|
 = young people welcome
Building Materials Re-Use and Deconstruction
Erich Kruger
Potential reuse opportunities are found in both a traditional tear-down home or kitchen/bath remodel. Building with reused materials can add character and quality to a home project, while adding value and uniqueness. We will review the practice of building deconstruction, or salvaging materials for reuse using traditional and specialized tools and techniques.
Erich Kruger is the founder and executive Director of ReNew Building Materials and Salvage. He lives in Southern Vermont in a straw bale, off-grid home with humanure toilet. ReNew has diverted over 1000 tons of construction materials in the last three years while deconstructing over 40 structures.
Build Your Own Solar Cooker
Virginio Mendonça & Eric Fedus
Did you know that you can cook food with the heat of the sun in your backyard? A simple “box” style solar-cooker can trap enough heat to reach temperatures in excess of 250 F. In this workshop we will start by discussing how solar cookers work, what types of solar cookers exist, and the amazing number of things you can do with them. Then using basic materials we will demonstrate how to assemble a simple box-cooker that you can easily replicate at home.
Virginio Mendonça grew up in the Azores Islands where people had to be pretty self-sufficient and knew at night exactly where the chicken on their table came from. He has given workshops on composting and building solar cookers and solar panels. He regularly rides around in his 1986 veggie oil-powered Jetta that he pulled out of a junk yard 6 years ago.
Eric Fedus has visited over 75 organizations worldwide that work with issues of sustainable livelihoods. He currently serves as advisor to Grupo Fenix in Nicaragua where he worked extensively with solar cookers and other development projects. He also dabbles in issues of systems thinking and is certified in Permaculture and in ZERI Systems Design.
Creating Community Gardens
The Moonlight Garden Project
Cognizant of the threat posed to agriculture by resource depletion and global heating, we will examine the ways in which community gardens establish resilience in our localities and help ensure our food security. We will explore some of the various ways a group of concerned citizens can form a community garden and speak about the specific issues that we have had to deal with at Moonlight Garden in Southern RI.
Abel Collins is an activist and writer who lives in Matunuck, RI at the site of Moonlight Garden, a farm that he helped to start in 2005. He is a consultant and participant in the community garden there which utilizes sustainable agricultural practices to produce organic vegetables.
Eat Your Weeds
Karen Talbot
Have you seen the free supermarket at the roadside, in "empty" lots, and right in your own backyard? Walk with Karen to discover the health benefits of wild plants, and sample food and drink made from Mother Earth's bounty.
Karen Talbot has been an herbalist for over twenty years and leads weed walks for individuals, groups, and schools. Her love of the wild plant kingdom has included classes in cooking, cosmetics, and herbal healing using plants found in the backyard and beyond.
Eco-House Tour
Bradley Grove Hyson
The Apeiron Institute’s Center for Sustainable Living is one of RI’s first and most environmentally designed buildings. It features over 50 environmental building technologies, systems and products and uses a fraction of the energy of a typical home its size. Constructed by over 2,000 volunteers and 120 businesses, the center has served as a catalyst for the green buildings movement in Rhode Island.
Bradley Grove Hyson is the founder and director of the Apeiron Institute for Sustainable Living. He has led hundreds of tours of the eco-house, which also incorporate his knowledge of environmental issues, ecological building, and his vision for global sustainability.
The Enchanted Children’s Forest
Introduction to the Enchanted Children’s Forest
Marcy Gregoire
Join the circle, play some games, find out what programs and performances are being offered for the day, and laugh as much as possible.
Marcy Gregoire, founder and proud member of Under the Tree Music Company, has a huge passion for the planet. Her work with the young and old continues to make a lasting impact through teaching, performing and co-creating with music, art, and nature. She has co-written and produced over a dozen Earth-minded musicals, is co-writing a book to help connect kids with nature, and is just now finishing up her interactive and educational CD, Sapling, for children to Love Up the Earth.
Her experience with sustainable energy has been acquired through both educational and personal practice, from the 17th floor dorm room at Boston University studying Environmental Analysis and Policy, to the middle of the Ozark Mountains, living entirely off of the grid. Above all, Marcy’s greatest attribute is her ability to connect with others, bringing them to an open place to laugh, learn, and create.
Nature Mobiles
Marcy Gregoire
Collect treasures from nature and create an original mobile. Display your creations for others to see!
