Learnshops | 2012

SATURDAY LEARNSHOPS

Saturday Learnshops - A

9 to 10:10 AM

A1.Awakening the Dreamer
Presenter: Ellen Waara works with indigenous cultures to find universal truths and to share them sustainably. She traveled to Ecuador in 2011 to study with the Achuar people.

A dynamic multimedia experience that calls participants to explore the most urgent challenges and possibilities for our time, Awakening the Dreamer brings together respected scientific expertise and indigenous wisdom to inspire and empower. Bring an open mind and heart to consider global issues in a new light.

A2. Let's Grow Mushrooms
Presenter: Kilindi Iyi has been growing mushrooms for 35 years, and he loves to share mushroom science and lore with the community. Participants will learn the basics of mushroom cultivation. Prepare to be amazed!

A3. Experiences in Abundance (continued B3)
Presenter: Blair Evans is the Founder and CEO of Evans Solutions, Inc., and Founder and Superintendent of Blanche Kelso Bruce Academy and the Incite Focus Program.

Building on ancient and modern technologies such as permaculture and Digital Fabrication, this learnshop will give you an experience that uses local resources to satisfy local needs including structures, tools, energy, and food.

A4. Insulated Concrete Forms (I.C.F.) Wall Systems
Presenter: Robert Harris is an owner of two companies that deal with energy efficient insulated concrete homes that use 75% less energy to heat and cool. He also uses off-the-grid renewable energy solutions such as geo-thermal, wind turbines, solar panels, and hydro turbines for residential and light commercial buildings.

As he demonstrates the basics of green building products and techniques, Robert will help you understand the benefits of insulated structures and renewable energy. You will learn how everyone has a small part to play in the reduction of energy consumption.

A5. Food and Farming Memories in Detroit
Presenter: Monica White is a Detroit activist/academic/farmer. She is the president of the Board of Directors for the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network and has published work on the urban gardening movement in Detroit.

Dr. White will present some of her data that offer a context for understanding agriculture and food systems in Detroit. This presentation will garner participants' memories of food to provide a timeline for food and our relationship to the food system as a city. Participants will be provided with a set of tools for understanding the history of food access in Detroit, including conversations around the importance of culture and food in the city. They will also be encouraged to interview their elders about their memories about food.

A6. Chemical Toxins can Damage Your Health - Protect your Loved Ones
Presenter: A retired clinical psychologist with a specialty in health psychology, Dr. Ellen Slutzky has done extensive research regarding the effects of chronic exposure to environmental toxins in order to protect herself from further harm due to severe multiple chemical sensitivities. Her mission is to educate others regarding the dangers of common household chemicals and how to live safely in a green environment.

This learnshop includes: A definition of toxic chemicals; research regarding the pervasiveness of chemicals; discussion of the rise of chronic disease; a description of the categories of chemicals; a slide demonstration of how toxins get into our homes; a brief description of 7 chemicals of concern depicting the harm they do and in which products you may find them; a slide presentation giving tips on how to avoid exposure; a brief discussion regarding attempts to regulate chemicals in the U.S.; and handouts of alternatives to toxic products.

A7. Community-Based Peace Through Restorative Justice
Presenter: Bill Wylie-Kellerman is a writer and non-violent community activist, a Methodist pastor serving St Peter's Episcopal Church Detroit. Author of Seasons of Faith and Conscience: Reflections on Liturgical Direct Action (Orbis/Wipf &Stock) and editor of A Keeper of the Word (Eerdmans), he was co-founder of Word and World: A Peoples' School, adjunct faculty at SCUPE - Chicago and Marygrove's MA/Social Justice in Detroit. A co-founder of the Corktown Restorative Justice Center, he will present with other co-founders.

Resilient communities must take responsibility for responding to conflict and violence in their midst by pursuing some forms of restorative justice as a practice and a fact. Simple peace through justice. Drawing on the experience of participants and using the lens of several Detroit neighborhoods, including Corktown, this learnshop will cast a vision of peace and justices zones as the practical way forward. Pedagogy will be interactive, employing a combination of narrative presentation with circle process story telling. Advanced participants more than welcome to contribute to this introductory learnshop.

--------------------------

SATURDAY LEARNSHOPS - B

10:30 to 11:40 AM

B1.A Natural Way of Beeing in Detroit
Presenter: Rich Wieske has been playing with bees for over 10 years -- as beekeeper, bee advocate and mentor, and co-owner of Green Toe Gardens apiary. He is frequently seen at one of his 100 Detroit beehives.

