We gather regularly to network, discuss sustainability and resilience in Albuquerque, get updates from our work groups, share food, scheme ideas, do activities, and learn something new.
Our next gathering is to be determined. We are not hosting monthly potlucks anymore but we will gather! Stay tuned to our newsletter for announcements of special events.
Past Events
For resources from our past events including links to websites, books, and other materials, please see our Resources page.
November 28, 2018 Planning Meeting | Looking Forward & Looking Back
For our final gathering of the year, we discussed where Transition ABQ has been and where we would like it to go. We discussed:
- Switching from monthly potluck gatherings to quarterly or semi-annual, more robust programs.
- How to better start, grow, and support working groups such as Permablitz, Permaculture book club, and the Solar Food Dehydrator group.
- Presenting our Transition Streets & Emergency Preparedness materials to neighborhood associations across the city.
- Shifting focus to more political advocacy, in the wake of elections of climate science believers into office at our city, county, and state levels of government.
We decided to discontinue monthly gatherings for the time being in favor of focusing on advocacy during January-March 2019, then larger events on a quarterly basis. The Core Group will continue to meet monthly. If you are interested in joining us for a Core Group meeting, let us know!
September 26, 2018 Drawdown: most impactful solutions to the climate dilemma
An international coalition of leading researchers, scientists and policymakers came together to offer a set of realistic and bold solutions to climate change. The book Drawdown, edited by Paul Hawken, ranks those solutions by which offer the greatest global carbon reductions. We heard a summary presentation of his book, and studied and discussed its top list of solutions. We compared it to our own Albuquerque CO2 Pledge and considered the most impactful actions we can take personally, and as a community.
August 22, 2018 Transportation discussion | Transition Streets Series
We continued our series going through the Transition Streets handbook. This time we looked at the Transportation chapter, which involves:
- Learning your commute’s impact vs alternatives
- Walking, biking, & public transit
- Carpool, bike share, car share
- Fuel-efficient driving
- To fly or not to fly
We had a lively discussion that included three members of the city’s Transportation Board! Resources from that discussion can be found on our Resources page.
June 27, 2018 Water discussion | Transition Streets Series
- Learning how much you use
- Reducing waste with home & yard fixes
- Greywater & Rain capture
- Changing your diet & habits
We had a hand-dishwashing demonstration and shared our own tips & tricks for saving water in the desert. At our dinner tables, some of us talked about this recent and heartbreaking NYTimes article about the Rio Grande.
March 28, 2018 Resilient Table | Transition Streets Series
We continued our series going through the Transition Streets handbook. This time we looked at the Food chapter, which involves:
- Eating local & seasonal
- Reducing packaging & food waste
- Eating organic & lower on the food chain
- Growing your own food
We also discussed the nutritional effects of processed food, the local food system in New Mexico, and how we can contribute to lowering the high rate food insecurity.
February 28, 2018 Know Waste to No Waste | Transition Streets Series
Nature doesn’t really have “waste” as we know it. One creature’s waste is another species’ food, such as fertilizer for plants. As humans, we’ve developed this concept of throwing things “away” but there is no “away”. We only have one planet!
So how can we reduce our personal and household waste as close to zero as possible? How can we encourage our communities and stores to reduce as well?
We started our Transition Streets Series with the Waste chapter. Leila Salim presented on landfills, packaging, and the importance of the order of REDUCE, then REUSE, then recycle. We had a show & tell of reusable items such as produce bags, beeswax wrap, & more. See the slides and links from that here.
We were joined by Transition travelers from Quebec. Laurent & Audrey, of Horizon Transition who have been traveling North America by van, visiting Transition Towns and other community resilience movements to connect, learn, and share about the people and projects they meet. We really enjoyed meeting them and sharing food, culture, knowledge and experiences from our movement!
January 10, 2018 Fossil Fuel Free by 2023: A Personal Challenge
We kicked off the new year hearing from Transitioner and president of NM Solar Energy Association, Athena Christodoulou, who has made the ambitious goal to be Fossil-Fuel Free by 2023!
December 13, 2017 Holiday Potluck & Used-Item Gift Exchange
We had a holiday-themed potluck and caught up on the projects each of us are working on. Then we had a used-item gift exchange to give second lives and add to the stories of our stuff!
November 8, 2017 Resilience groups planning session
We had a potluck and planning session for the new work groups that came out of the Resilience Forum. We broke up into project groups to work through the questions on this worksheet. Groups that met were: City Climate Action Plan, Sustainability Resource Guide / Neighborhood Assets (they kind of joined forces), and Reskilling / Prepping Fair.
October 15, 2017 RESILIENCE Action Forum
Questions we’re addressing:
How should we address our overlapping ecological, energy, economic, & equity challenges?
How will we do our part as individuals & communities to keep the Paris Climate Agreement?
What are our priorities for local community projects? for City & State policies?
