Eating Green and Local for the Holidays

Sustainability Lunch and Learn:

Eating Green and Local
for the Holidays

Chef Timothy Tucker and Native Plants consultant Whit Forerester.
December 20, 2007
Noon to 2 PM
Adena Center 
Galen Building, 2nd Floor, Zorn Ave. and River Rd.

Are you looking for ways to make this a green holiday?
Looking for recipes and tips on how to grow and cook good local food?
Want to contribute to the health of the least among us and help increase our community's food security?

Join us for a delicious green and local lunch and expert presentations with Chef Timothy Tucker of the salvation Army and Native Plants Consultant Whit Forrester.

Please RSVP to 502 896-1835 or communitybiz@yahoo.com
More Information: Open Living and Learning for Sustainability

Building it Green! Living and Learning for Sustainability: Near Carbon Neutral Living


Living and Learning for Sustainability: This Lunch and Learn Series seminar is part of the Sustainability Certification program offered through the Adena Center for Sustainability and Communications.

Building it Green!

Global Warming: What You Can Do Now....Towards Near Zero Carbon Living

Mark Isaacs AIA

December 7. 2007
12 p.m to 1:30 p.m.
Webster University Louisville Campus
Directions: I-71 Exit 2, Zorn Ave. @ River Rd behind BP (Map)
Free and open to the public. Donations welcome. A light lunch buffet will be available.
Please RSVP to 502 896-1835 or communitybiz@yahoo.com


In this Lunch and Learn seminar, Architect/Builder Mark Isaacs connects the big picture issues of climate change and energy with the practical choices facing homeowners, neighborhoods and businesses. How can we become energy efficient and move toward sustainable Near Zero Carbon living? What is do-able and cost-effective now?

This workshop will be an eye opening tour of the state of green building today and the many positive opportunities available to homeowners, builders, students, neighbors, developers, technologists and others who want to participate now in the new green revolution.
Click here for more details....

Sustainable Home Forum, December 6, 2007

The Urban Design Studio will be presenting a Sustainable City workshop by Bill Abner of Energy Pros at Glassworks, 815 West Market, Louisville, KY, Thursday, December 6, 2007 at 6;00 PM.

You may remember Energy Pros from the Louisville Green and Local Business Conference presentation made by Emma Kuhl about Energy Pros and the Kentucky Green Building Council.

To learn more and RSVP please go to the Sustainable City page at the Urban Design Studio site.


Sustainable Business Network/BALLE Chapter Organizing Meeting, December 10, 2007

There will be a small working meeting of the Sustainable Business Networks/BALLE Chapter Organizing Committee on December 10, 2007, 4:30 PM at Webster University. If you or your organization are interested in participating, please send Agenda suggestions and RSVP to: communitybiz@yahoo.com or call 502 410 2786.

Draft Agenda:

  • Introductions
  • Agenda review
  • Sustainable Business Networks Overview
  • Regional Organizing goals and strategy
  • Brainstorm One
  • BALLE Chapter affiliation status
  • Membership Benefits and Participation
  • Resources and Development Opportunities
  • Green And Local Business Conference 2008 Planning
  • Green Expo
  • Green Business Directory
  • Derby Green Planning
  • 2008 Living and Learning for Sustainability Schedule

  • Next Steps

Louisville Green Business Directory 2008

The 2008 Green Business Directory is now being organized. To be listed or to contribute articles, please contact: communitybiz@yahoo.com

Louisville Sustainable Business Conference 2008

Planning is now underway for the Spring 2008 Green and Local Louisville Sustainable Business Conference. If you or your business would like to be involved in planning, presentation or underwriting, please contact us at communitybiz@yahoo.com

Open Living and Learning Network News:

Open: Living and Learning for Sustainability: November, 2007

The Open Living and Learning Network is a recent initiative which has already given rise to some great new opportunities in Louisville and elsewhere.

To follow the development of this learning initiative, take a look at Living and Learning for Sustainability
To join the listserve and living and learning collaborative in Louisville, go to Sustainability Education Group

Sustainable Clift*n: The November 13, 2007 Clifton Community Council meeting included a briefing on the Gaia Education and LEEDS Neighborhood ideas and invitations to Clifton and other community members to participate in the Open Living and Learning for Sustainability Network neighborhood activities. Clifton Center 7 PM.

You may also be interested in the work of the Sustainable Neighborhood committee of the Limerick Neighborhood's West St. Catherine Street Association. The next meeting will be 5 PM, Sunday, November 11, 2007, to discuss options for greening the neighborhood. Walnut Street Baptist Church, 1100 South 3rd St at St. Catherine Streets Contact: Chair - Sustainable Neighborhoods, Steven Sizemore, Steven.Sizemore@louisvilleky.gov, 502-290-7623
The Open Living and Learning Network idea was originally proposed during the Living Routes visit in early September, 2007, as a next step in the development of the Open Community projects launched in 2004. Click here to see one of the Open living and Learning Network proposals.

The Living Routes meetings connected Louisville to Study Abroad opportunities with ecovillages world wide.

Clifton Neighborhood, which is taking a lead on the Living and Learning approach, began charting a course towards sustainability several years ago. In October, the Clifton Neighborhood Council filed an application as the first Open Louisville Living and Learning Network Gaia Education site. Clifton has joined with Adena Institute, Webster University and regional sustainability practitioners, in going after Global Ecovillage Network and UNITAR curriculum certification along with an education grant from the Gaia Trust.

