Collaborating with the TWOG

[Paul Kearsley]

Hello Transition Whatcom,

We are the newly formed Transition Whatcom Organizing Group (TWOG). To be working on your behalf is an exciting honor. Our process began with a few small steps, a potluck, some brainstorming and a great weekend workshop. We are currently working on clarifying our role as a working group as well as lining up some big pieces that we see as integral parts of our mission and vision.

As we continue to collaborate, we anticipate some great opportunities to bring the values of the Transition Movement into the fabric of the Whatcom community. To do our best we will need lots of support from the growing transition network and now is a great time for that to start. Give us your input. What role does the TWOG have in Whatcom County? How can we help your transition efforts? Share your thoughts and ideas while we all work together on bringing about a healthy local future.

We look forward to seeing ALL of You at the Harvest Fest on October 2nd. Polecat and Umami will provide the entertainment in Cornwall Park from 4-9pm. Bring your own picnic, food, games etc and let's celebrate our local abundance.

[Laura J Sellens]

Hah! Well said! Thanks for your input and your encouragement. One idea I have is to see if we can work with WWU's Resilience Institute, to see if we could do some creative mapping with GIS to identify resources and weaknesses in the county from a long-emergency perspective (disclaimer: this is only an idea I thought of. I have no time to actually start this project.) That would help indicate the deficiencies in skills as well, I think.

I believe there is a TW effort underway to start a "ReSkilling University" --that ought to help.

The TWOG is beginning to address how TW as a whole will/can collaborate with other local groups, although I hope that the workgroups are also collaborating with whatever local groups are relevant to their topic. Definitely CLSR and BTC, and the WSU extension are in alignment with what we're trying to do. So I think the seed have been or are being planted.

As for facilitating community, and attracting/embracing ethnic communities, any suggestions you may have as to how would be welcome. The way I see it, the longer-term you look, the more important it is to get everyone involved and use every persons gifts and skills and see if people's need really can be met and... don't get me started! OK, now I know I'm rambling but indulge me just a bit more--also I think what we're trying to do is really recreate community that's been lost, and that takes time. Trust takes time. It could take a while before people realize we're not trying to sell them anything. You know? I'm still shocked that I fell in so quickly myself.

[Laura J Sellens]

Hi Carmen,

One more thing--next week there is an event you might be interested in at WWU, "Pedaling Towards a Healthier Planet," Mia Birk Book Reading and Presentation. The book, as I understand it, is about incorporating alternative transportation into one's lifestyle. Please see the events page for details. Hope to see you there!

Cheers, Laura jean (TWOG)

[Laura J Sellens]

Thanks, Heather, I was pleased with the picnic as well! we didn't advertise it as such, but the TWOG considers it a kind of dry-run for the "TW council" or "gathering" meetings we will be scheduling soon. A chance for the workgroups to come and represent what they've been up to, some face-time, and some governance.

[Laura J Sellens]

Hi Victor,

Thanks for your suggestion. I've been looking at the Earth Charter, and I meant to bring it up at the last TWOG meeting, but we have a lot of things to discuss right now, and ran out of time. It seems to me a nice, comprehensive document that many of our members would agree with, and I have not found any discord between Transition principles and Earth Charter principles, but my thought would be that if the Transition principles are adequate, it would be better to keep it simple. (if you want to remember what the Transition principles are, you can find them under the "About Us" tab here on the ning site). I'll get back to you as the discussion progresses.

Do any of you other readers want to weigh in on this?

Cheers, Laura

[Laura Ann Smith]

My partner just got a book published that is a beautiful magical novel about Bellingham post peak oil/industrial collapse. It's funny and poetic and tender. It's out in November. Could we somehow share this with the community through Transition Whatcom?
Laura

[Laura J Sellens]

Laura-- wow, that sounds brilliant! What's the title? Right off the bat, my thought turns to the "Music and Stories and Dancing, oh my" group, that you might want to share with. Is there to be a reading held locally? You could certainly post that a an event here. For the most part TW is has non-commercial interests, but the idea has been suggested that we could sell topic-related books via this website as a way for us to raise funds, but I haven't looked much into it yet. I'll think on it. Cheers, Laura

[Juliet Thompson]

Laura, So looking forward to hearing more about your plans for doing readings. I know we can help with publishing an event on site here. Any previews? Or the title, perhaps?
Juliet

[Angela MacLeod]

Dear TWOG,

I'm finding it really confusing the way the groups and discussions on this ning site are organized. There are so many groups/discussions/comment walls etc, that to me seem kind of related that I don't know which one to plug in to. I've also participated a little on discussions, then later can't find where I was because there are similar discussions or topics under different headings. One example is the topic of the herbicide aminopyrilid. It can be found in several different groups/discussions and a blog. Another example is that info on compost is in many different locations. Gleaning is in several different locations. etc.

