Sunday October 18th brought the first snow of the season but it didn't deter 250 people from attending the Massachusetts Relocalization Conference in Boston, MA. The conference focused on developing vibrant local economies based on sustainable jobs and economic justice, including community-led initiatives in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, community farms and gardens, local manufacturing, livable-walkable-bikeable streets and well-integrated public transportation, community-owned finance and local currencies, and more.

At the conference Transition Newburyport members Conrad Willeman and Elizabeth Marcus served as panelists in the breakout session focused on the Transition Towns movement, led by Massachusetts' own Tina Clark, one of 23 US Transition Town Trainers. TN member David de Smit was a panelists for the Building Local, Sustainable & Just Food Systems session.

Keynote speakers were Francis Moore Lappe, author of Diet for a Small Planet, Mel King, Massachusetts activist and former state representative, and Bill McKibben, environmental activist, writer and founder of 350.org. It was a great opportunity for networking with other organizations working toward a more local, sustainable future.

Links to some of the many groups represented:

Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility
The Lowell Center for Sustainable Production at U Mass Lowell
Organic Agriculture Program at Bristol Community College
Mass Local Food
Sustainable Business Network-Boston
Common Good Bank

(originally posted in the November Transition Newburyport Newsletter)

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         More info: www.relocalizemassachusetts.org