We are finally relaunching having talked to all existing local initiatives to make sure we work in harmony them and fill the gaps. Have a read, share your thoughts and get involved!

1. Transition Brentford Draft Mission Statement

2. As a Transition Town our ultimate goal is to reduce our
dependence on fossil fuel at a community level
More specifically the Transition Network was created to tackle the issues of climate
change, peak oil, sustainability and scarce resources via grassroots community
initiatives. This can be addressed in many ways:
Support local
food growing
Drive energy
efficiency
Facilitate greener
forms of transport
Foster close-knit
community living
Encourage to reduce
packaging use, re-use
or recycle
Raise awareness
and educate

3. Several local initiatives are already in place so we needed to
define our role in harmony with them
Our aim was to identify how to position
ourselves alongside these existing
groups and take stock of the specific
challenges faced in Brentford.
There was a great deal of consistency
on the perceived role Transition should
play.
In addition, many ideas have
germinated during these
conversations and will form starter
thoughts for our actions.

4. 5 key themes emerged
How to position Transition in Brentford:
2. Be a green information
one-stop-shop by raising
awareness of all the existing
initiatives and offer a regular
info channel
1. Engage the
apathetic majority
with a simple tone of
voice rather than
activist
3. Work with local groups and be
a spark for new ideas
4. Fill the gaps vis-à-vis the
broader Transition agenda
5. Ensure kids are
at the center of
our activities
whenever possible

5. All about one core mission
.

6. 1. Engage the apathetic majority
There is a strong activist nucleus
around Brentford who are already
very informed and involved in various
groups.
The main opportunity therefore lies in
engaging a broader cross-section of
the population and nudge them in the
right direction.
We need to focus on removing
frictions wherever possible, make it
easier and fun to be green.

7. Schools
Noticeboards
2. Develop a local green
information one-stop-shop and
network
Making sure we create a visible
“brand” where all the local activities
and relevant educational material are
easily accessible.
It also means creating a network of
“touchpoints” to relay this information
both digitally and physically (notice
boards, shops, market…) to reach all
groups, regularly.

8. 3. Work with local groups
Beyond raising awareness for local
initiatives and relay their
news, Transition will bring support
and engage with local associations on
an ad hoc basis.
We aim to bring a broad skillset to the
party to both be a source of ideas and
bring experience on how to execute
them.
By making all initiatives visible and
engaging we will create a tighter
green action ecosystem.

9. 4. Fill the gaps
There are many solid initiatives on
recycling, local food growing, kids
engagement and environmental
campaigning that we will support.
Beyond this there are gaps such
as transport policy, energy
efficiency or urban planning
lobbying, areas where Transition
will seek to make a contribution.

10. 5. Engage Kids
We all agreed that kids are the
best way to get to apathetic
parents. They are already central
to BRAG or Hen Corner initiatives.
We will therefore have them in
mind for every activity we conduct.
It will mean linking with schools
and creating engaging game-like
initiatives to be highly visible with
kids.

11. More specifically, a few ideas to explore…

12. Ideas to explore:
Indoor flat gardens
Cultivate London produce an amazing
array of herbs and vegetables that could
then be grown indoor. How can we help?
Majority of people live in flats in Brentford
and not all have balconies.
Cultivate London pots come in standard
size. Why not try and design a little
indoor flat garden that would easily allow
to “plug” these pots into it. It could be on
wheels so that one could easily move it
towards the daylight when leaving the flat.
We could try and engage schools to think
of different designs. People like Paul
Richens could also bring valuable input to
this concept.
“plug and
grow”

13. Ideas to explore:
“Bees 2 Bees” campaign
Brentford could join in the Friends of the
Earth campaign leveraging the obvious fit
with its football club’s identity.
An opportunity to touch thousands of
match goers and followers.
A few sketchy thoughts on how this
could work:
– Relaying message on Brentford FC
website
– Joint campaign on social media
– Match day announcements, photo-shoot
of both bees mascot in arms, petition
signing, demo of bee friedly plants,
distribution of bee saver kits...
– A pledge for every goal scored
– For every Fuller’s Honeydew purchased a
small donation to the campaign is made…