I appreciate the "organic" nature of "letting it go where it will" in Transition work but in this case it is too confusing. I wonder if it is actually hindering participation. Well I can say that I avoid participating because it takes so much time trying to determine where to plug in, on this site. I wonder if it is appropriate to consolidate or revamp some of the groupings here.

I know you are all very busy. I would be willing to consider helping with this aspect.

Thanks for listening.

[Juliet Thompson]

Hi, I'm responding to Angela's recent comment.

Angela, I totally understand, and am also in a quandry about this. We've been discussing this. What is bothering me about the ning site is that the software is starting to control how Transition Whatcom is organized, and that is a very bad sign. We're being controlled by "the machine" ---- aargh... Of course, some of that is due to our unfamiliarity with the different levels of subscription, and what we could actually do now to make the site work better. In any case, it will take a major revamp, which could be potentially sensitive. People hold tightly to the idea that they are managing a group, and often won't let that go without considering it some kind of power takeover. That's not at all what any of us want to convey, and I think I'm speaking for the TWOG.

One of the problems is - anyone can start a group on any topic they want. Is this a problem? What does leading a group entail? I've been envisioning that our Transition Initiatives (neigbhorhood / area groups) will actually be the hub of much of the conversations about everything, and that the work groups will go on, but in a different way that relates more closely to the EDAP. Right now this is wishful thinking, and it's part of what we will hash out during the face time we have at the December 11th meeting of the Hub - or the Council - ummmh....I think it's the Hub....

A few twogs, myself included, would like to meet with David and talk about this because he holds the reins of the website at present. There are now only two site administrators, and we are in need of this first step of agreeing to who can do what to the site now, and then going ahead with a minor revamp based on what we have available to us.

Thanks for your concern - If you want to assist in sorting out the groups, you can compare it to the sorting that has been done on the groups page. Also, let's set up a meeting at your house with Travis, David, me, and I'm not sure who else wants to participate. I'll be staying in your neighborhood taking care of a house for a couple of days, so that may be a good time to make it so.

Do others have this concern?

Angela MacLeod said:

Dear TWOG,

I'm finding it really confusing the way the groups and discussions on this ning site are organized. There are so many groups/discussions/comment walls etc, that to me seem kind of related that I don't know which one to plug in to. I've also participated a little on discussions, then later can't find where I was because there are similar discussions or topics under different headings. One example is the topic of the herbicide aminopyrilid. It can be found in several different groups/discussions and a blog. Another example is that info on compost is in many different locations. Gleaning is in several different locations. etc.

I appreciate the "organic" nature of "letting it go where it will" in Transition work but in this case it is too confusing. I wonder if it is actually hindering participation. Well I can say that I avoid participating because it takes so much time trying to determine where to plug in, on this site. I wonder if it is appropriate to consolidate or revamp some of the groupings here.

I know you are all very busy. I would be willing to consider helping with this aspect.

Thanks for listening.

[Heather K]

 Hello Twog folks & Paul,: What is your preferred location for posting our 'community-to-twog'  online communications & collaborations?

 I found this one by doing a 'twog' search, and apologize that I don't recall which is the preferred location for the Twog as a united group.

Thanks for letting us know where the Twog group has a central Discussion location online or through emails.

I would like to respond to your Discussion above that was sent out to all WT folks

Re: quote “ To do our best we will need lots of support from the growing transition network and now is a great time for that to start. Give us your input. What role does the TWOG have in Whatcom County? How can we help your transition efforts? Share your thoughts and ideas while we all work together on bringing about a healthy local future.” endquote

 

 

Another question in regards to the January Assembly : Where is the online location to read the minutes & decisions from the Assembly that many of us were not able to attend?   I'm not sure who's discussion or blog to look in, though I do recall posting somewhere in regards to this.

 

Thanks for your leadership, energy, wisdom!

In the spirit of local community,

Heather K

 

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For future reference, here are several links I've found when doing a 'twog' search under our Forum/Discussion section:

 

Paul's 'Collaborating with Twog'-

http://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/forum/topics/collaborating-with-t...