Re-do Re-used Clothing
Marcy Gregoire
Use old t-shirts and other items and transform them into original pieces of clothing.
EarthSongwriting 101
Marcy Gregoire
Write and rehearse an original song, explore various musical instruments and laugh as much as possible.
The Veggie Voyager
Jay Mankita
Meet the Veggie Voyager, an alternative energy vehicle that runs on recycled waste vegetable oil, and share music and stories about life, love and sustainable living with Jay Mankita.
Jay Mankita is an American songwriter, based in the Northeast. In addition to his adult performances (check out the main stage Sunday at noon!), Jay presents concerts and workshops for children and families that promote kindness and respect, sustainability, healthy choices, literacy, and appreciation of our natural world. Over the past 20 years or so Jay has presented concerts and workshops for children, teachers, and families in more than 1,000 schools, libraries, camps, festivals, museums, recreation halls, and village greens.
Under the Tree Music Company Performance
Under the Tree Music Company
This is your chance to perform your new songs and use your new musical instrument skills!
Under the Tree Music Company is a collection of artists, musicians, teachers, performers, and children young and old, creating art and music, and sharing it with the world. Our Music/Art/Nature playshops and performances have one common thread: Earth respect.
Energy Efficiency for Your Historic House Panel
Rob Cagnetta & Karina Lutz
Do you have a historic home you want to make more energy efficient? Can you do it while preserving its historic fabric? Yes we can! Come to this session to learn about what can be done and what not to do to meet the twin goals of sustainability and preservation. Robert Cagnetta, owner of Heritage Restoration, Inc., will describe the issues and detail solutions to the challenges of making historic homes more energy efficient. Karina Lutz, former editor of Home Energy magazine, will chime with her knowledge of residential energy efficiency.
Karina Lutz is the Deputy Director of People's Power & Light, RI’s nonprofit green power provider, working to make energy more affordable and sustainable. She has been involved in energy efficiency for two decades.
Robert Cagnetta is owner, Heritage Restoration, Inc., the renowned historic renovation contractor, is a master craftsman of historic restoration and teaches at Rhode Island School of Design. He is treasurer of the Preservation Trades Network, a Properties Committee Member of Preserve Rhode Island and is a member of numerous other preservation groups, such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Providence Preservation Society, American Institute of Architects, and Historic New England.
Foundations of Herbal Healing
Mary Blue
This class is a great primer on the how-to of herbal medicine. It will give you an understanding of the proper preparation method of leaves, roots, seeds, flowers, oils, and tinctures. If you have always wanted to try herbs, but don't know where to start, this class is for you! Sustainability means self sufficiency and less dependence on the system. Taking charge of your own health care through herbal medicine is a great place to start.
Mary Blue is the Director of Farmacy Herbs Community Health and Education Center and is an activist, herbalist, educator and community organizer in Providence. From 2004-2008 she was a Practicing Herbalist and the Education Coordinator at Seven Arrows Farm in Attleboro, MA where she continues to lead herbal education classes. She was awarded The Northeast Herbal Association Community Herbalist Award in 2008 for her long-term dedication and commitment to the herbal community.
Fun Fast Green Cleaning
Leslie Reichert
Want to start “going green” when it comes to cleaning? Not sure exactly where or how to begin? This workshop will give you great tips and tricks to make your cleaning green and fun.
Leslie Reichert is a green cleaning coach with over 20 years experience in the cleaning and air quality business. She holds classes at her store, Backdoor Vacuums and Homekeeping, in Uxbridge, MA.
Gardening with Gaia
Kate Rakosky
No matter the size of the garden, learn to grow nourishing food and healing herbs using methodologies that have a positive impact on our families, our planet and all living beings. Gardening teaches us to live in harmony with nature’s rhythms. The steps taken from soil and seed to sustainable harvest nurture that deep connection to Mother Earth and is the best medicine for body, mind and spirit. Bring your gardening questions, we will find gentle, earth-friendly answers!
Kate Rakosky and her husband, Dan, are stewards of Sagewood Herb Farm in West Kingston, named RI’s first United Plant Savers Botanical Sanctuary. An Herbalist and Master Gardener, for the past fifteen years she has been blessed to study with some of the most well-respected herbalists in the US and abroad. Kate loves to share plant beauty, wisdom and lore! She teaches at national and regional herb symposia and local workshops.
