4 Jul 2009 02:30
9 Jul 2009 22:45
SB Independent/ July 6 /Green Jobs Training Three-Week Sustainability Classes for Youth
Green Jobs Training
Three-Week Sustainability Classes for Youth
http://www.independent.com/news/2009/jul/06/green-jobs-training/
Monday, July 6, 2009
There's
no question that "green" is the future. To prepare area youth to
enter the burgeoning job market, Sustainable Vocations is offering a hands-on
introduction for ages 15 to 24 to learn "diverse leadership roles that integrate
sustainability into their communities." Students will earn a Permaculture
Design Certification and receive introductions to renewable energy and green
building, with the option of gaining college credits. The three-week sessions
include residential trainings at Quail Springs Permaculture Farm and field
trips to area green industries and businesses.
Applications are now being accepted for the next session, which is August 4-24.
Sessions cost $1,500-$2,500 on a sliding scale, including tuition, meals, and
camping. Scholarships are provided for low-income youth. Download an
application at sustainablevocations.org/home/programs. Send
applications and questions to info-C3xH88btZzoC0mqONBcAJQ@public.gmane.org. For more
information about Quail Springs, visit quailsprings.org/index.php.
Monday, July
6, 2009
by INDY STAFF
<div> <div class="Section1"> <div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>Green Jobs Training</span><p></p></p> </div> <div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>Three-Week Sustainability Classes for Youth</span><p></p></p> </div> <div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>http://www.independent.com/news/2009/jul/06/green-jobs-training/</span><p></p></p> </div> <div> <p class="MsoNormal"><p></p></p> </div> <div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>Monday, July 6, 2009</span><p></p></p> </div> <div> <p class="MsoNormal"><p> </p></p> </div> <div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><br></span><span>There's no question that "green" is the future. To prepare area youth to enter the burgeoning job market, Sustainable Vocations is offering a hands-on introduction for ages 15 to 24 to learn "diverse leadership roles that integrate sustainability into their communities." Students will earn a Permaculture Design Certification and receive introductions to renewable energy and green building, with the option of gaining college credits. The three-week sessions include residential trainings at Quail Springs Permaculture Farm and field trips to area green industries and businesses.<br> Applications are now being accepted for the next session, which is August 4-24. Sessions cost $1,500-$2,500 on a sliding scale, including tuition, meals, and camping. Scholarships are provided for low-income youth. Download an application at</span><span> sustainablevocations.org/home/programs</span><span>. Send applications and questions to</span><span> info@...</span><span>. For more information about Quail Springs, visit</span><span> quailsprings.org/index.php</span><span>.</span><span><br></span><span><br></span><span>Monday, July 6, 2009<br></span><span>by</span><span> INDY STAFF</span><p></p></p> </div> </div> </div>
11 Jul 2009 02:46
Teachers Wellness Retreat at The Ojai Foundation August 21-23, 2009
Teachers Wellness Retreat
at The Ojai Foundation
August 21-23, 2009
Friday 5 pm- Sunday 5 pm
Step out of time for a moment to celebrate the beauty of your service. Connect with other compassionate, innovative leaders in your field for a weekend of rejuvenation and empowerment, designed specifically to meet the unique needs of teachers.
As a participant, you will engage in experiences that will support you in bringing mindfulness, presence and perspective into your daily life as well as methods for implementing these practices into the classroom. You will have the opportunity to express your strengths and creativity while gaining insight into your challenges in a sacred, supportive environment.
The Ojai Foundation’s beautiful, rustic educational center occupies 40 acres along a ridge of semi-wilderness at the foot of the Los Padres Mountains in Upper Ojai. Meditation gardens, native habitats, permaculture principles and the Beauty Way are demonstrated throughout the Land, along with rustic yurts and domes, shared facilities and close kindredship with the natural world.
Intentional Activities will include:
· Way of Council
· Restorative and Revitalizing Yoga Practices
· Medicine Wheel Teaching
· Mindful Awareness Practice
· Creative Expression
· Dialogue & Storytelling
· Visioning
* Mindfulness: Witnessing (Brain) * Presence: Being (Heart)
* Perspective: Choosing (Consciousness)
All levels of experience are welcome.
About the Facilitators:
Abby Wills is a graduate of Pacific Oaks College where she studied developmental education and social change theory. For over a decade, Abby has worked to enhance well being in schools through yoga and mindfulness programs. She has led professional development workshops for teachers across the nation and has trained yoga teachers internationally. Abby is currently on faculty at The Walther School and New Roads Middle School.
Rachel Dawson is The Ojai Foundation’s Land Steward and Volunteer Coordinator. For eight years, she worked with TreePeople in Los Angeles where she supported teacher and parent led tree planting projects on school campuses. She is a graduate of Larry Santoyo’s L.A. Urban Permaculture Design Course and Ariel Spilsbury’s 13 Moon Priestess Ordination. She continues to deepen her relationship with spirit through her advanced work in the Third Road faerie tradition.
The mission of The Ojai Foundation is to strengthen individuals, families, schools and communities by teaching ways to listen and speak from the heart, to honor life's passages and to deepen our connection with nature—supporting the emergence of a compassionate, sustainable and peaceful world.
Please call 213-926-3810 to register.
$425 for the weekend
$100 deposit holds your space
Space is limited, please register by August 9th
Inquire about partial scholarships
www.abbywills.com
www.ojaifoundation.org
--
"If there is any positive side to stark changes coming our way, it may be in the benefits of close communal relations, of having to really work intimately (and physically) with our neighbors, to be part of an enterprise that really matters and to be fully engaged in meaningful social enactments instead of being merely entertained to avoid boredom.
Years from now, when we hear singing at all, we will hear ourselves, and we will sing with our whole hearts."
"The Long Emergency", 2005, by James Howard Kunstler, Grove/Atlantic, Inc., publisher.
<div> <p>Teachers Wellness Retreat<br>at The Ojai Foundation<br> <br>August 21-23, 2009<br>Friday 5 pm- Sunday 5 pm<br> <br>Step out of time for a moment to celebrate the beauty of your service. Connect with other compassionate, innovative leaders in your field for a weekend of rejuvenation and empowerment, designed specifically to meet the unique needs of teachers.<br> <br>As a participant, you will engage in experiences that will support you in bringing mindfulness, presence and perspective into your daily life as well as methods for implementing these practices into the classroom. You will have the opportunity to express your strengths and creativity while gaining insight into your challenges in a sacred, supportive environment.<br> <br>The Ojai Foundation’s beautiful, rustic educational center occupies 40 acres along a ridge of semi-wilderness at the foot of the Los Padres Mountains in Upper Ojai. Meditation gardens, native habitats, permaculture principles and the Beauty Way are demonstrated throughout the Land, along with rustic yurts and domes, shared facilities and close kindredship with the natural world. <br> <br>Intentional Activities will include:<br>· Way of Council <br>· Restorative and Revitalizing Yoga Practices<br>· Medicine Wheel Teaching<br>· Mindful Awareness Practice<br>· Creative Expression<br> · Dialogue & Storytelling<br>· Visioning<br> <br>* Mindfulness: Witnessing (Brain) * Presence: Being (Heart) <br>* Perspective: Choosing (Consciousness)<br> <br>All levels of experience are welcome. <br> <br>About the Facilitators:<br>Abby Wills is a graduate of Pacific Oaks College where she studied developmental education and social change theory. For over a decade, Abby has worked to enhance well being in schools through yoga and mindfulness programs. She has led professional development workshops for teachers across the nation and has trained yoga teachers internationally. Abby is currently on faculty at The Walther School and New Roads Middle School.<br> <br>Rachel Dawson is The Ojai Foundation’s Land Steward and Volunteer Coordinator. For eight years, she worked with TreePeople in Los Angeles where she supported teacher and parent led tree planting projects on school campuses. She is a graduate of Larry Santoyo’s L.A. Urban Permaculture Design Course and Ariel Spilsbury’s 13 Moon Priestess Ordination. She continues to deepen her relationship with spirit through her advanced work in the Third Road faerie tradition.<br> <br>The mission of The Ojai Foundation is to strengthen individuals, families, schools and communities by teaching ways to listen and speak from the heart, to honor life's passages and to deepen our connection with nature—supporting the emergence of a compassionate, sustainable and peaceful world. <br> <br>Please call 213-926-3810 to register. <br>$425 for the weekend<br>$100 deposit holds your space<br>Space is limited, please register by August 9th<br>Inquire about partial scholarships<br> <br><a href="http://www.abbywills.com/">www.abbywills.com</a><br><a href="http://www.ojaifoundation.org/">www.ojaifoundation.org</a><br clear="all"></p> <div></div> <br>-- <br>"If there is any positive side to stark changes coming our way, it may be in the benefits of close communal relations, of having to really work intimately (and physically) with our neighbors, to be part of an enterprise that really matters and to be fully engaged in meaningful social enactments instead of being merely entertained to avoid boredom. <br><br>Years from now, when we hear singing at all, we will hear ourselves, and we will sing with our whole hearts."<br><br>"The Long Emergency", 2005, by James Howard Kunstler, Grove/Atlantic, Inc., publisher.<br> </div>
8 Jul 2009 20:48
Aloha 'Aina Holistic Permaculture Design Course: Aug 17-31
Dear Friends of the Earth, Are you or anyone you know looking to take a Permaculture Design Course before the summer ends and fall sets in? Join us for this 2nd Annual Holistic Permaculture Design Course, this year happening at La A'kea - one of the oldest permaculture sites on the Big Island. Info below. -Living Mandala ___________________ 2nd Annual Aloha ‘Aina 2009 Holistic Permaculture Design Course August 17-31, 2009 La A’kea Community Puna, Big Island, Hawaii Visit the Course website for More information Including: HANDS-ON ACTION-LEARNING, INTEGRATIVE ECO-SOCIAL CURRICULUM, ANIMAL SYSTEMS & FOOD FOREST GARDENING, NATURE AWARENESS & INDIGENOUS WISDOM, APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY & NEW ENERGY, FUNGI & MYCO- REMEDIATION, RAW FOOD & EMBODIMENT PRACTICES, SONG, CEREMONY, RITES OF PASSAGE & MORE Facilitators, Teachers & Constants John Valenzuela, Penny Livingston-Stark, Jay Ma, Sage Mata, Julie Bird Moore, Ela Harrison... additional instructors & special guests to be announced soon! Course Inspiration “Aloha ‘Aina” is Hawaiian for “love of the land”, or “to love, respect, and nurture the land.” As human beings now facing a time of great environmental and social transformation, we believe that it is through this spirit of reconnecting to ourselves, to our communities, and to the Earth with a spirit of love and care that we will renew and restore a healthy balance of human beings living in harmony with each other and their natural environment. We are inspired and grateful to be offering this holistic permaculture design intensive to the greater Island Community to further empower and synergize our efforts of ecological and social regeneration. Course Description The Aloha ‘Aina Holistic Permaculture Design Course will include the standard 72-hour permaculture design curriculum based upon the original Mollison and Holmgren ideas and design philosophies published in The Permaculture Designer’s Manual, as well as be a nourishing retreat and hands-on immersion experience of sustainable living. In addition to the standard permaculture design certification curriculum, we recognize permaculture as an expanding, holistic design philosophy encompassing many fields. Accordingly, this permaculture design course will include and integrate additional content and activities such as nature awareness, indigenous wisdom, holistic nutrition, embodiment practices, inner work, group process, and more. With a focus on tending the inner as well as the outer landscapes, course participants will work with each other and local community residents on tangible design project scenarios to implement positive transformation within themselves and in the local community. Range of Course Topics Include: Permaculture Design, Observation & Nature Awareness, Indigenous Wisdom, Natural Pattern Recognition, Pattern Design and Biomimicry, Bird Language, Water on the Landscape, Swales, Keyline, & Pond, Building, Integrated Animal Systems, Rain Harvesting & Catchments, Grey Water & Bioremediation, Tropical Permaculture, Natural Building, Organic Gardening, Forest Ecology, Food Forest Gardening, Agro- Forestry, Soil Ecology & Soil Building, Appropriate Technology, Alternative & Renewable Energy, Urban Permaculture, Mushrooms/Myco- Remediation, Aquaculture, Designer's Tools, Design Methods & Process, Maps and Mapping, Zones, Site Analysis, Design Projects, Hands-On Activities, Social Permaculture, Eco-Village Design, Cultural Mentoring, Zone Zero, Inner Work, Heart Circles, Improvisation, Personal Empowerment, Group Facilitation, Invisible Structures, Green Economics, Archetypal Biology, Biodynamic Farming, Geo-Political Landscapes, Holistic Nutrition, Yoga & Embodiment, Physics & Unified Field Theory, and more Certification Applicability Participants who successfully complete the course will receive a Permaculture Design Certificate. Design Certification is applicable towards Gaia University Degree Programs. Tuition & Registration Course Tuition is $1500 U.S. dollars, which includes instruction, lodging, and 3 delicious, nutritious, and locally grown meals a day for the duration of the course - 15 days. Participants who successfully complete the course will receive a Permaculture Design Certificate. Limited worktrade is available. Please inquire and send a resume, photo, and brief write up of why you want to take this course and what you can offer. Register Now More Information Visit the Course website for More information For Question e-mail: alohaaina@... or Phone: (707) 634-1461 Job Opportunities: Cross Pollinators Start supporting sustainable progress & regenerative educational initiatives! Help us to spread the word about this course and others and earn money! We are looking for "Cross-Pollinators" or Affiliate Marketing Ambassadors to help spread the word about our affiliated courses, workshops, and events to strengthen our network and to further empower regenerative educational initiatives on the planet. This job includes posting information about our upcoming courses, workshops, and events on-line on social networks, websites, blogs, etc; identifying and sending emails to listserves; and building relationships with resonant groups and organizations. Cross- Pollinators should be experienced with internet navigation and social networking, have proficient writing and communication skills, have their own computer and internet access, and be able to work from their home, office, or local coffee shop. Compensation is based on performance and results, and will be given based on referrals that come in from the scope of the outreach efforts made. Referral's range anywhere from $25 - $250 per course. For details e-mail: outreach@...