Honeybees are a marvelous organism. They nurture our land and fertilize our space. They deserve our respect and love. To treat them otherwise is a disservice to us all. See what's happening locally with honeybees and learn the basics needed to start your own hive.

B2. Great Lakes Policy Update
Presenters: Nick Schroeck is Executive Director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, Adjunct Professor at Wayne State Law School, and director of the Transnational Environmental Law Clinic. He previously worked for the National Wildlife Federation and the Great Lakes Commission.

Gain an update on current issues of Great Lakes policy. This will include: fracking regulations and issues, the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, invasive species, and oil and gas pipelines. Nick will also address proposed solutions as well as ways for local communities and citizens to become engaged.

B3. Experiences in Abundance (A3 continued)
Presenter: Blair Evans is the Founder and CEO of Evans Solutions, Inc., and Founder and Superintendent of Blanche Kelso Bruce Academy and the Incite Focus Program.

B4. Cross-Pollination of Resilient Communities
Presenter: Michael Mallon works as an Adventure Challenge Facilitator at the Walled Lake Outdoor Education center and is President of Superhero Training Academy, a Michigan non-profit.

Through storytelling, facilitation, and interactive experience, learn about the Superhero Movement and how it contributes to cross pollinating communities. In conjunction with this learnshop, participate in the "Portal of Possibility," where Superheroes like you can create an outdoor mini-festival of inspiration, and be encouraged to align their highest intentions with guided activities rooted in the values of joy, wisdom, compassion, and fortitude.

B5. Gardening 101
Presenter: Kido Pielack is Education Director at The Greening of Detroit and one of the most respected and sought-after teachers on gardening in Detroit's Garden Resource Program. For the beginner, starting a garden can be a challenge. But with some basic skills and knowledge, a productive and viable garden is achievable. Here you will learn how to select a site for your garden, when to plant seeds and transplants, how to prepare the garden, and much more!

B6. Social Networking for Social Change
Presenters: Lottie Spady has been working with the DetroitFuture Project for the past year and a half, addressing digital justice issues through media based education, organizing and entrepreneurship. She currently works to create media strategy around environmental, food, and digital justice with the East Michigan Environmental Action Council. Susana Adame is Digital Justice Communications Coordinator for DetroitFuture.

Join Lottie and Susana for an interactive discussion about the power and challenges of social networking, specifically Twitter, in social justice work. Learn how the DetroitFuture project has been using Twitter to influence dominant media narratives on everything from gender politics in food to our rights to privacy as we live under a state of public surveillance.

B7. Michigan Energy Michigan Jobs Ballot Initiative
Presenter: Anne Woiwode is the State Director of the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter. She works with many others in Sierra Club and across the state to promote clean, renewable energy in place of fossil fuels.

This November Michigan voters will decide whether to support a requirement that all Michigan electric utilities must achieve 25% of their power generation from renewable, clean energy sources by the year 2025. This initiative will reduce the use of fossil fuels in our state while creating good paying jobs in the clean energy sector and improving public health and the environment. Learn more about the campaign and how you can get involved in your local community.

Our 2012 Conference Brochure

Learnshops | 2012

SATURDAY LEARNSHOPS

Saturday Learnshops - A

SATURDAY LEARNSHOPS - B

Our 2012 Conference Brochure

SUNDAY LEARNSHOPS

Sunday Learnshops - C

Sunday Learnshops - D

		CONFERENCE LINKS Registration Young Bioneers Learnshops Plenaries Tours Program Exhibitors Sponsors