Green School Panel: Building Green Bridges from School House to Home
Tina Carter, John LaRue, Ross McCurdy & moderator Will York
What is a sustainable school? This panel will highlight successful RI school initiatives currently underway, convey available resources and programs, and address the steps school communities can take to effectively build a “green bridge” that connects teaching sustainability in schools with living sustainably in the community and the home.
John LaRue is a Representative for the KOMPAN/BigToys Playground Company. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Therapeutic Recreation (Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist), is a Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) and is a Registered Provider for the American Society of Landscape Architects as a CEU Instructor.
Ross McCurdy is a science teacher at Ponaganset High School and an advocate of fuel cells and other alternative/renewable energy. With the help of students and other dedicated people, Ross created Protium, the world’s first fuel cell powered band and is working on integrating a fuel cell into a battery-electric street legal Model T hot rod!
Tina Carter is Co-Program Director of the Bridges 4 Learning (B4L)/AmeriCorps Collaborative including the Cranston 21st Century Community Learning Center, Connecting Children and Families (Woonsocket), Traveling Theater and the Apeiron Institute for Sustainable Living. Bain Middle School is one of three schools in Rhode Island that are pilot sites for the RI Sustainable Schools Network Project to model ways in which schools throughout the state can successfully “go green.”
Growing Green Transportation Choices in Rhode Island
Chris Wilhite & John Flaherty
A modern public transportation system is a key component of Rhode Island’s public health, economic and environmental well-being. This seminar will explore the steps it will take to expand Rhode Island’s system of transportation choices, like public transit and bicycle routes. 2010 could be a huge year for green transportation on a local and national level.
Chris Wilhite is the Chapter Director for the Sierra Club in Rhode Island and the chapter’s Transportation Reform Project, an effort to educate Rhode Islanders about the role of transportation alternatives in solving global warming. Before moving to RI, Wilhite was the lead Sierra Club staff on a campaign to end oil and gas drilling on national parks, forests, and wildlife refuges. In his free time, Wilhite enjoys playing banjo, skateboarding, and spending time with his wife and two kids.
John Flaherty is Director of Research & Communications for Grow Smart Rhode Island, a diverse alliance of community leaders working to advance sustainable prosperity while safeguarding Rhode Island’s distinctive character and quality places. John is responsible for Grow Smart’s public education initiatives, media outreach, website management, newsletter and a broad spectrum of policy research and advocacy. He serves on the RI Safe Routes to School Steering Committee, the New Public Transit Alliance and the Woonsocket Commuter Rail Feasibility Study Steering Committee.
Grow Where You Are Planted: Using the Internet to Care for our Environment
Susan Korté
Are you part of what’s growing on in Rhode Island? Do you wish you could keep up better with environmental news and activities? Get an overview of Rhode Island’s environmental information landscape in this workshop. Find out about the hundreds of environmental groups in our state and learn how to use online tools to monitor the issues and topics that interest you most WITHOUT adding to your information overload. Survey the amazing range of environmental opportunities so you can get out there, enjoy Little Rhody, and take care of our great state.
Susan Korté, in previous lives, has been a teacher, editor, indexer, and corporate librarian. She is now a RI Tree Steward, a Master Gardener, and managing editor of both the blog, Providential Gardener (www.ProvidentialGardener.com), and also of the online Calendar, What Grows On in Rhode Island (www.WhatGrowsOnRI.com), providing comprehensive environmental information services for Rhode Island.
How to Plan an Affordable Green Wedding
Kim Grant
Want to save money on your wedding and be socially responsible? Learn all aspects of planning an affordable, eco-friendly wedding, including location, invitations, wedding gown and accessories, food, flowers, rings, entertainment, photographers and transportation. You can plan your dream wedding, be socially responsible and stay within your budget.
Kim Grant is an Eco-Wedding Consultant for AffordableGreenWeddings.com. Grant was inspired to start AffordableGreenWeddings.com to help brides-to-be plan eco-friendly weddings after planning her own organic wedding. She is also a freelance writer. Her articles have been published in a variety of publications, including Southern Weddings, Footprint Eco Magazine and Natural Awakenings.
Introduction to Renewable Energy
Dan Cartier
This workshop focuses on explaining renewable sources and the benefits they bring. Solar electricity, wood pellet, hydro, biodiesel, solar thermal, fuel cells, wind energy, wave power and green power will all be discussed. Photos of real world projects from Rhode Island and around the world will be presented.
