Workshops

Below is just a taste of the many amazing workshops that we will be offering at this years conference.  We are doing our best to get the full descriptions and schedule up by the end of the month or so, please check back soon.

INSTEAD, HOMESTEAD...BUT WHY AND WHERE?
Philip Ackerman-Leist
"Homesteading" is a time-honored American countercultural tradition, and Philip and Erin Ackerman-Leist pursued the standard back-to-the-land approach to homesteading by living for seven years in a small cabin with no electricity or running water before building a more comfortable off-grid home deep in the hills of Vermont. In the process of their fourteen year venture, Philip has been teaching a popular college course entitled "A Homesteader's Ecology." His students' challenges to the rural back-to-the-land version of homesteading pushed Philip to reconsider what elements might best constitute "modern homesteading." In addition to sharing selected written excerpts and a series of Erin's illustrations from their new book, Up Tunket Road: The Education of a Modern Homesteader, published by Chelsea Green, Philip will also share photographs and stories of a variety of homesteads in order to encourage a group discussion of how we might rethink the American homesteading tradition. It could be that homesteading is more about intent than it is about setting…

RADICAL JOY FOR HARD TIMES
Trebbe Johnson
Creating a sustainable, thriving future on Earth depends upon opening our hearts to the natural world in its brokenness as well as its splendor. Despite the vital environmental work being done by so many people, we all continue to see the places we love paved over, cut down, and polluted, the animal and plant species we admire made extinct. Sadly, we know that this pattern is not likely to improve. Yet it is possible to honestly confront our grief about what is happening to our planet, even as we discover surprising beauty, individual and unconventional ways to take action, and yes, even joy. In this workshop we’ll open our hearts to difficult feelings of loss about places and species that matter to us, share stories about the role nature has played in our lives, and create an Act of Beauty on behalf of a wounded place.

WILD MUSHROOMS: ENHANCING OUR LIVES ON THIS SMALL PLANET
Greg Marley
Wild mushrooms bring color, beauty and mystery into the forest and offer a way to connect with nature. They provide fresh, seasonal, gourmet-quality meals for foragers and occasionally cause illness in those mistakenly choosing a toxic mushroom. Medicinal mushrooms offer a path to sustaining optimal health and hold the promise of immune-boosting healing for many forms of illness. For the more adventurous, hallucinogenic mushrooms open and expand the mind and offer a gateway to mystical experience.Mushrooms play a vital role in the health of our forests and are an indispensable link in the chain of forest ecology. The seasonal collection and sale of wild mushrooms support families in many rural developing or Third-World regions and they are increasingly found cultivated in tropical lands as a needed source of protein for a healthy and sustainable diet. Come celebrate the great mushrooms in our world with mycologist and author Greg A Marley. He will share of his passion about mushrooms in our world and offer advice on inviting wild edible and medicinal mushrooms into your life and suggestions on bringing mushrooms into the home garden.

TRANSFORMATIVE LEADERSHIP FOR SUSTAINABILITY
Curtis Ogden
The complexity of the issues we face as communites, a country, and a planet and the requirements of "ecological intelligence" demand that we look at and practice leadership differently.  First, we must understand that leadership is shared, it does not and cannot reside in any single individual.  Furthermore, leadership must be increasingly about unlocking collective intelligence and collaborative capacity to shift our society to more sustainable ways of living.  In this workshop, we will present a model of leadership that includes the capacities of (1) deep awareness, (2) collaborative skill, and (3) systems thinking.  And we will interactively explore collaborative practices that help us to become more present and process-savvy, to tap the best of what we and others have to offer.

CULTIVATING CONNECTIONS: ENGAGING YOUTH IN THE FOOD SYSTEM
Anique Wiggins and F.R.E.S.H. New London
This workshop will explore lessons learned by FRESH New London about engaging youth from 3-18 in their food system. From hands-on exploration in the gardens to food system literacy trainings to growing and selling organic vegetables, FRESH Staff and Youth Crew Members will share different strategies and programs for connecting young people with issues and experiences of food, community and agriculture.

LEARNING TO LEAD: MAKING YOUR DREAM GREEN PROJECT A REALITY
Alan Palm and Julian Rodriguez-Drix
learn how to be an effective leader, build a cohesive club and understand the key components of developing and leading successful projects - all while having fun and avoiding burn-out!. Participatnts will also learn about ACE's resources to suport student environmental groups including grants, project tool-kits, and a national online network.