Learnshops \| 2012 SATURDAY LEARNSHOPS Saturday Learnshops - A 9 to 10:10 AM A1.Awakening the Dreamer Presenter: Ellen Waara works with indigenous cultures to find universal truths and to share them sustainably. She traveled to Ecuador in 2011 to study with the Achuar people. A dynamic multimedia experience that calls participants to explore the most urgent challenges and possibilities for our time, Awakening the Dreamer brings together respected scientific expertise and indigenous wisdom to inspire and empower. Bring an open mind and heart to consider global issues in a new light. A2. Let's Grow Mushrooms Presenter: Kilindi Iyi has been growing mushrooms for 35 years, and he loves to share mushroom science and lore with the community. Participants will learn the basics of mushroom cultivation. Prepare to be amazed! A3. Experiences in Abundance (continued B3) Presenter: Blair Evans is the Founder and CEO of Evans Solutions, Inc., and Founder and Superintendent of Blanche Kelso Bruce Academy and the Incite Focus Program. Building on ancient and modern technologies such as permaculture and Digital Fabrication, this learnshop will give you an experience that uses local resources to satisfy local needs including structures, tools, energy, and food. A4. Insulated Concrete Forms (I.C.F.) Wall Systems Presenter: Robert Harris is an owner of two companies that deal with energy efficient insulated concrete homes that use 75% less energy to heat and cool. He also uses off-the-grid renewable energy solutions such as geo-thermal, wind turbines, solar panels, and hydro turbines for residential and light commercial buildings. As he demonstrates the basics of green building products and techniques, Robert will help you understand the benefits of insulated structures and renewable energy. You will learn how everyone has a small part to play in the reduction of energy consumption. A5. Food and Farming Memories in Detroit Presenter: Monica White is a Detroit activist/academic/farmer. She is the president of the Board of Directors for the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network and has published work on the urban gardening movement in Detroit. Dr. White will present some of her data that offer a context for understanding agriculture and food systems in Detroit. This presentation will garner participants' memories of food to provide a timeline for food and our relationship to the food system as a city. Participants will be provided with a set of tools for understanding the history of food access in Detroit, including conversations around the importance of culture and food in the city. They will also be encouraged to interview their elders about their memories about food. A6. Chemical Toxins can Damage Your Health - Protect your Loved Ones Presenter: A retired clinical psychologist with a specialty in health psychology, Dr. Ellen Slutzky has done extensive research regarding the effects of chronic exposure to environmental toxins in order to protect herself from further harm due to severe multiple chemical sensitivities. Her mission is to educate others regarding the dangers of common household chemicals and how to live safely in a green environment. This learnshop includes: A definition of toxic chemicals; research regarding the pervasiveness of chemicals; discussion of the rise of chronic disease; a description of the categories of chemicals; a slide demonstration of how toxins get into our homes; a brief description of 7 chemicals of concern depicting the harm they do and in which products you may find them; a slide presentation giving tips on how to avoid exposure; a brief discussion regarding attempts to regulate chemicals in the U.S.; and handouts of alternatives to toxic products. A7. Community-Based Peace Through Restorative Justice Presenter: Bill Wylie-Kellerman is a writer and non-violent community activist, a Methodist pastor serving St Peter's Episcopal Church Detroit. Author of Seasons of Faith and Conscience: Reflections on Liturgical Direct Action (Orbis/Wipf &Stock) and editor of A Keeper of the Word (Eerdmans), he was co-founder of Word and World: A Peoples' School, adjunct faculty at SCUPE - Chicago and Marygrove's MA/Social Justice in Detroit. A co-founder of the Corktown Restorative Justice Center, he will present with other co-founders. Resilient communities must take responsibility for responding to conflict and violence in their midst by pursuing some forms of restorative justice as a practice and a fact. Simple peace through justice. Drawing on the experience of participants and using the lens of several Detroit neighborhoods, including Corktown, this learnshop will cast a vision of peace and justices zones as the practical way forward. Pedagogy will be interactive, employing a combination of narrative presentation with circle process story telling. Advanced participants more than welcome to contribute to this introductory learnshop. -------------------------- SATURDAY LEARNSHOPS - B 10:30 to 11:40 AM B1.A Natural Way of Beeing in Detroit Presenter: Rich Wieske has been playing with bees for over 10 years -- as beekeeper, bee advocate and mentor, and co-owner of Green Toe Gardens apiary. He is frequently seen at one of his 100 Detroit beehives. Honeybees are a marvelous organism. They nurture our land and fertilize our space. They deserve our respect and love. To treat them otherwise is a disservice to us all. See what's happening locally with honeybees and learn the basics needed to start your own hive. B2. Great Lakes Policy Update Presenters: Nick Schroeck is Executive Director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, Adjunct Professor at Wayne State Law School, and director of the Transnational Environmental Law Clinic. He previously worked for the National Wildlife