty and sustainable farming and food systems, to life here in Nova Scotia and Canada.
Interviewing Joan on stage, former CBC journalist Jennifer Henderson. Now with the Halifax Examiner, her publisher calls Henderson “a reporter’s reporter.” Expertise in a host of current local issues like the QE2 replacement, tidal power, NSP, and the state of our nursing homes.
Homemade snacks, tea and coffee provided.
Pay-What-You-Can
For information and media inquiries, call 902-823-1404.
Sponsored by Five Bridge Wilderness Heritage Trust, Friends of Nature, Healthy Forest Coalition, St. Margaret’s Bay Stewardship Association, Transition Bay St Margarets, Woodens River Watershed Environmental Organization.

Re-localizing Prosperity in Rural Atlantic Canada
2019-03-17 14:00 - 16:00 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Due to the forces of globalization, our economies today can be described as leaky buckets. Nova Scotia has a 35% ‘leakage rate’ of dollars flowing out of the economy, resulting in a dramatic negative trade deficit.
Robert Cervelli, Executive Director, Centre for Local Prosperity will present “Re-Localizing Prosperity in Rural Atlantic Canada”. Working alongside community groups, businesses and governments, the Centre for Local Prosperity encourages communities to move towards an economy scaled for their size and with local agency for their economic future. His presentation will address the need to ‘re-localize’ rural economies, reduce ‘economic leakage,’ and explore initiatives for greater local procurement by major public-sector anchor institutions such as schools and hospitals.
The Centre for Local Prosperity is dedicated to promoting and inspiring practical solutions for prosperous and healthy local economies. The Centre offers workshops, conferences, and targeted discussions on relevant topics such as restorative local business modeling, living wage, affordable and efficient housing, local energy production, food & community hubs, entrepreneurial start-ups, transportation, arts & culture, social and economic justice and climate change readiness.
Free – Registration is not required. For more information, contact info@transitionbay.ca

All About Off Grid
2019-02-17 14:15 - 16:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Wondering what it’s like to live without a connection to the electric grid and with no electric bill? Then this 2 hour presentation and discussion is for you.
Some of the topics that will be covered are:
o Introduction to off-grid
o Types of off-grid systems
o Off-grid for new construction
o Off-grid as a retrofit for existing houses
o Components of off-grid systems
o Energy use reduction techniques
o Trade-off choices
o Cost of some sample off-grid packages
o Discussion of off-grid living
o Ample time for questions
The primary presenter at this workshop will be Cam Farnell, who has been living happily off-grid for over five years and has no plans to go back.
This event is currently FULL. Please visit our listing on eventbrite to add your name to the wait list and be notified if space becomes available.
There is no cost to attend this workshop.
Chronicle Herald Article featuring Cam’s installed Solar Power System in Tantallon. http://thechronicleherald.ca/artslife/77109-slideshow-couple-lives-off-the-grid plus more details at: http://www.fundysolar.com/installed-systems.php?id=8
This event is free to all. If you would like to make a donation to Transition Bay St Margarets to help with the costs of our events and community programs, please visit our donate page. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Fermented Foods Presentation
2019-02-03 14:15 - 16:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Note: this program has been rescheduled due to storm warnings for our original date. Please join us on Feb 3rd!

Are you interested in learning about fermented foods, and discovering how to make your own interesting and tasty ferments? Seven Acres Farm and Ferments will be on hand to show us some tips and tricks for getting great results with fermented foods. The presentation will include a live demonstration, samples to try, and plenty of time and opportunity for questions.

This is a free program, open to all.

Please note, there is no need to print your ticket for this event. We are taking registration for the purposes of knowing numbers of attendees only. Please reserve your spot by visiting our Eventbrite listing.

To find out more about Seven Acres Farm and Ferments, please visit https://www.sevenacresfarm.ca/.