Clifton has also embarked on learning
about becoming a LEED Neighborhood as part of the Open Living and Learning Network. LEED is the US Green Building Council standard for Energy and Environmental building practices. The LEED Neighborhood standard is now undergoing pilot testing in 234 neighborhoods around the United States. Clifton is applying to be a "corresponding neighborhood"- that is, a neighborhood that wants to learn more about the LEEDs Green Neighborhood process in anticipation of applying for full LEEDs status in the next year or so.

See the article "Neighborhoods Taking The LEED" by Jennifer Oladipo from LEO weekly:

See some of the recent ideas for the Open Louisville Living and Learning Network: Next Steps DRAFT v1-1

Open Louisville Living and Learning Network: Next Steps DRAFT v1-1

Open Louisville Living and Learning Network: Next Steps DRAFT v1-1 9/7/07

For More information:
communitybiz@yahoo.com
www.sustainablelouisville.net
www.sustainabilityeducation.blogspot.com

Some ideas for developing the Open Louisville Living and Learning Network:

1) Green and Sustainable Communities.
Sustainability depends on integrating environmental, economic, equity, multi-generational and local/global aspects of development. Green communities are learning communities, where all aspects of business, government and community life are moving through democratic transformations towards sustainability. Here are some elements of policy and process reforms which the Louisville Living and Learning Network could support:

1.1) City - wide LEED Green Building standards.
Many communities around the world are moving from "Pilot Projects and PR " to community-wide adoption of Green building and design standards. for example, Washington DC has adopted a policy whereby all new construction in DC MUST conform with Green Building "LEED" standards by 2010. Louisville, with a much smaller building footprint could move even more quickly.

1.2) Green Neighborhoods.
Neighborhoods and villages around the world are moving to Green standards through LEED and Ecovillage standards. Louisville already has the optional "village form " district designation for neighborhood planning. This should be amended and extended so that not only Green Building but Green neighborhood and regional design is the defacto standard for the community. Democratic neighborhood councils and small cities can move to adopt these measures even before Metro government acts, and in so doing can strengthen the neighborhoods movement.

1.3) Education for Sustainability.
There are a variety of measures that community organizations and institutions can undertake to move towards sustainable community education, including citizen and vocational education in addition to public schools and universities. In all of these education forums, solar technician and construction training, composting and permaculture certification, green neighborhoods planning training and democracy schools are among the means for learning the technical and process skills of a sustainable society. In partnership with these specific skills trainings, there are community based integrative curricula and partnerships such as the Ecovillage Design Education curriculum of the Global Ecovillage Network and the Neighborhood LEEDS programs of the US Green Building Council.  Over the past few decades a variety of "Open" community based research and continuing education initiatives have pioneered in this approach, such as the Open Center in NY,  Open Network in Colorado, the Loka Institute in Washington, DC,  the Science Shops movement in Europe, the Open University in Britain, and the Open Community projects in Louisville.  These partnerships can be used to help green neighborhoods become Open "Living and Learning" classrooms for Louisville and the world.

Neighborhoods taking the LEED

Neighborhoods taking the LEED
by Jennifer Oladipo

From LEO Weekly, 9/26/07
http://leoweekly.com/?q=node/5549

There’s nothing more frustrating than watching a golden opportunity pass while waiting for the folks in charge to move. Within the last four years or so, environmentally friendly buildings have sprung up around the country with increasing speed, but many communities are itching for change that’s bigger and faster than one business or government building at a time.


Some Clifton residents want to get their own neighborhood into the game, making it a model for how other neighborhoods in Louisville can go green. The Clifton Community Council’s land use and preservation committee was scheduled to discuss how to move the neighborhood toward meeting LEED-ND standards, and possibly even further, at Tuesday’s meeting.


LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the standard for green building. It takes into consideration issues such as building sites, water and energy use, materials and indoor air quality, and is pretty much the only national standard, created by the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council. Recognizing a need, the council has created a pilot program for neighborhood development, LEED-ND.


LEED standards, quickly adopted by governments from the federal level down, are in a constant state of refinement, and still taking cues from many similar programs.


Clifton is known for being a little bit artsy, a little bit lefty, and has a mix of young and old, renters and homeowners, a few residents who drive BMWs and a few who sleep on benches. The neighborhood is also a geographical lynchpin, located about the same distance from expensive homes in Crescent Hill and St. Matthews as it is from the more modest housing of Butchertown, Clifton Heights and east downtown.


In short, achieving sustainability in the neighborhood would mean negotiating several issues and interests, possibly making Clifton a great place to start a trend and work out kinks. Like other parts of Louisville, it’s filling up with condominiums, small housing communities with shared interests and common rules that could easily implement sustainable standards. Clusters of existing homes on one of Clifton’s many short streets or cul-de-sacs could also come to mutual agreements and pool their resources.


The smallest LEED-ND pilot sites hover around one acre, but sites of all sizes are participating, some with as many as 12,000 acres. No Kentucky cities made the list of more than 200 pilot programs in 37 states, plus Washington, DC, and some Canadian cities. Louisville is home to a handful of LEED-certified buildings, including the Tucker Booker Donhoff + Partners architectural firm on Market Street and the forthcoming downtown arena. With a little neighborly action, the city might someday be able to claim a Frankfort Avenue ecovillage as well. —Jennifer Oladipo

2008 Pegasus Parade: All the World's A Stage of Green and Global Possibilities: Sustainable Louisville Float Planning is Underway!!!

