Page 9 - TNE WORKBOOK

Talking Points
• Ask people what they would like to improve in their community or neighbourhood, or in their own
lives - if they talk about things like stronger relationships between neighbours, a sense of community,
safety and wellbeing, saving some money, improving the environment, getting healthier, or having fun -
then suggest that these are things they might be able to enjoy by having a go at the Transition Streets
program with you and the other people on your street.
• If people aren’t too fussed about climate change, you can mention that Transition Streets is predominantly
about benefiting the community - by helping to strengthen local connections, and empower all of us as
neighbours and community members to be kinder to the environment, save on our energy, water and
petrol bills, eat healthier, exercise a bit more, and save money on our grocery and shopping bills.

Option 2: Inviting the neighbours to your first workshop using flyers
Alternatively, you could just put flyers around your neighbourhood about your first workshop instead,
if you don’t have the time or space to organise a street party. You can download the workshop
invitation flyer here, add in your workshop details, and then print out and pop in your neighbours’
mailboxes.

Step 3
The day finally arrives! Hold your street’s inaugural Transition Streets workshop! Just having gone to the effort
of connecting with your neighbours on this issue is a big undertaking, so pat yourself on the back for getting
to this point. Don’t be disappointed if only a few people show up - a group with three or more people will
work just fine.

Tip for First Workshop of Neighbours

To help with building relationships and comfort in the group, in your invitation, you might like to suggest
a fun activity to do before or after you work through the first workshop. This could include:

• Sharing a meal together (for example, having a ‘potluck’ dinner, where everyone brings a dish)

• Watching an inspirational movie, like the beautiful and entertaining French documentary ‘Demain’ about
what communities around the world are doing to tackle climate change.

What to Bring to Each Meeting
Remember to include in the invitation, and in your conversations with neighbours and/or friends, instructions
for each person to bring along:
• A laptop computer, iPad or smartphone (iPhone or Android) if they have one. This is required so that
everyone can easily access the online resources during the workshop. You could also just use one laptop
to take it in turns to read out the workbook instructions. Some workshops have short online surveys - so
ideally everyone should bring their phone along so they can complete these individually
This means that you should try to host the workshop at a house with wifi that guests can log into.
That said, if you don’t have great internet access, or have a group that would prefer to do everything
offline, you can also just download and print a copy of the workbook chapter for each workshop.
• Pen and paper - to take notes if you want to;

• Snacks and drinks (obviously optional, but tasty!); and

• An idea for a fun activity you could do as a group before or after each meeting (see our suggested list
of fun activities here).

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