Roisin Markham

This GREAT TURNING page is an on going collation of lighthouses and examplars, demonstrators.

The Great Turning, 3 stories of our time y Joanna Macy is described as
The Great Turning is the story of the global transition from the Industrial Growth Society to a Life Sustaining Society. It’s a story of great courage, in which much has been lost, but much is saved and creativity abounds. This story is being vibrantly lived today.
In the Great Turning, the wisdom of Indigenous traditions and ancient spiritual practices helps us understand and experience the inter-connectedness of all life. Attitudes shift from exploitation to respect, from extraction to regeneration, from competition to cooperation.
Our solidarity with one another deepens as we respond to the crises of the Great Unraveling. Movements for social justice provide essential leadership as we repair and renew the living systems of earth. In the story of the Great Turning, we join together to act for the sake of life on Earth.
The power of the Great Turning comes from our human efforts in these Three Dimensions:
Holding Actions in Defense of Life
Transforming the Foundations of our Common Life
Shift in Perception and Values
The fruits of these efforts reinforce each other. Many of us are engaged in projects – short-term or life-long – that engage all three. Be sure to read this deeper exploration of the Dimensions of the Great Turning.

This page will always be a work in progress… bookmark it and subscribe to my website for updates. Come back and check it often as I updated and share the stories forward. Published April 2026

“The future is already here — it’s just not evenly distributed” William Gibson

I’ve been collecting signposts and lighthouse projects and examples for years – find ways to share them in talks and emails. But lets put them in one place and build out where I meet and experiece the kind of projects that bring us within Joanna Macy’s third story – the great turning.

These are just the ones I know, find some inspiration, knowledge and insight here. Let me know what resonates, what I’ve missed or what else would be good here.

A note on inclusion in this list – these are programmes and people I have gotten to know across the last decade or so, some more recently. They are not the only ones, just ones in my sphere of awareness.

Themes include: Resilient Communities, Energy, Biodiversity, Food Sovereignty, Water and River Catchment Stewardship and Restoration, Community Wealth Building, Community Led Programmes, Democracy, social cohesion and inclusion.

WALES Future Generations Act 2015

Well-being of Future Generations Act 2015 – Future Generations Wales

Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015: the essentials [HTML] | GOV.WALES

Well-being of future generations: national indicators and milestones for Wales 2022 infographic 2 A4 page PDF

Perhaps the reason I love the Welsh Future Generation Act is that it holds a stong vison for Wales with statutory requirements, defining policy and implementation with strong governance. It also combines doughnut economics with futures literacy and the indicators are relatable and treacable.

Welsh National Bannau Brycheiniog National Park

For the development of The Brecon Beacons National Park a park doughnut was developed. They were also inspired to use time travel into the past and forward into the future. In Rob Hopkins recent book How to Fall in Love with the Future he delves into the brillant use of time travel as part of the visioning process, I learnt about this amazing project while training with Rob last May 2025.

https://doughnuteconomics.org/stories/creating-a-park-doughnut

IRELAND

  • Energy Community Tipperary
  • Bohemians Football Club Cooperatives Mission, The Spark
  • Talamh Beo – Feeding ourselves
  • Limericks Food Policy
  • Trí Síolta Community Land Trust
  • Cuan Beo
  • CloughJordan CSA
  • Carlow Enviromental Network
  • Roots and Shoots
  • Connecting Cabra
  • Fibershed Ireland

Northren Ireland

  • Carrickfergus Green Grocers Coop
  • Agivey River Communities (ARC) Project

UK

  • Transition Towns