Who we are
Transition Isle of Man is part of the international Transition Towns network, a grass roots movement that involves communities working together to become more self-reliant: less dependent on imported energy and food. Communities are working collectively to meet the challenges of climate change and ‘peak oil’ – the point at which the oil production that our energy hungry lifestyles depend on reaches its all-time peak before going into decline forever. These two challenges have profound implications for every aspect of our lives.
The Isle of Man relies on imported oil and gas for over 99% of our energy needs, and much of our food and other goods are imported too. There is huge potential on the island for renewable energy, and plenty of good land to support lots more local food production. Getting people together to make these things happen is Transition Isle of Man's mission.
The Isle of Man was one of the first islands to get involved, officially becoming a ‘Transition Island’ in spring 2008. The steering group was formed in 2007 and is made up of people from across our community, including representatives of environmental groups, politicians, civil servants, business people and ordinary citizens.
Our aims
- To reduce our dependence on imported food and fossil fuels by growing much more food locally and generating renewable energy
- To create an ‘Energy Descent Action Plan’, that will enable us to reduce our use of fossil fuels and transition to a low energy way of living over the next few decades
How you can help
The more people who get on board with Transition in the Isle of Man, the better chance we have of making our descent down the oil peak a smooth ride rather than a bumpy one.
We’re now at the stage of the Transition process where working groups are formed to look at specific issues like energy, food, transport, education etc. To get involved, just email the contact in your area.
We also have an all-Island group email list which lets us share ideas and generally keep everyone up to speed with developments. To add your name to the list, email transitioniom@mac.com
Tips for getting started on your own Transition journey
- Shop, eat and drink local – check out our fabulous farmers markets at http://www.ilovemanx.org/
- Have a go at growing your own
- Help get more allotments up and running – email amanda.griffin@manx.net
to put your name down
- Compost everything from kitchen scraps to cardboard
- Join a local group – see http://transitiontowns.org/Isle-of-Man/LinksAndLocalContacts
- Plant a tree or two
- Save energy (and money). Call into the Green Centre near Shoprite
in Douglas, open every Saturday between 10am and 2pm
- Try your hand at permaculture: a fantastically creative way of living
and growing sustainably. Call Mill on 480882
- Support Fair Trade – it helps some of the world’s poorest communities
to be self-reliant too