14. Ideas to explore:
Allotment strategy
There is a shortage of allotments as evidenced by
the long waiting lists. We will aim to address this in
a few ways:
First we realised that many owners of allotments need
help for maintenance often due to physical or time
restrictions. Others are willing to help. We therefore
need to create a forum (online, noticeboards,
Morrison's, TW8…) for them to meet. (idea of linkage
with Duke of Edinburgh award)
We could also explore the concept of microallotments whereby 5/6 people could share an
allotment and rotate their activities. This would
however require a set of rules and principles to work
effectively.
There is unused land around the borrow so we could
lobby to convert some of it into allotments.
Supplying local food producers such as soupafresh
(present in Brentford Market) with vegetables from
local allotments or via the edible Ealing box scheme –
an opportunity to eat 100% local produce.

15. Ideas to explore:
Facilitating cycling
Brentford is already a key hub for
Hounslow council strategy.
We can work in partnership with them to
ensure we optimise the infrastructure for
cyclists.
Likewise Sky could prove a key strategic
partner since cycling is core to their
brand.
It is also about providing information and
advice on:
Bike storage facilities
Bike repair (Cycledoctor…)
Bike rental (Brentford Bikes)
Cycle to work scheme
how to install relevant bike storage
facilities, bike rental .
Removing frictions to bike
ownership and usage

16. Ideas to explore:
Bin there done that recycling?
A big chunk of the population live in flats and
do not have proper recycling facilities nearby
or simply are not given access to a recycling
box for the weekly collect.
Given the inertia of green behaviour, it means
that a large volume of recyclable rubbish is
put through the general waste system.
Proper recycling starts at home. So we
should encourage people to use more
convenient bins to get more sorting done at
home.
Therefore we should consider:
Lobby Hounslow council to better cater for
people living in flats
Recommend convenient bins
Or cooler more fun bins to better engage
kids…
Lobbying Hounslow council
Suggestions to
make recycling
easier…
… or more fun
Idea from Bedzed project

17. Ideas to explore:
Recycling signage & stories
A picture is worth a thousand words …
There is an opportunity to use infographics
near recycling bins (e.g. Morrisons parking) to
educate on the importance of recycling but
more importantly on the destination of this
material and how it all works for more
transparency.
We could also try and measure how much we
recycle every year and challenge the
population to improve (through gamification).
Ultimately we need to better recycle and reduce
our use of packaging.
Finally we could also use a team of students to
create a video to follow the life of a few
items (plastic bottle, cardboard, glass, paper)
to the recycling facility to bring the whole
process to life.
More information, fun and
transparency

18. Ideas to explore:
Art and Gamification to engage kids
Several games with local schools could be
considered to sensitise kids and their
parents. Below are examples for
consideration…
Mona Lisa of Brentford: kids would play a
game whereby they have to collect caps of
certain colours and stick them onto a card,
trading to get the right colours etc…. When all
cards are put together on a large warehouse,
the big reveal is a Mona Lisa made of plastic
caps.
Plastic transformers: kids would be tasked to
collect plastic of different colours. They would
then go on a trip to the recycling facility and
return with a bin of the collected colour..
We could also organise recycling
competitions to find out how to give a second
life to many items we throw away… (e.g. how
can we create useful objects from the most
frequent recyclable items from business or
personal use)
From the right thing
to the in-thing

19. Ideas to explore:
Can we reinvent the noticeboard? To get noticed
Communication is fundamental
but there are no major channels in
place at the moment
We need to rethink how
noticeboards could take more
of a center stage in community
life
Several ideas have popped up
lately that could be a good
source of inspiration - be it
artistic, conceptual, digital…

20. Ideas to explore:
Urban planning involvement
If Brentford is to keep its “rurban”
feel, we should engage with the
developers to make sure their
plans incorporate the
fundamentals of sustainable living
and community life whilst
preserving green spaces and the
village feel.
Isis for example paid visits to our
meetings last year and we should
continue this type of dialogue.

21. Ideas to explore:
Linking with Brentford’s history
To successfully reinvent itself as a
modern town, Brentford has to
seamlessly integrate its heritage into its
new fabric. This is fundamental to retain
integrity and avoid the pitfalls of so many
soulless developments which dampen
community spirit.
The Sunday market is a great example of
this. Can we think of any other similar
initiatives?
We should make references to Brentford’s
History on our website
Opportunity to promote historical guided
tours.

