Transition Bay St Margarets

Affordable and Sustainable Housing Workshop
2015-05-16 08:30 - 15:30 (America/Halifax) | St. Luke’s United Church Lower Hall, 5374 St Margarets Bay Rd., Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Vibrant communities recognize the need for sustainable housing which is accessible and affordable by both younger and older generations. New models for community housing will be explored, citing inspiring examples within the province and elsewhere. The workshop will explore the potential for housing projects within the St. Margaret’s Bay area.
John McKee of the Seniors Association Housing Committee commented, “We live in a prosperous, beautiful area of the province, yet there is almost no affordable accommodation for seniors or young people – we need to do something.”
Young people, single parents, empty nesters, and seniors living on modest or fixed incomes with family ties to the community who might wish to stay or settle in the area cannot find affordable accommodation and are obliged to live with extended family or move elsewhere in the province.
To address the need for accessible and affordable housing in our community, Transition Bay and the Seniors Association of St. Margaret’s Bay are jointly sponsoring a community workshop to explore ways that we can encourage the development of attractive, economical, and sustainable housing that the whole community can be proud of.
The keynote speaker for the event will be Jim Mustard, a Councillor from the Municipality of Inverness County in Cape Breton who has been instrumental in implementing new and innovative approaches to the development and financing of affordable housing in Cape Breton with an emphasis on community involvement.
Following Jim’s presentation, and presentations by others with knowledge of community housing development during the morning, the group will be asked to put their heads together in the afternoon to come up with potential solutions that are practical and enhance our community.
We welcome participation from people who have the motivation, skills, or resources necessary to help make this goal a reality, especially those with background in the development, construction, or financing of both market and affordable housing. If you have been thinking that you would like to help in shaping St. Margaret’s Bay’s future and make a real difference in how we grow and develop as a caring and inclusive community, please plan to attend.
We expecially wish to invite youth, young families, and single parents to register and attend. Youth ideas, perspective, and energy are essential. Please come. Please tell your friends. Please share with us in this unique opportunity to stay or move to St. Margaret’s Bay!
Tea, coffee and a light lunch will be served.
Attendance for this workshop is by advanced registration only. To register for this event, contact: Housing@BaySeniors.ca or call 902-820-3334 (leave a message).
The event is free of charge but we suggest a $20 donation, if you can, to help offset costs and to seed future work. (Donation not required.)

For more information, contact info@transitionbay.ca.

Crossroads Educational Vegetable Garden - Spring Planting
2015-05-10 13:00 - 17:00 | St Margarets Bay Crossroads, 5209 Saint Margarets Bay Road, Tantallon, B3Z 4R5, Canada
Join us on Mother’s Day afternoon to praise your Mother Earth by getting your hands in the soil! This will be the forth annual garden prep and planting session for the Crossroads Educational Vegetable Garden. The garden will be expanded yet again with more raised beds, and we will likely see the 2015 harvest surpass the 270 pounds we harvested in 2014! This year, we will be working even more closely with the St Margarets Bay Food Bank. A special new project may also be announced in our partnership with the Food Bank.
Please let us know if you plan to attend and help out – all volunteers are welcome!
Contact: info@transitionbay.ca

LOCAL PROSPERITY - New Economics for Rural Canada Conference
2015-04-09 - 2015-04-12 | Unnamed Venue, St Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada
Teaching Practical Economic Tools For Local Communities

Transition Bay is pleased to be one of the sponsors and organizers of this important regional event.
This conference will focus on how individuals, businesses, and communities in rural communities can design and then implement a practical blueprint for a prosperous future and a healthy economy. Local Prosperity will feature the best of the best – examples of a new economic model in action at the local level, in Atlantic Canada, other regions of Canada, and the world. This conference will teach a wide range of immediately-actionable tools for community builders. Local Prosperity is intended for those who can begin the work to inspire others in the implementation of these projects and tools. Over 35 keynote speakers, moderators and panelists will share their experience and knowledge in a wide range of local community initiatives.
The Conference opens with an Up!Skilling Festival and Expo on Thursday, April 9th, with classes teaching valuable once-common skills, crafts and trades important to becoming a resilient ‘Do-It-Yourselfer.’
Conference location: Annapolis Royal Regional Academy and the Annapolis Basin Conference Centre.
Early registration is encouraged – please email info@localprosperity.ca
For more information, visit www.localprosperity.ca

