Learnshops | 2011

At our 2011 conference, participants were able to choose from a wide range of learnshops featuring our local sustainability movement.

Saturday Learnshops (A) - 9:00 to 10:10 AM

A1. "Act to Improve Your Community: Learn to Create Your Own Solutions" (Repeated Sunday D1)
Presenters: Blair Evans is Founder and CEO of Evans Solutions, Inc. and Founder and Superintendent of Blanche Kelso Bruce Academy (BKBA). Josh Best is BKBA Experiential Learning Facilitator and Fab Lab Coordinator. Susan Matous is BKBA Career Exposure Coordinator, Certified Teacher, Permaculture Design Certified, and Fab Lab User and Facilitator.

Participants will explore the Fab Lab, Permaculture, and Appropriate Technology design concepts and principles through hands-on activities. They will investigate how these concepts are used as solutions to improving communities.

A2. "Regional Transportation: Moving Detroit and the Region Forward"
Presenter: Ruth Johnson is the Assistant Director of Transportation Riders United, a nonprofit transit advocacy organization working to improve and promote public transit in greater Detroit.

Learn about the players, the process, the policies and the pressure points that influence transit planning and funding decisions. Whether a novice or an "old hand" in advocacy and social change, receive the information and gain the confidence needed to promote regional transit by contacting elected officials.

A3. "Healthy Food Retail: Lessons from SEED Wayne's Retail Projects on Campus and in the Community."
Presenters: Christa Powell (Detroit FRESH), Charles Lisee (WSU Farmers Market), Jazmine Wilson (Detroit FRESH volunteer), and Professor Kami Pothukuchi (SEED Wayne Director).

Explore the opportunities and challenges of offering fresh food retail at two diverse venues: Wayne State University's campus and mostly low-income Detroit neighborhoods. Identify policy needs for improving retail context in both settings. Learn ways you can contribute to fresh food retail opportunities in the city.

A4. "Bioengineering -- A Deeper Shade of Green and Blue"
Presenter: Ted Strunk has been a middle school Teacher for 20 years at Upland Hills.

Using video and pictures, Ted will present parts of the curriculum at Upland Hills that illustrate how ecological concepts can be integrated into the school day. They range from discovering 'systems thinking' to singing a song about nature. Learn how ecological lessons could be introduced into your school and how to build a wider consciousness about our role on this planet.

A5. "WWGD - What would Gandhi Do: Community Development in 21st Century Detroit"
Presenter: Shawn Kimmel, a community social justice activist and gardener since he was a teenager, supports community-driven solutions to current problems.

This interactive learnshop will teach you the basic principles of a Gandhian program of socially just & sustainable community development. You will explore the ways that Gandhian soul force, as a form of nonviolent power development, informs and shapes creative responses to such ongoing crises in Detroit as education and the Emergency Financial Manager legislation.

A6. "What a Way to Go! The Green Burial Movement"
Presenter: Rev. Charles Morris, a 2011 Michigan Green Leader, is a Catholic priest who is administrator of St. Christopher Parish in Detroit, adjunct professor at Madonna University, and public policy director for Michigan Interfaith Power & Light. He was also administrator of Mt. Carmel Cemetery, in Wyandotte.

Learn what the Green Burial Movement is all about as well as its history. Get acquainted with its advantages -- environmental witness and lessened cost. Rev. Morris will describe his own experience with a green burial at Mt. Carmel Cemetery, and will provide a list of resources, including information on the Green Burial Council.

A7. "Collaborative Design Charrette -- Creating Sustainable Community"
Presenter: Robert Prud'homme, LEED AP, AAIA, has over 35 years of experience in design, construction, and community advocacy. He is President Emeritus of Transportation Riders United, and is on the Mission & Program Committee of the River Raisin Institute.

Engage in a collaborative, participatory design/build process that will focus on a parcel of land in Detroit, building it out theoretically during the course of the Bioneers Conference, while balancing the three E's -- Environment, Equity, and Economy. Learn how under-served populations can and should be engaged in the process of re-imagining their city.

A8. "ReDesigning Detroit: Regenerative Design in the City "
Presenter: Killian O'Brien is a counselor and a teacher who advocates the application of regenerative design principles to address and reverse the effects of our abuse of the ecological services of the planet.

The Perfect Storm of declining net energy, climate changes resulting from the use of fossil fuels, land misuse and over-consumption and the resulting economic and social problems that are manifesting from these issues require a comprehensive, sustainable approach to problem solving. In this learnshop, we will learn and practice sustainable design principles via an interactive Problem: Solution model directly applying permaculture principles to specific problems and opportunities experienced here in Detroit.

Saturday Learnshops - B - 10:30 to 11:40 AM

B1. "Not Just for Farmers: Introduction to Permaculture & Regenerative Design"
Presenter: Trevor Newman is a passionate permaculture designer and educator. He has completed the CGIP (Certified Green Industry Person) course, and is an active member of the Michigan Nut Growers Association and the Northern Nut Growers Association. Mark Angelini will assist in presenting this learnshop.