Dear Friends of the Earth, Are you or anyone you know looking to take a Permaculture Design Course before the summer ends and fall sets in? Join us for this 2nd Annual Holistic Permaculture Design Course, this year happening at La A'kea - one of the oldest permaculture sites on the Big Island. Info below. -Living Mandala ___________________ 2nd Annual Aloha ‘Aina 2009 Holistic Permaculture Design Course August 17-31, 2009 La A’kea Community Puna, Big Island, Hawaii Visit the Course website for More information Including: HANDS-ON ACTION-LEARNING, INTEGRATIVE ECO-SOCIAL CURRICULUM, ANIMAL SYSTEMS & FOOD FOREST GARDENING, NATURE AWARENESS & INDIGENOUS WISDOM, APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY & NEW ENERGY, FUNGI & MYCO- REMEDIATION, RAW FOOD & EMBODIMENT PRACTICES, SONG, CEREMONY, RITES OF PASSAGE & MORE Facilitators, Teachers & Constants John Valenzuela, Penny Livingston-Stark, Jay Ma, Sage Mata, Julie Bird Moore, Ela Harrison... additional instructors & special guests to be announced soon! Course Inspiration “Aloha ‘Aina” is Hawaiian for “love of the land”, or “to love, respect, and nurture the land.” As human beings now facing a time of great environmental and social transformation, we believe that it is through this spirit of reconnecting to ourselves, to our communities, and to the Earth with a spirit of love and care that we will renew and restore a healthy balance of human beings living in harmony with each other and their natural environment. We are inspired and grateful to be offering this holistic permaculture design intensive to the greater Island Community to further empower and synergize our efforts of ecological and social regeneration. Course Description The Aloha ‘Aina Holistic Permaculture Design Course will include the standard 72-hour permaculture design curriculum based upon the original Mollison and Holmgren ideas and design philosophies published in The Permaculture Designer’s Manual, as well as be a nourishing retreat and hands-on immersion experience of sustainable living. In addition to the standard permaculture design certification curriculum, we recognize permaculture as an expanding, holistic design philosophy encompassing many fields. Accordingly, this permaculture design course will include and integrate additional content and activities such as nature awareness, indigenous wisdom, holistic nutrition, embodiment practices, inner work, group process, and more. With a focus on tending the inner as well as the outer landscapes, course participants will work with each other and local community residents on tangible design project scenarios to implement positive transformation within themselves and in the local community. Range of Course Topics Include: Permaculture Design, Observation & Nature Awareness, Indigenous Wisdom, Natural Pattern Recognition, Pattern Design and Biomimicry, Bird Language, Water on the Landscape, Swales, Keyline, & Pond, Building, Integrated Animal Systems, Rain Harvesting & Catchments, Grey Water & Bioremediation, Tropical Permaculture, Natural Building, Organic Gardening, Forest Ecology, Food Forest Gardening, Agro- Forestry, Soil Ecology & Soil Building, Appropriate Technology, Alternative & Renewable Energy, Urban Permaculture, Mushrooms/Myco- Remediation, Aquaculture, Designer's Tools, Design Methods & Process, Maps and Mapping, Zones, Site Analysis, Design Projects, Hands-On Activities, Social Permaculture, Eco-Village Design, Cultural Mentoring, Zone Zero, Inner Work, Heart Circles, Improvisation, Personal Empowerment, Group Facilitation, Invisible Structures, Green Economics, Archetypal Biology, Biodynamic Farming, Geo-Political Landscapes, Holistic Nutrition, Yoga & Embodiment, Physics & Unified Field Theory, and more Certification Applicability Participants who successfully complete the course will receive a Permaculture Design Certificate. Design Certification is applicable towards Gaia University Degree Programs. Tuition & Registration Course Tuition is $1500 U.S. dollars, which includes instruction, lodging, and 3 delicious, nutritious, and locally grown meals a day for the duration of the course - 15 days. Participants who successfully complete the course will receive a Permaculture Design Certificate. Limited worktrade is available. Please inquire and send a resume, photo, and brief write up of why you want to take this course and what you can offer. Register Now More Information Visit the Course website for More information For Question e-mail: alohaaina@... or Phone: (707) 634-1461 Job Opportunities: Cross Pollinators Start supporting sustainable progress & regenerative educational initiatives! Help us to spread the word about this course and others and earn money! We are looking for "Cross-Pollinators" or Affiliate Marketing Ambassadors to help spread the word about our affiliated courses, workshops, and events to strengthen our network and to further empower regenerative educational initiatives on the planet. This job includes posting information about our upcoming courses, workshops, and events on-line on social networks, websites, blogs, etc; identifying and sending emails to listserves; and building relationships with resonant groups and organizations. Cross- Pollinators should be experienced with internet navigation and social networking, have proficient writing and communication skills, have their own computer and internet access, and be able to work from their home, office, or local coffee shop. Compensation is based on performance and results, and will be given based on referrals that come in from the scope of the outreach efforts made. Referral's range anywhere from $25 - $250 per course. For details e-mail: outreach@...
9 Jul 2009 19:26
1 Week Left for Early Bird Registration for the Bioregional Congress!
Dear Friends, 1 Week left for early Bird Registraton to the 10th Continental Bioregional Congress! It's going to be an amazing Gathering and Continental Council. Considering attending as a delegate from your bioregion. It was at the first Continental Bioregional Congress in Missouri in 1984, that a group of environmental activists launched the Green Party, which has sense moved on to become a political force across the globe. Check it out. http://www.livingmandala.com/Living_Mandala/Bioregional_Congress_09.html -Living Mandala __________________________ ANNOUNCING: The 10th CONTINENTAL BIOREGIONAL CONGRESS (CBCX) OCTOBER 3-11, 2009 Hosted by The Farm, Summertown TN Amidst the hills and hollows, tribes and councils new and old will gather to share and collaborate finding ways to re-inhabit mother earth. Visit www.BioCongress.org to read more and register! Early Bird Registration ($50 Savings) Ends 7/15/09 The team for CBCX has been busy at work getting everything prepared to host this landmark event! The new website and online registration system are live, and we hope that you will join this year's Congress as a delegate, facilitator,sponsor and/or regional captain! Email BioregionalCongress@... to learn more and offer your support. Twenty-five years after the first Continental Congress, this year's Congress is poised to help catalyze tremendous synergy for the growing global sustainability effort! Hosted by the Farm in Tennessee CBCX will be held on The Farm in the Swan River watershed of the Cumberland Green Bioregion, Summertown, Tennessee. Founded in 1971 by a caravan from San Fransisco, The Farm started as a spiritual community that has served as a model for sustainable development and community living for over 35 years. The Farm now encompasses over 2,000 acres, houses many ecologicaly-based businesses (including the Ecovillage Training Center), and hosts bioregionally-related events of many kinds year-round. Holding this event at a successful ecovillage will allow participants to experience life in a permaculture-designed village full of earth-friendly housing, cooperative forestry, and consensus-based decision-making. Featuring a Certification Curriculum in Bioregionalism Congress organizers are weaving in content that reflects the cutting edge of the bioregional movement, such as Transition Towns, within a Certification Curriculum in Bioregionalism, a toolbox of workshops and speakers focused on building, sustaining and re-localizing communities, reinvigorating culture and arts and organizing for ecological restoration, economic prosperity and policy change. The proposed curriculum will cover the following topics: Bioregionalism •History of the Bioregional Congresses •Decentralization and Ecoregional approaches to sustainability •Reinhabitation and Ecocentric philosophy •Decision-making: inclusion and empowerment •Action learning •Pageantry and Celebration •World Café Tools for Sustainable Communities •Bioregional grassroots community organizing and stewardship •Strategic planning •Bioregional right livelihood •Group process and consensus-based meetings •Community-making through the arts, ecological •Outreach and Web-tools for organizers •Event planning •Rites of passage and other ceremonies Relocalizing Communities Toward Sustainability •Transition Town Movement •Ecovillages •Permaculture •Renewal Energy/Energy Conservation •Re-storying the Landscape and Communities •Relocalizing Education Reinhabiting and Restoring Local Ecosystems •Landscapes and Bioregional Mapping •Orienting to Watersheds •Ecoregions •The Seasons and Migratory Patterns: Charting •Planetary Connections •Reinhabiting the Body: Health, Wellness and Restoration As is tradition, the content of the congress will be determined by the participants. Register at www.regonline.com/cbcx to let us know what you would like to facilitate! BECOME A REGIONAL CAPTAIN TO ORGANIZE YOUR LOCAL NETWORK Regional Captains embody the decentralized local empowerment that is core to the philosophy of Bioregionalism. Individuals and groups are encouraged to become Regional Captains by taking an active role in Congress development and outreach including: • Distributing fliers • Inviting local delegates • Fundraising • Coordinating regional events • Organizing biofuel caravans • Producing/distributing press releases Regional captains are encouraged to identify at least ten leaders in the Bioregional, Transition, and/or Permaculture movements to bring to CBCX. Each captain will help raise the money from their own bioregion for the 10+ delegates to come, and through that work, gain free entrance and a recognized position at the congress. Email BioregionalCongress@... to find out more about becoming a regional captain. SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THE CONGRESS...Earn $40 toward your registration fees for every person you refer!