All the World’s A Stage of Possibilities:
Sketches for Sustainable Louisville Pegasus Parade Float 2008

The Possible World:
Green, Connected, Sharing Hearts, Hopes and Cosmic Delight
Artist: Noah Church
Sustainable Louisville – Pegasus Parade Float Sketches 1-15-08
Sustainable Louisville: communitybiz@yahoo.com 502 410 2786






Living Routes Events in Louisville, September 9 & 10, 2007

Are you…
  • Concerned about the environment & social justice?
  • Wondering where people are working on solutions?
  • Ready to help create a more sustainable future?
....then Study Abroad (and at home) in Ecovillages and Sustainable Neighborhoods!

We’re pleased to welcome to Louisville Mr. Gregg Orifici, Director of Admissions for Living Routes Study Abroad, for several meetings with students, educators and community leaders.

Mr. Orifici will join a Public Forum on
"Living and Learning for Sustainability"

from 4:30 to 6 PM Monday, September 10
at Webster University's
Adena Center for Sustainability and Communications, 1031 Zorn Avenue, Suite 200, Louisville, KY 40207 (Map).

He will also meet with student and community members at the University of Louisville from 11 to 2:30 PM on September 10, and in Louisville's Clifton neighborhood on Sunday, September 9 from 5:30 to 8 PM during his visit.

For details, see the Schedule Overview. You can also download a printable poster schedule and press release Please print them out to post in your class, community center or club. Thanks!

We look forward to seeing you at these events -- Please bring a friend, and encourage students, teachers and community members you know who might be interested. You’re invited!

Living Routes features world class programs for high school, college and adult leLinkarners in sustainable communities in India, Scotland, Senegal, Brazil, Mexico, Massachusetts, Peru... and this week, a chance to learn more in Louisville, KY, USA.
  • Learning about indigenous medicinal plants and intern in renewable energy development in southern India
  • Studying human ecology, helping regenerate forests, and living on a self-sufficient island in Scotland
  • Getting hands-on experience in sustainable development and building fluency in French in Senegal
  • Building a super adobe house, learning organic farming and learning Capoeira in tropical Brazil
  • Becoming a skilled consensus facilitator & leader for social change in the volcano belt of Mexico
  • Designing ecological homesteads/landscapes with expert faculty in beautiful western Massachusetts.
  • Learning how Amazonian fair trade coffee co-ops protect biodiversity and provide a living wage in Peru
  • Studying and working for peace and social justice between Jews, Arabs and Bedouins in Israel
  • ...and In Louisville, we will be exploring how neighborhoods, educators, community businesses and organizations can participate in local / global living and learning for sustainability.



Quick Schedule Overview:

September 10, 2007:
Public Forum and Dialogue:


Living and Learning for Sustainability
Linking Louisville Neighborhoods, Global Ecovillages and Learning Communities

4:30 - 6 P.M., September 10

Webster University
Adena Center for Sustainability and Communications

* How can I study abroad and in Louisville for community and global sustainability?
* How can we develop Louisville sustainable neighborhoods and learn with global sustainable communities partners like Living Routes, the Global Ecovillage Network, The Green Building Council LEED Neighborhoods, Living Economy initiatives and others?

* With Louisville Higher Education Net leaders, neighborhoods, community groups, students and educators, sustainable businesses & others.

A light meal will be available.

This Workshop is co-sponsored by the Sustainable Business Networks.

Where: Adena Center for Sustainability & Communications at Webster University Louisville Metro Campus 1031 Zorn Avenue, Suite 200, Louisville, KY 40207
Phone: (502)896-1835
Email: Louisville@webster.edu
Directions: I-71 Exit 2, Zorn Ave. @ River Rd behind BP
(Map)
From Louisville:
Follow I-71 North to Exit 2, Zorn Avenue. Take a left on Zorn (north) and proceed one-half block to the BP station and turn right. Webster University is to the right in the Galen Center.
From Cincinnati and I-264 East: Follow I-71 South to Exit 2, Zorn Avenue. Turn right on Zorn (north) and proceed one-half block to the BP station and turn right. Webster University is to the right in the Galen Center.

___________________________


For University of Louisville Students and Faculty:

University of Louisville
September 10

11 A.M. - 1 P.M.: Info Table/Lunch at SAC with Gregg Orifici
2nd Fl., Student Activities Center, University of Louisville. How can I study abroad for sustainability?
Sponsor: University of Louisville International Center

1 P.M. - 2:30 P.M.: Ali Institute,
Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace and Justice, University of Louisville, Ekstrom Library 2nd Floor.
Discussion of Local/Global study opportunities, including Living Routes, Ali Scholars Senegal Program, Adena Global project & others.
___________________________

Also:

Sunday, 5:30 - 8 pm, Sept. 9th:
Sustainable Neighborhoods and Ecovillages in Louisville

An informal potluck and neighborhood walk.
In what ways are Clifton and other nearby Louiville neighborhoods becoming sustainable living and learning communities? How can we learn with each other and global sustainable communities networks like Living Routes, Global Ecovillage Network and others?
Clifton Unitarian Church, 2231 Payne Street, Louisville, Info: (502) 410-2786

For More Information:

www.livingroutes.org
www.sustainablelouisville.net

To learn more about ongoing local/global online and community living and learning partner projects, visit www.sustainablelouisville.net.

Please come if you can, invite a friend or colleague, and forward this information to students and community members who might be interested.

Download the Poster and Press Release for these events.

Please print them out and post on campus, at work, clubs or your community center as appropriate.

These Green living and learning events are free and open to the public (donations welcome but not required).

Yours for a Green Community and World.

Thank you.

_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________

Background on Living Routes:

Living Routes is the world’s premier sustainable education study abroad program. Living Routes develops community “Living and Learning for Sustainability” projects with communities and students around the world. In addition to study abroad, we will be exploring Louisville study and project opportunities during these events.