Trevor and Mark will share their knowledge on permaculture-based land use such as Tree Crops & Agroforestry, Edible Landscaping & Forest Gardening, Rotational Grazing, etc. You will learn about perennial agriculture using ecological/regenerative strategies and techniques.

B2. "Emerging Workforce in Green Technology Field"
Presenters: Matthew Marks and Jason Smith are with E-Three Labs, a non profit organization that equips youth & adults in communities worldwide with technical training and skills to use in creating and supporting local businesses.

We all know that the present trend is toward Green Technology Jobs. Matthew and Jason will discuss what options are available in this field, what prerequisite skills are needed, and what type of classes E-Three Labs offers.

B3. "Immersion Learning - Education for Transformation and Justice"
Presenters: Vicky Mazzola and Tiffany Tononi, soon to be graduates of the University of Detroit Mercy Masters in Community Development Program implemented an Alternative Spring Break Immersion into food justice issues with UDM students.

Immersion experience is a type of educational alternative that challenges dominant knowledge and assumptions and guides the participant reflectively toward action. In this learnshop you will gain tools to facilitate immersion learning experiences with diverse populations, or otherwise become involved with a permanent immersion program.

B4. "Mindful Living: Health, Pollution, and Toxics"
Presenter: Patricia (Patty) Gillis is the Executive Director and a founding member of Voices for Earth Justice, an interfaith network in Michigan that brings people together to pray, educate, and act on ecological issues.

Of the 82,000 synthetic chemicals currently in use, only 10 % have been tested for their effects on human health. Learn what you can do as a consumer and citizen to lower the amount of toxic chemicals in your body and in our ecosystems. Explore what faith-based communities and environmental groups are doing to bring about chemical reform, and how you can get involved.

B5. "Green Mapping for Education"
Presenter: Deanne Bednar, Strawbale Studio Natural Building & Sustainable Living Skills, is an Art & Sustainable Futures Educator who teaches people how to make real buildings out of local natural material.

Learn the process and capacities for using Green Mapping as an educational tool for helping students create a Green Map of their community. Using Green Mapping, students can bring out the best in their neighborhood by showing the ecological and cultural places that make their community wonderful and earth-friendly. They can also envision what they would like to see in the map as well - good biking paths, a local garden or park, a special tree, a church or earth-friendly business, etc.

B6. "Art, Environmentalism, and Community"
Presenters: Erin Marie McDonald, Administrative Assistant in the Visual and Performing Arts Division & The institute for Arts Infused Education at Marygrove College and students from the college who completed a six-week environmental education demonstration project on the campus and in the surrounding community.

This session will discuss and evaluate the educational demonstration project conducted by ten Marygrove students between July and August 2011. The project focused on recycling efforts and beautification on Marygrove College's campus and in the surrounding neighborhoods. In addition, the learnshop will feature an interactive segment in which participants can develop a beautification project for the neighborhood (i.e. a collaborative design for a mural project, etc.).

B7. "Bee Keeping 101"
Presenter: Rich Wieske has been playing with bees in his over 100 Detroit hives for more than 10 years. As beekeeper, bee advocate and mentor, he is a firm believer in natural sustainable methods as part of the local food movement. Rich is co-owner of Green Toe Gardens apiary.

Using awesome photos and a passionate presentation, Rich will inspire you to want to keep bees and come away with a greater appreciation of their importance to our health and environment.

B8. "What a Waste: Garbage in Detroit"
Presenters: Margaret Weber is Convener of Zero Waste Detroit and Coordinator of Rosedale Recycles. Sandra Turner Handy is Community Outreach Director, Michigan Environmental Council.

Get an overview of the Solid Waste system in Detroit, its challenges and potentials. Get informed and energized regarding Detroit's solid waste system, and be moved to recycle.


Sunday Learnshops - C - 9:00 to 10:10 AM

C1. "Saving the Earth - One Bite At A Time"
Presenter: Jeff Hampton is a Graduate Engineer with a Minor in Environmental Science, who has been active in the Environmental Movement for over 20 years.

The single most environmentally destructive industry on earth is Animal Agriculture. Explore the effects of the traditional "animal based" diet on various eco systems: air, water, land. Realize the tremendous beneficial impact you can have by making voluntary changes to your diet and lifestyle.

C2. "You, Your Community and the Great Turning" (Continued Session D2)
Presenter: Claire Maitre has been a part of GLBD from the beginning and lives and works in Ann Arbor. She has long been a student of Joanna Macy and has trained with her as a facilitator of "The Work That Reconnects" on which this learnshop is based.

Claire will help you shift your perspective on the global cultural revolution now underway, sometimes called The Great Turning, and guide you through exercises that will help deepen your understanding of what it means to be alive at this vital time in Earth's unfolding. She will emphasize the key role that compassion -- for self and for others -- plays in bringing about a peaceful transition.

