ComPost: Issue 3, November 2007
Welcome back to ComPost, our quarterly newsletter supporting and connecting you, our alumni, as you build whole communities through your work.
NEWS AND NOTES
Several people asked us over the summer, “What exactly do you do when retreat season ends?” To the person to whom I said, “lounge around the gardens, eating the last of the harvest, and having great parties in the barn,” alas, I was joking. We have in fact been keeping quite busy:
In early October we spent a fruitful few days at the Land Trust Alliance Rally, where in addition to conducting a Whole Thinking Workshop, we rolled out our new edition of Whole Measures to the 2,000 conservationists present. You will all be receiving your own copies in January – in the meantime, try out the online version of the tool or download it on our Whole Measures website. SEE NEW WEBSITE AND DOWNLOAD TOOL
Shortly after Rally, we headed to Charlotte, North Carolina for Summit 2007: Diverse Partners for Environmental Progress. Participants came together to continue a conversation about how to develop a strong network of environmental advocates that reflects this country’s racial, ethnic, cultural, class and geographic diversity. Seasoned environmentalists and activists were joined by an inspiring group of young emerging leaders – we loved reading this blog entry that resulted from the emerging leaders’ sessions.
In between Rally and the Summit we enjoyed our Fifth Annual Harvest and Courage Celebration at Knoll Farm. Around 400 people showed up to help us celebrate a glorious fall day, give thanks for the harvest and find collective courage to build whole communities in the year ahead. READ STORY
Frances Moore Lappé, author of Diet for a Small Planet, joined us at Harvest & Courage and gave a rousing talk to the crowds -- read an extract of her new book, