Author Archives: Stuart Moody

About Stuart Moody

Stuart Moody is Board President of Green Sangha. He received a B.S. in Conservation of Natural Resources at UC Berkeley, and an M.A. in Counseling Psychology at USF. Stuart was Green Schoolyard Coordinator at Davidson Middle School in San Rafael and directs Green Sangha’s Rethinking Plastics campaign. From 1993 to 2012, Stuart taught dance and co-directed teacher training for Young Imaginations, an arts education agency based in San Rafael. He has taught yoga and meditation to thousands in the Bay Area, including 10 years at San Quentin State Prison. Recently moved to Tucson, he just completed a graduate certificate program in “Connecting Environmental Science and Decision Making” at the University of Arizona.

Huffman Award goes to Carol Misseldine

On April 20, 2012, Green Sangha Advisory Council member Carol Misseldine received the North Bay Environmental Hero award from Assemblyman Jared Huffman. Here is an excerpt of the announcement from Huffman’s office:

‘The award recognizes an exceptional individual for leadership and innovation in addressing environmental stewardship. The Environmental Hero of the North Bay award celebrates peer recognition for environmental stewardship, where people in the field recognize a colleague for exceptional service on behalf of the environment,’ said Huffman. ‘Carol Misseldine has an impressive track record of getting things done by advancing several sustainability initiatives that have made an impact in local governments across the North Bay.’

Huffman presented Misseldine with the award at his 5th annual Environmental Breakfast, held this year at the David Yearsley River Heritage Center in Petaluma.

To read the nomination of Carol Misseldine by Stuart Moody, click here.

Carol Misseldine – Environmental Hero

Carol Misseldine has been an environmental luminary for years. Trained in the comprehensive framework of the Natural Step, she has been a strong and clear voice for constructing our lives and our society with understanding and respect for both the abundance and the limits of nature.

Carol began her career of environmental leadership with the Michigan Environmental Council. When she took the post of Executive Director there, the annual budget was about $70,000. When she left four years later, the budget had grown to nearly $1 million, with a commensurate increase in the agency’s effectiveness.

As Sustainability Director in the office of Oakland mayor Jerry Brown, Carol initiated one of the state’s first municipal single-use bag ordinances as well as a foam food-ware ban. Later, as Sustainability Coordinator for Mill Valley, she catalyzed the City’s adoption of a similar foam ban and the elimination of plastic water bottles from City offices, parks, and functions.

When the State budget crisis cut short the plan of the Ocean Protection Council to fund a Master Environmental Assessment (MEA) on single-use bags, Carol personally raised over $100,000 to fund the completion of this pivotal report. The MEA has influenced dozens of California municipalities as they have contemplated and, in many cases, passed plastic bag bans.

Carol combines her passion for the health of the planet with careful study and the ability to see broad patterns side by side with the particulars. Her combination of deep caring with deep mastery of ecological principles has made her a much loved and sought-after speaker in the Bay Area and beyond. Leaders in the field, from elected officials to city planners to nonprofit advocates, listen to Carol and seek her opinion on issues of sustainable practice.

Ever searching for new ways to restore the environment, she leads the community in ever-new initiatives. The first recipient of the Humane Society University’s Animal Policy and Advocacy Graduate Certification, Carol has embarked on her latest campaign – Less Carbon, More Compassion – promoting an end to Confined Animal Feeding Operations and inspiring citizens to adopt a plant-based diet. These two steps together represent one of the most important ways we can save the climate, improve our health, and affirm our fellowship with other creatures.

We are fortunate to have Carol Misseldine as a leader in the community, reminding us to look deep in our hearts and to imagine a truly healthy and compassionate world.

Three Things You Can Do for Yourself & the Earth

Sat Apr 21, 9:30 am – noon. GARDEN WORK PARTY! Beautify the Green Schoolyard and plant summer crops at Davidson Middle School in San Rafael. Fresh air, fellowship, and fun. More info here.

Fri Apr 27-Sun Apr 29. WEEKEND RETREAT. Immerse yourself in the peace of the redwoods with yoga, meditation, Dances of Universal Peace, and reflection. Includes a tour of award-winning Monterey Regional Waste Management facility and the Land of Medicine Buddha. Cost $350 for two nights and all eight delicious vegetarian meals. Details here.

Three Thursdays: May 3, 17, 31, 7-9 pm. RETHINKING PLASTICS TRAINING. Learn practical tools for inspiring plastics reduction and a healthy economy, led by Stuart Moody, MA, campaign director. Click here for more information.

And a fourth!
WEB MANAGER. Fulfill your wish to support awakened action through your technical skills: manage, upgrade, and periodically polish our website, using WordPress. Tutorial support available. If this is not for you, let us know if you can recommend someone for this 1-3 hrs/wk volunteer opportunity. Contact Elizabeth: info@greensangha.org.

SAVE THE DATE! Monday, May 14, 7:30-9:00 pm
LESS CARBON, MORE COMPASSION is our latest campaign, and the title of Carol Misseldine’s fact-filled, heart-touching presentation on how we can reduce our carbon footprint while improving our compassion footprint. In the San Rafael City Council chambers, 1400 Fifth Street. More info.

