Staying Local With Transition East Brunswick

Theresa Lam is an activist for local.

If she had her way, everyone would buy, grow and prepare their food locally. They would stay local to have work done to their homes, and artisans, craftsmen, mechanics and more would share their skills with the greater community.

“It’s not just about local food. It's reskilling. Learning how to make soap, carpentry, things like that. It’s about localizing the economy,” she said.

Some of those goals may be easier to reach than others, but that’s not stopping Lam, who recently created the East Brunswick Transition Community, a group dedicated to working together to overcome the challenges of the 21st century, including economic hardships and energy shortages.

“It’s a group that works together to build a resolute community,” she said. “That means we would be building a community that quickly adapts to abrupt changes in the environmental and economic system.”

The group will meet on Thursday, Oct. 4, at 7 p.m. in the East Brunswick Senior Center. The meeting will include a viewing of Transition 2.0, film that captures stories of Transition initiatives around the world.

The group aims to show people things such as how to grow, harvest and preserve their own food; to discuss “edible” landscaping by including berry, nut and fruit trees in your yard; and will encourage community solar power, transportation, biking, car sharing, collaborative consumption; and creating a network to share tools and equipment.

“People buy a drill or sewing machine, but how often do they use it? So we’ll talk about sharing,” she said.

Lam is no stranger to these sorts of things. She worked on “green living” as a member of the Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission, and has long been a supporter of buying and growing local. The Transition group is even modeled after similar groups.

“I just felt like I needed to do a little bit more, I needed more ideas, so I’ve been looking around,” she said. “I’m just an activist for local things, local foods, and I’m very much into farming and trying to encourage local foods and buying everything local.

When she found a Transition group in Newton, she was inspired. The group was working on localizing everything—food, services and products.

“It’s going to be a fun organization. We’re not complaining about energy or politics, but a lot of people are scrambling to find energy. They’re fracking. They’re putting permits out for nuclear power plants.”

For more information, visit The East Brunswick Transition's Google group HERE, or visit them on Facebook.

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