BURNED: Are Trees the New Coal? the movie expose of biomass burning
2018-11-28 19:30 - 21:00 | St. Luke’s United Church Sanctuary, 5374 St Margarets Bay Rd., Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, B3Z 2J1, Canada
BURNED: Are Trees the New Coal?
The movie exposé of biomass burning. NS suffers terribly from this!
“This film elicited a powerful and passionate response from our audience this year with many saying they had no idea about this issue and its devastating impacts. BURNED reveals the shocking destruction of our forests for fuel and the resultant rise in carbon emissions that exceed those of coal-burning.”
Audience Choice Award, American Conservation Film Festival Committee

BURNED tells the little-known story of the accelerating destruction of our forests for fuel, and probes the policy loopholes, huge subsidies, and blatant green washing of the burgeoning biomass electric power industry.
BURNED is a feature-length documentary, which takes an unwavering look at the latest electric power industry solution to climate change. The film tells the story of how woody biomass has become the fossil-fuel industry’s renewable, green savior, and of the people and parties who are both fighting against and promoting its adoption and use.
Through interviews with activists, experts, and citizens, along with verité-style footage shot across the U.S. and in the EU and UK, the film interweaves the science of climate change, the escalating energy-policy disputes, the dynamics of forest ecology, the biomass industry practices, the conflict between jobs and trees, and the actions of activists and citizens who are working to protect their own health, their communities, the forest, and the planet’s climate.
Woven together, the various stories present an intimate and visceral account of what is at this moment in time a critical, yet mostly unknown, national and international controversy.

Wednesday, November 28, 7:30 PM. Sanctuary of St. Luke’s United Church,
5374 St Margarets Bay Rd., Upper Tantallon
FREE ADMISSION with a “Pay-what-you-can” option

Introducing the film and leading the post-screening discussion will be Ray Ploudre: Ecology Action Centre’s Wilderness Coordinator.

Trailer at <https://burnedthemovie.com/take-action/>
We will offer home-baked goodies, Paul Barry’s deluxe lemonade, coffee and tea, etc.
This screening is a pilot for a series of evening gatherings examining issues related to Climate Change and What We Can Do About It.
The evenings will be solution oriented.
Co-hosting organizations currently are:

St. Margaret’s Bay Stewardship Association
Five Bridge Wilderness Heritage Trust
Woodens River Watershed Environmental Organization
Transition Bay St Margarets

Handmade Holidays
2018-11-18 14:15 - 16:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Are you interested in learning more about how to create simple, beautiful, hand made gifts for the holidays? Would you like ideas on how to use recycled materials and every day items to create useful presents and memorable keepsakes?
Join us for a presentation and “show and tell” featuring an assortment of hand made gift ideas. After we look at some of the many creative ways to create frugal and environmentally friendly gifts, we will have a hands on workshop where people can choose to make one of a variety of small items to take home.
All materials will be provided, and this program is free to all participants. We ask that you RSVP via facebook or email (info@transitionbay.ca) so that we have an idea of how much material to have on hand to meet the needs of the group.
We hope you will join us in creating a hand made holiday season!

Climate Change & the Human Prospect (film)
2018-11-04 14:00 - 16:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Climate Change and the Human Prospect documents the vision created at the Climate Change and the Human Prospect: A Thinkers Retreat held at Thinkers Lodge in Pugwash, Nova Scotia.

On the 60th Anniversary of the Inaugural Pugwash Conference on Nuclear Disarmament held in 1957, twenty-four global and regional Thinkers, armed with the conviction that local action is not only possible, but also the best path forward, gathered to define a path to restore and revitalize local communities in the face of climate change.
In the compelling setting of the Thinkers Lodge where scientists and scholars from all over the world have stayed and tackled the world’s most pressing issues through the power of dialogue, Climate Change and the Human Prospect captures the thoughts, emotions and ideas of these Thinkers – scientists, economists, municipal councillors, planners, artists, community activists, First Nations and Eastern wisdom representatives, the Project Drawdown Director and others – as they articulate global warming’s cascading impact on small, rural, and coastal communities and focus on actionable, locally-oriented and forward-motion climate change plans.
A discussion about climate change and what communities can do to adapt and mitigate it will be held after this 40 minute film. A trailer and more information about the film is available here.

In Transition 2.0 (film)
2018-10-21 14:00 - 16:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
In Transition 2.0 is an inspirational immersion into the Transition movement, gathering stories from around the world of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. You’ll hear about communities printing their own money, growing food everywhere, localizing their economies and setting up community power stations. It’s an idea that has gone viral, a social experiment that is about responding to uncertain times with solutions and optimism. In a world that is awash with gloom, here is a story of hope, ingenuity and the power of growing vegetables in unexpected places.
You can see a trailer at: http://transitionus.org/films/transition-20-dvd
We will be screening this 67 minute film at about 2:15pm, followed by discussion. This program is free and open to all.

