Hear Rob Hopkins, founder of the international Transition movement, speak about how communities worldwide are transforming their energy, economies, and food systems from the bottom up by “just doing stuff.”
Meet local movers and shakers and enjoy lunch with us at the fair.

While you are here, visit the Repair Café, tour the Throop Learning Garden, and have some yummy soup and bread for lunch. Check out the "Speed Dating for New Ideas" session – you may find your partner for the next great sustainable themed project! Participating groups to include: The Arroyo Food Co-op, The Arroyo S.E.C.O. network of Time Banks, Pasadena Learning Gardens, Citizens Climate Lobby, Downtown Pasadena Neighborhood Association, Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition, and more...

Tickets: $5 pre-sale online; and $10 at the door. To purchase tickets online visit: http://justdoingstuffpasadena.eventbrite.com/

Location: Throop Unitarian Universalist Church / 300 S. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena 91101

Lot parking is limited, street parking is 2-hour maximum. So carpooling, or taking transit and walking is strongly encouraged!  >> Go Metro  >> Pasadena ARTS Bus

Contact us if you have questions.

www.TransitionPasadena.org

If you can't join us on Monday, Rob will be in West LA on Sunday as well.

Paul Glover, founder of Ithaca HOURS
Sunday, October 6 — 6:00pm–8:30pm

Armory Center for the Arts
145 North Raymond Ave, Pasadena

Join us for an exciting event with local currency pioneer, Paul Glover founder of Ithaca HOURS, a successful local paper currency in Ithaca NY. Launched in 1991, Ithaca Hours promote local economic strength and community self-reliance by keeping the wealth circulating within the region.

Don’t miss this great opportunity to learn about how we can rebuild the economy together!

$5 for Time Bank members; $10 for non-members.
No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Potluck from 6:00pm
Talk from 7:00-8:30PM

Purchase tickets at the door, or via this link.

The Rebirth of an Agricultural Empire
Sunday, September 29 —  3:00pm-8:00pm 

The Shed
1355 Lincoln Ave, Pasadena

The Rebirth of an Agricultural Empire: From top food producer to food desert, what happened and what’s next for growing food in Los Angeles County? 

Until very recently, parkway gardens were still illegal in the City of Los Angeles, and residents were being issued fines for planting edible parkway gardens in areas that are considered food deserts. Come to the Shed to discuss the past, present and future of urban agriculture in Los Angeles County, and how we can shape current policy to encourage our communities to grow food, not lawns.

Transition Pasadena has started a Placemaking project at the Arroyo Food Co-op, which will be opening soon at the corner of Wilson and Villa in Pasadena. 

At their August 4th Open House, we introduced “placemaking” with examples like still photos from the film The Social Life of Small Urban Places, based on the book by William H. Whyte, which describes the things that activate outdoor spaces, like the value of movable chairs, and the fact that people want to sit under trees. Other examples from Pasadena were shown, like an outdoor piano that anybody could play whenever they wanted, the fancy painted crosswalks in the Playhouse District, and the Learning Garden at Throop Church.

During the Open House, we gave out pens and paper with the prompts:  “observe, plan, implement”, and asked them to go outside and make their own observations and think of things they would do if it was their yard to make it more welcoming. A lot of people participated. It was a placemaking activity that also activated the space!

Now we are trying to incorporate their ideas into the first stage of implementation. This is the first step of many. We will observe, plan and implement over and over.

The only way to finish a marathon is to temper your pace. You don’t run a marathon full out like a sprint. Evaluating your available energy, water, and other factors is a critical part of the race. If we expect to get to the “finish line” of Transition, we have review our strategy. (Thanks to Joanne Poyourow for inspiring the metaphor.)

In our race to Transition, a fundamental factor in our success will be each of us grappling with our own shift in consciousness. Transition represents a set of ideas that go beyond efficiency. Peak oil and environmental devastation are only two results of our in-grown need to be efficient. We all have the sense that our species is on the path toward human extinction. A contributing factor is precisely this efficiency paradigm.

I find that when communication issues arise, often it is really a microcosm of this notion of efficiency as the greatest good, without regard to anything else. An efficient mindset doesn’t necessarily produce efficient results. Factories are a lot more efficient than making things by hand. We now have lots of cheap goods that fall apart quickly, as opposed to treasured objects that stay in family use for generations. Factories are more efficient (in some respects), but they lack other important qualities.

It's going to take a miracle for mainstream human industrial society to move off its current path. By miracle, I don’t mean the intercession of an all powerful deity, but rather events that are inexplicable from our current perspective. A shift in consciousness can shift our perspective and produce events that are not explainable. We might call those events miracles.

One valuable quality of any face-to-face meeting, as opposed to electronic pseudo-community, is an investment in the future. Open, honest, and full communication is of the highest importance in achieving the success of any endeavor. Investing your time in face-to-face activity is the most powerful way to move the Transitioning of the LA area forward.

We all want the best possible outcome for our efforts. Not only for ourselves but for our children and future generations yet unborn. We are running a marathon. That’s exactly what we are doing in trying to Transition the Los Angeles watershed, and if we’re going to make it to the finish line, we desperately need to put our heads together and rely on our collective wisdom to find the way forward.

— David Cutter

Sunday, September 29 – 5:00pm-9:00pm
Film starts at 6:00pm

Join the Time Bank members for the monthly potluck and premiere of the new Time Bank documentary "Time As Money." Filmmakers and Time Bank members Lenore Smith and Mark Eklund will be on hand to answer your questions! Don't miss it!

Potluck begins at 5:00PM (Bring a dish!)

Armory Center for the Arts
145 N. Raymond Ave, Pasadena

More info:
www.arroyoseco.timebanks.org

We are thrilled to announce that we are now the 141st official US Transition Initiative to be recognized by Transition US, becoming the
30th official Transition Initiative in California!

A month ago, members of our steering team met with Co-Director of Transition US, Maggie Fleming. We gave her a lively tour of the Throop Learning Garden and told her about all of our active projects and our working groups. And we also presented her with our application to be recognized as an official Transition Initiative. A few days later, we received the notification from TUS congratulating us!

It has been an amazing three years that has brought us this far, and we are looking forward to continuing to Transition with all of you in the coming years, as exciting and as challenging as they may be!

— David Cutter and Qrys Cunningham

Native Healing Plants Workshop featuring Dr. Jim Adams, PhD
Saturday, September 14 — 3:15pm – 5:45pm

Throop Learning Garden at Throop Church
300 S. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena

RSVP required. Space is limited.
Cost $20
 
Please join us for an introduction to native healing plants with Dr. Jim Adams.
 
Jim will teach us about the basics of working with native medicinal plants, especially the six
herbs most used in Chumash healing. He will share techniques for experiencing nature,
including honoring and meditative ways of deepening perceptions. He will guide our journey
with song and story. It will be an afternoon of wonder.

Jim Adams is an associate professor of pharmacology at the USC School of Pharmacology.
He worked for many years with Cecilia Garcia, a renowned Chumash healer. They co-authored  
“Healing with Medicinal Plants of the West”. Since Cecelia’s passing, Jim has redoubled his
efforts to bring information and understanding about the uses of California native plants, and
their importance in Chumash and other indigenous cultures.
 
Please email January Nordman to RSVP.