Transition is a movement of communities coming together to reimagine and rebuild our world. It brings people together to counter the effects of climate change and economic instability to create a more sustainable future. The Transition is an international movement that began in the UK and has been growing since 2005.  It is about communities stepping up to address the big challenges they face by starting local.  By coming together, they are able to crowd-source solutions. They seek to nurture a caring culture, one focused on supporting each other, both as groups or as wider communities. Dorset has six active Transition Towns and each one has it’s own unique way of building communities, forging strong local links, reclaiming the economy, sparking entrepreneurship  and weaving webs of connection and support. Search our website for your local group to see how you can get involved.  

Let's get together to buy the best food available, directly from local farmers and foodmakers.

Repair Cafés are free meeting places and they’re all about repairing things (together). In the place where a Repair Café is located, you’ll find tools and materials to help you make any repairs you need. On clothes, furniture, electrical appliances, bicycles, crockery, appliances, toys, et cetera. You’ll also find expert volunteers, with repair skills in all kinds of fields. Visitors bring their broken items from home. Together with the specialists they start making their repairs in the Repair Café. It’s an ongoing learning process. If you have nothing to repair, you can enjoy a cup of tea or coffee. Or you can lend a hand with someone else’s repair job. You can also get inspired at the reading table – by leafing through books on repairs and DIY. Bournemouth hosts its own Repair Café and there are over thousand Repair Cafés worldwide. Take a look at their website for more information. You could even start one yourself!

It has been a great few weeks for the Dorset Sustainable Palm Oil Community.  We have had three new champions sign up in the last couple of weeks (the Prince of Wales First School in Dorchester, Arts University Bournemouth and Just 1 Swap, a zero-waste shop in Boscombe), joining Bournemouth University, St Osmund’s Middle School and others!  We have also been very busy talking to more potential champions (so hopefully watch this space!).  We were so delighted to see the Chester Sustainable Palm Oil City initiative as a finalist in the Earthshot Prize!  What a phenomenal achievement for all involved. I hear on the grapevine that more communities are joining including Lichfield – all good news for getting the message out to as many people as possible that sustainable palm oil is a solution to protecting and restoring nature. We have a brilliant 3 page article in the Marshwood Vale, a community magazine covering West Dorset, East Devon and South Somerset.  The article can be found here. Additionally, we have had a blog written about the initiative by the Dorchester BID (Business Improvement District) – read all about it here.  We are hoping that this will be taken up by […]

Funding remains available for the ESFA Community Training Grants programme in London North and East boroughs of the LEAP, Dorset, and Thames Valley Berkshire LEP. The programme aims to support projects which will move unemployed and economically inactive people closer to the labour market and can support a very diverse range of activities (both formal and informal training).   The funding opportunities are also on Groundwork’s social media channels, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn. The next application deadline is 10am, 14th January 2022, with an opportunity to submit draft applications and have these reviewed in time for the final deadline by 10am, 4th January 2022. Ahead of this deadline, we will be hosting 2 online Zoom sessions to discuss the programme, provide application guidance and support, and explain how to apply (24/11 and 10/12), for which applicants can still register: You are invited to a Zoom meeting.When: Nov 24, 2021 02:00 PM LondonRegister in advance for this meeting:https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0rcuGurTMiG9ZDsbCDQbFn5Bjut7EITP9J

Dorset now has ten Fairtrade towns since Poole was most recently added to the ever-growing move towards a fairer way of doing trade. The Fairtrade mark is the most widely-recognised ethical label globally and 90% of the UK public trust the Fairtrade mark. Fairtrade seeks to combat the injustices that can be present in conventional trade and put people first. Fairtrade works with agreed, international standards designed and audited to ensure that producers in developing countries get a better deal. Fairtrade enables people to work their way out of poverty and build a more sustainable future for themselves and their families. Bournemouth, Poole, Wimborne Minster, Ferndown, Christchurch, Purbeck (Swanage and Wareham), Gillingham, Shaftesbury, Weymouth and Portland have all achieved Fairtrade Town status. You can help to support Fairtrade by looking for the Fairtrade logo every time you shop. And if your town isn’t yet a Fairtrade town, now’s the time to join the campaign and you can learn from your neighbours in Dorset just how to go about it. Fairtrade is something every one of us can be a part of. For more information visit the Fairtrade South West website.

The Dorset Declares website can be found at: http://www.dorsetdeclares.com Dorset Declares is a not-for-profit initiative created by local charitable organisations Sustainable Dorset and Community Alliances. This was developed to encourage Dorset businesses to declare a climate emergency and provide a platform for positive change. In making a declaration, businesses will have access to free guides, tools and resources designed to help business leaders understand their environmental impact, create an action plan to reduce carbon emissions and form part of a growing community of local businesses doing the same.

Community Fridges – The new Sustainable way to Share Food Community fridges act exactly as the name suggests. They are fridges in the public domain, with food often nearing its end date that are donated to the local community. The food is given by households, or supermarkets, restaurants and shops. Community fridges are a novel idea and are a step away from the red tape involved in food banks. To secure food from food banks, you need to be referred to the service. Community fridges are open to anyone. The first community fridge was introduced by Hubbub in Swadlincote, South Derbyshire as part of its work with the Sainsbury’s ‘Waste less, Save more’ campaign. The fridge gives residents access to excess food that is shared through local businesses. It helps to connect the community, helps families save money and reduces waste. Some people donate food from their gardens and allotments; and fresh vegetables and fruit are always welcome. Since the first trailblazer community fridge in Swadlincote, Hubbub have set up a national campaign to get more community fridges on board. Locally, there are community fridges in Bridport, and Bournemouth and Poole have recently followed suit with Dorchester soon to get […]