Housing Outside the Box: Creative, Affordable Options for Healthy Housing Symposium
2018-10-13 09:00 - 16:30 | Estabrooks Community Hall, 4408 St Margarets Bay Rd, Lewis Lake, Nova Scotia, Canada
The Housing Outside the Box Symposium will bring community members together to discuss the opportunities that exist for creative solutions for affordable, appropriate housing in our community. With a focus on sustainable, people-friendly solutions, we will hear from a variety of speakers sharing their knowledge and expertise, and have plenty of opportunity to learn and share ideas between professionals, researchers, older adults, students, community planners, and many others.
We will explore creative solutions that will allow people to stay in their existing homes by sharing with renters and housemates, approaches to small-scale shared housing such as co-housing and co-ops, and small scale development such as adding cottages or tiny houses on wheels.
We will include the essential: ways to find others we can share living with in confidence and happiness, as well as ways to cooperate to ensure tasks and maintenance are done reliably, even as we age. Our approach is multi-faceted so as to address and help in every way needed! It is community working together.
Our goal is that all attendees will leave the workshop with information, resources, and connections needed to move forward with opportunities to create sustainable and resilient housing solutions in our community. This will be a practical approach to support our community by focusing on solutions that are available to us now!
Schedule:
Schedule:
8:30 – 9:00 Registration and Displays
9:00 – 9:15 Welcome and Opening Remarks
9:15 – 9:45 Keynote Address – Dr. Lori Weeks, PhD, Dalhousie U. Assoc. Prof. – “Promoting Healthy Community & Aging Through Innovative Housing”
9:45 – 11:15 Panel: Transforming a Private Home – Room Mates, Renovations, Suites. Also municipal policies & Community Navigators.

HRM’s Affordable Housing Workplan, Alan Howell, Affordable Housing Planner for Halifax Regional Municipality
Being There for the Transformation: Sharing Space & Renovating to Add a Suite, David Quinn, architectural/residential designer
Community Navigator Role for Success, Pauline MacIntosh, StFX Extension Department
Under One Roof – Bonding Between Generations, Hina Jawed, Co-founder, One Roof: Inter-Generational & Co-Living Matchup
Converting Existing Homes to Cohousing, Bill Hockey, St. Margaret’s Bay Housing Coalition

10:15 – 11:30 Break & Displays
11:30 – 1:00 Panel: Cohousing, Cooperatives, Small Development, Tiny Houses on Wheels, “In-law” Cottages, Small Homes, etc.

Building Small Cottages Around a Home & Condo-izing, Shari Johnson, Community Activist & Tradewinds Realty
Intentional Communities, Michael Sheppard, Natura – Regenerative Community
Cohousing From Scratch, Cate or Leon de Vreede, Bridgewater Cohousing
Tiny Home on Wheels to Benefit Society, Danielle Pentland, LakeCity Works

1:00 – 1:30 Lunch & Displays
1:30 – 2:00 Keynote Address – Shawna Henderson, CEO, Bfreehomes, — “A Patchwork Quilt: The Pieces, Layers, and Threads of Sustainable Housing and Community”
2:00 – 3:30 Small Group Discussions
3:30 – 4:00 Summary of Small Group Discussions and Closing Remarks.
4:00 – 4:30 Stay a bit afterwards for Displays and Networking
Registration is required in advance for this event. Please visit our listing on eventbrite to book your tickets. Lunch and nutrition break snacks included. Location is just minutes from Halifax, approaching St. Margaret’s Bay.
This event is co-hosted by Transition Bay St Margarets and the St Margaret’s Bay Housing Coalition.
We would like to thank the Bay Treasure Chest for funding support through their honorarium program.