Dear Friends, 1 Week left for early Bird Registraton to the 10th Continental Bioregional Congress! It's going to be an amazing Gathering and Continental Council. Considering attending as a delegate from your bioregion. It was at the first Continental Bioregional Congress in Missouri in 1984, that a group of environmental activists launched the Green Party, which has sense moved on to become a political force across the globe. Check it out. http://www.livingmandala.com/Living_Mandala/Bioregional_Congress_09.html -Living Mandala __________________________ ANNOUNCING: The 10th CONTINENTAL BIOREGIONAL CONGRESS (CBCX) OCTOBER 3-11, 2009 Hosted by The Farm, Summertown TN Amidst the hills and hollows, tribes and councils new and old will gather to share and collaborate finding ways to re-inhabit mother earth. Visit www.BioCongress.org to read more and register! Early Bird Registration ($50 Savings) Ends 7/15/09 The team for CBCX has been busy at work getting everything prepared to host this landmark event! The new website and online registration system are live, and we hope that you will join this year's Congress as a delegate, facilitator,sponsor and/or regional captain! Email BioregionalCongress@... to learn more and offer your support. Twenty-five years after the first Continental Congress, this year's Congress is poised to help catalyze tremendous synergy for the growing global sustainability effort! Hosted by the Farm in Tennessee CBCX will be held on The Farm in the Swan River watershed of the Cumberland Green Bioregion, Summertown, Tennessee. Founded in 1971 by a caravan from San Fransisco, The Farm started as a spiritual community that has served as a model for sustainable development and community living for over 35 years. The Farm now encompasses over 2,000 acres, houses many ecologicaly-based businesses (including the Ecovillage Training Center), and hosts bioregionally-related events of many kinds year-round. Holding this event at a successful ecovillage will allow participants to experience life in a permaculture-designed village full of earth-friendly housing, cooperative forestry, and consensus-based decision-making. Featuring a Certification Curriculum in Bioregionalism Congress organizers are weaving in content that reflects the cutting edge of the bioregional movement, such as Transition Towns, within a Certification Curriculum in Bioregionalism, a toolbox of workshops and speakers focused on building, sustaining and re-localizing communities, reinvigorating culture and arts and organizing for ecological restoration, economic prosperity and policy change. The proposed curriculum will cover the following topics: Bioregionalism •History of the Bioregional Congresses •Decentralization and Ecoregional approaches to sustainability •Reinhabitation and Ecocentric philosophy •Decision-making: inclusion and empowerment •Action learning •Pageantry and Celebration •World Café Tools for Sustainable Communities •Bioregional grassroots community organizing and stewardship •Strategic planning •Bioregional right livelihood •Group process and consensus-based meetings •Community-making through the arts, ecological •Outreach and Web-tools for organizers •Event planning •Rites of passage and other ceremonies Relocalizing Communities Toward Sustainability •Transition Town Movement •Ecovillages •Permaculture •Renewal Energy/Energy Conservation •Re-storying the Landscape and Communities •Relocalizing Education Reinhabiting and Restoring Local Ecosystems •Landscapes and Bioregional Mapping •Orienting to Watersheds •Ecoregions •The Seasons and Migratory Patterns: Charting •Planetary Connections •Reinhabiting the Body: Health, Wellness and Restoration As is tradition, the content of the congress will be determined by the participants. Register at www.regonline.com/cbcx to let us know what you would like to facilitate! BECOME A REGIONAL CAPTAIN TO ORGANIZE YOUR LOCAL NETWORK Regional Captains embody the decentralized local empowerment that is core to the philosophy of Bioregionalism. Individuals and groups are encouraged to become Regional Captains by taking an active role in Congress development and outreach including: • Distributing fliers • Inviting local delegates • Fundraising • Coordinating regional events • Organizing biofuel caravans • Producing/distributing press releases Regional captains are encouraged to identify at least ten leaders in the Bioregional, Transition, and/or Permaculture movements to bring to CBCX. Each captain will help raise the money from their own bioregion for the 10+ delegates to come, and through that work, gain free entrance and a recognized position at the congress. Email BioregionalCongress@... to find out more about becoming a regional captain. SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THE CONGRESS...Earn $40 toward your registration fees for every person you refer!
11 Jul 2009 20:37
July 2009 Newsletter
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Fairy & Human Relations Congress • Skalitude Retreat Center, POB 74 • Carlton • WA • 98114
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<div> <div align="center"> <table width="600" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr> <td align="left"><table width="600" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><tr> <td width="75" valign="top" bgcolor="#9d7049"></td> <td width="10"> </td> <td width="515" valign="top"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td align="left"> <div align="center"> <a href="http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/refer.php?s=693619115&u=19404877&v=2&key=11be&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.friendsofthetrees.net"></a> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"><div align="center">July 2009 Newsletter</div></td> </tr> </table> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr bgcolor="#9d7049"> <td colspan="3"></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="325" valign="top"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td align="left"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="0"><tr> <td align="left"> <a name="article_1"></a> <a href="http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/refer.php?s=693619115&u=19404879&v=2&key=d7c7&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.friendsofthetrees.net%2Farticles.htm"></a> <p>Farm News/ Food for Sale</p> <p>We have expanded our 2008 plantings and now have 1.3 acres in a wide diversity of crops: vegetables, berries, trees and medicinal herbs. <br><br>Plantings have done well this year and the farm is an explosion of food waiting to happen! We need help marketing and eating it all! For instance we will have 2,000 pounds of apricots ripen by the end of July and need to find markets. We’d appreciate any leads you can send. <br><br>We would especially like to see individuals and groups doing bulk buys with friends and neighbors. Send someone over to pick up a load of food from Okanogan Biododiversity Farm and farms cooperating with us. <br><br>APRICOTS <br>TOMATOES <br>PEPPERS <br>MELONS <br>POTATOES <br><br>+ A WIDE VARIETY OF FRESH VEGETABLES & BERRIES <br><br>+ FRESH AND DRIED CULINARY & MEDICINAL HERBS <br><br>WHOLESALE PRICES! Bulk orders. <br>You pick up at our farm in Tonasket. <br><br>Purchase a winter food stash custom order with root crops and winter squash. <br><br>INTERNS NEEDED <br>Farm interns, and volunteers needed from time to time on the farm. <br><br>PARTNERS SOUGHT. Partners wanted for cooperative venture farming medicinal herbs, vegetables and berries in the Okanogan Valley and looking for partners with resources and skills. </p> <p><a href="http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/refer.php?s=693619115&u=19404881&v=2&key=d7c7&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.friendsofthetrees.net%2Farticles.htm">www.friendsofthetrees.net</a></p> </td> </tr></table></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="0"><tr> <td align="left"> <a name="article_2"></a> <p>2nd Washington State Permaculture Convergence</p> <p>September 18-20, 2009 <br>Sahale Learning Center, Belfair Washington <br><br>The 2008 WSPC was very successful with 125 people attending. We hope to be even bigger and better in 2009. <br><br>The Convergence features presentations by many of Washington’s most experienced permaculturists. This is a great opportunity to meet permaculturists from around Washington State and beyond. We get together to share knowledge, insights, and ideas. Would you like to give a presentation, lead a discussion, do a demo, entertain us or be part of the organizing team? Contact Michael Pilarski <br><br>For registration info contact: permaculture@... <br>360-820-8586</p> </td> </tr></table></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="0"><tr> <td align="left"> <a name="article_3"></a> <a href="http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/refer.php?s=693619115&u=19404883&v=2&key=1e4c&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ringingcedars.com"></a> <p>Anastasia Movement & Permaculture</p> <p>On the international level, perhaps the biggest news for permaculture is the widespread adoption of permaculture by the Anastasia movement in Russia. <br><br>Based on the 9 books in the Ringing Cedar series written by Vladimir Menem. If you haven't heard of the Anastasia movement, here is a nutshell sketch. Anastacia is a mythical person in the Siberian taiga who promotes a back-to-the-land, self-reliant lifestyle. She promotes that every person has the right to a small parcel of land to grow their own food, build their own house, and raise their family, without taxes. The movement is petitioning the Russian government to give title to these properties (Kin's Domains, she calls them), as well as petitioning the United Nations to facilitate this internationally. <br><br>This is a large, land reform movement. The movement claims 11 million members and is growing fast in Russia and internationally. This movement has publicly embraced permaculture and the Transitions Town movement. I highly recommend the books as well as the videos produced by the English translator Leonid Sharashkin. http://www.ringingcedars.com <br></p> <p><a href="http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/refer.php?s=693619115&u=19404885&v=2&key=1e4c&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ringingcedars.com">Ringing Cedars website</a></p> </td> </tr></table></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="0"><tr> <td align="left"> <a name="article_4"></a> <p>Pacific Northwest Events</p> <p>9th Montana Herb Gathering <br>Great Falls, Montana <br>July 10-13, 2009 <br>www.montanaherbgathering.org <br><br>3rd Annual Big Sky Country Harvest Festival <br>September 18-20, 2009, Hot Springs, Montana <br>www.bigskyharvestfestival.com <br>Montana’s barter fair. <br><br>Singing Alive, 3rd Annual <br>September 11-13, Cosmopolis Washington. <br>A weekend of circle songs, group singing, chanting, and music. <br>www.tribesofcreation.com/singing_alive.html <br><br>36th Annual Okanogan Family Faire <br>(Tonasket Barter Faire) <br>Usually the 3rd weekend in October but it won't be announced till August. www.okanoganfamilyfaire.net <br></p> </td> </tr></table></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="0"><tr> <td align="left"> <a name="article_5"></a> <p> </p> <p></p> </td> </tr></table></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="0"><tr> <td align="left"> <a name="article_6"></a> <p> </p> <p></p> </td> </tr></table></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td align="left"><div align="center"> <a name="contact_info"></a>Contact Info: </div></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"><div align="center"> Michael "Skeeter" Pilarski <br><br>Friends of the Trees Society <br>PO Box 826 <br>Tonasket, WA 98855 <br>509-486-2672, land line <br>michael@... <br>www.friendsofthetrees.net <br><br>Use an explanatory subject line <br> </div></td> </tr> </table></td> </tr> </table></td> <td width="1" bgcolor="#9d7049"></td> <td width="189" valign="top"><table width="100%" borbder="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr> <td valign="top"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td align="left"> <p> In This Issue:</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"><a href="#article_1">Farm News/ Food for Sale</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <a href="#article_2">2nd Washington State Permaculture Convergence</a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <a href="#article_3">Anastasia Movement & Permaculture</a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <a href="#article_4">Pacific Northwest Events</a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"> <a href="#article_5"> </a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"><a href="#article_6"> </a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left"><a href="#contact_info">Contact Info</a></td> </tr> </table> <p> <br></p> </td> </tr></table></td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr></table></td> </tr></table> </div> A.mnb_footer:link, A.mnb_footer:active, A.mnb_footer:visited { color: #000000; text-decoration: underline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; } A.mnb_footer:hover { color: #222222; text-decoration: underline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; } <div align="center"> <br>Fairy & Human Relations Congress • Skalitude Retreat Center, POB 74 • Carlton • WA • 98114<br><br><table width="600" border="1" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" bordercolor="#999999"> <tr> <td align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><table width="100%" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"><tr> <td bgcolor="#E8E6EE" align="center" width="25%"><a href="https://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/subscription.php?username=jkinsey&send_id=693619115&l=s&newsletter_id=1409974143" class="mnb_footer">Subscribe</a></td> <td bgcolor="#E8E6EE" align="center" width="25%"><a href="https://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/subscription.php?username=jkinsey&send_id=693619115&l=u&email=sdpg-l8Htz2EyxgbQT0dZR+AlfA <at> public.gmane.org" class="mnb_footer">Unsubscribe</a></td> <td bgcolor="#E8E6EE" align="center" width="25%"><a href="https://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/subscription.php?username=jkinsey&send_id=693619115&l=p&email=sdpg-l8Htz2EyxgbQT0dZR+AlfA <at> public.gmane.org" class="mnb_footer">Preferences</a></td> <td bgcolor="#E8E6EE" align="center" width="25%"><a href="https://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/forward.php?username=jkinsey&newsletter_id=1409974143&email=sdpg-l8Htz2EyxgbQT0dZR+AlfA <at> public.gmane.org&send_id=693619115" class="mnb_footer">Send to a Friend</a></td> </tr></table></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center"> <a href="http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/affiliate/affiliate.php?p=1&id=jkinsey" target="_blank">My Newsletter Builder</a> </td> </tr> </table> <br><a href="https://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/abuse_report.php?username=jkinsey&send_id=693619115&email=sdpg-l8Htz2EyxgbQT0dZR+AlfA <at> public.gmane.org">Report Spam</a> </div> </div>
14 Jul 2009 06:46
Common Vision Permaculture Series: Soil Food Web course Aug 10-14 / Orchard as Ecosystem Sept 11-13/ Permaculture Design Intensive Oct 2-4 Bay Area
Here's some info on the "World Leaders in Sustainability"
series.