GREEN GREASE GUZZLERS: HOW GREEN GUERRILLAS CREATED A MULTI-MEDIA, RENEWABLE ENERGY DEMONSTRATION VEHICLE
S.T.A.M.P.'s Green Guerrillas Youth Media Tech Collective
As part of their continued efforts to empower a broad-based constituency of youth, everyday people, and activists to think critically about petroleum dependence and false solutions to climate justice, Green Guerrillas Youth Media Tech Collective presents Green Grease Guzzlers—a teen-centered, fun, and informative Blockumentary that offers an unconventional “how-to” view for those interested in making biodiesel and learning more about the veggie oil conversion process for diesel-engine vehicles. A story about alternative and sustainable transportation, this excerpt showcases Green Guerrillas making their collective’s transportation more sustainable with the conversion of their 1990 Ford Econoline diesel bus into a lean and green biodiesel/waste veggie oil machine. Working with a local “Organic Mechanic” and Ithaca Biodiesel Cooperative, Green Guerrillas “get greasy” learning the two ways waste vegetable oil from restaurants can be used to fuel today’s modern diesel vehicles—then they take a trip! After the film excerpt, slideshow, and Q&A, we will head outside to check out the bus. Come ready to be inspired to manifest your power to make both media and sustainable lifestyle choices in favor of people and the planet!

PLIGHT OF THE MONARCH BUTTERFLY: STEP BY STEP STRATEGIES ON HOW ANYONE CAN CREATE BUTTERFLY HABITAT AND RAISE MONARCH BUTTERFLIES
Una McGurk and Trina Paulus
Basic information about the Monarch life cycle and annual migration will be shared along with pictures and video clips. We will discuss issues that are effecting both the Monarch populations and their habitat and discuss practical solutions and actions. Mother Nature willing, we will have some live caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly participants in the workshop. Learn how you can help give the Monarch population a little help in numbers by home-rearing for fun and education.

TELLING YOUR STORY: THE ART OF MOVEMENT BUILDING
Julian Rodriguez-Drix and Alan Palm
Find your unique voice & learn about the power of story telling in movement  building. Participants will learn about the Marshall Ganz theory or leadership story telling and work on crafting their own public narrative.

SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPES: A HOMEOWNERS PRIMER
Mary Rapoza
Sustainable landscapes are a low maintenance landscape alternative that is beautiful, functional, and supports the local ecology of your yard and neighborhood.  This presentation will provide an introduction to all aspects of sustainable landscapes for homeowners.  We will discuss native plants, life supporting greenways, a place for ornamentals and exotics, edible landscapes, lawns, and more. 

THE WISDOM OF THE CHAKRA SYSTEM: TOOLS FOR NAVIGATING THE COMPLEXITY OF LIFE
Ellen Tadd
Some people are extremely bright yet emotionally crippled, others are very loving yet their daily lives are chaotic. Many have great faith but very little clarity, while others are creative but stymied by a lack of confidence. Why are people so lopsided in their development? Why do some of us feel love but find ourselves unable to express it? Why do some of us commit ourselves to an endeavor “from the heart” but again and again wind up disenchanted? Why do some of us feel confident and powerful within ourselves but become frightened when we try to realize our potential? Answers to such questions can be found in the chakra system, the seven ethereal centers that both reflect and influence our quality of life. Some twenty years ago, Ellen Tadd – a clairvoyant from youth – began to examine the chakra system to understand the imbalances so prevalent in people today and found that it does much more. It offers remedies to correct the imbalances that prevent us from reaching our aspirations, the chakras also help us realize our spiritual nature in the world.

ANIMALS AS SACRED TEACHERS
Martha Powers
We often overlook the many wonderful teachers that cross our paths out in nature, in our dreams and visions, and in our homes.  Through guided meditations and group sharing we will deepen our awareness of the animals in our world and open to the divine wisdom and love they bring to us.  We will strengthen our connection to the animals, the wild ones and family members, who share our journey.  Together we can create a world that honors and respects the animals who grace our lives as we embrace the interconnectedness of all life.

Below are examples of past workshops.  In addition, last year we offered hands-on workshops in our exhibition tent that were open to the public, a practice we will continue in 2010.

- Beyond Benign: Hands on Green Chemistry
- Awakening the Dreamer Symposium
- Weatherization 101
- Choral Earth Circle
- Interfaith and Environmental Stewardship
- Shapeshifting Shamanism
- Earth Sheltered Housing and Living Roofs
- Peak Oil: Transition Towns
- Making Bio-Diesel and other Renewables
- Greening the Winter Diet
- EcoCycle Design as a Tool
- Raw Milk Revolution
- A Look at Environmental Injustices in New Bedford
- Population and Sustainability
- How to Green Your School