Earth Day party!

Celebrate Earth Day by getting your hands in the earth!
Saturday, April 21, 2012, 9:30 a.m. to noon
Davidson Middle School Garden, 280 Woodland Avenue, San Rafael

Spruce up the vegetable beds, plant summer crops, and tend the urban forest and wetlands. Projects vary from light to vigorous, as you wish. Projects include: planting seeds, removing weeds, turning compost, upgrading fences around fruit trees, and other acts of care.

Remember to bring a hat and other sun protection, and to wear close-tied shoes and layers for changeable weather. Bring your gardening gloves and a favorite tool (clippers, trowel, handpick) if you have. A water fountain is nearby. No single-use plastic water bottles, please!

CONTACT: Stuart Moody, Green Schoolyard Coordinator (stuart@greensangha.org; phone 459-0176)

Address: 280 Woodland Avenue, San Rafael. The Garden is in the back of the campus, right next to a wooden bridge over the Riparian Zone.

MORE DETAILS
Weather: A light drizzle would be no impediment, but sunny skies are forecast.
Bring:
* Gardening gloves if you can
* Dandelion digger and/or hand pick, if you have
* Water bottle if you like (no throw-away plastic!)

FOR MORE INFORMATION about the Garden project, click here to see our listing with the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership, or call CVNL and ask for Ashley Kelly (415) 479-5710.

Rethinking Plastics training

JOIN OUR TEAM OF EDUCATORS AND ADVOCATES!

Thursday evening workshops, May 3, 17, & 31

Are you tired of seeing plastic junk leaving stores and going straight to the garbage can or, worse still, to the gutter? Have you been imagining how much cleaner and healthier our world would be if producers were required to take back products that have reached the end of our useful lives?

Green Sangha’s Rethinking Plastics campaign has been inspiring shoppers, business owners, heads of school, and civic policy makers for six years to reduce their plastic footprint. Our initiatives have included the Fairfax plastic bag ban, waste reduction at the Marin County Fair, elimination of plastic produce bags from Bay Area markets, and the BYOBag campaign in Marin. Join us in the next phase of our campaign as we take on Extended Producer Responsibility, Getting Off the Bottle, and ending take-out foam foodware.

Since 2006, Green Sangha has made nearly 300 presentations to over 8000 students, community leaders, and eco-activists on the costs of plastic addiction and the path to sustainability.

You can take part in this campaign, whether as a volunteer at tables, a speaker at social clubs and city council meetings, or a member of our strategy team. To support your informed engagement, this spring we are offering Rethinking Plastics Training, beginning with a presentation by Heidi Sanborn, co-founder and Executive Director of the California Product Stewardship Council, on Thursday, April 19, 7-9 pm, at the Kreps Center, Redwood High School, 395 Doherty Drive, Larkspur.

In 1905, Heidi says, 7% of New York City’s waste consisted of manufactured items. In 1960, these items grew to 62% of US trash. By 2009, they reached 71%. Consider just one small piece of that waste stream: over 340,000 cell phones thrown away every day in the US. This is a recipe for disaster.

The recipe for sustainability? Education, awareness, and action. To increase your awareness and develop your capabilities for decisive action, Rethinking Plastics Training will follow Heidi’s talk with three Thursday evening workshops, May 3, 17, & 31, also 7-9 pm, in San Rafael.

Cost of the training is $100 ($80 for Green Sangha members; $40 for prior Rethinking Plastics attendees). Following these sessions, participants may make short presentations on plastics to an in-house group. All successful presenters will be invited to speak on behalf of Green Sangha, with a small stipend for each talk given in the community.

To register or for more information, contact our Program Director Elizabeth Little, info@greensangha.org or (510) 532-6574.

Monterey County retreat, Apr 27-29

COME TO VENTURE VALLEY
Imagine a world where worn-out resources are reused and recycled instead of dumped, where legacy methane is harvested from old landfills, and waste management agencies promote zero waste.

Imagine a world where activists recharge their inner batteries with yoga in the redwoods, contemplative walks in the afternoon, and singing under the stars.

Imagine a world where the inner practices of awakening are integrated with the outer work of gardening, community-building, and environmental activism.

This is the vision of Green Sangha, and it’s coming true already. For a full glimpse and a rich taste of this new world, join us for our Monterey County retreat on April 27-29.

Highlights of the weekend include:

1) A guided tour of the Monterey Regional Waste Management facility with environmental educator Jeff Lindenthal

2) Yoga classes with certified yoga instructor and Green Sangha President Stuart Moody

3) Incredible, amazing, and delicious organic food, much of it grown on site

4) Dances of Universal Peace with Marcia Rayene

All in a peaceful, hospitable, and comfortable mountain retreat at Venture Valley.

For more information and to register, click here.