Common Vision has an epic line-up of permaculture and
sustainability workshops this summer/fall with some of the most
esteemed teachers in the world, namely Elaine Ingham, Darren Doherty,
and Michael Philips. All courses will be held at the M.A. Center
in Castro Valley with group camping options. We hope you can be
involved.
Soil Food Web w/ Dr. Elaine Ingham (August 2009)
August 10-14th 2009 <at> M.A. Center in Bay Area
Soil Food Web w/ Dr. Elaine Ingham (August 2009)
August 10-14th 2009 <at> M.A. Center in Bay Area
Dr. Elaine Ingham PhD is revered internationally as the preeminent teacher of soil micro-life and how human survival depends on it. Her five day intensive course will transmit a wealth of knowledge and teach hands-on compost and compost tea strategies for organic gardens, orchards, and landscapes. Common Vision and the GreenFriends have worked hard to offer this course at almost half the price of Dr. Ingham's usual course tuitions.
In this course you will learn to:
* Understand Soil Microlife
* Make biologically powerful compost
* Brew and analyze Compost Tea
* Grow healthier plants and food
* Never look at soil the same way again
* Save the planet through top soil health.
http://commonvision.org/programs/courses/soilfoodweb/soilfoodweb.php
Fruit Forest: Orchard as Ecosystem (Sept 2009)
September 11-13 <at> M.A. Center in the Bay Area
Michael Philips is author of The Apple Grower, a definitive guide to growing organic apples holistically. Michael's knowledge of fruit trees, orchard management, companion plants, and soil science has helped him to become well spring of information and inspiration for orchardists and backyard gardeners alike. He integrates the intuitive knowledge of our great-grandparents with the fruits of modern scientific research and innovation. Michael shares his breadth of wisdom woven through personal stories in a way of amplifying a passion and inspiration for growing fruit trees and 'abetting Nature's way'. Using the MA Center orchards, Michael will bring participants on an ecological journey that explores how we can create an optimal "forest-edge- ecosystem" perfect for fruit trees.
* Walking through the orchard season
* Moving beyond organic: The holistic approach
* Creating a diverse, healthy orchard ecosystem
* Managing understory plants, nutrients, and beneficial microorganisms.
* Using plant medicines and compost teas to boost tree immune resistance
* Evaluating strategies for the existing and new hillside orchards at the MA Center
* On site Apple Harvesting and Juicing
http://commonvision.org/programs/courses/applegrower/applegrower.php
Permaculture Design Intensive with Darren Doherty (Oct 2009)
October 2-4 <at> M.A. Center in Bay Area
Darren Doherty (Australia) is one of the world's most experienced Permaculture Design professionals and teachers. A prolific designer, Darren has developed over 1100 properties across 4 continents and has co-taught with Bill Mollison & David Holmgren (the co-originators of Permaculture) and Geoff Lawton. In this workshop Darren will be bringing his immense experience in water design, pasture regeneration, and species selection to the MA Center to work with participants to create a working design that:
* Rapidly improves soil fertility for the new orchards.
* Connects rainwater catching earthworks across the landscape
* Employs Keyline design strategies for orchards, paddocks, and reforestation
* Uses cow grazing to improve soil health.
* Plants trees within grazing patterns.
* Develop a productive and marketable agroforestry system
* Exploring the food forest / orchard edge
* Hand-on Keyline design and live
ploughing
* On-site Permaculture consultancy strategies
http://commonvision.org/programs/courses/darrendoherty/darrendoherty.php
About the M.A. Center
* On-site Permaculture consultancy strategies
http://commonvision.org/programs/courses/darrendoherty/darrendoherty.php
About the M.A. Center
The M.A. Center is the US headquarters for the international
humanitarian and spiritual activities of an India saint, Mata
Amritanandamayi (known as Amma). The 180-acre grounds serve as
an educational hub for the Bay Area through demonstration of exemplary
sustainable design and practices. Drawn by the site's
beauty, accessibility by public transportation, and the center's
uncompromising dedication to using all proceeds to fund international
humanitarian aid projects, hundreds of volunteers have joined together
in service to plant the orchards and reforest the hillsides.
<div> <div><br></div> <div>Here's some info on the "World Leaders in Sustainability" series. <br> </div> <div>Common Vision has an epic line-up of permaculture and sustainability workshops this summer/fall with some of the most esteemed teachers in the world, namely Elaine Ingham, Darren Doherty, and Michael Philips. All courses will be held at the M.A. Center in Castro Valley with group camping options. We hope you can be involved. <br><br>Soil Food Web w/ Dr. Elaine Ingham (August 2009)<br>August 10-14th 2009 <at> M.A. Center in Bay Area<br> </div> <div align="center"></div> <div> <br>Dr. Elaine Ingham PhD is revered internationally as the preeminent teacher of soil micro-life and how human survival depends on it. Her five day intensive course will transmit a wealth of knowledge and teach hands-on compost and compost tea strategies for organic gardens, orchards, and landscapes. Common Vision and the GreenFriends have worked hard to offer this course at almost half the price of Dr. Ingham's usual course tuitions. <br><br> In this course you will learn to:<br><br> * Understand Soil Microlife<br> * Make biologically powerful compost<br> * Brew and analyze Compost Tea<br> * Grow healthier plants and food<br> * Never look at soil the same way again<br> * Save the planet through top soil health.<br><br><a href="http://commonvision.org/programs/courses/soilfoodweb/soilfoodweb.php">http://commonvision.org/programs/courses/soilfoodweb/soilfoodweb.php</a><br><br><br>Fruit Forest: Orchard as Ecosystem (Sept 2009)<br>September 11-13 <at> M.A. Center in the Bay Area<br> </div> <div align="center"> <br>Michael Philips is author of The Apple Grower, a definitive guide to growing organic apples holistically. Michael's knowledge of fruit trees, orchard management, companion plants, and soil science has helped him to become well spring of information and inspiration for orchardists and backyard gardeners alike. He integrates the intuitive knowledge of our great-grandparents with the fruits of modern scientific research and innovation. Michael shares his breadth of wisdom woven through personal stories in a way of amplifying a passion and inspiration for growing fruit trees and 'abetting Nature's way'. Using the MA Center orchards, Michael will bring participants on an ecological journey that explores how we can create an optimal "forest-edge- ecosystem" perfect for fruit trees.<br> </div> <div> <br> * Walking through the orchard season<br> * Moving beyond organic: The holistic approach<br> * Creating a diverse, healthy orchard ecosystem<br> * Managing understory plants, nutrients, and beneficial microorganisms.<br> * Using plant medicines and compost teas to boost tree immune resistance<br> * Evaluating strategies for the existing and new hillside orchards at the MA Center<br> * On site Apple Harvesting and Juicing<br><br><a href="http://commonvision.org/programs/courses/applegrower/applegrower.php">http://commonvision.org/programs/courses/applegrower/applegrower.php</a><br> </div> <div> <br>Permaculture Design Intensive with Darren Doherty (Oct 2009)<br>October 2-4 <at> M.A. Center in Bay Area<br> </div> <div align="center"></div> <div> <br> Darren Doherty (Australia) is one of the world's most experienced Permaculture Design professionals and teachers. A prolific designer, Darren has developed over 1100 properties across 4 continents and has co-taught with Bill Mollison & David Holmgren (the co-originators of Permaculture) and Geoff Lawton. In this workshop Darren will be bringing his immense experience in water design, pasture regeneration, and species selection to the MA Center to work with participants to create a working design that:<br><br> * Rapidly improves soil fertility for the new orchards.<br> * Connects rainwater catching earthworks across the landscape<br> * Employs Keyline design strategies for orchards, paddocks, and reforestation<br> * Uses cow grazing to improve soil health.<br> * Plants trees within grazing patterns.<br> * Develop a productive and marketable agroforestry system<br> * Exploring the food forest / orchard edge</div> <div> * Hand-on Keyline design and live ploughing<br> * On-site Permaculture consultancy strategies<br><br><a href="http://commonvision.org/programs/courses/darrendoherty/darrendoherty.php">http://commonvision.org/programs/courses/darrendoherty/darrendoherty<span></span>.php</a><br><br><br>About the M.A. Center<br> </div> <div>The M.A. Center is the US headquarters for the international humanitarian and spiritual activities of an India saint, Mata Amritanandamayi (known as Amma). The 180-acre grounds serve as an educational hub for the Bay Area through demonstration of exemplary sustainable design and practices. Drawn by the site's beauty, accessibility by public transportation, and the center's uncompromising dedication to using all proceeds to fund international humanitarian aid projects, hundreds of volunteers have joined together in service to plant the orchards and reforest the hillsides.<br> </div> </div>
15 Jul 2009 18:26
Obama Proposes $12B for Community Colleges plus Can Community Colleges Save the U.S. Economy?
