KEYNOTE SPEAKER, Friday Evening in Thomas Berry Hall
Grief, Hopelessness, Despair and Joy: Walking the Tightrope of our Lives
Chris Jordan, artist, visionary, advocate
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LOCAL WORKSHOPS
Saturday, October 15th, at 2:30 pm
Education for Sustainability
Susan Milan, Teacher, South Whidbey School District
How do we bring the principles of sustainability and environmental education to the mainstream education system? Participants will learn about Washington State initiatives for integrating sustainability and environmental standards across content areas, K-12. There will be experience-based activities as well as discussion around how to support efforts to foster global citizenship and environmental literacy.
Location: The Farmhouse
Being the Change: Learning from Ecovillages Around the World
Karen Litfin, Associate Professor, University of Washington
UW professor of global political ecology Karen Litfin uses amazing pictures to share her journey to 14 ecovillages on 5 continents. The first half of the workshop will be show and tell, and the second half interactively addresses the question: What lessons can we glean for our own lives from these experiments in sustainable living?
Location: Thomas Berry Hall
An In-Depth Conversation: Grief, Hopelessness, Despair, & Joy: Walking the Tightropes of Our Lives
Chris Jordan, Artist
In this adjunct workshop, Chris offers space for further in-depth conversation on the themes covered in his Keynote presentation from Friday evening.
Location: Sanctuary
Training New Farmers: The Dawn of new Jedi Warriors (with Field Trip: Tour of Greenbank Farm)
Maryon Attwood, Program Director, Greenbank Farm
Participants will be able to take a tour with Program Director and founder of the Greenbank Farm Training Center, Maryon Attwood. The program, now in its 3rd growing season, is a curricula-based residential 7-month program. This community inspired program provides the skills, knowledge and technical skills to run a small-scale organic farm. Students attend weekly lectures, take field trips to other farms, manage animals and bee hives and create a business plan—giving them the foundation they need to manage their own small farm with confidence.
Location: Meet at the bottom of the steps in front of Thomas Berry Hall at 2:30 pm. Don’t be late; vans will leave promptly!
Saturday, October 15th, at 4:30 pm
Entrepreneuring in the New Economy
Gabriel Scheer, Founder of Seattle Greendrinks, Agent Green, Co-founder Re-Vision Labs
This workshop is an opportunity to talk about experimenting, rolling with ideas, and trying to build a sustainable business along the way. This will be a pow-wow for the entrepreneurial at heart – led by someone who’s been building organizations for years, but who definitely does not have all the answers (whatever that means). We’ll also explore ideas participants may have, and discuss practical ways to pursue those.
Location: The Farmhouse
Ecological Economics: Revealing our Best Investments
Rowan Schmidt, Research Analyst, Earth Economics
Rowan Schmidt of Tacoma-based non-profit Earth Economics will provide an overview of the new economic tools being used to merge science and economics and shift investment towards sustainability. Workshop participants will explore and discuss some of the following topics:
- Ecological economics, natural capital and ecosystem services
- How and why should we value ecosystem services?
- Some applications from the work of Earth Economics locally, nationally and internationally
Location: Thomas Berry Hall
Mentoring and Intergenerational Collaboration
Sarah Keenan, Facilitator, Coach, Mentor, and Social Artist, with Theo Simms, Musician
Join us in a lively dialogue about what it means to mentor, and what is possible when you weave together the creative energies, passion and gifts of multiple generations.
Location: Sanctuary
Growing Groceries
Cary Peterson, Program Coordinator, Learning from the Land
The recent Northwest Earth Institute conference in Port Townsend was titled “If Not Me, then Who?” Will Allen from Growing Power believes this country needs 50 million new people growing food. If you would like to step up to the plate, come learn about vermicomposting (creating great soil with worms) and basic gardening principles to help you be successful growing your own food. It may be autumn, but there are many things you can do now to get ready for next season. Be prepared to be outside in the garden!
Cary Peterson teaches the Growing Groceries program, a partnership of the Whidbey Institute, Good Cheer Food Bank, WSU Extension Service and South Whidbey Tilth. She is the coordinator of the Learning from the Land program of the Whidbey Institute, and the Good Cheer Food Bank Garden.
Location: The Westgarden, located just beyond the Farmhouse
