Transition Brentford Mission Statement

Transition Brentford Draft Mission Statement

As a Transition Town our ultimate goal is to reduce our dependence on fossil fuel at a community level

Support local food growing

Facilitate greener forms of transport

Drive energy efficiency

Encourage to reduce packaging use, re-use or recycle

Foster close-knit community living

Raise awareness and educate

More specifically the Transition Network was created to tackle the issues of climate change, peak oil, sustainability and scarce resources via grassroots community initiatives. This can be addressed in many ways:

Several local initiatives are already in place so we needed to define our role in harmony with them

Our aim was to identify how to position ourselves alongside these existing groups and take stock of the specific challenges faced in Brentford.

There was a great deal of consistency on the perceived role Transition should play.

In addition, many ideas have germinated during these conversations and will form starter thoughts for our actions.

5 key themes emerged How to position Transition in Brentford:

3. Work with local groups and be a spark for new ideas

5. Ensure kids are at the center of

our activities whenever possible

1. Engage the apathetic majority

with a simple tone of voice rather than

activist

2. Be a green information one-stop-shop by raising

awareness of all the existing initiatives and offer a regular

info channel 4. Fill the gaps vis-à-vis the broader Transition agenda

Join the

dots

Reach

out

SupportComplete

Seed

All about one core mission

.

To engage the broader

Brentford community

with environmental

issues and change

behaviours by making it

as easy and rewarding

as possible.

1. Engage the apathetic majority There is a strong activist nucleus around Brentford who are already very informed and involved in various groups. The main opportunity therefore lies in engaging a broader cross-section of the population and nudge them in the right direction. We need to focus on removing frictions wherever possible, make it easier and fun to be green.

2. Develop a local green information one-stop-shop and networkMaking sure we create a visible “brand” where all the local activities and relevant educational material are easily accessible.It also means creating a network of “touchpoints” to relay this information both digitally and physically (notice boards, shops, market…) to reach all groups, regularly.

Schools

Noticeboards

3. Work with local groupsBeyond raising awareness for local initiatives and relay their news, Transition will bring support and engage with local associations on an ad hoc basis.We aim to bring a broad skillset to the party to both be a source of ideas and bring experience on how to execute them.By making all initiatives visible and engaging we will create a tighter green action ecosystem.

4. Fill the gapsThere are many solid initiatives on recycling, local food growing, kids engagement and environmental campaigning that we will support.Beyond this there are gaps such as transport policy, energy efficiency or urban planning lobbying, areas where Transition will seek to make a contribution.

5. Engage KidsWe all agreed that kids are the best way to get to apathetic parents. They are already central to BRAG or Hen Corner initiatives. We will therefore have them in mind for every activity we conduct. It will mean linking with schools and creating engaging game-like initiatives to be highly visible with kids.

More specifically, a few ideas to explore…

Ideas to explore: Indoor flat gardensCultivate London produce an amazing array of herbs and vegetables that could then be grown indoor. How can we help?

Majority of people live in flats in Brentford and not all have balconies.Cultivate London pots come in standard size. Why not try and design a little indoor flat garden that would easily allow to “plug” these pots into it. It could be on wheels so that one could easily move it towards the daylight when leaving the flat. We could try and engage schools to think of different designs. People like Paul Richens could also bring valuable input to this concept.“plug and

grow”

Ideas to explore: “Bees 2 Bees” campaign

Brentford could join in the Friends of the Earth campaign leveraging the obvious fit with its football club’s identity.

An opportunity to touch thousands of match goers and followers.A few sketchy thoughts on how this could work:

– Relaying message on Brentford FC website

– Joint campaign on social media– Match day announcements, photo-shoot

of both bees mascot in arms, petition signing, demo of bee friedly plants, distribution of bee saver kits...