22. Ideas to explore:
Celebrating our past to inspire the future
As the regeneration of the high street is
taking time and leaving plenty of derelict
buildings on show, could we use these as
giant canvases to celebrate Brentford
history?
French artist JR has several initiatives
such as “Unframed” (http://www.jrart.net/) which could prove a good
springboard to engage residents on the
history and indirectly lobby for better
regeneration plans that respect the
integrity of the place. He is currently
exhibiting at Somerset House.
Met recently and the idea resonated with
them…
Octink could be a key partner to print the
material.

23. Refreshing the material:
Thoughts on website design
Need for a logo that speaks of simplicity,
fun and community. It should also focus
on Brentford identity if possible.
Features:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Blog feed where all local groups could
post every fortnight
Add a Media Center with links to key
videos, radio shows to keep up to date
and learn.
A visible rolling menu with “what’s on”
Ensure the design works on mobile to
allow for location based initiatives.
User friendly map to easily locate local
activities
Consider using QR codes or similar.
Need to rethink current website

24. Refreshing the material:
Thoughts on message and tone of voice
The tone of voice needs to be accessible,
simple and down to earth.
No jargon. Think Jamie Oliver rather than
eco-warrior… Or Innocent smoothies…
There is overall confusion as to what
words such as sustainability, community
resilience or carbon footprint mean. Let’s
explain those in plain English.
It is also about adapting our message,
adding a positive “spin”, to focus on
tangible rewards. A great deal of work on
behavioural psychology points to that
direction…
Accessible language, no big words…
ADAPTING THE MESSAGE, EARLY THOUGHTS
For example, going from … to …
Save the planet > Love the place you live in, the
good local life
Energy Efficiency > Save money
Local food > Fresh food you can trust, you can see growing
around you, or even pick with your kids…
Transport > save money, cycling is free gym, discovery…
Recycling > can be fun for kids, can save money to your
community to get better facilities…

25. A final point on ways of working
We have had difficulties in the first year putting
a Constitution together so the “Light touch”
structure of Ealing Transition could prove a
good approach.
They also have a very informal way of working
which is very much focused on common sense.
– People agree to take on certain projects
which they then work on in separate
workstreams, meeting whenever suits
– Each group then reports back at steering
groups and this gets added to the
minutes. They meet as often (or not) as
makes sense.
– One watch out: need to make sure there
is transparency for accounts and funding.
“Mostly people don't join transition
to go to meetings but to be active,
so that’s what we aim for.”
Trevor Sharman, Ealing Transition
Ealing Transition Initiative: Governing Principles
Aims and Purpose
Our core purpose is to mobilise and facilitate community action in order to respond
effectively and positively to climate change and peak oil.
We hope to achieve this by:

Raising awareness in the Ealing area of climate change and peak oil

Creating a vision for a sustainable, happy Ealing

Engaging and building networks with people and groups already active with these
issues, and working both to support local council initiatives that are in line with our
own, and to inspire new initiatives.

Providing a framework for an effective response to climate change and peak oil,
including the creation and implementation of an Energy Descent Action Plan

Creating visible practical projects that will reduce our C02 emissions, reduce our
dependency on fossil fuels, and empowering residents to participate.

We do this with the aim of creating a world that uses less energy and fewer
resources and because we believe that by doing so Ealing will become a closer-knit,
more self-sufficient and thus resilient community.

We are non party political and non- sectarian.
How we Work
These are the principles that guide the way ETI works. These continue to develop and
evolve:

26. Next steps
Regroup and grow the team
Put together a dream team of Brentford residents and contributors from around Brentford
Refresh website and brand
Review of website design and contents as well as review of other potential touchpoints. This
will include branding. Cyrille has secured a charity day from colleagues in marketing
consultancy to help with this.
Form “working groups”
Put together working groups around personal interests to seek practical ways to achieve this in
specific areas e.g. food, transport, education, community living, etc.
Do stuff!

27. Meanwhile you can
have a glance at this
newsletter to get a
feel for what is
currently happening
in and around
Brentford

28. Or visit other nearby Transition groups
http://www.transitiontownbrixton.org/
http://www.ttkingston.org/
http://www.transitionheathrow.com/
http://ealingtransition.org.uk/

29. Get involved!