Lifestyle Choices

	Workshops can be outdoors or in

The following workshops address the choices we make in our day to day lives as we move toward living more in line with the resources and systems that we live in and depend upon for life. To locate the time and place of these workshops, click here:

Alternatives to Lawns
Tysh McGrail and Melanie Brown

Have you ever thought, “Why do I need a lawn anyway?” You don’t! But what then? Come to this discussion led by gardening and landscaping professionals, and consider the alternatives!

Tysh McGrail of Woodscapes, Inc. offers sustainable landscape design, consultation, installation and renovation with emphasis on organic land management practices, and alternatives to traditional lawns. She is a member of the RI Wild Plant Society, N.E. Wildflower Society, and the Ecological Landscape Association.

Melanie Brown of Wildesigns Gardening, designs, installs, and maintains organic gardens, lawns/lawn alternatives, seasonal displays & wildlife window boxes using native and non-invasive plant species. She specializes in “theme” gardens, including butterfly, herb/vegetable, Japanese, Zen, etc.

Art of Natural Building
Ben Graham

Natural materials for building not only make sense but inspire a new way of relating to the natural world. This multi-media presentation introduces building techniques for our bioregions including cob, earthen plasters and floors, strawbale, timberframing and light-clay. Get a behind-the-scene look at constructing a natural building along with the inspiring beauty associated with most things au naturale.

Ben Graham is a designer and builder who develops natural building and sustainable living systems. Ben directs SpiralWorks www.spiralworks.com, a collaborative venture promoting community vitality and viability. He holds an architectural degree from the Rhode Island School of Design and a permaculture design certificate from the Permaculture Association of Britain. He also serves on the Plainfield, VT Planning comminssion.

Climate Action Conference 10:00 am to 12:00 noon

Steven P. Hamburg is a forest ecologist who has been involved in sustainability initiatives for 25 years. He hails from the faculty of the University of Kansas where he directed the Environmental Studies Program and founded the office of the Environmental Ombudsman. He then spent a year at Environmental Defense prior to joining the Brown faculty where he is currently, in the Center for Environmental Studies and director for the Global Environment Program at the Watson Institute for International Studies. Brown has published over 50 articles on ecosystem ecology and related topics in a wide range of journals including Nature and Science. He serves as vice chair of the International Long-Term Ecological Research Network and on the Board of Directors of Save the Bay and Clean Air-Cool Planet.

Stephen Majkut is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island with a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering. He is a Registered Professional Engineer. Mr. Majkut joined the Department of Environmental Management in 1975, first managing Rhode Island’s hazardous waste management program under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and now, since 1986 administering Rhode Island’s air quality program. He is responsible for permitting, assuring compliance with air pollution control regulations, air toxics, air quality attainment planning, mobile sources, air quality/transportation issues, global warming and regional air quality issues.

Omay Elphick is Deputy Director at the Energy Consumer Alliance of New England's Rhode Island office. Previously as policy specialist at Save the Bay, Omay researched the brownfield regulatory landscape and developed recommendations for improving the redevelopment process for coastal brownfields in Rhode Island. Omay also oversaw construction of the Save the Bay Center, a "green" educational and administrative building. Before joining Save the Bay, Omay was a Senior Analyst and Nonprofit Consultant at a private branding and business consulting firm in Boulder, Colorado. He has an MBA in Marketing and a BA in Economics.

Cobbin Together: Living in the Green Vision
Erin and Jim Malloy

We will explore the many facets of Green Building; the social, environmental and economic benefits of creating and living in the “Green Vision.” We will also explore the vision and living model of an off-grid solar/wind, human-powered, fossil fuel-free, mortgage-free, Earthen Home.

Erin and Jim Malloy have designed and built their own efficient Earthen home in north-central Vermont. They live comfortably in their inexpensive, mortgage-free, cob home surrounded by their fruit orchard. Both Jim and Erin work in the field of energy education.

Composting in the City
Tara Germond

Learn how you can compost in urban areas free from worry about pests, annoyed neighbors, or no space! This workshop will show city dwellers how they can use worms to turn food scraps into a rich soil amendment for household plants or container gardens. Worm composting is a compact alternative to bins or piles and is easy for anyone to do. Come see how you can start a worm bin and engage in discussion about how individuals can reduce waste no matter where they live.

Tara Germond is a recent graduate from the University of Rhode Island with a degree in Environmental Economics and Management. She currently coordinates the RI Master Composter / Recycler Program at the URI Cooperative Extension Education Center and is actively involved in educating local communities about the need for waste reduction.