At this special Sunday-afternoon gathering, we used two Open Space sessions to gather the ideas of participants and form groups to discuss how to move forward on those ideas. At the end of the two sessions, we created a circle chart with a section for each project, and gave three colored stickers to each participant, who used them to show their commitments and to vote on which projects Transition ABQ would take on. Our follow-up meeting on November 8th, the groups will meet again to decide what the next steps for these projects are. See the photos from this forum here.
September 6, 2017 Organizing Neighbors
With Charey Fox (Fringecrest) and Patrick Scott (Mile Hi)
For this gathering, we talked about how to organize neighbors to get things done in your community. As we implement Transition Streets (a program to help neighbors come together to learn and do practical actions to lower carbon footprints, conserve water, reduce waste, and strengthen communities) we heard from folks who have successfully organized their neighborhoods for events and projects.
August 2, 2017 Transition Streets
Building resilient neighborhoods, one street at a time
For this gathering, we talked about Transition Streets, a program to help neighbors come together to learn and implement practical actions to lower carbon footprints, conserve water, reduce waste, and strengthen communities. We went through the outline of the program, shared some examples, and talked about how we can bring it to our neighborhoods!
July 5, 2017 Picnic in the Park
A summer catch-up with friends and talking about the Get To Know Your Neighbors Challenge in preparation for Transition Streets.
May 3, 2017 Practicing Permaculture talk by Amanda Bramble
Amanda Bramble, local Permaculture rock star, co-creator of Ampersand Sustainable Learning Center, told us about her life and work at her beautiful off-grid, self-sustaining, mountain oasis. Her practice at Ampersand includes greywater & rain capture, growing & preserving food, solar cooking & dehydration, passive heating & cooling design, solar energy systems, composting of all kinds, earthen building techniques, watershed restoration, and teaching & training. We were so inspired!
March 1, 2017 Self Care for Activists Workshop
How does one participate in civic life, while sustaining one’s own life?
Phone calls and letters to elected officials, petitions, rallies, hearings, and town halls… we can’t do it all, but we do what we can. At this workshop we discussed the different ways we’re coping, managing our time, balancing our outrage with inner peace, our activism with our sanity, avoiding burnout, and cultivating personal resilience.
We had a few structured exercises to spur contemplation, evaluation, and sharing of interventions.
February 1, 2017 TED talks watch party
A casual and fun watch party where we heard some of the best ideas from TED talks on Sustainability and the New Economy over popcorn and hot cider! See our TED talks playlist here.
January 4, 2017 Act on Climate
Getting prepared to take action during New Mexico’s 2017 legislative session. We learned about statewide efforts to address renewable energy and climate justice and how to join in! Presenters were Tom Solomon, Director of 350.org New Mexico and Camilla Feibelman, Director of Rio Grande Chapter of Sierra Club
December 7th, 2016 The Story of Stuff
As the holiday season comes upon us, this time of giving thanks and gifts often leads to extensive shopping and consumerism. We’d like to re-think that tradition with a screening and discussion of the film The Story of Stuff. After watching the short film, we had group discussions and a gifting table where you could bring a used item to gift!
November 2nd, 2016 Preparedness to Resilience
We heard some short stories from our friends on withstanding disasters or times of going without, then we had a quick lesson on the difference between Emergency Preparedness and Community Resilience. After that we had upbeat discussions on preparing for different circumstances which might arise in Albuquerque – forest fire, electricity blackout, drought, food shortage, economic meltdown. Topic tables included Food, Water, & Shelter; Transportation, Communication, & Technology; Health; Money, Barter, Time banking; Neighbors, Tribes, Support systems; Essentials; and Fun & Creativity.
We want to design opportunities for our individual, family, neighborhood, and city’s future. We want to be prepared, not reactive, in wise and positive ways. Transition Towns all over the world are working on building community resilience to improve day-to-day lives while also preparing for the future. This was our first step.
October 5th, 2016 Your Energy Efficient Home
Marlene Brown got us ready for winter weather with a a thoughtful talk on energy efficiency, conservation and weatherization for home and office. She focused on low cost and no cost measures you can do yourself.
Marlene has a Masters in Electrical Engineering and 20 years at Sandia National Labs as a Systems and Solar Engineer. She’s a renewable energy pioneer who has taught countless workshops in solar energy and conservation.
September 7th, 2016 Transitioning Your Garden to Fall
John Garlisch, Horticulture expert from NMSU / Bernalillo County Extensio discussed steps to take to transition your garden to cooler weather, including cold frames, hoops houses, cover crops, and other winter gardening techniques.
August 3rd, 2016 Picnic in the Park
Just a summer evening outdoors with a picnic and games!
July 6th, 2016 Solar Power
Potluck dinner and presentations by
Renewable energy expert Greg Crabtree on solar thermal,
Solar consultant Scott Chazdon on photovoltaics, and
Home solar user Ella Joan Fenoglio on her experience.
June 1st, 2016 Visioning
Fostering Community Partnerships. The purpose of Transition is to break free of oil addiction and create a resilient community. It’s essential to partner with the fabulous people and intelligence in Albuquerque. How do we become more effective, have a significant role in ABQ?
Facilitated Open Space exercise on “How do we support each other so that everyone has a bigger impact on creating community resilience and confronting climate change in Albuquerque?”
