-by Bill Monahan

Where do you want to be living when the oil runs out? According to Hubbert's Peak Oil theory we will reach a point soon, if we haven't already, when the world's supply of oil, which is finite, will be overtaken by the consumption of it, which is growing exponentially. There are those who dismiss the theory but when you consider that oil companies are turning to inefficient and biohazardous approaches like fracking and the tar sands, things certainly aren't what they were when the Clampetts moved to Beverly Hills. It seems possible that even within our lifetime, it might become so rare a commodity that we'll have to learn to get along without it. Okay, so if that happens, where would you like to be?

Cuba comes to mind as an obvious choice, given that they have already learned to adapt after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Nice tropical climate, friendly people, great music. But the food's not particularly tantalizing and it is still, after all, a Communist dictatorship. Being Canadian and loving it, born and raised in Ontario, I'd like to stay here in this province. And so, my answer is, I want to live in Meaford.

Where the heck is Meaford? It's a question heard so often by the residents of this small Ontario town that a few years ago they emblazoned it on T-shirts and caps. It's nestled in the lee of Cape Rich on the southern shore of Georgian Bay, halfway between Owen Sound and Collingwood. It's beautiful throughout the area, with clean air, fresh sweet water for swimming and boating, and picturesque hills with distant romantic views in every direction. But, if we are talking about Peak Oil, one of the main reasons for choosing Meaford is the fact that it has enthusiastically embraced the Transition Movement.

You might have heard about it. Founded less than a decade ago in Britain by Rob Hopkins, it's spreading around the world faster than a climate change wildfire because it is a positive approach to the looming challenges that scare the heck out of so many of us. Forget about protesting to politicians who are handcuffed to their corporate sponsors, and concentrate instead on finding a way to survive and thrive in this changing world. It's about local resilience and sustainability developed to such an extent that if (or when) the global economy collapses because of its dependence on cheap oil, the local impact can be minimized. A messenger visited Meaford just a few years ago and the concept was immediately embraced by local citizenry and government. The value of the idea is that it is not a rigid set of rules, but an encouragement for local people to find their own methods to make it work in a way that brings the community together.

The first cheerleaders were Lindy Iverson and Jaden Calvert, starting with monthly meetings and a series of provocative documentaries called "Films For Thought" (now in its fourth year). Town planner Liz Buckton and broadcaster Roger Klein were among the first adherents. Popular support was clear when, in 2014, Lindy Iversen was voted Citizen of The Year at the Community Awards, and in the fall, Jaden Calvert was elected to town council. Innovative ideas have come thick and fast.

Community gardens have been established throughout Meaford, allowing participants to grow, for free, their own vegetables, using organic methods and non-BMO seeds. The produce is shared with the local food bank and seeds are gathered at a Seed Library, where participants can borrow organic seeds to plant, and replace them with seeds after the harvest. Bee and butterfly habitats have been established in vacant lots, milkweed patches for Monarch butterflies are encouraged, and wildflower seeds are given to residents to plant in their flower gardens. Local beekeeper Rick Elzby educated himself about the dangers of neonicotinoids to such an extent that his voluminous notes informed the Ontario government when they moved to ban the destructive poisons that pose such a danger to the birds and the bees.

An annual re-use fair is organized every spring where residents donate items to match wish lists from local community organizations, short circuiting the recycling process. Local resident Thomas Dean led the way for the community to include recycling of plastic bags and packaging that is normally excluded from Blue Box programs. He found a market for it and organized a pilot project that demonstrated the viability to an extent that the town added it to its recycling services. Farms and markets around Meaford are finding a growing consumer interest in organic products and the local farmers' market held every summer Friday in the beautiful downtown harbour is increasingly crowded with shoppers seeking local organic produce.

Lest you imagine Meaford to be a sleepy little hamlet where residents sit back in rockers dangling straw from their mouths and listening to the buzzing of bees, there is much more buzz in town that is distinctly 21st Century. Meaford is known for its great fishing, sailing, hiking, swimming, and the apple orchards that fill the hillsides, but the last ten or fifteen years have brought newcomers of a special stripe, people of imagination and ability who have introduced cultural and entrepreneurial excellence to the area. The granddaddy of unique local cultural events is the Electric Eclectic Festival, held on a Meaford farm every year since 2006 on the Civic Holiday weekend. It attracts avant-guard artists from around the world to present a mix of music, art installations, DJ's and films in an idyllic rural setting. Labour Weekend brings the Meaford International Film Festival to the recently restored Opera House at Meaford Hall in the downtown area. It includes four international (non-Hollywood) films over four nights, accompanied by interviews (often by Skype) with filmmakers and commenters and complimented by pre-film dinners and post-film parties where festival-goers extend the excitement by discussing the merits of the films, often chosen for their thought-provoking content. Local young filmmakers are included in special shorts that open each night's program, and an Audience Choice Award (called the "pomme d'or", an allusion to local orchards) is presented on the final night to the film of choice. A more quaint, more folky event marks the annual apple harvest with the Scarecrow Invasion and the Apple Crafts Show. Scarecrows made at working bees by volunteers throughout the summer are hung from lampposts and sprawled on benches to give the town a colourful ambience, kicked off by a parade, and the Craft Show fills two arenas with wares from artisans.

Meaford re-invented for local use the CBC television show, The Dragons' Den, and is the only organization licenced by the producers to use that name. It is an annual stage show at Meaford Hall in which entrepreneurial hopefuls pitch their ideas to the Dragons and to a sold out audience of locals. The Dragons are always noted executives, some who retired in the area from high positions, and others who are still active in the community. The difference from the TV show is that, rather than buying in to the enterprises, the Dragons in Meaford donate money to worthy participants, no strings attached. With other prizes in the form of promotion, advertising and mentoring donated by local businesses, the winning contestants share a booty that has topped $26,000 for a single show. Past contestants have included state of the art technologies, like 3D Printing services, electronics to help seniors live independently, fibreglass skateboards, and fibre optic networks as well as unique reflections of the town with a ginger syrup elixir, an organic hops farm, a bicycle rental business and a gluten-free bakery. In addition to putting on a good show, the event has launched several successful local enterprises.

While Meaford is quiet enough to hear voices down the street, and clean fresh breezes blow off the bay, it is a town that is alive with imagination and a love of life that informs every day in a variety of ways. With its adoption of the Transition credo of resilience and sustainability it will survive whatever crises may come in this century and remain a place where you and I can live life to its fullest.