The transition concept emerged from work done by environmentalist Rob Hopkins which looked at the realms of energy production, health, education, economy and agriculture as a road map to a sustainable future for a community.

The mission for a Transition Town is two-fold — to explore and then follow pathways of practical actions that will reduce our carbon emissions and dependence on fossil fuels and to build community resilience, or its ability to withstand shocks from the outside, through being more self-reliant in areas such as food, energy, health care, jobs and economics.

So what’s being done locally?

• The Dundas Sustainable Lifestyles Project (DSLP) initiative has been meeting since last spring to inspire individuals and families to adopt more sustainable living practices.

• The DSLP initiative has spawned the Dundas Ontario-in Transition (DOiT) group, which has worked since last fall to bring Transition Town concepts to the Dundas community. The steering committee of DO-iT invites all who are interested in learning more about the initiative to visit its website at www.DundasOntarioIn-Transition.ca .

• DSLP, DO-iT, the Conserver Society of Hamilton and District and the Dundas Star are co-sponsoring a Transition Town Ideas Contest that runs until March 2 and offers cash prizes for the best ideas on how to make Dundas more sustainable and resilient. Develop an idea and enter.

One-page, typed suggestions will be accepted at the Dundas Star News office at 47 Cootes Dr. until March 2. Any accompanying graphs or charts must be part of the single page. All submissions must include a contact name, phone number, street address and e-mail address if available as well as the entrant’s age if under 19 – all on a single page. Group submissions are acceptable, as long as there is one contact person. Anyone from any area can submit an idea, but it must be directly applicable to Dundas. Multiple entries from a single individual or group are welcome.