– A pledge for every goal scored– For every Fuller’s Honeydew purchased a

small donation to the campaign is made…

Ideas to explore: Allotment strategyThere is a shortage of allotments as evidenced by the long waiting lists. We will aim to address this in a few ways:

First we realised that many owners of allotments need help for maintenance often due to physical or time restrictions. Others are willing to help. We therefore need to create a forum (online, noticeboards, Morrison's, TW8…) for them to meet. (idea of linkage with Duke of Edinburgh award)We could also explore the concept of micro-allotments whereby 5/6 people could share an allotment and rotate their activities. This would however require a set of rules and principles to work effectively.There is unused land around the borrow so we could lobby to convert some of it into allotments.Supplying local food producers such as soupafresh (present in Brentford Market) with vegetables from local allotments or via the edible Ealing box scheme – an opportunity to eat 100% local produce.

Ideas to explore: Facilitating cyclingBrentford is already a key hub for Hounslow council strategy.We can work in partnership with them to ensure we optimise the infrastructure for cyclists. Likewise Sky could prove a key strategic partner since cycling is core to their brand.It is also about providing information and advice on:

Bike storage facilitiesBike repair (Cycledoctor…)Bike rental (Brentford Bikes) Cycle to work scheme how to install relevant bike storage facilities, bike rental .Removing frictions to bike

ownership and usage

Ideas to explore: Bin there done that recycling?A big chunk of the population live in flats and do not have proper recycling facilities nearby or simply are not given access to a recycling box for the weekly collect.Given the inertia of green behaviour, it means that a large volume of recyclable rubbish is put through the general waste system.Proper recycling starts at home. So we should encourage people to use more convenient bins to get more sorting done at home.Therefore we should consider:

Lobby Hounslow council to better cater for people living in flatsRecommend convenient binsOr cooler more fun bins to better engage kids…

Idea from Bedzed project

… or more fun

Lobbying Hounslow council

Suggestions to make recycling

easier…

Ideas to explore: Recycling signage & storiesA picture is worth a thousand words …

There is an opportunity to use infographics near recycling bins (e.g. Morrisons parking) to educate on the importance of recycling but more importantly on the destination of this material and how it all works for more transparency.We could also try and measure how much we recycle every year and challenge the population to improve (through gamification). Ultimately we need to better recycle and reduce our use of packaging.Finally we could also use a team of students to create a video to follow the life of a few items (plastic bottle, cardboard, glass, paper) to the recycling facility to bring the whole process to life.

More information, fun and transparency

Ideas to explore: Art and Gamification to engage kids Several games with local schools could be considered to sensitise kids and their parents. Below are examples for consideration…

Mona Lisa of Brentford: kids would play a game whereby they have to collect caps of certain colours and stick them onto a card, trading to get the right colours etc…. When all cards are put together on a large warehouse, the big reveal is a Mona Lisa made of plastic caps. Plastic transformers: kids would be tasked to collect plastic of different colours. They would then go on a trip to the recycling facility and return with a bin of the collected colour.. We could also organise recycling competitions to find out how to give a second life to many items we throw away… (e.g. how can we create useful objects from the most frequent recyclable items from business or personal use)

From the right thing to the in-thing

Ideas to explore: Can we reinvent the noticeboard? To get noticed

Communication is fundamental but there are no major channels in place at the moment

We need to rethink how noticeboards could take more of a center stage in community lifeSeveral ideas have popped up lately that could be a good source of inspiration - be it artistic, conceptual, digital…

Ideas to explore: Urban planning involvement

If Brentford is to keep its “rurban” feel, we should engage with the developers to make sure their plans incorporate the fundamentals of sustainable living and community life whilst preserving green spaces and the village feel.Isis for example paid visits to our meetings last year and we should continue this type of dialogue.

Ideas to explore: Linking with Brentford’s history

To successfully reinvent itself as a modern town, Brentford has to seamlessly integrate its heritage into its new fabric. This is fundamental to retain integrity and avoid the pitfalls of so many soulless developments which dampen community spirit.

The Sunday market is a great example of this. Can we think of any other similar initiatives? We should make references to Brentford’s History on our website Opportunity to promote historical guided tours.