Don’t Whack Your Weeds- Eat Them!
Karen Talbot

Most people don’t realize there is a free supermarket at the roadside, in empty lots, and your own backyard. Join in a weedwalk to discover the food and health benefit of wild plants. Delectables are offered for the adventurous!

Karen Talbot has been an herbalist for over twenty years and has lead weedwalks for individuals, groups, and schools. Her love of the wild plant kingdom has found expression in teaching classes in cooking, cosmetics, and herbal healing using plants found in the backyard and beyond.

Giant Climate Creature Creations with Big Nazo & Parade to Follow
Ermnio Pinque & Freaky Friends

Artistic Director Erminio Pinque and staff of Providence’s BIG NAZ0 LAB will demonstrate various techniques of fabricating and performing large scale creature puppets for use in parades, carnivals and demonstrations. Cardboard, fabric, tempra paint and a variety of materials will be combined with experimental theatre games and performance techniques to create a parade of unusual and fantastic characters that will interact and improvise with audiences at the Sustainable Living Festival.

Erminio Pinque conducts mask-making, mural and video Artist-in-residency workshops throughout New England and is part-time faculty at Rhode Island School of Design Film/Video Department where he teaches a course in CREATURE-CREATION. Erminio and the BIG NAZ0 troupe have designed, constructed and animated original characters for countless stage productions, parades, TV projects, and family extravaganzas throughout the US and overseas.

Green Film Fest—The RIght Way Shoot Off of 2007, The Meatrix and other shorts, followed by a Feature Film TBA
Local and National Filmmakers
We asked for a moving picture, a brief 1-4 minute trailer to help launch a revolution. In conjunction with The RI Film Collaborative, we launched The RIght Way Great Green Shoot Off of 2007 that ended in May. Winners were awarded prizes and their trailers will be airing in local theaters soon. We invited filmmakers to help renew the Ocean State’s commitment to a truth, which isn’t inconvenient, but instead promises a happy, healthy future for everyone. Now we invite you to see the results! More information on The RIght Way Great Green Shoot Off of 2007 may be found by clicking here.

The Peace Flag Project: Sending Positive Wishes Out to the World
Jane Maquire and Ginny Fox

Exploration of the Peace Flag Project as a pro-peace organization interested in defining and describing what a peaceful world would be like. Description of our inspiration from Tibetan Prayer Flags. Meditation to connect to wishes for oneself, family, community, country, planet or universe. Participants may also wish to focus on gratitude – things they are grateful for. Creation of a set of flags (5 pieces of fabric) with paints, markers, collage.

Jane Maguire is a psychotherapist, artist and yoga teacher. As a Quaker, she has been a peace activist for her adult life.

Ginny Fox is a writer and editor. She has also run craft shows, written newsletters, run after school programs, organized school events, and taught Sunday school. She is also a peace activist.

Reducing Your Toxic Footprint at Home
Joy Onash and Harris Parnell

As we take steps to reduce our energy use, recycle and avoid wasteful living, there is another way we can show our caring for the earth, its people and other living things. Chemicals we use in our homes wind up in our rivers, the ground, the food we eat, they have been found in our own blood and in that of animals - even as far away as polar bears at the North Pole. We’ll discuss concerns and options for cleaning supplies, toys, pest control, furnishings, paints, carpeting, personal care products, least pesticide foods and more.

Joy Onash, Community Program Manager, Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI), University of Massachusetts Lowell, is an engineer with over ten years of experience with industry, government, and institutions, assisting them with environmental compliance issues and pollution prevention projects. She also works with non-profit organizations, municipalities, and small business.

Harris Parnell, Maine State Director for Toxics Action Center (TAC) began work with TAC six years ago as the Sludge Field Organizer. She also worked in Massachusetts on clean energy, hunger and homelessness, student and consumer rights, and other public interest issues. Later, as director of a statewide water quality organization, she helped create the strongest standard for rocket fuel in drinking water in the country.

The Soulful Landscape
Erica Wheeler

This workshop is designed to foster the emotional connection between people and place, awakening the sense of engagement needed to participate in land stewardship today. Inspired by song, story, and visual art, participants are empowered to find their own creative voice through a series of writing exercises followed by group sharing and discussion. Everyone will leave with a deeper self-connection and a method of writing for further exploration. All levels of writing and experience welcome!

Erica Wheeler is a workshop facilitator and award-winning songwriter featured on NPR’s “All Things Considered”. She synthesizes her background in the performing and creative arts with her lifelong passion for environmental studies, cultural history, and earth based spirituality to provide a unique, compelling, transformative workshop experience.