Federation and the Great Lakes Commission. Gain an update on current issues of Great Lakes policy. This will include: fracking regulations and issues, the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, invasive species, and oil and gas pipelines. Nick will also address proposed solutions as well as ways for local communities and citizens to become engaged. B3. Experiences in Abundance (A3 continued) Presenter: Blair Evans is the Founder and CEO of Evans Solutions, Inc., and Founder and Superintendent of Blanche Kelso Bruce Academy and the Incite Focus Program. B4. Cross-Pollination of Resilient Communities Presenter: Michael Mallon works as an Adventure Challenge Facilitator at the Walled Lake Outdoor Education center and is President of Superhero Training Academy, a Michigan non-profit. Through storytelling, facilitation, and interactive experience, learn about the Superhero Movement and how it contributes to cross pollinating communities. In conjunction with this learnshop, participate in the "Portal of Possibility," where Superheroes like you can create an outdoor mini-festival of inspiration, and be encouraged to align their highest intentions with guided activities rooted in the values of joy, wisdom, compassion, and fortitude. B5. Gardening 101 Presenter: Kido Pielack is Education Director at The Greening of Detroit and one of the most respected and sought-after teachers on gardening in Detroit's Garden Resource Program. For the beginner, starting a garden can be a challenge. But with some basic skills and knowledge, a productive and viable garden is achievable. Here you will learn how to select a site for your garden, when to plant seeds and transplants, how to prepare the garden, and much more! B6. Social Networking for Social Change Presenters: Lottie Spady has been working with the DetroitFuture Project for the past year and a half, addressing digital justice issues through media based education, organizing and entrepreneurship. She currently works to create media strategy around environmental, food, and digital justice with the East Michigan Environmental Action Council. Susana Adame is Digital Justice Communications Coordinator for DetroitFuture. Join Lottie and Susana for an interactive discussion about the power and challenges of social networking, specifically Twitter, in social justice work. Learn how the DetroitFuture project has been using Twitter to influence dominant media narratives on everything from gender politics in food to our rights to privacy as we live under a state of public surveillance. B7. Michigan Energy Michigan Jobs Ballot Initiative Presenter: Anne Woiwode is the State Director of the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter. She works with many others in Sierra Club and across the state to promote clean, renewable energy in place of fossil fuels. This November Michigan voters will decide whether to support a requirement that all Michigan electric utilities must achieve 25% of their power generation from renewable, clean energy sources by the year 2025. This initiative will reduce the use of fossil fuels in our state while creating good paying jobs in the clean energy sector and improving public health and the environment. Learn more about the campaign and how you can get involved in your local community. Our 2012 Conference Brochure	SUNDAY LEARNSHOPS Sunday Learnshops - C 9 to 10:10 AM C1. It's Raining, It's Pouring... Sewage is Overflowing! Protect Our Great Lakes by Harvesting Rainwater (continued D.1) Presenter: Melissa Damaschke works for the Sierra Club as its Great Lakes Program organizer. For over eight years, she has worked to protect Michigan's greatest resource from sewage pollution, invasive species, and polluted runoff. She is part of Detroit-based People's Water Board Coalition, which works to keep water affordable, clean, and held in the public commons. Become more aware of the problems threatening our Great Lakes, including storm water and sewage pollution. Then learn about the solutions to overcome those problems through short videos of Detroit-based examples, including rain gardens, rain barrels, wetlands, green roofs, and much more. The learnshop also includes a rain barrel construction exercise and guidance in designing home rain gardens. C2. Healthy Metropolitan Food Hubs Presenter: A former tavern-keeper and a devoted urbanist with special interest in regenerating depressed local economies, Dan Carmody is President of Detroit's Eastern Market Corporation where he seeks to build the MOO Food Shed (Michigan, Ontario, Ohio) into the nation's most robust regional food system and a healthy urban food hub. This overview of Healthy Metropolitan Food Hubs will describe their local, regional, and national context. A panel of Eastern Market participants - a wholesale grower, a specialty food maker, Detroit Public Schools Food Service rep, and a district merchant will describe how their organizations contribute to and benefit from the market. C3. Singing Our Way Home Presenter: The Gaia Women of the Great Lakes Basin are women of two countries -- Canada and the US -- who share land, water, sky, and song. The borders between them do not divide them but rather draw them together in a common concern for the well-being of our bioregion. They sing to bring into being a human spirit that lives with reverence for the planet. Using Carolyn McDade's song, "A Widening Embrace," Gaia Women will help you explore Earth in all her different aspects, e.g. mountain, river, desert, in order to see more clearly the nature and beauty inherent in these different environments. Small groups will explore the different facets of Earth and then create a plan for saving and sustaining them. It just might be possible to sing yourself "into a new humanity. C4. Transportation