May 7th, 2016 CSAs & Farmer’s Markets: Impact on Our Lives & Our Economy
Potluck dinner and discussion keynoted by three stellar experts:
Robert Hoberg, Director, Downtown Farmer’s Market,
Casey Holland, Manager, Red Tractor Farm & CSA, and
Jedrek Lamb, General Manager, Agri-Cultura Network / La Cosecha CSA Co-op.
April 6th, 2016 Saving Water
Agenda:
Networking, snacks, visit water barrel displays
“Saving H2O – Water Use at Home and Garden”
“Xeriscaping in Albuquerque” & soil-based water conservation
by Richard Chapman, President of Smart Use, a contractor with the Water Utility Authority
Demonstration of 3 water recycling approaches
Q & A
Community announcements & Earth Day updates
March 2nd, 2016 Soil workshop
Agenda:
Light snacks potluck
Introduction talk by Alberto Lopez
Soil texture & composition testing
Soil building stations
Discussion & Announcements
Core Group meeting
February 3, 2016 Relocalize our Economy: A discussion on how to cultivate a sustainable, community-based economy in Albuquerque
Featuring speakers: Vern Hagen on Public Banking; Andino Novato on Local Currency; Bob Allen on Timebanking; and Clifton Chadwick on Buying Local.
Agenda:
Light snacks potluck
Short talks by panelists
Q & A with all panelists
Community Announcements
Closing & Cleanup
Core Group meeting
January 13, 2016 “Forward From Paris: The Participation of Civil Society and Faith Communities in Combating Climate Change”
Sister Joan Brown, Executive Director of NM Interfaith Power & Light and delegate to the Paris COP21 spoke on the Paris climate talks and the Paris Pledge. Maggie Seeley presented the Albuquerque CO2 Pledge for personal application of climate responsibility.
Agenda:
Cider & Cookies
Presentation by Joan Brown
Questions & Answers
Presentation of Paris Pledge & Albuquerque CO2 Pledge
December 2, 2015 Winter Gardening Panel
We learned from four experts on Winter Gardening in Albuquerque. Valerie Smith, Sean Ludden, Robin Day, and Mary Carson spoke and answered questions on
• How to eat locally in winter
• Growing your own micro greens and sprouts
• Building a winter hoop house for your backyard
• Planning your year-round garden
• and more!
Agenda:
Potluck
Holiday Game
Winter Gardening panel presentations
Questions & Answers for panelists
November 4, 2015 Stories of Transition
21 stories of Transition were chosen by Rob Hopkins in advance of COP21- the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris next month – and is a joyous and inspiring celebration of what the Transition movement has become. It tells 21 stories of 39 Transition projects in 15 countries, drawing out some staggering insights into their impacts
Agenda:
Potluck
Stories of Transition presentation
Local Food Fest report
Work Groups reports
CivNet presentation & community announcements
October 7, 2015 Film & Discussion
Agenda:
Gather & snacks
Report from Maggie Seeley, just returned from Global Transition Conference
Local Food Festival (October 11th) update and signups
Film screening: INHABIT – A Permaculture Perspective
Discussion of film
September 7, 2015 Bike Talk
Agenda:
Pot Luck
Bike Talks by experts Lee Ann Ratzlaff and Daniel Majewski
Q&A
Local Food Fest update
Working group updates & community announcements
August 12, 2015 Brainstorm
at 6:30pm at The Source.
Agenda:
Pot Luck
Mini Scavenger Hunt in The Source’s garden
Planning our booth & scavenger hunt educational activity for the October 11th Local Food Festival
Quick work group updates & announcements
July 1st, 2015 Picnic
at 6:20pm at Roosevelt Park.
Agenda:
Gather & eat
Check ins & Gratitude practice
Working groups check ins
Updates & announcements
Discussion of Autumn project(s)
Games & other merriment
View the brainstorming boards from our May 27 gathering
May 27 Brainstorm
at 6:21pm at First Unitarian Church
Agenda:
Finger Food potluck
Work Groups report on beginnings of work
Individuals who started The Method may give follow-up
Brainstorm/Discussion of “What’s Next” for Transition ABQ
April 29, 2015 Talk
The Method by Bruce Milne, Charey Fox, and Bev Salas
at 6:21pm at First Unitarian Church
Agenda:
6:00 Pot luck
6:30 Introduction (Bev and Bruce; Story of our meeting by means of The Method)
6:45 Introduce The Method parts I, II, III
7:00 Part I: Exercise – Mindfulness and replacing negative thoughts (Charey)
7:15 Exercise: Replacing today’s negative thoughts – fishbowl and trade positive solutions with partners
7:30 Part II: Burning Desire; exercise (Bruce, handout to fill in)
7:45 Conquering Doubt; Bev’s Navajo story and Charey’s ‘internal critic’
8:00 Part III: Gratitude – Recipe and fishbowl to show how it is done
8:15 Groups find gratitude within Transition topics, e.g., water, energy, inequality
8:30 Sign up for phone check-ins over next few weeks
