Feel free to email us: transitionshasta@gmail.com

Please click here to take the Siskiyou County Sustainability Survey [http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=w8xTJr0tUqnfbPbiQd0PyA_3d_3d]

The Team: Karen Carty, Touson Saryon, Ron Cooper, Bob Burr, Angelina Cook, Thomas Wick And many thanks to all who are assisting us.....too many to name.

Transition Mount Shasta

Mission Objectives and How We Work

The mission of “Transition Mount Shasta” is to inspire, to encourage, to network, to support and to initiate practical projects in the communities and neighborhoods of Siskiyou County and help train other groups as they consider, adopt, adapt and implement the “Transition” model in order to establish Transition Initiatives. The Transition model emboldens local communities and counties to look economic uncertainty, peak oil and climate change squarely in the eye and unleash the collective genius inherent in our local citizens to find the answers to the larger questions of how we can transform our communities to cope with these challenges and produce thriving, self reliant, resilient communities within Siskiyou County.

The Transition Model is a loose set of real world principles and practices that have been built up over time though experimentation and observation of communities as they drive forward to build local sustainability.

Underpinning the Transition Model is recognition of the following:

• Peak Oil and Climate Change require urgent action.

• Life with less energy is inevitable and it is better to plan for it than be taken by surprise.

• Industrial society has lost the resilience to be able to cope with energy shocks.

• We have to act together and we have to act now.

• Regarding the world economy and the consumptive patterns within it, as long as the laws of physics apply; infinite growth within a finite system (such as planet earth) simply isn't possible.

• We demonstrated phenomenal levels of ingenuity and intelligence as we raced up the energy curve over the last 150 years, and there's no reason why we can't use those qualities, and more, as we negotiate our way down from the peak of the energy mountain.

• If we plan and act early enough, and use our creativity and cooperation to unleash the genius within our local communities, then we can build a future that could be far more fulfilling and enriching, more connected and more resilient to shocks from the National economic situation than we are today.

The objectives of “Transition Mount Shasta”:

To raise public awareness of the issues associated with economic instability, climate change and the peaking of global oil supplies as well as other important natural resources.

To encourage communities in Sisikyou County to adopt the Transition Model in order to unleash the collective wisdom, actions and skills of the local community to answer the following questions:

For all those aspects of life that this community needs to sustain itself and thrive, how do we:

Greatly strengthen our local economy? (in response to economic instability)

Significantly increase local self reliance? (in response to peak oil);

Dramatically increase local resilience? (in response to climate change);

Transition Mount Shasta supports Transition Initiatives by:

Connecting community members with each other and sharing ideas, experience (successes and failures), best practices, tools and techniques.

Connecting community with experts in given fields while encouraging them to develop local knowledge and skills.

Applying for and securing grants to provide funding for materials needed for our projects.

To train communities and individuals in all aspects of the Transition concept.

To build a network of communities to enable sharing, cooperation, cross-fertilization of ideas and best practices to effectively implement sustainable projects.

To work with community and neighborhoods towards producing their own local Energy Descent Action Plan and re-localization projects.

Where appropriate, to engage with other organizations, including government, citizen, nonprofit, and business in pursuit of its aims and objectives.

All of this to take place within the spirit of fun, support and joy at coming together to co-create the future that we are visioning.

How we work:

These are the principles that guide the way “Transition Mount Shasta” works. These continue to develop and evolve:

We work together because we know that together we are greater than the sum of our parts.

We work in a collaborative way because we get better results for less effort.

In representing “Transition Mount Shasta”, individuals agree to abide by and uphold all “Transition Mount Shasta” principles and take responsibility for their own decisions, actions and results.

We trust that those who step forward have good intentions and will make good decisions. We give autonomy and support to those who wish to be part of “Transition Mount Shasta”.

We are open to working with everyone.

We welcome diversity and see it as a strength.

We avoid categories of "them and us".

We acknowledge other initiatives and seek to find ways to collaborate and further the aims of “ Transition Mount Shasta”.

Individually and as a group we identify what needs to be done and people volunteer for tasks when they already have the skills or want to develop the skills. We help and support each others learning.

We don't have a blueprint. We believe in multiple paths, ideas and possibilities. We think questions are as important as answers. It's fine to make mistakes and learn from them.

We work with a natural momentum, driven by our passion for our local communities and county, and a positive approach.

We are transparent in everything we do.

There are also some specific principles that deal with the organizational structure:

“Transition Mount Shasta” groups form as needed, to do what needs to be done: make decisions, take action; they dissolve when the need is gone.

Groups exist to deliver the aims of “Transition Mount Shasta” in a positive and concrete way.

Everyone is responsible for ensuring the free flow of information and knowledge around the “Transition Mount Shasta” network and also the wider TT network.

We always consider the effects of our actions on our public reputation.

There are also some specific principles on fundraising for projects:

Projects for which funding is sought need to be agreed on with the Core Group.

The project must support the aims of “Transition Mount Shasta”, be in line with it’s principles and be designed to deliver on key objectives.

The individuals who raise funding will hold the budget for the project and account for it publicly.

The individuals who developed the project are responsible for monitoring the project, its process and outcomes.

What We Know:

We know we live in one of the most beautiful, unspoiled, un-“Corporatized” counties in America.

We know that the vast majority of our citizens feel grateful, even blessed to live here.

We know we are already much farther ahead of the curve than most other municipalities around the world who are looking these same challenges in the face, and coming to terms with how they are going to deal with them.

We know our citizens have so much passion and local community spirit for Mount Shasta and Siskiyou County that we can take the needed steps and make them a reality with relative ease.

The “Transition Mount Shasta” Team invites all of you to become involved with us as we take this journey…together.

Thank you.