C3. "TimeBanking-the Who, What, How and Why of Community and Organizational Skill Exchanges"
Presenter: Kim Hodge has nearly thirty years experience in organizing communities, unions, political campaigns and various projects. She founded the Lathrup Village TimeBank, which has now grown to over 120 members and continues to serve as its Co-Coordinator. She also founded the MI Alliance of TimeBanks, an umbrella organization linking and supporting TimeBanks across the state.

TimeBanking is a form of exchanging time where people earn by helping each other and spend by getting help from others. The TimeBanking approach is based on the belief that every member of a community is a valuable resource and each community has the capacity to pool these resources for its own social and economic abundance. Come learn how TimeBanking is a powerful tool for communities and organizations that builds on the strengths, talents, and skills of members.

C4. "Yoga Bodyworks (Sustainable Science for Innovative Wellness)"
Presenter: Anton Simper is an instructor with Fusion Core Training.

Yoga Bodyworks is a comprehensive healing arts program, offering a synergistic approach to accelerated healing and wellness learning, an unprecedented fusion of Thai based Bodywork, Yoga, and Energy Medicine. Couples and singles are equally encouraged to experience this transformational program.

C5. "Sustainable Gardening in Southeast Grand Rapids"
Presenters: Lisa S. Oliver-King, M.P.H. is the executive director for Our Kitchen Table (OKT), a nonprofit membership organization that serves urban, low-income communities of greater Grand Rapids. Inez Adams, M.A. is the project evaluator for OKT.

Take this opportunity to get to know Our Kitchen Table and its organizational strategies, which combine urban agriculture and social justice to do community engagement and public policy work. OKT believes that if you give a person a tomato, they'll eat until the grant runs out, but if you teach a person to grow that tomato, they'll eat forever: With this caution: it does little good to promote urban gardening if you do not critically examine the social and political environments that cause malnutrition and health disparities in the first place.

C6. Can-did Revolution, We Want Green Too: "Building Alternative Economies"
Presenters: Andrew Plisner, Kezia Curtis and Gloria Lowe are leaders in two Eastside Detroit organizations focused on rebuilding community through deep relationships and deep sustainability.

In this learnshop you will see their creativity in building models to imagine possible futures through skills-building programs and tapping into what we all have the power to do. Come gain an overview of these two groups, the possibilities in creating alternative economies, the importance of building inclusive and creative spaces, and the principles needed for creating meaningful work

Sunday Learnshops - D - 10:30 to 11:40 AM

D1. "Act to Improve Your Community: Learn to Create Your Own Solutions"
Presenters: Blair Evans, Josh Best and Susan Matous (see descriptions in A1)

Participants will explore the Fab Lab, Permaculture, and Appropriate Technology design concepts and principles through hands-on activities. They will investigate how these concepts are used as solutions to improving communities.

D2. "You, Your Community and the Great Turning" (Continuation of C2)
Presenter: Claire Maitre (See description in C2)

Claire will help you shift your perspective on the global cultural revolution now underway, sometimes called The Great Turning, and guide you through exercises that will help deepen your understanding of what it means to be alive at this vital time in Earth's unfolding. She will emphasize the key role that compassion -- for self and for others -- plays in bringing about a peaceful transition.

D3. "The Mushroom Revolution: Start in Your Garden"
Presenter: Kilindi Iyi is the head instructor and technical advisor of the Tamerrian Institute and a mushroom grower for more than 30 years.

Through lecture and hands-on activities, you will learn mushroom growing techniques that can enhance any garden and be a tool for urban survival.

D4. "The Commons: Implications for Community Building"
Presenter: Linda S. Campbell works on Building Movement Project's Social Service and Social Change project, with groups in her community of Detroit, Michigan, and throughout the US and Canada.

Increase your knowledge about the commons as a strategy for community building, and Identify local commons work that is happening in Detroit and find out how to become a part of it. Learn how to view the commons as a strategy for reclaiming citizen power and ownership of our natural and institutional common wealth.

D5. "Radical Joy for Hard Times - Consciously Directing Your Energy for Bringing Joy to the Earth"
Presenter: Sanaa (Sonya Green) is a degree candidate in the Master of Transpersonal Psychology/Ecopsychology program at Naropa University, a Buddhist-based university in Boulder that focuses on contemplative education.

Be opened to the reasoning behind "Radical Joy for Hard Times" -- a network of people worldwide who are dedicated to finding and making beauty in wounded places -- and how to enact it in any area. Learn about deep ecology, the interconnectedness of all things, meditation, and engage in an Ecopsychological practice on campus.

D6. "Harvesting Rainwater: Saving Water & Money While Protecting Water Quality"
Presenter: Melissa Damaschke works for the Sierra Club as its Great Lakes Program organizer and is also part of the Detroit-based People's Water Board Coalition, which works to keep water affordable, clean, and held in the public commons.

Melissa will help you understand how harvesting rainwater by using rain barrels, rain gardens, etc. saves water and protects our water quality from sewage overflows and polluted runoff, and will show you how to harvest rainwater in your home and/or apartment. This session will include a virtual tour of Detroit examples of rain water harvesting, as well as a demonstration of how to make your own rain barrel.