Dan Cartier is a Mechanical Engineer educated at URI with a Certification in Energy Management. Dan has worked with renewable energy systems for over twenty years. Currently Dan is working for the Chariho Regional School District as Director of Building and Grounds and consults on renewable energy systems as well.
Make a Peace Flag & Send Positive Wishes to the World
Ginny Fox
Children and grown ups will create a set of flags from 5 pieces of fabric, paints, markers, collage and string. Taking our inspiration from Tibetan Prayer Flags we will meditate to connect to our wishes and gratitude and then bring the peaceful world into being as we decorate our flags.
Ginny Fox is a peace activist, writer and editor. She also runs craft shows, after school programs, organized school events, and teaches peace wherever she can.
Moving Toward a Sustainable Health Care System
Peter Asen
Our current health care system is deeply unsustainable - the United States spends nearly twice as much of its gross domestic product as any other country in the world on health care, to less impressive results. Come discuss how health care reform has the potential to move us towards greater sustainability even as it expands coverages and improves the quality of care. It's not magic, it's just community organizing!
Peter Asen is the Associate Director of Ocean State Action, a coalition of environmental, community, and labor organizations united for social and economic justice. Peter is a contributor to the Rhode Island Policy Reporter and a member of the Health Insurance Advisory Council that advises the Rhode Island Health Insurance Commissioner. A resident of Rhode Island for 9 years, Peter attended the very first Rhode Island Sustainable Living Festival in 2001.
The Other Growth Driver: Population Stability & Lifestyle Choices in the Shift to Sustainability
Sarah Harpster
Lifestyle and consumer choices, along with national energy and economic policy in the United States, are critical factors of global sustainability. Yet with the world adding a population the size of Egypt (the 16th most populous country) each year, all of our efforts to reduce per capita impact on the environment will be negated unless we stabilize the size of our population. Join a lively presentation and discussion about the relationship between sustainability and population and how we can reach sustainable population levels while preserving the values of justice and dignity for all people.
Sarah Harpster is the Grassroots Outreach Coordinator for the New England Coalition for Sustainable Population. She has been exploring the question of how to develop sustainable communities from multiple perspectives for over a decade and she holds degrees in theology and environmental advocacy and organizing.
Preserving Our Native Medicinal Plants and Their Habitats
Kate Rakosky
The healing plants that our ancestors used, and that are still being used today, are disappearing in the wild at an alarming rate. Learn how we can each make a positive difference by our actions and choices. To quote Rosemary Gladstar, founder of United Plant Savers, “We wish to ensure that when future generations of plant lovers walk upon this planet, they, too, will know the medicines of their ancestors and the healing power that grows from the heart of the earth.” Enjoy a beautiful, slide show of our native healing plants growing right here in RI. Handouts provided.
Kate Rakosky and her husband, Dan, are stewards of Sagewood Herb Farm in West Kingston, named RI’s first United Plant Savers Botanical Sanctuary. An Herbalist and Master Gardener, for the past fifteen years she has been blessed to study with some of the most well-respected herbalists in the US and abroad. Kate loves to share plant beauty, wisdom and lore! She teaches at national and regional herb symposia and local workshops.
Reduce, Renew, & Relate: People’s Power & Light’s Green Power Program
Karina Lutz
Are you ready to go beyond switching a few light bulbs? This workshop describes People's Power & Light’s green power program, how New England GreenStart works, what to look for in your utility bill, and how you or your organization can help spread the word and raise money at the same time.
Karina Lutz is the Deputy Director of People's Power & Light, RI’s nonprofit green power provider, working to make energy more affordable and sustainable. She has been involved in energy efficiency for two decades.
The RI Time Banks Initiative & Co-Production
Lisa Conlan
Building strong, local communities is an essential ingredient in every prescription for achieving a sustainable world but how do you build a strong local community? This workshop will introduce Time Banks and co-production which provide an infrastructure for neighbors to get to know each other and an incentive system for neighbors and community to take care of each other. For every hour you spend doing something for someone in your community, you earn one Time Dollar. Then you have a Time Dollar to spend on having someone do something for you. It's that simple. Yet it also has profound effects. It turns strangers into an extended family.
Lisa Conlan is a national and state consultant and advocate for systems reform, social justice change, community organizing and non-profit development. Lisa co-founded the statewide family-run non-profit organization, Parent Support Network of Rhode Island. Lisa is the founder of the RI Time Banks Initiative and is on the Board of Directors of Time Banks USA. There are now over 300 communities in 22 countries that are using Time Banks and this “pay it forward” system to weave tighter communities.
