Category Archives: Uncategorized

Imagining the future we want

“Vision is the art of seeing things invisible.” – Jonathan Swift, Journal to Stella (1726)

Sat Jan 18, 10 am – 1 pm. Join us for our monthly mini-retreat in the lovely Sienna Room of the Edgehill Mansion at Dominican University.

Program
10 am. Gentle Yoga and meditation
11:00. Conversations about the future. Maeve Murphy will lead us in exploratory exercises from Joanna Macy’s Work That Reconnects, reflecting on our wishes and hopes for the future, imagining the resources we need to realize our dreams for the planet.
12:00. Announcements & actions
12:30. Potluck refreshments (avoiding plastic as possible!)
12:50. Clean-up
1:00. Closing circle

Location & directions. Edgehill Mansion is on Magnolia Avenue at Dominican University. We meet upstairs, entering from the south or east side of the mansion. On this map of Dominican, the Mansion is under the upper right corner. From 101: exit Central San Rafael. If coming from the N, turn L on Mission; if from the S, turn R on 2nd. In either case, proceed one block & turn L onto Grand Ave. Proceed to Acacia, which T’s onto Grand. R on Acacia. Acacia merges into Magnolia; veer slightly R onto Magnolia. At T go straight ahead through driveway with large stone pillars on either side. You have arrived; parking lot to L. Join us in the Sienna Room upstairs on second floor to the R.

Donation. Free-will donations support our programs of mindful action and cover the cost of rental.

For more information: write info@greensangha.org or call (510) 532-6574.

The deteriorating conditions of our world and the plight of other beings impinge on us all. We are in this together. Never before have our destinies been so intertwined. The fact that our fate is a common fate has tremendous implications. It means that in facing it together openly and humbly, we rediscover our interconnectedness in the web of life. From that rediscovery spring courage, a deeper sense of community, and insights into our power and creativity.

– Joanna Macy & Molly Brown, Coming Back to Life (1998, p. 63)

Turn the tide on marine litter – Plastics 360 Mar 7 & 16

Leila Monroe, staff attorney at NRDC, just sent us a 2012 paper by the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Center reports that 663 marine species have been harmed by marine litter through entanglement and ingestion—a two-thirds increase in species from a similar study in 1998. You can see the report here: Impacts of Marine Debris on Biodiversity.

Another 2012 paper reports the annual expenditures of California’s coastal communities to combat litter: over $418 million. This report, presented by the EPA is summarized neatly here:

West Coast Communities’ Cost of Managing Marine Debris.

We don’t have to keep living this way. On Thursday, March 7, and Saturday, March 16, join fellow citizens and decision makers to listen, learn, and converse on ways to end the plague of plastic pollution.

Chris Pincetich, PhD, will be one of the local leaders at both events, giving us insight into the problem, and discussing solutions that are already at hand. Come to Berkeley on Thursday, March 7, for an evening of Films and Conversation. Then, come to Lafayette on Saturday, March 16, for a day-long exploration of issues and possibilities for action, from home to office to government, with Chris, Dr. Marion Guyer, author Beth Terry, and other luminaries. Register here.

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.

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.

Stop Trashing the Planet!

Join us for a seminar on:

PLASTICS & TOXICS

An Environmental Forum of Marin (EFM) seminar, co-sponsored by Green Sangha

Sat, Mar 31, 9 am to 1 pm. Marin Sanitary’s Environmental Classroom, 535 Jacoby St., second floor

In 2000, a Worldwatch Paper estimated that 50,000 to 100,000 synthetic chemicals were in production, with approximately 3 new chemicals being added every day. Where do all these chemicals go when we are done using them? The EPA has developed an annual report, the Toxic Release Inventory to help citizens, businesses, and policy makers get a clearer idea of what is going into the environment by the millions of tons every year (see their 1:13 minute video here).

The 2010 TRI report showed that disposal or other releases of persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals increased by 50% from 2009. What does this mean to our health, and to the integrity of life-support systems around the globe?

Come hear Dr. Marion Guyer of Kaiser Permanente, Dr. Chris Pincetich of Sea Turtle Restoration Project, and Monica Wilson of GAIA (Global Action for Incinerator Alternatives) as they describe the risks posed in particular by toxic substances in plastics used by each of us daily, and by the careless burning of plastics that still occurs around the world. Then hear special guest Hilary Staples of the Biomimicry Institute share stunning possibilities to help us conceptualize and bring about a shift to life-sustaining materials — quieting our cleverness, listening to nature, and substituting deep knowledge and creativity for synthetics.

Cost: $20; students with current ID $10

Registration: Saturday Seminars

Garden Work Party Success!

GARDEN WORK PARTY SUCCESS!
Many thanks to all the volunteers who showed up on Saturday, February 4, for a morning of loving labor at the Davidson Green Schoolyard. We got a lot of things done. For example: we dug up fennel from the Riparian Zone:

Some of the roots were amazingly long:

We trimmed back the dreaded pampas grass:

. . . and carted it away to our junk pile:

Inside the Garden, we harvested and staked the fava beans, trimmed flowers, and transplanted the artichokes:

The compost was full of worms! We removed barrels of finished compost to fill the Garden beds, then organized the two bins into: a) nearly-done, and b) add-more-trimmings-here.

The tool shed needed organizing, too! So, Luat and Ashley spent the whole two hours clearing things out . . .

And putting them back in . . . with right-sized containers, and LABELS!

That wasn’t all. We had a great time doing it!

Thanks, everyone! See you next time: Saturday, March 3, 9:30-11:30 am at the Davidson Middle School Garden. (School address is 280 Woodland Avenue in San Rafael. We’re way in the back of the school, by the wooden bridge over the Riparian Zone.)