Crossroads Educational Vegetable Garden - Fall Harvest
2018-09-18 09:30 - 11:30 | St Margarets Bay Crossroads, 5209 Saint Margarets Bay Road, Tantallon, B3Z 4R5, Canada
Join us for the 2018 seventh-season’s main harvest of the Crossroads Educational Vegetable Harvest. We have already harvested 103 pounds of kale, chard and carrots. During this main harvest, we will pull the carrots, beets, rutabaga and onions – they all look huge! Also, we will harvest more kale and chard.
All vegetables go to the St Margarets Bay Food Bank.
We hope to see you there. For more information contact info@transitionbay.ca
Free – All welcome – No registration, just come!

Transition Bay Steering Meeting -- Pitch a Project!
2018-05-31 18:30 - 20:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Are you interested in learning more about our upcoming programs? Would you like to get more involved with Transition Bay and help bring some of our projects to life? Join us for our next steering meeting!
We are also inviting anyone with ideas for new Transition Bay programs to come out and pitch a project! All of our programs are born of volunteer passion and commitment, and fit with the Transition Initiative. Anyone pitching should have a willingness to put in the work to help bring the project to fruition — we can’t commit to new projects without volunteers to help make it happen. If you have an idea to share, please send us an email with a couple sentences outlining what you’d like to propose so we can discuss with you before our meeting, and be sure it’s something that falls under the Transition Bay mandate. (See our website for more information on the types of programs we offer and to learn more about our organization.) If your idea is a fit for Transition Bay, and you are committed to helping to make it happen, we will invite you to share with the group on May 31st.
If you have a project to pitch, would like to help with other community members bring their ideas to life, or are simply interested in learning more about what we do at Transition Bay — join us! All are welcome to this meeting! We look forward to planning the future with you!

Introduction to Analog (aka Film) Photography **Registration Required**
2018-05-06 14:15 - 16:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Before there was digital photography there was analog – film – photography. For 160 years analog photography looked after the photographic needs of the world. Although most photography is now digital, there are still practitioners of analog photography, and it still has some distinct advantages over it’s digital cousin.
This presentation is an introduction to the concepts, ideas and practices of analog photography. For those who have never experienced analog photography it will be an opportunity to learn about this once universal technology – think of it as the photographic equivalent of vinyl records. For those who remember analog photography it will be an opportunity to learn a bit more about this still useful process.
While most of the presentation will be done lecture style, there will be a live demonstration – done under a red safelight – of enlarging and developing a print from a 35mm negative.
Registration required. This presentation is free but registration is required as there is a limit of 35 people. Please email us to register.

If you would like to make a donation to Transition Bay St Margarets to help with the costs of our events and community programs, please visit our donation page. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Crossroads Educational Vegetable Garden - 2018 Spring Planting
2018-05-05 13:00 - 16:00 | St Margarets Bay Crossroads, 5209 Saint Margarets Bay Road, Tantallon, B3Z 4R5, Canada
Join us for starting the 7th successful year of the Crossroads Educational Vegetable Garden! We will be doing soil prep in the raised beds, and planting beets, carrots, parsnips, cabbage, onion, chard, kale and rutabaga.

Last year, we harvested a total of 665 pounds of vegetables for the St Margarets Bay Food Bank.
Learn how to garden food successfully while helping your community.
For more information, contact info@transitionbay.ca
Free – All welcome – No registration, just come!

Greenhouse Rebuilding
2018-04-21 13:00 - 17:00 | Unnamed Venue, St Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada
Oh dear – the wind blew the plastic off the greenhouse during a January storm!! The winter spinach crop survived because we put row cover over it for protection.
Join us for a half-day workshop to rebuild this 20’x24′ greenhouse. We will rebuild the gable ends and doors and put on new plastic. Learn all about greenhouse construction and maintenance, and the valuable crops that you can grow inside year-round without heat.
There is no cost to attend. Registration is required.
Contact: info@transitionbay.ca

Seedopolis: Everything you Need to Know About Seeds & Seed Libraries
2018-04-07 14:15 - 16:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Join us for an afternoon of learning all about seeds! We will talk about everything to do with seeds, including the magic of seeds, seed types, diversity and life span, international seed libraries, seed anatomy, storing and using seeds, how to perform germination tests, methods of planting seeds, buying seeds, hybrid vs. heirloom seeds, when and how to harvest and store your own seeds, sprouting seeds for delicious fresh food from the garden year round… and much more! A hands-on portion allows you to get familiar with things. We will even give out some heirloom beans. Also, we will be sharing news about our new Tantallon community seed library at the Tantallon Public Library.
This is a free event, open to all. Coffee, tea and cookies served.

