FOLLOWING a joyfully sunny launch event in Victoria Park, the Frome Neighbourhood Network team are asking for you and your street to get involved with Transition Streets Frome (TSF).
TSF is designed to tackle environmental issues, mitigate the current cost-of-living crisis for Frome residents, and bring neighbours closer together. The project works by inviting neighbours to gather with six to eight households on their street and agree to hold eight group sessions (roughly two hours long) in their homes.
Frome Neighbourhood Network say, “We spoke to loads of lovely Fromies at the launch – and gave away a lot of free ice cream! – and from all our conversations we were able to see some patterns in the kind of Frome residents that Transition Streets might appeal to.
“New to Frome? If you’re new to the area and don’t know anyone yet, doing a structured and supported (and fun!) project like Transition Streets can help you connect with neighbours by giving you a fantastic reason to meet up regularly and share more than a passing hello in the driveway. If you can join a TSF group that’s starting up on your road, that’s great. But if you don’t know anyone yet and feel a little intimidated asking new acquaintances to spend their time on this, the Frome Neighbourhood Network team can help you. We have tips and materials that will allow you to reach out to your neighbours and get them excited about joining in.
“Not as green as you’d like? If you are well intentioned but, like many of us, feel a little bamboozled by different advice on how to be greener – the TSF project could be just what you need. The group meetings you do with your neighbours are structured around a handbook with loads of up-to-date and reliable information on the best ways to cut your carbon footprint and opt for greener habits. Each meeting you have will be based on a different chapter of the handbook and all the chapters have a focus on practical and easy-to-do tips and ideas that won’t break the bank. And looking at this with your neighbours could make you feel less guilty about the things you don’t yet do and enable you to work together to achieve the green targets you want to reach. It’s win-win!
“The project ideas and tips in the TSF handbook are fantastic for kids – from creating play safe areas on your street, and building animal habitats, to water saving challenges that little ones will love. We’ve intentionally made a lot of ideas child-centred and encourage everyone involved with the project to get the kids on board too. After all, it’s never too early to inspire young people to be excited about how they want their homes, neighbourhoods and the world around them to be! It might be a great way to channel their energy into something tangible and give them an opportunity to share with the adults around them what is important to them and what they want to change.
“Maybe you’ve lived next door to your neighbours for 15 years and never said more than a cursory hello, or maybe you’ve had tensions on your street and want to do something positive to get everyone singing from the same hymn sheet. Either way, the Transition Streets Frome project could be just the ticket in uniting neighbours and bringing you together to achieve great things for your local area.
“Disgruntled with the way the world is? If, like many of us, you are feeling let down and ignored by those in power, the TSF project could help you feel more empowered and more connected to changing the things you think need changing. The TSF was born out of the Transitions Movement which fundamentally is based on the idea that if we want the world around us to change, we have to change it ourselves: ‘the world’s huge challenges feel more manageable if addressed at the local scale.’
“Many of us in Frome are struggling financially right now. And this can have a huge impact on other parts of our lives, not least making us feel stressed and anxious. If this sounds like you, the TSF project has been designed with you in mind. With energy prices still sky-high, the tips and projects in the TSF handbook will help you cut and monitor energy and water use – letting you feel more in control of your bills.
“In the Totnes version of this project, households saved on average £570 from their yearly household bills. The handbook is also full of services and support available in Frome and how to access it. Don’t be shy about getting involved because you want to save money – you might be surprised about how many others on your street are motivated by this too and it could make you feel less alone.”
If any of the above sounds like you, get in touch by emailing fromeneighbourhoodnetwork@gmail.com or visit our website for more information www.fnn. org.uk/transition-streets