ABOUT LIVING ROUTES:

Study Abroad for a Sustainable Future:
Accredited programs in sustainable communities

Bring your education to life by studying in Ecovillages around the world.

Ecovillages are ecological communities that provide ideal campuses for students to learn about sustainable development. Learn to live in harmony with local environments as you investigate personal and community based solutions to real world issues with one of the most innovative environmental study abroad programs.

Earn college credit from University of Massachusetts Amherst on our semester, Summer and January-term study abroad programs (open also to gap year/high school students). Through academic and experiential coursework, environmental community service learning, and cultural excursions, you develop the understanding, skills and commitment to restore our
planet and prepare for careers that make a difference.


All study abroad programs accredited by UMassAmherst & credit transfers to U of L, Webster, & other colleges & universities.

...Living Routes' mission is to provide future leaders with the skills, knowledge, and wisdom needed to repair the earth after 200 years of industrialization and to build durable economies and healthy communities that can thrive into the indefinite future. We offer for-credit sustainability education programs on every continent in semester, January-term and summer
formats, and continue to develop new and innovative programs to meet an increasing demand. Over 500 college and university students have benefited from these personally and professionally transformational experiences. They have returned with deep practice-based knowledge, valuable skills, and a renewed passion and vision to make a difference in
their local communities and in the world.

At Living Routes, it is our firm belief that ecovillages are ideal contexts for developing such
educational models and methods. In addition to pioneering a myriad of social and ecological tools such as consensus decision making, ecological design, and community-scale renewable energy systems, these communities are bringing these tools together within human-scale communities in ways that are greater than the sum of their parts. What emerges in these
settings, and what people who live, visit, or study there experience, are new relationships, paradigms, and "stories" in which these specific tools have meaning -- stories about what it means to be in right relationship with each other, the world, and ourselves...


Current Programs At Living Routes - A Note from Gregg Orifici:

I am writing to let you know about an exciting study abroad program, Living Routes' Senegal semester and January term program in Sustainability Studies ( http://www.LivingRoutes.org/programs/p_ecotourism.htm )which partners with UMass-Amherst to run programs based in "ecovillages" around the world. The program is unique in several ways:

  • Courses are in French (high intermediate French required) and students also learn Wolof;
  • Students learn Participant Action Research and Appreciative Inquiry theory and practice;
  • 1/3 of the program is based in rural villages that are part of a Senegalese Ecovillage Network;
  • U.S. and Senegalese students partner on independent study and service learning projects;

I also wanted to let you know that Living Routes has just committed to being Carbon Neutral and is working with our students and ecovillage partners to reduce emissions, plant trees and invest in alternative technologies that will help communities. One such project was recently launched during our January term Senegal Ecovillage Micro Finance program (http://www.livingroutes.org/programs/p_ecoyoff.htm ), whereby we supported a start-up solar cooker initiative and purchased and helped install these tree-saving appliances in several Senegalese villages. For more information about Living Routes' carbon offsetting initiative see http://www.livingroutes.org/about/walk.htm.

I will be on campus on the 10th of September and look forward to meeting you. Below is some more detailed info on Living Routes and our full suite of programs. Please feel free to pass this information on to Listservs, faculty, and students you think might be interested in our programs.

I look forward to talking with you, and answering any questions you may have!

In community, Gregg

Gregg Orifici
Director of Admissions
Living Routes - Study Abroad in Ecovillages Worldwide
79 S. Pleasant Street, #A5, Amherst, MA 01002
(888) 515-7333 or (413) 259-0025

Current Programs:

Living Routes offers accredited study programs (January, Summer, Semester and Year Abroad) with integrated Service Learning in Ecovillages in India, Peru, Scotland, Israel, Senegal, Brazil, Mexico and the U.S. (see program descriptions and links below). All Living Routes programs contain an integrated Service Learning component. Students receive an academic transcript from UMass Amherst, and academic credit is widely transferable to colleges and universities throughout the U.S. Additionally, participants who do not need academic credit often participate on Living Routes programs for the skills and experience they provide.

Ecovillages are unique communities where the theory and practical applications of ecological sustainability and social justice meet. In Ecovillages around the world, people are creating and modeling sustainable lifestyles in harmony with their local environments - restoring ecosystems and habitat, developing participatory models of governance, growing healthful organic food, building "green" homes, working for justice and social change, empowering girls and women and youth at risk, and utilizing renewable resources such as wind and solar energy.

These communities provide ideal "campuses" to immerse yourself in academic,experiential and service learning about sustainability, and prepare for lives and careers that make a difference.

Earn 4 or 16 transferable academic credits while studying with Living Routes.

To learn what students learn and experience day-to-day on one of our programs, check out our student Blogs at http://www.livingroutes.org/weblogs/weblog.php

We accept students on a rolling admissions basis--it is never too early to apply. Applications are available at http://www.livingroutes.org/admissions.html. We also offer need-based scholarships to help make our programs more affordable.


Semester Programs

Scotland: Human Challenge of Sustainability at Findhorn

Examine the skills, creativity and understanding that are vital to community living at Findhorn -a human-scale Ecovillage on the dramatic north coast of Scotland renowned for its environmental consciousness, personal and spiritual growth, artistry, education, and global responsibility. Learn about the integration of human ecology and natural systems as you gain valuable field experience in areas including sustainable food systems, creative expression and group facilitation.