If you would like to make a donation to Transition Bay St Margarets to help with the costs of our events and community programs, please visit our donation page. Your support is greatly appreciated!

The Climate Change Movement in Atlantic Canada
2018-03-18 14:30 - 16:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
We know there are no more chances. It is not going away, and today is the time to get it right in dealing with the climate crisis. Our world will live with it for the rest of our history, just as we have lived with the 20th century legacy of nuclear war. Our shared duty now, as one people, is to protect and repair our Earth, even as we prepare ourselves for its future unknowns.
This was the statement that came out of the 60th Anniversary Pugwash Conference, held at the Thinkers Lodge, Pugwash, NS, September 28-October 1, 2017. Armed with this conviction, 60 years after the inaugural Pugwash Thinkers Retreat on nuclear disarmament, 24 global and regional thinkers, representing all aspects of community life, gathered for two and a half days of intense, intentional and focused conversation on Global Warming, the greatest threat facing humankind.

Their next step is to share a vision and action plan with others, and to help start a Climate Change Movement in Atlantic Canada.
Join us to hear about this movement, and the steps that are being taken at community levels across the region. A Roadmap document is available, and a video documentary on the retreat will be presented.
Please email info@transitionbay.ca for more information.

There is no cost to attend this workshop.
If you would like to make a donation to Transition Bay St Margarets to help with the costs of our events and community programs, please visit our donate page. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Film Screening of SEED: The Untold Story
2018-02-18 14:15 - 16:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Join us for a screening of the critically acclaimed documentary SEED: The Untold Story.

Few things on Earth are as miraculous and vital as seeds. Worshipped and treasured since the dawn of humankind. SEED: The Untold Story follows passionate seed keepers protecting our 12,000 year-old food legacy. In the last century, 94% of our seed varieties have disappeared. As biotech chemical companies control the majority of our seeds, farmers, scientists, lawyers, and indigenous seed keepers fight a David and Goliath battle to defend the future of our food. In a harrowing and heartening story, these reluctant heroes rekindle a lost connection to our most treasured resource and revive a culture connected to seeds. SEED features Vandana Shiva, Dr. Jane Goodall, Andrew Kimbrell, Winona Laduke and Raj Patel.

View the Trailer:

This event is free to all.

If you would like to make a donation to Transition Bay St Margarets to help with the costs of our events and community programs, please visit our donate page. Your support is greatly appreciated!

All About Off Grid
2018-01-21 14:15 - 16:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Wondering what it’s like to live without a connection to the electric grid and with no electric bill? Then this 2 hour presentation and discussion is for you.
Some of the topics that will be covered are:
o Introduction to off-grid
o Types of off-grid systems
o Off-grid for new construction
o Off-grid as a retrofit for existing houses
o Components of off-grid systems
o Energy use reduction techniques
o Trade-off choices
o Cost of some sample off-grid packages
o Discussion of off-grid living
o Ample time for questions
The primary presenter at this workshop will be Cam Farnell, who has been living happily off-grid for over five years and has no plans to go back.
This presentation has been quite popular in the past, and space is limited. Please email info@transitionbay.ca to reserve your spot.
There is no cost to attend this workshop.
Chronicle Herald Article featuring Cam’s installed Solar Power System in Tantallon. http://thechronicleherald.ca/artslife/77109-slideshow-couple-lives-off-the-grid plus more details at: http://www.fundysolar.com/installed-systems.php?id=8
This event is free to all. If you would like to make a donation to Transition Bay St Margarets to help with the costs of our events and community programs, please visit our donate page. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Handmade Holidays Presentation & Workshop
2017-11-12 14:15 - 16:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Are you interested in learning more about how to create simple, beautiful, hand made gifts for the holidays? Would you like ideas on how to use recycled materials and every day items to create useful presents and memorable keepsakes?
Join us for a presentation and “show and tell” featuring an assortment of hand made gift ideas. After we look at some of the many creative ways to create frugal and environmentally friendly gifts, we will have a hands on workshop where people can choose to make one of a variety of small items to take home.
All materials will be provided, and this program is free to all participants. We ask that you RSVP via facebook or email (info@transitionbay.ca) so that we have an idea of how much material to have on hand to meet the needs of the group.
We hope you will join us in creating a hand made holiday season!
We would like to extend our thanks to the Bay Treasure Chest Honorarium program which has provided funding for this event.

