Transition Town Jericho (TTJ) started in December 2016. A kickoff meeting was held at the Jericho Town Library and 25 people showed up to hear Ruah Swennerfelt from Transition Charlotte speak about traveling around the world to explore the transition town movement. She actually wrote a book about it and enthralled us with her tales!
The transition town movement is about building resiliency in our towns and communities to confront peak oil, climate change and the numerous other issues we are facing . RepairCafes, skillsharing, local currencies are just a few manifestations of transition movements; how it manifests itself in Jericho is up to you and I, the people who live here. Vermont hosts a few other transition towns and/or sustainable towns including Charlotte, Williston and Woodstock.
From that initial meeting, a steering group was formed and TTJ was off the ground! Since then monthly meetings of the steering group have ensued, along with public gatherings featuring guest speakers. Workgroups in several areas have been formed, including the public speaker series, Edible Landscape community project, kids garden contest, and the latest, the Jericho-Underhill Food hub. Grants received in 2019 and 2021 from the New England Grassroots Environmental Fund have helped immensely in supporting TTJ (update: feb/2024).
Mission Statement: Transition Town Jericho’s mission is to unleash the collective skills and resources in our town and support grassroots community projects. Through education and networking efforts, we strive to nourish, celebrate and sustain each other as a community, preparing ourselves for whatever the future holds.
Check out the website of Rob Hopkins, the founder of Transition Towns: www.robhopkins.net. Hope to see you at our gatherings, usually held on fourth Mondays (check out the Events page!) at the Jericho Community Center or Jericho Town Library from 6 to 7:30pm.
See you there!
-TTJ Steering Group
Dave, Chris, Laura & Ann