Film Screening: The Economics of Happiness
2015-03-25 19:00 - 21:00 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
The Economics of Happiness is an award winning film featuring many voices from six continents calling for systemic economic change. While government and big business promote globalization and the consolidation of corporate power, people around the world are resisting those policies and working to forge a very different future. Communities are coming together to re-build more human scale, ecological economies based on a new paradigm: an economics of localization. After the film there will be opportunity for discussion of powerful alternatives developing locally.
Prior to the film, there will be an Annual General Meeting for Transition Bay St Margarets Association (approx 15 minutes).
For more information, contact: info@transitionbay.ca

Annual General Meeting
2015-03-25 19:00 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
A short 15 minute Annual General Meeting will be held at 7:00pm, prior to the film ‘Economics of Happiness.’

THE WISDOM TO SURVIVE: a powerful new film
2015-03-13 19:00 - 21:45 | Halifax Shambhala Centre, 1084 Tower Road, Halifax, B3H2Y5, Canada
THE WISDOM TO SURVIVE accepts the consensus of scientists that climate change has already arrived, and asks, what is keeping us from action? The film explores how unlimited growth and greed are destroying the life support system of the planet, the social fabric of the society, and the lives of billions of people.
Will we have the wisdom to survive? The film features thought leaders and activists in the realms of science, economics, and spirituality discussing how we can evolve and take action in the face of climate disruption. They urge us to open ourselves to the beauty that surrounds us and get to work on ensuring it thrives.
“This film is deeply moving and profoundly engaging. Indeed, it has the potential to transform lives because it provides visions of how we should live in the midst of massive environmental challenges. I cannot recommend it more highly!”
Mary Evelyn Tucker, Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology
After the screening we will provide opportunity for group discussion and exploration related to this film. All welcome. Please join us.
Donations encouraged ($10), but not required. Generosity policy applies.

For more information please contact: David Wimberly davidwimberly@gmail.com
or HSC Community Events CommunityEvents@shambhala.org

The evening is a joint effort of Halifax Shambhala Centre and the Gardening Goodness Project, as well as Transition Bay St Margarets, SMB Shambhala Centre, SMB Stewardship Association, St. Luke’s United Church, and GPI Atlantic Youth.

Off-Grid Housing Workshop
2015-02-01 14:00 - 17:00 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
This workshop will consist of a two hour presentation followed by a tour of a nearby modern off-grid home.
Some of the topics the presentation will include:
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 Discussion of the house that will be toured
o Ample time for questions
The tour will allow participants to see an off-grid house in actions. On the main level it will become apparent that, in this house, off-grid living looks a lot like on-grid living. In the utility room of the lower lever you will get to see the inverters, charge controllers, batteries and so on that make the system go. This home includes a geodesic dome greenhouse where vegetables are grown both summer and winter without the use of fossil fuels for heating and the greenhouse will be part of the tour.
Because of space and time constraints, the tour will be limited to 40 people. Upon arriving at the library you can register for the tour and it will be first-come first served.
The primary presenter at this workshop will be Cam Farnell, who has been living happily off-grid for five years and has no plans to go back.
A $20.00 donation is recommended for this event.
Location: Tantallon Public Library
For more information please contact:
info@transitionbay.ca

Film Screening: THE WISDOM TO SURVIVE
2015-01-27 19:00 - 21:00 | Bus Stop Theatre, 2203 Gottingen Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
THE WISDOM TO SURVIVE accepts the consensus of scientists that climate change has already arrived, and asks, what is keeping us from action? The film explores how unlimited growth and greed are destroying the life support system of the planet, the social fabric of the society, and the lives of billions of people.
Will we have the wisdom to survive? The film features thought leaders and activists in the realms of science, economics, and spirituality discussing how we can evolve and take action in the face of climate disruption. They urge us to open ourselves to the beauty that surrounds us and get to work on ensuring it thrives.
After the screening we will provide opportunity for group discussion and exploration related to this film. All welcome. Please join us.

“This film is deeply moving and profoundly engaging. Indeed, it has the potential to transform lives because it provides visions of how we should live in the midst of massive environmental challenges. I cannot recommend it more highly!”
-Mary Evelyn Tucker, Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology

Co-sponsored by Ecology Action Centre, Fusion Halifax, and Transition Bay.
For more information please contact:
info@transitionbay.ca