Justice: In Defense of the Commons Presenter: Aaron Handelsman is a Detroit resident, policy advocate, and a financial and high-school soccer coach. He is active in the North End Woodward CDC. The learnshop will be semi-interactive and contextualize Detroit's fight for transportation justice in terms of The Commons. It will begin with an introduction to the idea of the Commons and look at transportation as a crucial piece of the Commons. In addition to discussing the larger ideas, the learnshop will include an overview of both the North End Woodward CDC's major accomplishments and obstacles in its transportation justice advocacy, as well as a discussion of best practices. C5. Living Green: Lighting the Way Presenters: Travis Rushon and Calvin Horton have been working with "We Want Green Too" on the eastside of Detroit. They know that community engagement is essential for building vibrant communities. Taking seriously the DIY challenge, they have been active revitalizing the neighborhood through learning, teaching and sharing skills needed keep up, fix up and green homes. Lighting accounts for 15 percent of the average home's energy bill and 25 percent of the average commercial building's energy bill. This learnshop will examine the lighting of the past, present, and future, demonstrate the basics of how to install lighting including the dos and don'ts of home repair and lighting. Come prepared to learn practical skills. C6. Incubators: The Missing Piece Presenter: Lucy Bland, founded the Fair Food Matters Can-Do Kitchen, Southwest Michigan's first food business incubator and has worked in various aspects of the food world for twelve years including youth educational gardening, farmers market gardening, community gardening, youth cooking classes, non-profit program creation and management, food service and retail and currently food business incubation management. Healthy regional businesses are an important part of a resilient economy. However, it can often be challenging for start-up businesses to get a solid footing and go on to become successful pieces of the economy. Learn why food business incubators are important, how to create one in your community, attracting clients, creating effective policies, and about the intersection with the cottage food law. --------------------- Sunday Learnshops - D 10:30 to 11:40 AM D1. It's Raining, It's Pouring... Sewage is Overflowing! Protect Our Great Lakes by Harvesting Rainwater (C.1 continued) Presenter: Melissa Damaschke works for the Sierra Club as its Great Lakes Program organizer. For over eight years, she has worked to protect Michigan's greatest resource from sewage pollution, invasive species, and polluted runoff. She is part of Detroit-based People's Water Board Coalition, which works to keep water affordable, clean, and held in the public commons. D2. Saving The Earth - One Bite At A Time Presenter: Jeff Hampton, of Veg Michigan, made the switch to vegetarian lifestyle over 15 years ago. Which leads him to ask: "How could one not switch to a vegetarian lifestyle -- not a diet -- and still consider oneself an environmentalist ... green ....? eco-friendly?" Learn how the "animal agriculture" industry is the single most environmentally destructive on earth. Hear how indulging in the "traditional diet" affects the air, water, and land. Jeff gently encourages people to consider the implications of their life choices. Nobody likes to be preached to. In short, expect to have some fun. D3. Spirituality of Kinship Presenters: As members of the IHM Sisters, Mary Fran Uicker and Joan Kusak each have strong backgrounds in both education and pastoral ministry. Currently, Mary Fran serves as the Coordinator of IHM Campus Spirituality in Monroe, while Joan is program and outreach staff member at River House - IHM Spirituality Center. Participants will learn how to ground themselves in the evolving story of the universe, and learn from the core dynamics of nature how to allow the powers of all created life to flow through them, making them into communities which move from an inner core into actions based in hospitality, compassion, and radiant kinship. This is a spirituality which opens itself across a diversity of faith. D4. In Search of a Permanent [Agri] Culture: Explorations in Urban Permaculture And Beyond Presenter: Jeremy Kenward lives with his wife and two kids in the Brightmoor neighborhood on Detroit's west side. Together they run the Wild Earth permaculture market garden and internship. He was the main designer for the Brightmoor Edible Forest Garden and is a wild-food enthusiast. Jeremy will provide first hand stories about working in agribusiness, local and sustainable food production, and foraging for wild edibles. D5.Garbage in Detroit: What A Waste Presenter: Margaret Weber, Coordinator of Rosedale Recycles since 1990 and Convener of Zero Waste Detroit, and a resident of Detroit since 1974. Margaret received the Michigan Environmental Council 2010 Petoskey Prize for Environmental Leadership, given to a grass roots leader whose commitment, courage and creativity have been inspirational. Get informed and energized regarding Detroit's solid waste system, and be moved to recycle. In this introductory learnshop participants will learn of Detroit's history regarding solid waste and potential for moving forward. D6. TimeBanking--A Tool For The Times Presenters: 2008 Kim Hodge founded the Lathrup Village TimeBank, which has now grown to over 120 members and the Michigan Alliance of TimeBanks an umbrella organization linking and supporting TimeBanks across the state. Janet Johnson is organizer of Urban Pioneers TimeBank. TimeBanks create communities where people want to live by adding intrinsic and economic value. Registration fees include organic/locally grown lunch.