Course Topics: Worldviews and Consciousness, Theory and Practice of Group Dynamics & Conflict Facilitation, Fine Art in Community, and Applied Sustainability: Ecovillage Living

Field Study: Explore Celtic culture, spend a week on extraordinary Erraid Island with a small farming community, and help regenerate the Caledonian forest or other meaningful service learning

Supervised Internship: Become a part of community life by working in organic gardens, preparing wholesome meals, or another area of interest

Credit: Earn 16 transferable credits through University of Massachusetts, Amherst


Senegal: Sustainable Community Development

Study abroad in Senegal and engage with ecovillagers and indigenous peoples on topics of sustainable development and ecotourism. Partner with Senegalese university students and travel to West African villages to pursue service learning projects protecting natural resources, creating livelihoods, improving education and health, and celebrating cultural diversity. Live with welcoming Senegalese families as you practice your French or Wolof. Strong intermediate French is required.

Course Topics: Community-Based Ecotourism; Sustainable Development in Senegal: Theory and Practice; Community Service Learning in Developing Countries; Conversational French and West African Literature or Introductory Wolof and Senegalese Culture

Field Study: Visit pre-industrial communities and participate in traditional agriculture and food preparation. Enjoy tropical beaches. Learn to play the diembe drums, or to dance the royal Diagalde, and the Ndawrabin, ocean dance of the Lebou fishing villages. Visit Goree Island, last stop for the slave trade on the voyage to the Americas and stand in the door of no return of the Slave House Museum

Supervised Internship: Design a practicum in environmental protection, organic agriculture, micro-credit, K-12 education, nutrition, reproductive health, or other topic of interest

Credit: Earn 16 transferable credits through University of Massachusetts, Amherst


India: Sustainability in Practice at Auroville

Build ecological skills and learn about Indian and community culture at Auroville - "the city the earth needs" and one of the world's largest and most diverse Ecovillages. Study and build field experience in habitat protection, systems thinking, and ecological literacy as you design and complete an internship in sustainable development. Spend 3 weeks in Hampi, an Island ecologic preserve in the Tungabhadra River, site of 4 billion year-old exposed earth, caves and lakes. Discover the jungle ruins of Millennia-old Hindu empires and do a 40-hour sacred solo quest to reflect on learnings.

Course Topics: Applications and Practices of Sustainable Living, Global and Local Sustainability, Cooperative Processes and Learning Communities, Body, Mind, Spirit: Cultivating Personal Sustainability

Field Study: Visit cultural and ecological sites including Periyar Sanctuary and overnight at Sri Ramanamaharshi's Ashram and climb Arunchula Mountain, locally believed to be the body of Hindu God Shiva

Supervised Internship: Design a practicum in organic agriculture, renewable energy systems, reforestation, ecological literacy, women's empowerment or another topic of interest

Credit: Earn 16 transferable credits through University of Massachusetts, Amherst


Israel: Peace, Justice, and the Environment at Kibbutz Lotan (Fall only)

Explore the connections between new forms of ecological identity and stewardship, social justice and community in Israel. Work alongside Palestinian-Arab, Bedouin and Jewish Israelis who are striving for a just and lasting peace. Gain hands-on experience in ecological design, green building and sustainable agriculture and put permaculture into action in a Bedouin village.

Course Topics: Peacebuilding and Social Justice, Theory and Practice of Group Dynamics, Permaculture Design, Sustainable Technologies and Structures

Field Study: Live and work in Lotan, a green kibbutz, and Naveh Shalom Wahat al Salam, a bi-national Jewish and Palestinian Arab Israeli community. Visit Jewish, Arab and Bedouin towns, meet with government, industry and community leaders and gain a broad perspective of efforts to heal the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Float in the Dead Sea and experience Jerusalem.

Supervised Internship: Gain skills in organic farming, adobe and straw bale construction, participate in Peace Dialogues between the different populations of Israel and learn how to design sustainable human settlements.

Credit: Earn 16 transferable credits through University of Massachusetts - Amherst


Summer and January Programs


Peru: Fair Trade & Bio-cultural Regeneration in the High Amazon January term (3 weeks)

Journey to Peru's Andean-Amazon region to learn firsthand about
empowerment efforts to restore the environment and create right livelihoods for indigenous and
mestizo farmers that are also good for the earth while regenerating ancestral practices. Students
contribute to local communities through service learning with Oro Verde, a successful organic fair traded coffee producing cooperative which promotes agricultural biodiversity, environmental
responsibility, sustainability and cultural regeneration.

Course topics: Indigenous Culture and Agriculture, Shamanism, Community Building
and Cooperative Management, Fair Trade Organic Coffee Production and Distribution,
Biodiversity Regeneration and Reforestation Efforts, Spanish and Quechua (optional)

Service Learning: Help in Reforestation efforts and coffee production and return to the US with opportunities to further your internship with Dean's Beans Organic Coffee and other roasters

Field Study: Visit sites of cultural and ecological importance, such as the sacred Awashiyacu
Waterfalls and the Takiwasi center for the shamanistic treatment of addiction.

Faculty:
Frédérique Apffel-Marglin, Ph.D., Anthropology, Smith College professor, regional expert
Dean Cycon, LLM, Founder and CEO of Dean's Beans Organic Coffee Roasters, Fair Trade/social justice leader

Credit: Earn 4 transferable credits through the University of Massachusetts, Amherst


Senegal: Sustainable Development at EcoYoff January term (3 weeks)

Explore the impact of global trends and micro-credit development policies on the grassroots level at EcoYoff, a 600-year old fishing village in Dakar and a leader in sustainable community development. Build basic skills in French and Wolof as you study the complex relationship between humans, development needs, and the environment. Partner with Senegalese university students and visit ancient and modern Ecovillages, from a seaside national preserve to the ancient capital of the Cayor Kingdom. You pursue research on a topic of interest as you enter into dialogue with villagers and participate in their daily activities.