 

Tom's 'Twog-Schedule': http://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/forum/topics/twog-schedule

quote: “The TWOG will be meeting every other Wednesday ….Anyone is welcome to attend or to send a question that needs addressing. For now send questions to Tom Anderson “ endquote

 

Warrens' Discussion 'Blog from Twog”:

http://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/forum/topics/blog-from-the-twog

quote: “Our hope is that this will provide a forum for others to share their thoughts and experiences, give us feedback on any questions or concerns we post and in general start good conversations- the kind of thing we might (and hope to!) do around periodic potlucks and other events. “

 

David M Twog Leadership Discussions:

http://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/forum/topics/twog-schedule

http://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/forum/topics/transition-whatcom-a...

 

Then under a blog search up comes two more locations:

Twog Blog 12-27 Tom A http://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/profiles/blogs/twog-blog-1227-tom-a

 

Blog from the Twog 12/26/2010 (from Juliet)

http://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/profiles/blogs/blog-from-the-twog...

 

Twog Personal Comment & message page, that I'm unsure if you all have access as to:

http://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/profile/Twog

 

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Laura J Sellens said:

Hah! Well said! Thanks for your input and your encouragement. One idea I have is to see if we can work with WWU's Resilience Institute, to see if we could do some creative mapping with GIS to identify resources and weaknesses in the county from a long-emergency perspective (disclaimer: this is only an idea I thought of. I have no time to actually start this project.) That would help indicate the deficiencies in skills as well, I think.

I believe there is a TW effort underway to start a "ReSkilling University" --that ought to help.

The TWOG is beginning to address how TW as a whole will/can collaborate with other local groups, although I hope that the workgroups are also collaborating with whatever local groups are relevant to their topic. Definitely CLSR and BTC, and the WSU extension are in alignment with what we're trying to do. So I think the seed have been or are being planted.

As for facilitating community, and attracting/embracing ethnic communities, any suggestions you may have as to how would be welcome. The way I see it, the longer-term you look, the more important it is to get everyone involved and use every persons gifts and skills and see if people's need really can be met and... don't get me started! OK, now I know I'm rambling but indulge me just a bit more--also I think what we're trying to do is really recreate community that's been lost, and that takes time. Trust takes time. It could take a while before people realize we're not trying to sell them anything. You know? I'm still shocked that I fell in so quickly myself.

[Juliet Thompson]

Heather K said
I am interested in working with twog and rural neighbors on hands-on events & workshops, and wonder if there are any ideas on skill-sharing events that the Twog is working on together as a team for this year?: 

 

Heather,

So far the Twog is working on some events to happen starting in March, April and May. They will happen mostly in Bellingham, but planning is just starting up. Organizing those events will take up most of our time for the spring.

As far as collaborating with rural neighbors, some of the monthly TW workparties will happen on rural neighbors' properties. What I'd like to suggest, is if you come up with a good idea or something you'd like to organize, is to write it down, or perhaps suggest something specific to Laura for a monthly workparty.. Writing a couple of paragraphs down, and coming to a Twog meeting is also a helpful way to get twog support for your idea. I'd love to hear what your idea is for working with your rural neighbors, and support your ideas in any way I can.

[Juliet Thompson]

 

Heather said:

PS - I may be out of the email/online loop for what the website plans are, but I have noticed that this past Weds Jan 5^th), that at least 2 TW groups and all the resource lists/discussions contained within  are gone or missing, and are now listed with the words: “We Sorry- this Group does not Exist”.

There may be more than 2 groups, but the two I'm aware of, were formed after the unleashing event -'Small scale food & garden' and the “Affordable housing for homeowners”. Both groups contained useful resources that multiple TW members had contributed too. ( I'm just stating the facts and don't mean to offend anyone with whatever decisions have been made )....moving on....

Heather,

No changes have been made by the twogs to anyone's groups. If you're concerned about losing resources or information that was posted on the two groups you mention, you should contact the group creator. The twogs would not delete anyone's groups without going through some kind of transparent process, and the process would be based on what a group creator wants to do.

 As you know, we've been collecting peoples' feedback, and based on that feedback, it seems to me that we should just provide a bit of organization to the groups, without archiving or deleting anything. It was suggested that some inactive groups could be deleted, and for groups that seem completely defunct, it is possible that the group creator might decide to delete the group - but it's up to them. You suggested to me that it would make sense for the group creator to announce that the upcoming deletion to the group members first, so that group members could copy and paste any information from the group pages that they want for their own records. This is a good idea, though we can't stop any group creator from deleting a group if they want to.