Ideas to explore: Celebrating our past to inspire the future

As the regeneration of the high street is taking time and leaving plenty of derelict buildings on show, could we use these as giant canvases to celebrate Brentford history?French artist JR has several initiatives such as “Unframed” (http://www.jr-art.net/) which could prove a good springboard to engage residents on the history and indirectly lobby for better regeneration plans that respect the integrity of the place. He is currently exhibiting at Somerset House.Met recently and the idea resonated with them…Octink could be a key partner to print the material.

Refreshing the material: Thoughts on website design

Need for a logo that speaks of simplicity, fun and community. It should also focus on Brentford identity if possible. Features:1. Blog feed where all local groups could

post every fortnight2. Add a Media Center with links to key

videos, radio shows to keep up to date and learn.

3. A visible rolling menu with “what’s on”4. Ensure the design works on mobile to

allow for location based initiatives.5. User friendly map to easily locate local

activities6. Consider using QR codes or similar.

Need to rethink current website

Refreshing the material:Thoughts on message and tone of voice

The tone of voice needs to be accessible, simple and down to earth. No jargon. Think Jamie Oliver rather than eco-warrior… Or Innocent smoothies…There is overall confusion as to what words such as sustainability, community resilience or carbon footprint mean. Let’s explain those in plain English. It is also about adapting our message, adding a positive “spin”, to focus on tangible rewards. A great deal of work on behavioural psychology points to that direction…

Accessible language, no big words…

ADAPTING THE MESSAGE, EARLY THOUGHTSFor example, going from … to …Save the planet > Love the place you live in, the good local lifeEnergy Efficiency > Save moneyLocal food > Fresh food you can trust, you can see growing around you, or even pick with your kids…Transport > save money, cycling is free gym, discovery…Recycling > can be fun for kids, can save money to your community to get better facilities…

A final point on ways of working

We have had difficulties in the first year putting a Constitution together so the “Light touch” structure of Ealing Transition could prove a good approach. They also have a very informal way of working which is very much focused on common sense.

– People agree to take on certain projects which they then work on in separate workstreams, meeting whenever suits

– Each group then reports back at steering groups and this gets added to the minutes. They meet as often (or not) as makes sense.

– One watch out: need to make sure there is transparency for accounts and funding.

Ealing Transition Initiative: Governing Principles

Aims and Purpose

Our core purpose is to mobilise and facilitate community action in order to respond

effectively and positively to climate change and peak oil.

We hope to achieve this by:

Raising awareness in the Ealing area of climate change and peak oil

Creating a vision for a sustainable, happy Ealing

Engaging and building networks with people and groups already active with these

issues, and working both to support local council initiatives that are in line with our

own, and to inspire new initiatives.

Providing a framework for an effective response to climate change and peak oil,

including the creation and implementation of an Energy Descent Action Plan

Creating visible practical projects that will reduce our C02 emissions, reduce our

dependency on fossil fuels, and empowering residents to participate.

We do this with the aim of creating a world that uses less energy and fewer

resources and because we believe that by doing so Ealing will become a closer-knit,

more self-sufficient and thus resilient community.

We are non party political and non- sectarian.

How we Work

These are the principles that guide the way ETI works. These continue to develop and

evolve:

“Mostly people don't join transition to go to meetings but to be active, so that’s what we aim for.” Trevor Sharman, Ealing Transition

Regroup and grow the teamPut together a dream team of Brentford residents and contributors from around Brentford

Refresh website and brandReview of website design and contents as well as review of other potential touchpoints. This will include branding. Cyrille has secured a charity day from colleagues in marketing consultancy to help with this.

Form “working groups”Put together working groups around personal interests to seek practical ways to achieve this in specific areas e.g. food, transport, education, community living, etc.

Do stuff!

Next steps

Meanwhile you can have a glance at this newsletter to get a feel for what is currently happening in and around Brentford

Or visit other nearby Transition groups

http://www.transitiontownbrixton.org/

http://www.ttkingston.org/

http://ealingtransition.org.uk/

http://www.transitionheathrow.com/

Get involved!