Course topics: Microcredit Sustainable Development; Economy and Food Security; Populations, Health, and Nutrition; the Environment, Infrastructure and Habitat; French language (optional)

Community Project: Partner with a local Senegalese university student and make a lasting contribution to local education, infrastructure or the environment

Field Study: Visit species preservation programs for chimpanzees and migratory birds

Credit: Earn 4 transferable credits through the University of Massachusetts, Amherst



Brazil: Permaculture at Ecoversidade Summer term (3 weeks)

Investigate new ways of creating sustainable human habitats at Ecoversidade - a grassroots ecological institute in tropical central Brazil. Learn permaculture principles as you examine lifestyle choices and participate in community-based activities including Capoeira, a native mix of acrobatics, sacred dance, and self-defense.
Course Topics: Sustainable Shelter, Acquaculture and appropriate architecture, Community Development, Urban Renewal Strategies, and Portuguese language (optional)

Field Study: Visit the Cerrado Forest, a World Heritage Biosphere home to rare flora and fauna, enjoy local waterfalls, option to attend Bioconstruindo, a renowned natural building course

Community Project: Create your own unique ecological design and become a Certified Permaculture Apprentice

Credit: Earn 4 transferable credits through the University of Massachusetts, Amherst


Mexico Leadership for Social Change January-term (3 weeks)

Study abroad in Mexico and learn the skills needed to bring a group together around a common vision and effect positive change. Working with "usos y costumbres" (traditional ways of doing things), students design and complete a community service project that will benefit nearby communities. Located in the volcano belt of central Mexico, Huehuecoyotl was founded over 20 years ago by an international group of artists and musicians, activists and ecologists.

Course Topics: Introduction to Consensus, Basic Facilitation Skills, Participatory Democracy in the context of Mexico's Political and Social History, Spanish Language (optional)

Field Study: Visit sites dating from the Aztec empire, the Spanish conquest, the Mexican Revolution and the contemporary struggle against globalization

Community Project: Design and implement a project either in Huehue, the adjacent national forest or neighboring village

Credit: Earn 4 transferable credits through the University of Massachusetts, Amherst


USA: Permaculture at Sirius Summer term (3 weeks)

Learn how to integrate plants, animals, buildings, people, and communities in a design for ecological living at Sirius - an educational and spiritual Ecovillage in scenic western Massachusetts. Study the inter-relationships between personal, social, and ecological sustainability as you immerse yourself in the richness of one of North America's most dynamic ecological communities.

Course Topics: Reading the Landscape, Water in the Landscape, Building a Healthy Soil, The Cultivated Ecosystem: Urban Renewal Strategies, Community Support Systems

Field Study: Visit old-growth forests, community-supported agricultural projects, eco-homesteads

Community Project: Create an ecological design and become a Certified Permaculture Apprentice

Credit: Earn 4 transferable credits through the University of Massachusetts, Amherst


Australia: Permaculture at Crystal Waters Summer term (3 weeks)
New program: info coming soon


For More information:

www.LivingRoutes.org

www.SustainableLouisville.net

Green Magic! Sustainable Louisville Float wins Grand Prize at Pegasus Parade Kentucky Derby Festival 2007!


The Green Magic! float took the Grand Prize at the May 3, 2007 Pegasus Parade during the Kentucky Derby Festival!!!

Sponsored by Sustainable Louisville and a host of community businesses and organizations, the Green Magic! Float celebrated the Greening of Louisville and the planet -- from the nature tricksters of the world's cultures to the 100% vegetable oil truck which powered the music and the float.

Planning is already underway for this year's Sustainable Louisville Float: "All the World's A Stage - of Possibilities" Click here to see Sketches of the 2008 Float by Artist Noah Church.


The Pegasus Parade is the 15th largest Parade in the US and the centerpiece of traditional events during the Kentucky Derby Festival.

Winning the Grand Prize Award was a great honor for participants. The float was conceived as a community arts activism project, and the award is a testimony to the vision of artist Noah Church, the concept of cultural creatives supporting sustainable development work in Louisville, and the hard work and great fun the many Float participants brought to the Parade project. Our sponsors and friends deserve great credit for their timely support and many efforts in making this celebration possible. Thank you!!!

Pictures and detailed descriptions of the Float and other projects in development will be posted here shortly. Check back soon!

For background info on the Green Magic! float, click here

Keep Louisville Weird info meeting at Ky Center May 9

Group behind "Keep Louisville Weird" to hold info session
Business First of Louisville - April 26, 2007

The Louisville Independent Business Alliance, the organization behind the "Keep Louisville Weird" marketing campaign, will hold an information session about its objectives at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 9, at the Kentucky Center.
The Louisville Independent Business Alliance promotes local, independent business ownership.

"While we don't discount the need for the Wal-Marts of the world, we're troubled by the current civic notion that excitement for our town should come from the courting, establishment and promotion of chain stores and restaurants that can be found in many other cities across America," the group says on its Web site.
...
For more information on the organization and the "Keep Louisville Weird" campaign, visit www.keeplouisvilleweird.com.
From:
http://washington.bizjournals.com/louisville/stories/2007/04/23/daily30.html
This is a Fair Use excerpt of this article. Please visit Business First at the link above for more information on this story.