Obama Proposes $12B for
Community Colleges
President Obama, meanwhile, has announced a new plan to increase funding for community colleges by $12 billion. If approved, the American Graduation Initiative would be the largest-ever federal investment in community colleges.
President Obama, meanwhile, has announced a new plan to increase funding for community colleges by $12 billion. If approved, the American Graduation Initiative would be the largest-ever federal investment in community colleges.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/07/14/Obama-wants-12B-for-community-colleges/UPI-89961247570625/
WARREN, Mich., July
14 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama proposed a $12 billion plan Tuesday to strengthen
U.S. community colleges so they can better educate people seeking
21st-century jobs.
Speaking at Macomb Community College in Warren, Mich., Obama portrayed the plan as a key to job training and retraining at a time when the White House expects unemployment to hit 10 percent in the next few months.
"We've got to prepare our people with the skills they need to compete in this global economy," Obama said. "Time and again, when we placed our bet for the future on education, we have prospered as a result -- by tapping the incredible innovative and generative potential of a skilled American workforce."
Obama dubbed the plan the "American Graduation Initiative," designed to increase by 5 million the number of community college graduates by 2020.
"It will reform and strengthen community colleges like this one from coast to coast so they get the resources that students and schools need -- and the results workers and businesses demand," he said, drawing applause.
Community colleges, which now enroll about 6 million students, play a vital role in keeping American business competitive and preparing the nation's workforce for technological change and more global competition, Obama said.
The biggest chunk of money -- $9 billion -- would go toward "challenge grants" designed to promote innovation on community college campuses. This might include building partnerships with businesses, developing workplace-education programs, improving remedial and adult-education programs, and offering students "comprehensive, personalized" services tailored to their goals.
Another $2.5 billion would go toward modernizing college facilities and $500 million to develop online courses.
The president said the plan would not increase the deficit because it would be paid for "by ending the wasteful subsidies we currently provide to banks and private lenders for student loans."
Obama noted Michigan has been has been hard hit by job losses. With the U.S. auto industry flailing, Michigan's jobless rate of 14.1 percent leads the nation, and state officials say it may reach nearly 17 percent next year.
© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Speaking at Macomb Community College in Warren, Mich., Obama portrayed the plan as a key to job training and retraining at a time when the White House expects unemployment to hit 10 percent in the next few months.
"We've got to prepare our people with the skills they need to compete in this global economy," Obama said. "Time and again, when we placed our bet for the future on education, we have prospered as a result -- by tapping the incredible innovative and generative potential of a skilled American workforce."
Obama dubbed the plan the "American Graduation Initiative," designed to increase by 5 million the number of community college graduates by 2020.
"It will reform and strengthen community colleges like this one from coast to coast so they get the resources that students and schools need -- and the results workers and businesses demand," he said, drawing applause.
Community colleges, which now enroll about 6 million students, play a vital role in keeping American business competitive and preparing the nation's workforce for technological change and more global competition, Obama said.
The biggest chunk of money -- $9 billion -- would go toward "challenge grants" designed to promote innovation on community college campuses. This might include building partnerships with businesses, developing workplace-education programs, improving remedial and adult-education programs, and offering students "comprehensive, personalized" services tailored to their goals.
Another $2.5 billion would go toward modernizing college facilities and $500 million to develop online courses.
The president said the plan would not increase the deficit because it would be paid for "by ending the wasteful subsidies we currently provide to banks and private lenders for student loans."
Obama noted Michigan has been has been hard hit by job losses. With the U.S. auto industry flailing, Michigan's jobless rate of 14.1 percent leads the nation, and state officials say it may reach nearly 17 percent next year.
© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Can Community
Colleges Save the U.S. Economy?
By LAURA FITZPATRICK / AUSTIN
By LAURA FITZPATRICK / AUSTIN
Monday, Jul. 20,
2009
http://timeinc8-sd11.websys.aol.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1909623,00.html
Community colleges are deeply unsexy. This fact tends to make even the biggest advocates of these two-year schools - which educate nearly half of U.S. undergraduates - sound defensive, almost a tad whiny. "We don't have the bands. We don't have the football teams that everybody wants to boost," says Stephen Kinslow, president of Texas' Austin Community College (ACC). "Most people don't understand community colleges very well at all." And by "most people," he means the graduates of fancy four-year schools who get elected and set budget priorities.
Community colleges are deeply unsexy. This fact tends to make even the biggest advocates of these two-year schools - which educate nearly half of U.S. undergraduates - sound defensive, almost a tad whiny. "We don't have the bands. We don't have the football teams that everybody wants to boost," says Stephen Kinslow, president of Texas' Austin Community College (ACC). "Most people don't understand community colleges very well at all." And by "most people," he means the graduates of fancy four-year schools who get elected and set budget priorities.
Related
Many politicians
and their well-heeled constituents may be under the impression that a
community college - as described in a promo for NBC's upcoming
comedy Community - is a "loser college for remedial teens,
20-something dropouts, middle-aged divorcées and old people keeping
their minds active as they circle the drain of eternity." But
there's at least one Ivy Leaguer who is trying to help Americans get
past the stereotypes and start thinking about community college not as
a dumping ground but as one of the best tools the U.S. has to dig
itself out of the current economic hole. His name: Barack
Obama.
The President
hasn't forgotten about the 30 or so community colleges he visited
during the 2008 campaign. These institutions are our nation's trade
schools, training 59% of our new nurses as well as cranking out
wind-farm technicians and video-game designers - jobs that, despite
ballooning unemployment overall, abound for adequately skilled
workers. Community-college graduates earn up to 30% more than high
school grads, a boon that helps state and local governments reap a 16%
return on every dollar they invest in community colleges. But our
failure to improve graduation rates at these schools is a big part of
the achievement gap between the U.S. and other countries. As unfilled
jobs continue to head overseas, Obama points to the
"national-security implication" of the widening gap. Closing
it, according to an April report from McKinsey & Co., would have
added as much as $2.3 trillion, or 16%, to our 2008 GDP.
Those lost jobs
are why Education Secretary Arne Duncan declared in March that
two-year schools "will play a big role in getting America back on
its feet again." Obama tapped two former community-college
officials for top posts in the Education Department and in May
announced a p.r. campaign - headed by Jill Biden, the Vice
President's wife and a longtime community-college professor - to
raise awareness about the power of these schools to train new and
laid-off workers.
But as record
numbers of students clamor to enroll, community colleges are
struggling with shrinking resources or, at best, trying to maintain
the status quo. Even the school where Biden teaches, Northern Virginia
Community College, has lost more than 10% of its funding in the past
two years and has let go of dozens of full-time professors as it
braces for more possible cutbacks. Elsewhere, state budget cuts have
led to enrollment caps at some community colleges. And if there aren't
enough seats in classrooms, students can't get certificates or
degrees, and skilled jobs remain unfilled. In short, as the Center for
American Progress concluded in a February report, "America's
future economic success may well depend on how we invest in two-year
institutions."
Getting
Students Ready to Work
The 1,200 community colleges in the U.S. are especially suited to helping students adapt to a changing labor market. While four-year universities have the financial resources to lure top professors and students, they are by nature slow-moving. Community colleges, on the other hand, are smaller and able to tack quickly in changing winds. They often partner with local businesses and can gin up continuing-education courses midsemester in response to industry needs, getting students in and out and ready to work - fast.
The 1,200 community colleges in the U.S. are especially suited to helping students adapt to a changing labor market. While four-year universities have the financial resources to lure top professors and students, they are by nature slow-moving. Community colleges, on the other hand, are smaller and able to tack quickly in changing winds. They often partner with local businesses and can gin up continuing-education courses midsemester in response to industry needs, getting students in and out and ready to work - fast.
For example, when
Austin's semiconductor industry started tanking in 2000, ACC quickly
stripped down its chip-development courses and soon repurposed clean
rooms for emerging green technologies. These days, it generally takes
about six months of weekend classes to get qualified to be a solar
installer, a job that can pay up to $16 an hour. But starting in
August, a compressed weekday program - catering to the recently
unemployed - will allow students to cram the same courses into just
two months. To earn an associate degree focusing on renewable energy -
enough prep for a job as a solar-installation-team leader, which can
pay up to $28 an hour - an ACC student has to take a total of 69
credit hours of courses, including solar photovoltaic systems,
programming, physics, algebra, English composition and lab work.
Average cost per credit hour for most students at ACC: $54.Meanwhile,
the building that houses ACC's renewable-energy program is chockablock
with bulletin boards touting jobs. A city ordinance that kicked in on
June 1 requires presale energy audits for many commercial buildings,
apartment complexes and single-family homes, creating the need for
more trained inspectors. Also, one of the nation's largest solar-power
plants is slated to be completed next year a mere 20 miles from
Austin's downtown.
Of course, the
future of the labor market is hard to predict. Hence a 2008 Labor
Department study that found federal job-training programs may produce
"small" benefits at best. But the outlook is promising so
far at ACC: members of its Renewable Energy Students Association
routinely field calls from prospective employers. "I'm well aware
of how much money is going to be available from this education,"
says Duane Nembhard, 34, who dropped out of college but found his way
to ACC last year.
To make that
money, however, students like Nembhard need to get their degrees -
and the statistics are disheartening. Only 31% of community-college
students who set out to get a degree complete it within six years,
whereas 58% of students at four-year schools graduate within that time
frame. Students from middle-class or wealthy families are nearly five
times more likely to earn a college degree as their poorer peers are.
In 2007, 66% of white Americans ages 25 to 29 had completed at least
some college, compared with 50% of African Americans and 34% of
Hispanics.
While the U.S.
ranks a respectable second (after Norway) in producing adult workers
with bachelor's degrees, it has slipped to ninth in producing
working-age "sub-bachelor's" degree holders, which is one
reason Obama is working on a plan to help every American get at least
one year of college or vocational training. "If you're going to
increase the population that has some college, it isn't going to be
among upper-middle-class white people," says Thomas Bailey,
director of Columbia University's Community College Research Center.
"Community colleges will have to play a central role."
That is, if they have enough resources to handle all the students. Chronically cash-starved, two-year schools pull in an average of just 30% of the federal funding per student allocated to state universities - though they educate nearly the same number of undergraduates. (Even after you account for the academic research that goes on at four-year schools, experts say community colleges still get shafted.) Two-year schools have been growing faster than four-year institutions, with the number of students they educate increasing more than sevenfold since 1963, compared with a near tripling at four-year schools. Yet federal funding has held virtually steady over the past 20 years for community colleges, while four-year schools' funding has increased.
That is, if they have enough resources to handle all the students. Chronically cash-starved, two-year schools pull in an average of just 30% of the federal funding per student allocated to state universities - though they educate nearly the same number of undergraduates. (Even after you account for the academic research that goes on at four-year schools, experts say community colleges still get shafted.) Two-year schools have been growing faster than four-year institutions, with the number of students they educate increasing more than sevenfold since 1963, compared with a near tripling at four-year schools. Yet federal funding has held virtually steady over the past 20 years for community colleges, while four-year schools' funding has increased.
