Welcome!

The Transition vision includes cooperative efforts on all fronts:

A growing sense of community in every neighborhood

A growing sense of community in our town

A health care center making affordable care available to all

Growing access to locally farmed fresh foods

Development of a local community garden

A local economy that finds innovative ways to support local businesses

Education and support for increasing green energy technology

Free classes for learning skills together, such as canning, sewing, gardening

And so much more...

Please "join" this page to receive timely updates on local events and Transition Initiative discussions.

Saturday, March 24, 2012


Come watch Journey of the Universe
Saturday, April 28th, 2012
2:00 pm
Katonah Village Library
Katonah, NY
  Sponsored by  
Conversations For Action 

Film followed by an open conversation
about the questions raised by the film.
A free event.


For further information contact Daniel Martin

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Planning a Vegetable Garden for Beginners

Where: South Presbyterian Church, 343 Broadway, Dobbs Ferry, New York 10522

Date: Sunday, March 25th

Time: 1 - 3 PM

Have you always wanted to grow your own food? Come and learn how, it’s easier than you may think.  

Pauline Schneider, Bronx Botanical Gardens Certified Landscape Designer and life long gardener will go through the steps of planning a veggie garden, from tool selection, site prep, seed/plant selection, sketching out the site, dealing with pests and varmints, to what resources are available to budding new gardeners to help increase your chances of success!

There will be some hands on instruction on how to begin designing your own future garden site, so bring a photograph or sketch and measurements if you have them of the location that your garden may be in.  You will sketch the basic outline of the garden. No previous artistic talent or green thumbs necessary!

Please R.S.V.P. to this event here
 Presented in cooperation with Roots and Wings.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Kunstler Talks about Techno-Narcissism
The idea that we can think our way out of our energy and climate change predicaments. 

Trying Times

Last week many of us watched with horror as the Midwest was battered by something like 150 tornadoes in one day.  One of those tornadoes was so strong it created a seismic wave! The deadly force of this weather killed nearly 40 people and leveled entire towns, a tragedy of unfathomable proportions. Incredibly, one of the most inspiring moments was a woman in Indiana who had returned to collect her things that had survived and was met with friends and neighbors who joined her to help her gather her things.  She had lost her home and nearly everything with it and yet, with a smile, said to the camera, "I'm a rich woman.  I have my friends." 

  Time and again when we look at the images of past tragic events what we see is people coming together to help each other even at personal risk.  Anyone who remembers the Los Angeles quake from several years ago remembers the images of civilians climbing the wreckage of a bridge to try to free trapped people.  No one will forget the hundreds of emergency responders who went down to Ground Zero for weeks trying to find the trapped and the lost; that personal sacrifice cost many their lives later on.   People are remarkably brave and resilient in the face of hardship, most often our first instinct is to reach out and help, not harm.  That's a good thing since that's how we evolved to be soft skinned, fangless, clawless creatures that like to snuggle each other.  We are a playful and loving creature, and we need to remember we are not crocodiles.  Sometimes some people forget that and then things get ugly.

Mother Nature has much in store for us yet, and we will need to work together to be ready for
disasters to come.  Whether a disaster merely takes out the power a few days, or levels entire neighborhoods, preparedness is key.  Resilience will be seen in communities that have planned ahead and anticipated their needs.  It wouldn't take much for a town to set up an emergency center with food(MRE's) and clean water, renewable power (solar & wind) to keep communications and electronics working for medical care, and emergency clothes and shelter for those who need it.  We know communities like to help each other out, preparing ahead is kind of a no-brainer.
  This past year in Westchester County we have experienced unusually long power outages due to lousy weather events, several of them...  With the October storm gas stations ran out of gas if they had the power to pump it, and food got scarce because trucks couldn't get in due to the blocked roads.  Hurricane Irene was downgraded to a Tropical storm and even so took out entire towns in Vermont that had never seen a Tropical storm before... Even without weather events we've had "issues".  I remember the East Coast Black out that was NOT caused by any kind of weather and lasted days... We still didn't get a clear explanation what that was all about...