Safe Cycling for the Whole Family
Richard Durishin & Ken Ruscetta
This workshop will present “rules of the road” for kids riding in neighborhoods, adults riding on the road and families riding on the bike paths. We will discuss how to ride safely and why following the rules is important. Discussion will be supplemented with handouts outlining basic hand signals, right of way rules and the RI Cyclists’ Guidebook and Journal.
Richard Durishin is a retired health care executive and Executive Director of the U.S. Open Cycling Foundation.
Ken Ruscetta is a retired elementary school teacher and athletic director. He is currently one of Rhode Island’s Safe Routes to Schools coordinators.
Sustainable Living, One House at a Time
Cindy Saksena
A retired Family & Consumer Sciences teacher describes the process of selecting and rehabbing an ordinary house with a view to environmental sustainability and affordability over the longer term and a desire to “age in place.”
Cindy Saksena received a graduate degree from Simmons College in Boston. She taught Home Economics and Family & Consumer Sciences at middle school through college levels in Massachusetts, India and Rhode Island. She volunteers with CREW (Committee for Renewable Energy in Warren), Sustainable Warren and Rhode Island Interfaith Power & Light. Her house has been on NESEA’s National Solar Homes Tour for 2 years.
Sustainable Renovations and Building Practices
Dave Kessler
We spend an average of 80-90% of our lives and 50-70% of our income on our homes. This workshop will look at three specific areas of renovating and building: energy efficiency, resources sensitivity and maximum indoor air quality.
Dave Kessler saw firsthand how conventional building practices create short–term solutions while working at a traditional construction company. In an effort to improve the health of our families, our homes and the environment he founded Native Structures, a company with a focus on creating smart, sustainable, high-performance, resource-efficient homes.
Take a Walk on the Wild Side!
Kate Rakosky
Enjoy a one hour walk exploring the wild medicinal plants growing in various habitats all around us. We will identify these plants and discuss traditional uses and herbal legend and lore surrounding them. Do you recognize any from your backyard? Now that we’ve met them, let’s work to protect the habitats of these beautiful healing plants!
Kate Rakosky and her husband, Dan, are stewards of Sagewood Herb Farm in West Kingston, named RI’s first United Plant Savers Botanical Sanctuary. An Herbalist and Master Gardener, for the past fifteen years she has been blessed to study with some of the most well-respected herbalists in the US and abroad. Kate loves to share plant beauty, wisdom and lore! She teaches at national and regional herb symposia and local workshops.
Today’s Sustainable Biodiesel in RI
Jim Malloy, Nat Harris & Craig Emerson
We will explore the local sustainable “cradle to cradle” model of the R.I. Sustainable Biodiesel movement with a focus on local collection, production and distribution. This clean and efficient transportation and home-heating fuel is available TODAY in Rhode Island.
Nat Harris is the production manager of Newport Biodiesel, focused on the continued development of a biodiesel processing plant creating local, sustainable fuel for Rhode Island and the surround areas.
Craig Emerson is T.H. Malloy’s service manager and a homeowner using 100% renewables with a self-installed solar hot water system. He was the first Rhode Islander to use 100% biodiesel for home heat.
Jim Malloy is the operations manager of T.H. Malloy Biofuels and has been distributing biodiesel in R.I. for four years. Jim is also the co-creator of a fossil fuel-free; wind, solar, wood-powered; mortgage-free; efficient, affordable, earthen Home nestled in amongst an orchard and gardens.
What is a Green Roof?
Chuck Carberry
Discover the reasons for and benefits of a green roof and how one can be built and maintained. Learn about and be inspired by local living roof projects already in place.
Chuck Carberry has been the Land Division Director of CleanScape, Inc. since 2004. He earned his degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Rhode Island and was the lead Landscape Architect for Roger Williams Park for nearly ten years. He was most recently the Executive Director of New England Botanical Gardens in Providence.
What’s New with Biodiesel?
Bob Cerio
This workshop is an introduction to Biodiesel, the fastest growing alternative energy resource in the US today, and a look at emerging markets. It will be followed by a live, interactive demonstration of the biodiesel making process.
Bob Cerio is the Energy Resource Manager, CEM, BOC with Hudson EcoFuels, specializing in energy conservation and management services augmented by renewable alternative energy resources.
|