Saving Cash,
Living at Home
Community colleges
are used to doing more with less. But this recession has led to record
enrollment surges at many two-year schools, in part because of the
influx of laid-off workers but also because more members of the middle
class are looking to save money on the first couple of years of their
children's higher education. Among them is Bruce Anderson, an Austin
attorney who has lost nearly a third of his savings since the
recession began and doesn't want to sideline his kid while waiting for
the market to come back. His son Tyler will start at ACC this fall
and, as long as he lives at home, will save the family about 90% of
the annual tab at a four-year residential college. "He can get
his basic core courses out of the way at ACC and then do his focus for
his major at a four-year institution," Anderson
says.
But as more
students like Tyler enroll, classes are maxing out. Community
colleges, which pride themselves on being open to all, rarely cap
enrollment outright, as state universities in places like Arizona and
California will do this fall. Miami Dade College, the country's
largest community college, admitted on May 28 that state budget cuts
will force it to forgo adding hundreds of class sections. As many as
5,000 students will be unable to enroll, and 30,000 may be unable to
take the classes they need in order to graduate. In California, where
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger remains a champion of community
colleges, having studied at one, as many as 200,000 would-be students
may get squeezed out of higher education next year.
Taken together,
skyrocketing enrollment and shrinking budgets could mean that just as
record numbers of students seek out a community college, earning a
degree from one may be harder than ever. Says Melissa Roderick, a
professor at the University of Chicago who studies school transitions:
"This group of kids will pay a high economic price if we don't
step up as a nation."
What would stepping up look like? For starters, Congress needs to double the federal funding for these schools, according to a May report from the Brookings Institution. But, the report argues, to truly "transform our community colleges into engines of opportunity and prosperity," funding needs to be tied to performance in areas like degree completion - a model some states, including Indiana and Ohio, are already trying. The City University of New York has rigged up an experimental program that requires its community-college students to take intensive remedial courses if they aren't prepared to do college-level work. Begun in 2007 with the goal of getting at least half of the study's 1,000 participants to graduate from college in three years, it's showing initial signs of success. Other colleges are redoubling their retention efforts. And last fall, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced up to $500 million in grants, aiming to double college-completion rates by 2025. As Sara Goldrick-Rab, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and co-author of the Brookings report, puts it, "Money speaks louder than anything."
What would stepping up look like? For starters, Congress needs to double the federal funding for these schools, according to a May report from the Brookings Institution. But, the report argues, to truly "transform our community colleges into engines of opportunity and prosperity," funding needs to be tied to performance in areas like degree completion - a model some states, including Indiana and Ohio, are already trying. The City University of New York has rigged up an experimental program that requires its community-college students to take intensive remedial courses if they aren't prepared to do college-level work. Begun in 2007 with the goal of getting at least half of the study's 1,000 participants to graduate from college in three years, it's showing initial signs of success. Other colleges are redoubling their retention efforts. And last fall, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced up to $500 million in grants, aiming to double college-completion rates by 2025. As Sara Goldrick-Rab, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and co-author of the Brookings report, puts it, "Money speaks louder than anything."
Ultimately,
community-college administrators hope their schools will emerge
stronger from the downturn as it highlights their potential for
juicing the economy. "In some ways, the terrible nature of the
economic recession will actually help people understand [community
college]," says Kinslow. "People are going to be forced into
looking at it more carefully."
<div> <div>Obama Proposes $12B for Community Colleges<br>President Obama, meanwhile, has announced a new plan to increase funding for community colleges by $12 billion. If approved, the American Graduation Initiative would be the largest-ever federal investment in community colleges.</div> <div><br></div> <div>http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/07/14/Obama-wants-12B-for-community<span></span>-colleges/UPI-89961247570625/</div> <div><br></div> <div>WARREN, Mich., July 14 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama proposed a $12 billion plan Tuesday to strengthen U.S. community colleges so they can better educate people seeking 21st-century jobs.<br><br> Speaking at Macomb Community College in Warren, Mich., Obama portrayed the plan as a key to job training and retraining at a time when the White House expects unemployment to hit 10 percent in the next few months.<br> "We've got to prepare our people with the skills they need to compete in this global economy," Obama said. "Time and again, when we placed our bet for the future on education, we have prospered as a result -- by tapping the incredible innovative and generative potential of a skilled American workforce."<br> Obama dubbed the plan the "American Graduation Initiative," designed to increase by 5 million the number of community college graduates by 2020.<br> "It will reform and strengthen community colleges like this one from coast to coast so they get the resources that students and schools need -- and the results workers and businesses demand," he said, drawing applause.<br> Community colleges, which now enroll about 6 million students, play a vital role in keeping American business competitive and preparing the nation's workforce for technological change and more global competition, Obama said.<br> The biggest chunk of money -- $9 billion -- would go toward "challenge grants" designed to promote innovation on community college campuses. This might include building partnerships with businesses, developing workplace-education programs, improving remedial and adult-education programs, and offering students "comprehensive, personalized" services tailored to their goals.<br> Another $2.5 billion would go toward modernizing college facilities and $500 million to develop online courses.<br> The president said the plan would not increase the deficit because it would be paid for "by ending the wasteful subsidies we currently provide to banks and private lenders for student loans."<br> Obama noted Michigan has been has been hard hit by job losses. With the U.S. auto industry flailing, Michigan's jobless rate of 14.1 percent leads the nation, and state officials say it may reach nearly 17 percent next year.<br><br><br> © 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.</div> <div><br></div> <div>Can Community Colleges Save the U.S. Economy?<br>By LAURA FITZPATRICK / AUSTIN</div> <div>Monday, Jul. 20, 2009</div> <div>http://timeinc8-sd11.websys.aol.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,190<span></span>9623,00.html<br> Community colleges are deeply unsexy. This fact tends to make even the biggest advocates of these two-year schools - which educate nearly half of U.S. undergraduates - sound defensive, almost a tad whiny. "We don't have the bands. We don't have the football teams that everybody wants to boost," says Stephen Kinslow, president of Texas' Austin Community College (ACC). "Most people don't understand community colleges very well at all." And by "most people," he means the graduates of fancy four-year schools who get elected and set budget priorities.</div> <div>Related</div> <div><br></div> <div>Many politicians and their well-heeled constituents may be under the impression that a community college - as described in a promo for NBC's upcoming comedy Community - is a "loser college for remedial teens, 20-something dropouts, middle-aged divorcées and old people keeping their minds active as they circle the drain of eternity." But there's at least one Ivy Leaguer who is trying to help Americans get past the stereotypes and start thinking about community college not as a dumping ground but as one of the best tools the U.S. has to dig itself out of the current economic hole. His name: Barack Obama.</div> <div><br></div> <div>The President hasn't forgotten about the 30 or so community colleges he visited during the 2008 campaign. These institutions are our nation's trade schools, training 59% of our new nurses as well as cranking out wind-farm technicians and video-game designers - jobs that, despite ballooning unemployment overall, abound for adequately skilled workers. Community-college graduates earn up to 30% more than high school grads, a boon that helps state and local governments reap a 16% return on every dollar they invest in community colleges. But our failure to improve graduation rates at these schools is a big part of the achievement gap between the U.S. and other countries. As unfilled jobs continue to head overseas, Obama points to the "national-security implication" of the widening gap. Closing it, according to an April report from McKinsey & Co., would have added as much as $2.3 trillion, or 16%, to our 2008 GDP.</div> <div>Those lost jobs are why Education Secretary Arne Duncan declared in March that two-year schools "will play a big role in getting America back on its feet again." Obama tapped two former community-college officials for top posts in the Education Department and in May announced a p.r. campaign - headed by Jill Biden, the Vice President's wife and a longtime community-college professor - to raise awareness about the power of these schools to train new and laid-off workers.</div> <div><br></div> <div>But as record numbers of students clamor to enroll, community colleges are struggling with shrinking resources or, at best, trying to maintain the status quo. Even the school where Biden teaches, Northern Virginia Community College, has lost more than 10% of its funding in the past two years and has let go of dozens of full-time professors as it braces for more possible cutbacks. Elsewhere, state budget cuts have led to enrollment caps at some community colleges. And if there aren't enough seats in classrooms, students can't get certificates or degrees, and skilled jobs remain unfilled. In short, as the Center for American Progress concluded in a February report, "America's future economic success may well depend on how we invest in two-year institutions."<br> </div> <div>Getting Students Ready to Work<br> The 1,200 community colleges in the U.S. are especially suited to helping students adapt to a changing labor market. While four-year universities have the financial resources to lure top professors and students, they are by nature slow-moving. Community colleges, on the other hand, are smaller and able to tack quickly in changing winds. They often partner with local businesses and can gin up continuing-education courses midsemester in response to industry needs, getting students in and out and ready to work - fast.</div> <div><br></div> <div>For example, when Austin's semiconductor industry started tanking in 2000, ACC quickly stripped down its chip-development courses and soon repurposed clean rooms for emerging green technologies. These days, it generally takes about six months of weekend classes to get qualified to be a solar installer, a job that can pay up to $16 an hour. But starting in August, a compressed weekday program - catering to the recently unemployed - will allow students to cram the same courses into just two months. To earn an associate degree focusing on renewable energy - enough prep for a job as a solar-installation-team leader, which can pay up to $28 an hour - an ACC student has to take a total of 69 credit hours of courses, including solar photovoltaic systems, programming, physics, algebra, English composition and lab work. Average cost per credit hour for most students at ACC: $54.Meanwhile, the building that houses ACC's renewable-energy program is chockablock with bulletin boards touting jobs. A city ordinance that kicked in on June 1 requires presale energy audits for many commercial buildings, apartment complexes and single-family homes, creating the need for more trained inspectors. Also, one of the nation's largest solar-power plants is slated to be completed next year a mere 20 miles from Austin's downtown.</div> <div><br></div> <div>Of course, the future of the labor market is hard to predict. Hence a 2008 Labor Department study that found federal job-training programs may produce "small" benefits at best. But the outlook is promising so far at ACC: members of its Renewable Energy Students Association routinely field calls from prospective employers. "I'm well aware of how much money is going to be available from this education," says Duane Nembhard, 34, who dropped out of college but found his way to ACC last year.</div> <div>To make that money, however, students like Nembhard need to get their degrees - and the statistics are disheartening. Only 31% of community-college students who set out to get a degree complete it within six years, whereas 58% of students at four-year schools graduate within that time frame. Students from middle-class or wealthy families are nearly five times more likely to earn a college degree as their poorer peers are. In 2007, 66% of white Americans ages 25 to 29 had completed at least some college, compared with 50% of African Americans and 34% of Hispanics.<br> </div> <div>While the U.S. ranks a respectable second (after Norway) in producing adult workers with bachelor's degrees, it has slipped to ninth in producing working-age "sub-bachelor's" degree holders, which is one reason Obama is working on a plan to help every American get at least one year of college or vocational training. "If you're going to increase the population that has some college, it isn't going to be among upper-middle-class white people," says Thomas Bailey, director of Columbia University's Community College Research Center. "Community colleges will have to play a central role."<br> That is, if they have enough resources to handle all the students. Chronically cash-starved, two-year schools pull in an average of just 30% of the federal funding per student allocated to state universities - though they educate nearly the same number of undergraduates. (Even after you account for the academic research that goes on at four-year schools, experts say community colleges still get shafted.) Two-year schools have been growing faster than four-year institutions, with the number of students they educate increasing more than sevenfold since 1963, compared with a near tripling at four-year schools. Yet federal funding has held virtually steady over the past 20 years for community colleges, while four-year schools' funding has increased.</div> <div><br></div> <div>Saving Cash, Living at Home</div> <div>Community colleges are used to doing more with less. But this recession has led to record enrollment surges at many two-year schools, in part because of the influx of laid-off workers but also because more members of the middle class are looking to save money on the first couple of years of their children's higher education. Among them is Bruce Anderson, an Austin attorney who has lost nearly a third of his savings since the recession began and doesn't want to sideline his kid while waiting for the market to come back. His son Tyler will start at ACC this fall and, as long as he lives at home, will save the family about 90% of the annual tab at a four-year residential college. "He can get his basic core courses out of the way at ACC and then do his focus for his major at a four-year institution," Anderson says.</div> <div><br></div> <div>But as more students like Tyler enroll, classes are maxing out. Community colleges, which pride themselves on being open to all, rarely cap enrollment outright, as state universities in places like Arizona and California will do this fall. Miami Dade College, the country's largest community college, admitted on May 28 that state budget cuts will force it to forgo adding hundreds of class sections. As many as 5,000 students will be unable to enroll, and 30,000 may be unable to take the classes they need in order to graduate. In California, where Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger remains a champion of community colleges, having studied at one, as many as 200,000 would-be students may get squeezed out of higher education next year.<br> </div> <div>Taken together, skyrocketing enrollment and shrinking budgets could mean that just as record numbers of students seek out a community college, earning a degree from one may be harder than ever. Says Melissa Roderick, a professor at the University of Chicago who studies school transitions: "This group of kids will pay a high economic price if we don't step up as a nation."<br> What would stepping up look like? For starters, Congress needs to double the federal funding for these schools, according to a May report from the Brookings Institution. But, the report argues, to truly "transform our community colleges into engines of opportunity and prosperity," funding needs to be tied to performance in areas like degree completion - a model some states, including Indiana and Ohio, are already trying. The City University of New York has rigged up an experimental program that requires its community-college students to take intensive remedial courses if they aren't prepared to do college-level work. Begun in 2007 with the goal of getting at least half of the study's 1,000 participants to graduate from college in three years, it's showing initial signs of success. Other colleges are redoubling their retention efforts. And last fall, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced up to $500 million in grants, aiming to double college-completion rates by 2025. As Sara Goldrick-Rab, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and co-author of the Brookings report, puts it, "Money speaks louder than anything."</div> <div><br></div> <div>Ultimately, community-college administrators hope their schools will emerge stronger from the downturn as it highlights their potential for juicing the economy. "In some ways, the terrible nature of the economic recession will actually help people understand [community college]," says Kinslow. "People are going to be forced into looking at it more carefully."</div> </div>
17 Jul 2009 03:51
PR August 8/ Permaculture Around the World Series/Robyn Francis/Cuba
PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Margie Bushman
Santa Barbara Permaculture Network.