Being ready for those unexpected events will go a long way to keeping people calm.  There is a slight imbalance in the awareness sector of readiness, where a handful of people are preparing for the Apocalypse, while most are not doing anything at all... If you haven't seen National Geographic's new show Doomsday Preppers, you don't know what I'm talking about. 
Moderation in all things! For heavens sake!

If MOST people had extra food and water, solar powered radios, a source of heating, extra medication and baby food (dog food, bird food, snacks, etc), maybe the Doomsday Preppers wouldn't feel so worried about staying alive when things get really rough and then they could relax a little knowing that most people were being responsible about their own survival and had the situation covered? 
There's no need to start building a bunker in your basement, or storing three years of MRE's and water.  Just some common sense prepping will get people through major outages and events until we can regroup with each other, and figure out what needs to be done if there is an even longer outage of services and power expected. 

Looking at the devastation in the Midwest it's hard to imagine how anyone could prep for something like that.   Amazingly, and perhaps tragically, they could have! Many had just finished rebuilding from last year's tornadoes, yet used the same stick construction as before, rather than researching dome construction that is far more resistant to high winds. 
Or they could have done as Pat Robertson advised, they could have prayed harder.  Though, having sat through a tornado myself with my family when I lived in Texas, I know there's really no way to say the Lord's Prayer fast enough or harder than when a tornado is bearing down on you...
My heart and prayers go out to everyone hurt by these storms. 


10 Steps to take to Prep Reasonably
1. Have a safe place to go either in your home or a neighbor's
2. Have back up food and water for everyone in your home that will last a week (at least)
3. Have medical supplies and extra medicines (even if you have to buy it out of pocket)
4. Remember your pets and their foods and meds.
5. Have a Go Bag in case of a nuclear event at Indian Point.  Fukushima is teaching us well.
6. Have a plan with family, where to meet, what to do in specific events
7. Have a back up power source. Small portable solar panels to charge phones or laptops & mini lights
8. Have a crank/solar powered radio to keep up with news and weather announcements
9. Always keep your car's gas tank at least half full, and an extra can of gas in your garage (remember to use it within a few months or it will go bad)
10.  Know your neighbors.  They are the single most important factor to you and your family's survival. Remember what the lady in Indiana said, your friends & neighbors are your treasure.

So get out there and have a block party, or a neighborhood fruit tree planting, or set up a neighborhood watch, or T ball game, share your phone numbers and gardening tips over the fence.  We are much happier when we are playing together and sharing, than when we are fighting and scratching for the last resources.  We are not crocodiles.  We are fragile and beautiful human beings.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Stone Barns Sheep Shearing Festival April 28th




stone barns center logo
sheep_shearing_photo
save the date
Saturday, April 28, 2012 10AM - 3PM
Celebrate spring at our annual Sheep Shearing Festival! Come watch and ask questions as our farmers shear wool from our flock of Finn-Dorset sheep. Enjoy family-friendly wool and weaving activities all day long. Join our farmers and educators for tours and farm demonstrations.

Ticket Information
$12/Child  $15/ Adult
Member Pre-Sale begins Monday, March 5.
Stone Barns members receive 10% off all programs and events. To become a member, please click here.

General ticket sales begin Monday, March 19.

Visit www.stonebarnscenter.org for more information and to purchase tickets.




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Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture
Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture
630 Bedford Road
Pocantico Hills, New York 10591
US

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What is a Transition Town?

Transition Towns across the globe are quickly addressing the reality of Climate Change, Peak Oil and Economic Decline with creative and positive solutions.
There are over 400 globally and over 106 in the USA.
In the US Transition Westchester is the 106th initiative.
Transition Towns avoid fear based rhetoric, they are committed folks who want to ensure a hopeful and optimistic future for our kids.
Transition Towns are made of dedicated groups of citizens focusing on the life support systems of a community: Food, energy, economy, community
Transition Towns also focus on the arts, music, play and the fun parts of life that create tightly knit societies founded on harmony and trust.