Transition in Action, Totnes 2030, an Energy Descent Action Plan

2010

Local artists produce an astonishing exhibition Postcards from 2030, which opens a wide debate on how the area will look in twenty years time
TTT and Dartington Arts present an event in Totnes called ‘2030 Day’. During the night, the Plains in Totnes are made-over, so as to look as they might in a powered-down 2030. The road is narrowed to one lane, raised beds are installed on the open spaces, hanging baskets containing edible species are installed, and trees in pots are put in place. The event took weeks of planning, with a team of 60 volunteers and support from South Hams District Council. People awake the next morning to an experience of a powered down future. The installation becomes a major talking point, and when it is removed after 2 weeks, the Totnes Times is filled with letters from people asking for it to be put back as it was, but on a permanent basis. It becomes a regular event each year, with the initiative having to work very hard to ensure secrecy each year, as the town is rife with rumours as to where might get ‘made over’ this year.

Over 10% of the local community are engaged in transition activities hosted in all sixteen parishes, a ten-fold increase in two years
2 empty shops in Totnes High Street become artists’ shared studios
A sense of Totnes being at the heart of the new transition culture is reflected in local news and stories
Totnes Sustainable Makers initiate their first mobile re-skilling unit to bring people, arts and crafts closer together. The series of workshops at six roadside venues are popular with all ages
TTT Arts group together with KEVICC students initiate the ‘Sea Level Rise in our Streets’ project. ‘High tide marks’, showing where a five-metre sea level rise would reach are created around the town. It becomes a major talking point
Discussions around the impacts of consumer culture on both mental and physical health are increasingly aired in the media.

Many meetings are now held virtually and through Skype, and SHDC staff have been encouraged to car-share
The culture of using public transport rather than the car is beginning to gain popularity
Artists are invited to shadow leading members of SHDC for two weeks in order to create artworks that encapsulate the difficulties nd opportunities that those in positions of power are experiencing as the oil price starts to rise once again. One of the outputs by Dartington-based performance artist Glen Rider, is a performance art piece called ‘The Slippery Ladder’, where he tries to climb a ladder covered in oil and keeps slipping backwards.