Business: Make Louisville Green - Article from LEO Weekly, April, 2007

Business: Make Louisville Green
It should go without saying that most area small businesses don’t have the wallets to “go green” on a whim. Simply changing the light bulbs is one thing, but installing solar roofs, localizing product lines, composting food waste and using alternative means of transportation are quite another.


That’s why Webster University and the Louisville-based Sustainable Business Networks are trying to help connect the dots, because reinventing the wheel is, well, unnecessary. They’re holding a conference Monday to help Louisville businesses and nonprofits interested in going green connect with other businesses already green or, in most cases, employing one or two green elements that can be swapped and shared.


The hope, organizer David Silverman said, is to foster interconnectedness among local business, to create what he calls a “sustainable ecology” of services all geared toward environmental stewardship in the business community.


“We’re pulling together folks from a variety of businesses and sectors essentially to say, hey, here is the green business sector, the local business sector, and that in itself counts, not just alternative energy or solar or whatever,” Silverman said.


Panelists include Gary Heine of Heine Brothers Coffee, which sells only fair trade and organic coffee and manages a large-scale composting operation; Mary Clark of Rainbow Blossom; James Linton of Expressions of You coffeehouse; Jim Shields of Commonwealth Computer Recycling; Emma Kuhl of the Green Building Council; and a representative of the local business association Keep Louisville Weird, which Silverman hopes can help lead a charge to make Louisville green.


Things get started at 11:45 a.m. Monday and will also include consumer education about how to buy green. Call 896-1835 to reserve a spot (the conference is free) or visit www.sustainablelouisville.net for more info. —Stephen George

Get a daily update of City Strobe
at The Lip: LEO’s News Blog,
www.leoweekly.com. Contact the
writer at citystrobe@leoweekly.com

This is a fair use posting.

Business: Make Louisville Green - Link to Article from Leoweekly.com

Green Magic! Come Join the Parade!

Planning is underway for the 2008 Pegasus Parade!



Want to be a part of the 2008 Float Fun? Contact us at communitybiz@yahoo.com or 502 762 2285. Come join the Parade!



The Green Magic! float took the Grand Prize at the May 3, 2007 Pegasus Parade during the Kentucky Derby Festival !!!

Sponsored by Sustainable Louisville and a host of community businesses and organizations, the Green Magic! Float celebrated the Greening of Louisville and the planet -- from the nature tricksters of the world's cultures to the 100% vegetable oil truck which powered the music and the float.

The Pegasus Parade is the 15th largest Parade in the US and the centerpiece of traditional events during the Derby Festival, a major national event.


Planning is already underway for this year's Sustainable Louisville Float: "All the World's A Stage - of Possibilities" Click here to see Sketches of the 2008 Float by Artist Noah Church.

Winning the Grand Prize Award was a great honor for participants. The float was conceived as a community arts activism project, and the award is a testimony to the vision of artist Noah Church, the concept of cultural creatives supporting sustainable development work in Louisville, and the hard work and great fun the many Float participants brought to the Parade project. Our sponsors and friends deserve great credit for their timely support and many efforts in making this celebration possible. Thank you!!!

Pictures and detailed descriptions of the Float and other projects in development will be posted here shortly. Check back soon!


Green Magic ! Pegasus Parade 2007

Pegasus Parade:
Thursday, May 3, 2007, Broadway, Louisville, KY USA

Parade Preview:
Tuesday, May 1, 2007, Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center
Kentucky Derby Festival/Pegasus Parade info

GREEN MAGIC Contactinfo:
Call Now! 50 2.500.909 2

Participants and Sponsors: Please Scroll Down to Schedule Info Below

http://www2.blogger.com/communitybiz@yahoo.com
http://www2.blogger.com/www.sustainablelouisville.net
www.myspace.com/buildingwithgreenmagic
Green Magic! Pegasus Parade Sponsors and Friends

Everyone Loves a Parade!!!


You’re Invited To Join In The Fun!

Artists, activists, community members, businesses, non-profit groups:

This is your chance to join in the fun of being in the parade, while supporting the “Greening” of Louisville.

The Pegasus Parade is a premiere “mainstream “ event in Louisville. The “Green Magic “ float celebrates nature and a green future through alternative fuel vehicles, celebration with the nature myths of many cultures and education on how Louisville can move towards a sustainable future.

Come Join the Parade!!!

The Green Magic float is the central float in the parade this year-- we need people to walk and perform in the parade, help build the float, sponsor the entry and participate in the PR and community education.

Come join the magic! Give us a call and join the fun!

Green Magic!

Links to more information on the Green Magic! Project:

Join the myspace.com working group:
www.myspace.com/buildingwithgreenmagic

Would you like to be in the Parade?
Come Join the Parade! Click for Poster Download
Join the Parade! You're Invited to Join in the "Green Magic" for Pegasus Parade

Be sure to print out and sign your Forms:
http://www.philduvall.com/greenmagic/
Then download, printout and sign "indemnification " and "medical release" forms.
PLEASE NOTE: Minors must have parental or guardian signatures.
The forms will also be available at the float if you'd like to sign at the parade.

Take a look at the original Green Magic! Proposal
DRAFT Pegasus Parade Application

Thank you! to all our sponors:
Green Magic! Pegasus Parade Sponsors and Friends

Press: TV Commentary and Sponsor Contributions

Would you or your company like to be a Green Magic! financial or materials sponsor? Take a look at:
PEGASUS PARADE / SUSTAINABLE LOUISVILLE SPONSOR BENEFITS DRAFT 1-0


SCHEDULE AND NOTES FOR PARTICIPANTS AND SPONSORS:-- PLEASE READ!!

