Walking in to Bradford was a shock to the system after the beautiful countryside. Many areas suffer deprivation and there were empty shops all over the place except for in the city center. The Transition group in Bradford no longer operates, as they found the city too big for the Transition model. But what happened instead was that the group seeded other wonderful initiatives. I’ve come across this in a few different cities now that groups come together for a purpose and even if the original group closes down it starts off other groups with related aims. The important thing seems to be coming together and trying to make a change. No effort is wasted. Like a wave that washes up and then recedes, the energy of it’s passing changes the land beneath it.

Horton Community Farm is one fantastic example of this. Through the work of local residents over five years, a derelict allotment site that was attracting crime has become a community farm.