(805) 962-2571, margie-i2Jb4f2yvuzq4VKKpy30dR2eb7JE58TQ@public.gmane.org,
Climate Change and Peak Oil are topics on the minds of many Americans today. There is much to learn from Cuba's response to the sudden loss of cheap and abundant oil in the early 1990's with the fall of the Soviet Union and the continued U.S. Embargo in place since the 1960's. Cuba's industrial model of agriculture under the Soviets was highly mechanized with monoculture crops reliant on petro-based pesticides and fertilizers. The era in Cuba following the Soviet collapse is known to Cubans as the "Special Period" when it lost more than 50 percent of it oil imports, much of its food, and 85 percent of its trade economy. Transportation halted, people went hungry, and the average Cuban lost 30 pounds.
Dictated by reality, Cubans began to bring agriculture into the city with urban gardens, cultivating vegetables wherever they could. A small group of Australians assisted in this grass-roots effort, coming to Cuba in 1993 to teach Permaculture, a system based on sustainable agriculture that uses far less energy. With a grant from the Cuban government they set up the first Permaculture demonstration site, that evolved into the Foundation for Nature and Humanity's Urban Permaculture demonstration site located in Havana. Today 50 percent of Havana's vegetables come from inside the city, while in other Cuban towns and cities, urban gardens produce from 80 percent to more than 100 percent of what they need.
More recently Australians have come back to Cuba to assist after two devastating hurricanes wrought massive destruction throughout Cuba in September 2008. The loss of crops, soil and organic matter from the torrential rains and flooding, challenged all the islands agriculture, including the permaculture sites.
Robyn Francis and the Cuba-Australia Permaculture Exchange (CAPE) toured the island to assess the damage, offer help, and take the opportunity to learn from the disaster to design more resilient systems for the future.
Robyn Francis has just returned from a visit to Cuba in June 2009 as part of Cuban-Australia Permaculture Exchange (CAPE) and will be reporting on her observation in her talk on One-Earth Footprint - Learning from Cuba's Experience. Discover the key factors enabling Cuba to survive collapse, live within its ecological footprint, and how this relates to Permaculture and Transition design. Don't miss the chance to learn from one of permaculture's earliest pioneers.
Robyn Francis is an award-winning international permaculture designer, educator, presenter and innovator, with over 25 years of permaculture work throughout Australia New Zealand, USA, India, Indonesia, Germany, Cuba, and Taiwan, and including projects ranging from outback communities to urban development. . Robyn was founding director of Permaculture International Ltd (PIL) in 1987, editor of the Permaculture International Journal, designer and creator of Djanbung Gardens (www. permaculture.com.au), one of Australia's leading permaculture centers.
The event takes place on Saturday, Aug 8 , 6:30 pm at the downtown Santa Barbara Public Library, 40 East Anapamu St, Santa Barbara. Donation $5, no reservations needed. The event is presented by Santa Barbara Permaculture Network Non-Profit. and Quailsprings Learning Oasis and Permaculture Farm. For more information, (805) 962-2571, margie-i2Jb4f2yvuzq4VKKpy30dR2eb7JE58TQ@public.gmane.org, www.sbpermaculture.org
-end-
Santa Barbara Permaculture Network
an educational non-profit since 2000
(805) 962-2571
P.O. Box 92156, Santa Barbara, CA 93190
margie-i2Jb4f2yvuzq4VKKpy30dR2eb7JE58TQ@public.gmane.org
www.sbpermaculture.org
"We are like trees, we must create new leaves, in new directions, in order to grow." - Anonymous
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.5.387 / Virus Database: 270.13.16/2241 - Release Date: 07/16/09 05:58:00
Santa Barbara Permaculture Network
an educational non-profit since 2000
(805) 962-2571
P.O. Box 92156, Santa Barbara, CA 93190
margie-i2Jb4f2yvuzq4VKKpy30dR2eb7JE58TQ@public.gmane.org
www.sbpermaculture.org
"We are like trees, we must create new leaves, in new directions, in order to grow." - Anonymous
Contact: Margie Bushman
Santa Barbara Permaculture Network.
(805) 962-2571, margie-i2Jb4f2yvuzq4VKKpy30dR2eb7JE58TQ@public.gmane.org,
Santa Barbara Permaculture
Network
Permaculture Around the World Series
with Robyn Francis from Australia speaking on
Permaculture in CUBA
Saturday, August 8, 6:30 - 8:30pm 2009, Donation $5
Santa Barbara Central Library, Faulkner Gallery
Santa Barbara
Permaculture Network continues its Permaculture Around the World
series, this time welcoming Robyn Francis from Australia as she
speaks about her past and future visits to Cuba where she and
other Australian permaculturists have been credited with helping Cuba
transform the islands agriculture to a more sustainable model through
perrmaculture.Permaculture Around the World Series
with Robyn Francis from Australia speaking on
Permaculture in CUBA
Saturday, August 8, 6:30 - 8:30pm 2009, Donation $5
Santa Barbara Central Library, Faulkner Gallery
Climate Change and Peak Oil are topics on the minds of many Americans today. There is much to learn from Cuba's response to the sudden loss of cheap and abundant oil in the early 1990's with the fall of the Soviet Union and the continued U.S. Embargo in place since the 1960's. Cuba's industrial model of agriculture under the Soviets was highly mechanized with monoculture crops reliant on petro-based pesticides and fertilizers. The era in Cuba following the Soviet collapse is known to Cubans as the "Special Period" when it lost more than 50 percent of it oil imports, much of its food, and 85 percent of its trade economy. Transportation halted, people went hungry, and the average Cuban lost 30 pounds.
Dictated by reality, Cubans began to bring agriculture into the city with urban gardens, cultivating vegetables wherever they could. A small group of Australians assisted in this grass-roots effort, coming to Cuba in 1993 to teach Permaculture, a system based on sustainable agriculture that uses far less energy. With a grant from the Cuban government they set up the first Permaculture demonstration site, that evolved into the Foundation for Nature and Humanity's Urban Permaculture demonstration site located in Havana. Today 50 percent of Havana's vegetables come from inside the city, while in other Cuban towns and cities, urban gardens produce from 80 percent to more than 100 percent of what they need.
More recently Australians have come back to Cuba to assist after two devastating hurricanes wrought massive destruction throughout Cuba in September 2008. The loss of crops, soil and organic matter from the torrential rains and flooding, challenged all the islands agriculture, including the permaculture sites.
Robyn Francis and the Cuba-Australia Permaculture Exchange (CAPE) toured the island to assess the damage, offer help, and take the opportunity to learn from the disaster to design more resilient systems for the future.
Robyn Francis has just returned from a visit to Cuba in June 2009 as part of Cuban-Australia Permaculture Exchange (CAPE) and will be reporting on her observation in her talk on One-Earth Footprint - Learning from Cuba's Experience. Discover the key factors enabling Cuba to survive collapse, live within its ecological footprint, and how this relates to Permaculture and Transition design. Don't miss the chance to learn from one of permaculture's earliest pioneers.
Robyn Francis is an award-winning international permaculture designer, educator, presenter and innovator, with over 25 years of permaculture work throughout Australia New Zealand, USA, India, Indonesia, Germany, Cuba, and Taiwan, and including projects ranging from outback communities to urban development. . Robyn was founding director of Permaculture International Ltd (PIL) in 1987, editor of the Permaculture International Journal, designer and creator of Djanbung Gardens (www. permaculture.com.au), one of Australia's leading permaculture centers.