Final Harvest - Crossroads Vegetable Garden
2017-11-11 14:00 - 16:00 | St Margarets Bay Crossroads, 5209 Saint Margarets Bay Road, Tantallon, B3Z 4R5, Canada
We will be having the last 2017 harvest of the Crossroads Educational Vegetable Garden on Saturday, November 11 from 2:00-4:00pm. We will harvesting one last round of kale and chard, as well as digging up the parsnips. We know we will add significant poundage to our record-breaking season running total of 603 pounds! All are welcome to join in the fun.

Building Decks and Domes: Learning By Doing
2017-10-14 09:00 - 19:00 | 15 Schooner Cove Rd, Head of St Margarets Bay, 15 Schooner Cove Rd, Head of St Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada
Enjoy an old-fashioned, community-building, ‘barn raising’ type experience where useful skills are shared and learned. And where we all have a good deal of fun, too!

Learn as we build two types of typical basic decks and a geodesic dome greenhouse. Experts will be on hand to make presentations on the basic ideas and skills required, and will coach participants in the finer points. You will get to use a variety of hand and power tools and will leave with a deepened understanding of both the why and the “how to”.

Experts from Halifax Municipal Service will present on the new standards designed to make today’s decks far safer and more reliable, and an experienced carpenter will guide us in all the steps.

We will capture the wonder of geodesic dome building, led by someone who has already built two greenhouses from the same easy kit. There will be plenty of discussion about how to best use such a greenhouse to grow veggies and further one’s resilience and sustainability. We all could benefit from that! You will learn how to get your own kit and DIY it!

This will be an all ages event. Youths are also warmly welcome to come and experience this type of unusual event that was once quite common. Please come for any part of this you can. Even a few hours here will be rewarding for you and welcomed by us. Construction will happen in sequence, so come early to learn it from the start, or later for finishing details.

There is no cost to attend and all are welcome. All materials, refreshments, and lunch will be provided. We will post a list of hoped for tools to bring if you have them. Bring your own tools, or use ours!

Those staying to the end are invited to relax into a party on the new decks in the evening. Hosted by Transition Bay St Margarets.

Registration is not required, but is appreciated as it will enable us to know how much food and drink to have available. For more information email info@transitionbay.ca or call David Wimberly at 902-826-7846.

Rain date is Sunday, Oct. 15, or the next weekend if need be. Updates will be posted on our facebook page and web site, or you are welcome to call 902-826-7846 if the weather is looking questionable.

If you want to help make this happen, or perhaps bring folks from a group, please do call or write! We are also happy to have any volunteer support from those able to lead a crew for parts of this project.

Many thanks to professional carpenter Christian McElmon-Sullivan will be guiding the deck building, and Michael Smith, who is contributing local hemlock he has milled himself, footing excavation, and earth moving/lot improvement from his business Wolfgang Developments Ltd.

Up the Creek - With a Paddle
2017-09-17 14:00 - 16:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
This workshop will look at the prospects for the human race on our planet in the decades ahead. We will plumb the depths of two extremes – the doom and gloom of climate change and the environmental destruction of our only habitat, as well as the incredible optimistic trends going on globally to adapt at both the personal and community levels to these changes.
An initial presentation by Robert Cervelli, Chair of Transition Bay, will take a ten-thousand foot, multi-generational view of the future, and draw on references from D. Meadows book The Limits to Growth, works on planetary overshoot, resource depletion, and current updates on climate change and ecosystems health. As well, the works of Joanna Macy, Jon Young, Paul Hawkens, Wendell Berry, Rob Hopkins and many others will be cited as examples of how personal renewal leads to community renewal, and a growing new narrative for how we will need to conduct our lives and build our communities in a rapidly changing world.
A lively discussion will then focus on these good news narratives, and how they can manifest in our community.
This event is free to all. If you would like to make a donation to Transition Bay St Margarets to help with the costs of our events and community programs, please visit our donate page. Your support is greatly appreciated!