Thanks for your participation, support or interest in
the the Green Magic ! unit of the 2007 Pegasus Parade.
Below is some information about the Green Magic!
entry, invitations to participate in the Parade, the
schedule for the coming week, and additional contact
and sponsorship information.

Green Magic!:
The Green Magic! float is a project of Sustainable
Louisville, a working group for community education on
sustainability.

The Parade unit reflects this theme through a
celebration of nature in the float design and
characters. The Green Magic! entry is a chance to
celebrate the "Greening" of Louisville as part of
Louisville's the main event, the Kentucky Derby
Festival. The unit is built in part with recycled,
reused and green materials along with bio-oil, pedal,
solar and electric powered vehicles. We are unit
number 5 in the Parade this year, right in the middle,
a great position to show off our theme.

Join the Parade!
You and your friends, family and colleagues are
invited to join the Parade! We still have room for
people who would like to be part of the Float and
walking contingent (must be over 14 years old).
Performers of any kind are also welcome - give us a
call now!

We hope you will come join the Parade, and spread the
word and invite others to join the Parade. All you or
they have to do is speak with Noah Church the unit
director, to let us know you are coming. If anyone
wants full costumes Noah can help make arrangements as
well. Noah's number is.

Please print out or forward this email invitation for
the downloadable flyer from the website
(www.sustainablelouisville.net for anyone you think
might be interested. Thanks!

We also would appreciate volunteers who would like to
participate in final float decoration any day between
now and the Parade, or who want to be part of the
Parade Preview May 1.

There is much more about the Green Magic! unit and the
Parade to be found at www.sustainablelouisville.net.
Please take a look at the Green Magic section of the
website.

Schedule:

The Schedule for the next few days:

Fri-Sat, April 27-28
Final Float construction at 954 E Kentucky Street in
Louisville.

Sunday April 29 and Monday, April 30:
Move vehicles and displays to the Kentucky Fair and
Exposition Center to be part of the Parade Preview.
Final float decoration at Fairgrounds

Tuesday, May 1, 9 AM to 9 PM:
Parade Preview at the Exposition Center.
9AM - 1 PM School and community groups tour the
floats, performance and educational events.
1-4 PM Float reviews for judging and general public
5:30 - 6:30 PM Float Ceremony for everyone
6:30 - 9 PM Performance and Concert

Thursday, May 3,
10 AM: Assembly for Parade vehicles at Broadway and
Barrett (You will get specific directions next week)
12 - 2 PM: Unit rehearsal
2 PM: Inspection and judging of the unit.
3-4PM: move into position
5PM: Parade
7-8 PM: Disperse according to Sheriff's routing.
Return float, costumes, equipment and supplies to 954
E. Kentucky St.
9 PM to...??? Green Magic! Parade after-party at
Uncle Pleasant's, - This is an All Ages party. Alcohol free areas available.
Uncle Pleasants: 2126 South Preston St., Louisville, KY. www.unclepleasants.com

Fri- Tues May 4 - Float deconstruction and debriefing.

Sponsors and Participants:

If you or your company are already a sponsor for the
Green Magic! unit, Thankyou!!!

If you or your organization would like to participate
in or sponsor the unit, there is still time, and
materials and other support are welcome. All sponsors
and participants will be listed on the website and
included in the TV Commentary and other PR of the
Parade, Sustainable Louisville, and the Derby
Festival.

Next Steps:

Participants will be receivingseveral forms that need to be completed, including
indemnification, medical, a "Green" survey for your
company, PR info, permits for vehicles at the
Fairgrounds and Parade, along with background
materials, safety instructions and so on.

Most information about the Green Magic! unit and the
Pegasus Parade can be found at
www.sustainablelouisville.net or the Derby Festival
site, www.kdf.org.

We appreciate your willingness to jump in and be part
of the Parade this year. We're looking forward to
working with you. Please call with any questions you
may have.

See you at the Parade!





Green Magic! Pegasus Parade Sponsors and Friends



Green Magic! Pegasus Parade Sponsors and Friends
Contact #: + 1/502/410/2786

Sustainable Louisville

Pegasus
Bamboo

Kentucky Sustainable Business Networks

Green Man
Willow

Noah Church

Quetzalcoatl
Acacia

Mobile Feast Utopia

Merlin

Jefferson County, Ky. Schools, Environmental Education
Oxygen

Adena Institute

Crow

Kentucky Solar Partnership

Bramble

River City Dance Corps

Kokopelli

Kentucky Solar Living

Nettle

Acme Lupine and Co.

Anansi

Sun Wind Earth

Aneeki

Aberco Interiors

Reynard the Fox

Architectural Glass Art, Inc.

Bluegrass

Bike Couriers

CARBON

Blake Lowery

Awesome Possum

Bee Line Couriers

Parsnip

Porter Paints

The Good Thing

Designer Builders

Gaia

NKY River Rats

Apple Blossom

Kaviar Forge

Coyote

Bob Cheever

Mistletoe
Sol

Good Oil Boys

Dragon Fly Willie

Mobile Solar Power

Chlorella

Kidwell Pedicabs

Corn Maidens

Connie Woods

Yggdrasil

Urban Fresh

Ice

Sypris Solutions

Post-Modern Sprites

Uncle Pleasants

Tulip

In Harmony With Your Home

Lady Bug
Azalea

Communicas

Peter Pan

Fred DiFrenzi

Pecan

Ohio Valley Creative Energy

Spiral Time

ESP Audio

Robin Hood

Royal Oak

Pegasus Diamonds

Deer