Sustainable Communities
Brad Hyson

Ecological Communities are human settlements that achieve a high standard of living with a low impact on the environment. They integrate green building design, renewable energy, on-site food production, community based businesses, and family friendly environments within a context of radically reduced environmental impact. They can be rural, urban or suburban in location, and have appeared throughout the world. This workshop will share Apeiron Executive Director Brad Hyson’s findings from a year long fellowship to travel and research 13 eco-villages in 4 countries and 6 U.S. states. He will explore common themes of sustainable human settlements and leave participants with a variety of ideas for their own communities.

Bradley Grove Hyson is a founder and the executive director of the Apeiron Institute for Environmental Living. Over the course of 12 years with Apeiron, Brad has educated more than 10,000 students, legislators, state employees, trades people, businesspeople, and concerned citizens about sustainable living concepts and practices. His vision for making RI the nation’s “1st Sustainable State” is the driving force behind Apeiron’s current program and the Eco-House, which showcases more than 50 ecological systems and products. In 2001, Brad was awarded a RI Foundation Leadership & Development Fellowship, which enabled him to travel around the world researching Eco-Communities and other forms of collective living. Brad is also a musician, songwriter and recording artist, the stepfather of 3 children, and an avid meditator and yoga practitioner.

Sustainable Food Systems
Noah Fulmer, Susan Letendre, Alicia Lehrer

In this one hour workshop we will examine our current food system and its limits. We will spark ideas with a few short films from the “Good Food” film series from Media that Matters. We will then have an open discussion of a few alternative sustainable models now being explored locally.

Noah Fulmer has worked with Farm Fresh Rhode Island over the last two years, developing the local food web marketplace http://www.farmfreshri.org/, organizing local food forums and farmers markets. Noah’s primary goal is to connect local food producers to local consumers and institutions and to develop a great working model of a local food system.

Susan Letendre has spent the last six years developing leadership skills and knowledge in RI youth in the arena of Food Security. Susan has worked with 800 students, helped develop multiple school gardens and greenhouses and explored world-wide food systems first-hand. Susan has an amazing global perspective on food systems.

Alicia Lehrer has led the Southern RI Conservation District for the last 9 years. She holds a Master’s Degree in Natural Resources Science and is a water quality specialist. Alicia has been involved in preserving local agriculture through the Farm, Forest and Open Space program connecting farmers directly to resources that help them to remain viable.

Walk In the Woods
Marc Tremblay, CF

Walk through Apeiron’s woodlands. Identify local trees & shrubs. Discuss forest and wildlife management, forest health and stewardship. Review proposed thinning of white pine for sustainable harvest of natural building sources.

Marc Tremblay is a Certified Forester with 25 years of experience working with private forest land owners.

Water for Rhode Island Today and Tomorrow
Greg Gerritt, Eugenia Marks, Beverly O’Keefe

A panel presentation by 3 of the people involved in creating the booklet “Water for Rhode Island Today and Tomorrow” and the conference of the same name. Topics to be covered include how much water does RI use, how much is available, what we can do to conserve, and what the future holds.

Greg Gerritt is a long time activist on environmental and economic issues, and former Green Party candidate for mayor of Providence. Gerritt is currently focused primarily on issues of prosperity and global warming.

Eugenia Marks serves as Senior Director for Policy at Audubon Society of RI where she has worked for 27 years. She has worked in freshwater resources and water policy through these years, with the RI Water Resources Board and RI DEM to achieve water policies that serve the public interest.

Beverly O’Keefe is a Supervising Planner for the RI Water Resources Board. O’Keefe serves on the Executive Board of the URI Master Gardeners as the Advanced Education Coordinator, and is affectionately known as "The Water Lady" across the state by those who have adopted rain barrels and rainwater harvesting techniques.

Yoga as Touching the Earth
Karina Lutz

A moderate yoga practice to start the day with emphasis on opening the root chakra, feeling the earth’s presence, and opening to our communion with it.

Karina is a poet, activist, freelance writer, and yoga teacher. She has worked in energy and the environment since 1988, currently in development and advocacy for People’s Power & Light, a local nonprofit dedicated to affordable and sustainable energy.

Yoga for Wellness
Karen Lee

Do you find your self getting overwhelmed by life—by the responsibilities of job, family, community, and trying to do the right thing for the planet? Yoga tradition teaches that yoga practice can provide support to those of us trying to fulfill our dharma or duties.
Come learn how to become calm, whole and centered in the whirlwind of life, with practices you can take with you and use whenever you need them.

Karen Lee, Director of Breathing Time Yoga is a Registered Yoga Therapist who teaches yoga in the traditional way: one to one, with practices that meet the specific needs of each student. Breathing Time Yoga is a community oasis, offering classes, workshops, private yoga therapy, community events and open practice time.