The event takes place on Saturday, Aug 8 , 6:30 pm at the downtown Santa Barbara Public Library, 40 East Anapamu St, Santa Barbara. Donation $5, no reservations needed. The event is presented by Santa Barbara Permaculture Network Non-Profit. and Quailsprings Learning Oasis and Permaculture Farm. For more information, (805) 962-2571, margie-i2Jb4f2yvuzq4VKKpy30dR2eb7JE58TQ@public.gmane.org, www.sbpermaculture.org
-end-
Santa Barbara Permaculture Network
an educational non-profit since 2000
(805) 962-2571
P.O. Box 92156, Santa Barbara, CA 93190
margie-i2Jb4f2yvuzq4VKKpy30dR2eb7JE58TQ@public.gmane.org
www.sbpermaculture.org
"We are like trees, we must create new leaves, in new directions, in order to grow." - Anonymous
First Annual Southern
California Permaculture Convergence August 2008
http://socalifornia.permacultureconvergence.org
No virus found in this incoming message.http://socalifornia.permacultureconvergence.org
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.5.387 / Virus Database: 270.13.16/2241 - Release Date: 07/16/09 05:58:00
Santa Barbara Permaculture Network
an educational non-profit since 2000
(805) 962-2571
P.O. Box 92156, Santa Barbara, CA 93190
margie-i2Jb4f2yvuzq4VKKpy30dR2eb7JE58TQ@public.gmane.org
www.sbpermaculture.org
"We are like trees, we must create new leaves, in new directions, in order to grow." - Anonymous
First Annual Southern
California Permaculture Convergence August 2008
http://socalifornia.permacultureconvergence.org
http://socalifornia.permacultureconvergence.org
<div> PRESS RELEASE<br> Contact: Margie Bushman<br> Santa Barbara Permaculture Network.<br> (805) 962-2571, margie@...,<br><div align="center">Santa Barbara Permaculture Network<br> Permaculture Around the World Series<br>with Robyn Francis from Australia speaking on<br>Permaculture in CUBA<br> <br>Saturday, August 8, 6:30 - 8:30pm 2009, Donation $5<br> Santa Barbara Central Library, Faulkner Gallery<br> </div> Santa Barbara Permaculture Network continues its Permaculture Around the World series, this time welcoming Robyn Francis from Australia as she speaks about her past and future visits to Cuba where she and other Australian permaculturists have been credited with helping Cuba transform the islands agriculture to a more sustainable model through perrmaculture.<br><br> Climate Change and Peak Oil are topics on the minds of many Americans today. There is much to learn from Cuba's response to the sudden loss of cheap and abundant oil in the early 1990's with the fall of the Soviet Union and the continued U.S. Embargo in place since the 1960's. Cuba's industrial model of agriculture under the Soviets was highly mechanized with monoculture crops reliant on petro-based pesticides and fertilizers. The era in Cuba following the Soviet collapse is known to Cubans as the "Special Period" when it lost more than 50 percent of it oil imports, much of its food, and 85 percent of its trade economy. Transportation halted, people went hungry, and the average Cuban lost 30 pounds.<br><br> Dictated by reality, Cubans began to bring agriculture into the city with urban gardens, cultivating vegetables wherever they could. A small group of Australians assisted in this grass-roots effort, coming to Cuba in 1993 to teach Permaculture, a system based on sustainable agriculture that uses far less energy. With a grant from the Cuban government they set up the first Permaculture demonstration site, that evolved into the Foundation for Nature and Humanity's Urban Permaculture demonstration site located in Havana. Today 50 percent of Havana's vegetables come from inside the city, while in other Cuban towns and cities, urban gardens produce from 80 percent to more than 100 percent of what they need.<br> More recently Australians have come back to Cuba to assist after two devastating hurricanes wrought massive destruction throughout Cuba in September 2008. The loss of crops, soil and organic matter from the torrential rains and flooding, challenged all the islands agriculture, including the permaculture sites.<br> Robyn Francis and the Cuba-Australia Permaculture Exchange (CAPE) toured the island to assess the damage, offer help, and take the opportunity to learn from the disaster to design more resilient systems for the future.<br><br> Robyn Francis has just returned from a visit to Cuba in June 2009 as part of Cuban-Australia Permaculture Exchange (CAPE) and will be reporting on her observation in her talk on One-Earth Footprint - Learning from Cuba's Experience. Discover the key factors enabling Cuba to survive collapse, live within its ecological footprint, and how this relates to Permaculture and Transition design. Don't miss the chance to learn from one of permaculture's earliest pioneers.<br> <br> Robyn Francis is an award-winning international permaculture designer, educator, presenter and innovator, with over 25 years of permaculture work throughout Australia New Zealand, USA, India, Indonesia, Germany, Cuba, and Taiwan, and including projects ranging from outback communities to urban development. . Robyn was founding director of Permaculture International Ltd (PIL) in 1987, editor of the Permaculture International Journal, designer and creator of Djanbung Gardens (<a href="http://www.%20permaculture.com.au/" eudora="autourl">www. permaculture.com.au</a>), one of Australia's leading permaculture centers.<br> <br> The event takes place on Saturday, Aug 8 , 6:30 pm at the downtown Santa Barbara Public Library, 40 East Anapamu St, Santa Barbara. Donation $5, no reservations needed. The event is presented by Santa Barbara Permaculture Network Non-Profit. and Quailsprings Learning Oasis and Permaculture Farm. For more information, (805) 962-2571, margie@..., <a href="http://www.sbpermaculture.org/" eudora="autourl"> www.sbpermaculture.org<br><br><br><br><br><br><br></a>-end-≤br>Santa Barbara Permaculture Network<br> an educational non-profit since 2000<br>(805) 962-2571<br>P.O. Box 92156, Santa Barbara, CA 93190<br>margie@...<br> <a href="http://www.sbpermaculture.org/" eudora="autourl"> www.sbpermaculture.org<br><br></a>"We are like trees, we must create new leaves, in new directions, in order to grow." - Anonymous<br><div align="center">First Annual Southern California Permaculture Convergence August 2008<br> <a href="http://socalifornia.permacultureconvergence.org/" eudora="autourl"> http://socalifornia.permacultureconvergence.org<br><br><br><br></a> </div> No virus found in this incoming message.<br> Checked by AVG - <a href="http://www.avg.com/" eudora="autourl">www.avg.com</a> <br> Version: 8.5.387 / Virus Database: 270.13.16/2241 - Release Date: 07/16/09 05:58:00<br><p></p>Santa Barbara Permaculture Network<br> an educational non-profit since 2000<br>(805) 962-2571<br>P.O. Box 92156, Santa Barbara, CA 93190<br>margie@...<br> <a href="http://www.sbpermaculture.org/" eudora="autourl"> www.sbpermaculture.org<br><br></a>"We are like trees, we must create new leaves, in new directions, in order to grow." - Anonymous<br><br><div align="center">First Annual Southern California Permaculture Convergence August 2008<br> <a href="http://socalifornia.permacultureconvergence.org/" eudora="autourl"> http://socalifornia.permacultureconvergence.org<br></a> </div> </div>
20 Jul 2009 21:12
Introduction to Permaculture Design the DVD Trailer Y Tube Geoff Lawton
Introduction to Permaculture Design – the DVD Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Lv3R4HrY6wCourses/Workshops, DVDs/Books, Developments by Craig Mackintosh
We know a considerable amount of people have been in anticipation of this DVD – a highly watchable intro to Permaculture design principles and practise. It is the culmination of a great many hours of careful labour for award-winning video editor, animator and avid Permaculturist, Frank Gapinski. With it, we target two kinds of people: the Permaculture beginner wanting to get a grip on what Permaculture is all about from somebody who really knows his stuff, as well as the keen Permaculturist who wants to share his/her enthusiasm with friends, family and colleagues in an easy to digest form. The DVD encapsulates some of the most significant aspects of Permaculture – leaving the viewer feeling more confident about how to capably wield the design tools Permaculture utilises.
The narrator, Geoff Lawton, one of Bill Mollison’s earliest students, is one of the most respected and experienced Permaculturists today – having worked and taught in dozens of countries over the last twenty five years – and yet fully understands how to engage audiences and transmit information to people at all levels. This, combined with Frank’s expert visual wizardy, will leave viewers wanting to start their own Permaculture journey, pronto.
We had initially pre-announced this DVD several months ago, under the title ‘Permaculture for Beginners’, but after working it through the title ‘Introduction to Permaculture Design’ seemed more apt. We anticipate this will become a highly contagious tool to help spread the Permaculture message. Watch the trailer below, and keep an eye on this site for its not-too-distant release (due September).
Santa Barbara Permaculture Network
an educational non-profit since 2000
(805) 962-2571
P.O. Box 92156, Santa Barbara, CA 93190
margie-i2Jb4f2yvuzq4VKKpy30dR2eb7JE58TQ@public.gmane.org
www.sbpermaculture.org
"We are like trees, we must create new leaves, in new directions, in order to grow." - Anonymous
First Annual Southern
California Permaculture Convergence August 2008
http://socalifornia.permacultureconvergence.org
http://socalifornia.permacultureconvergence.org
<div> <h3> <a href="http://permaculture.org.au/2009/07/17/introduction-to-permaculture-design-the-dvd-trailer/"> Introduction to Permaculture Design – the DVD Trailer</a> </h3> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Lv3R4HrY6w" eudora="autourl"> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Lv3R4HrY6w<br><br><br></a><h4> <a href="http://permaculture.org.au/category/events-resources-news/courses-workshops/"> Courses/Workshops</a>, <a href="http://permaculture.org.au/category/events-resources-news/dvds-books/"> DVDs/Books</a>, <a href="http://permaculture.org.au/category/events-resources-news/developments/"> Developments</a> ­ by <a href="http://permaculture.org.au/author/Craig%20Mackintosh">Craig Mackintosh</a> </h4> <br><br> We know a considerable amount of people have been in anticipation of this DVD – a highly watchable intro to Permaculture design principles and practise. It is the culmination of a great many hours of careful labour for award-winning video editor, animator and avid Permaculturist, Frank Gapinski. With it, we target two kinds of people: the Permaculture beginner wanting to get a grip on what Permaculture is all about from somebody who really knows his stuff, as well as the keen Permaculturist who wants to share his/her enthusiasm with friends, family and colleagues in an easy to digest form. The DVD encapsulates some of the most significant aspects of Permaculture – leaving the viewer feeling more confident about how to capably wield the design tools Permaculture utilises.<br><br> The narrator, Geoff Lawton, one of Bill Mollison’s earliest students, is one of the most respected and experienced Permaculturists today – having worked and taught in dozens of countries over the last twenty five years – and yet fully understands how to engage audiences and transmit information to people at all levels. This, combined with Frank’s expert visual wizardy, will leave viewers wanting to start their own Permaculture journey, pronto.<br><br> We had initially <a href="http://permaculture.org.au/2008/12/16/permaculture-for-beginners-dvd-in-the-works/"> pre-announced</a> this DVD several months ago, under the title ‘Permaculture for Beginners’, but after working it through the title ‘Introduction to Permaculture Design’ seemed more apt. We anticipate this will become a highly contagious tool to help spread the Permaculture message. Watch the trailer below, and keep an eye on this site for its not-too-distant release (due September).<br><br><div align="center">Introduction to Permaculture Trailer PRI <a href="http://permaculture.org.au/" eudora="autourl"> http://permaculture.org.au/</a> <br><br><p></p> </div> Santa Barbara Permaculture Network<br> an educational non-profit since 2000<br>(805) 962-2571<br>P.O. Box 92156, Santa Barbara, CA 93190<br>margie@...<br> <a href="http://www.sbpermaculture.org/" eudora="autourl"> www.sbpermaculture.org<br><br></a>"We are like trees, we must create new leaves, in new directions, in order to grow." - Anonymous<br><br><div align="center">First Annual Southern California Permaculture Convergence August 2008<br> <a href="http://socalifornia.permacultureconvergence.org/" eudora="autourl"> http://socalifornia.permacultureconvergence.org<br></a> </div> </div>
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