Top Spring Events for Green Sangha

MINDFUL ACTIVISM TRAINING: Sustainability from Within
Saturday, April 14, 2:00-5:30 pm
A deep exploration of somatic principles and spiritual practices to restore calm, inner balance, and clarity. Instructor: Stuart Moody, M.A., Board President. $30 for the workshop; $20 for Green Sangha members. Location: United Church of Christ, 825 Middlefield Drive Petaluma, CA 94952. For more info and to register, click here.

WHO’S RESPONSIBLE? Going Upstream for Real Solutions to Our Waste and Toxicity Crisis. Thursday, April 19, 7-9 pm.
An introduction to waste history, the limitations of recycling, and the promise of Extended Producer Responsibility. With Heidi Sanborn, executive director of the California Product Stewardship Council. Kreps Conference Center, Redwood High School, Larkspur. $10 suggested donation (Green Sangha members $5).

: Heidi Sanborn, California Product Stewardship Council

MONTEREY COUNTY RETREAT
April 27-29, 11 am Friday to 3 pm Sunday
Take refuge in the mountains of Santa Cruz for yoga, meditation, walking in the redwoods, and evening song. Our host site, Venture Valley, is a serene and secluded conference center in the woods above Aptos. In the spirit of activism, we will offer two hours of quiet service in the garden. We will also visit the award-winning Monterey Regional Waste Management facility, ending the retreat with lunch, meditation, and a dharma talk at the Land of Medicine Buddha. For information and to register, click here.

Carol Misseldine speaks at City Hall

LESS CARBON, MORE COMPASSION

With Carol Misseldine, Director of Green Cities California

If there were one thing that you could do to reduce your carbon footprint, improve your health, and reduce suffering, at little or no cost, would you like to try it? You can! Come hear Carol Misseldine describe the benefits of the plant-based diet, for planet, for heart, and our fellow creatures.

Date: Monday, May 14, 2012
Time: 7:30-9:00 pm
Place: San Rafael City Hall, Council Chambers, 1400 Fifth Avenue

In the U.S., 95% of the meat, eggs and dairy we eat comes from animals confined on factory farms, centers of pollution and suffering that represent the worst of the industrial economic model. Carol will highlight not only the extraordinary leverage we each have to reduce our carbon footprint dramatically but also the spiritual implications of eating lower on the food chain.

Our speaker
Carol Misseldine has been professionally engaged in promoting environmental and animal protection initiatives for over thirty years. She currently directs Green Cities California and serves on the Advisory Board of Green Sangha and Kinship Circle.

Previous positions include Sustainability Director for then-Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, Director of The Natural Step’s Great Lakes Office, and Executive Director for the Michigan Environmental Council.

Misseldine was awarded her B.S. and M.S. in Natural Resources from Michigan State University, and received her US Green Building LEED accreditation in 2005. In October 2010, she completed a Graduate Certification in Animal Advocacy and Policy from the Humane Society University.

Sponsored by city councilwoman Barbara Heller, Green Sangha, the City of San Rafael, and Resilient Neighborhoods.

Beth Terry speaks at Plastics 360

HEAR BETH TERRY!

Plastic-free blogger Beth Terry will speak at the Plastics 360 conference taking place this Friday March 16 and Saturday March 17. Beth’s book, Plastic-Free: How I Learned to Live without Plastic, and How You Can, Too, comes out this spring. Beth’s talk on Saturday is titled “Nine Reasons That Personal Changes Matter.”

Joining her will be: Susan Freinkel, author of Plastic: A Toxic Love Story; Chris Pincetich, PhD, marine biologist with Sea Turtle Restoration Project; Kim Scheibly, Outreach Director of Marin Sanitary Service; Tom Wright of Sustainable Business Practices. And, just back from a three-nation tour of Central America, speaking on toxicity in plastics: Nancy Buermeyer, senior policy analyst with the Breast Cancer Fund.

To lighten the day and keep us inspired and proactive, Maeve Murphy will open Saturday morning’s workshop with deep meditation. Debra McKnight Higgins, yoga teacher and nonprofit consultant, will lead us in a mid-day yoga stretch break. Pam Kramer of Integrated Transformative Practice will close the day with a guided study session, reflection, and brainstorming for action.

Friday evening is free; Saturday is $40 (Green Sangha members and students $20). Come to learn, expand, and stretch your horizons! For more information and to register, click here.

Garden Work Party – more success!

We did it! Our team of volunteers groomed the Garden beautifully on Saturday morning, March 3. In two short hours, we cleaned up the beds and paths:

Cut out, dug up, and removed old fava beans:

Carted multiple loads to the compost bin . . .

. . . we had so much compost material in the bins, we moved finished soil to the Garden beds and even made an extra pile of almost-ready, worm-rich compost near the raspberry brake.

Meanwhile, we also tied up a rich plot of peas, all a-blooming and a-podding as we worked:

That wasn’t all! Bean seeds planted by 6th grade science were given a little help, flowers were trimmed, and a good time was had by all. Many thanks to all who attended!

Don’t forget our next Garden Work Party at Davidson Middle School: Saturday, April 21 (Earth Day!), 9:30-11:30 am.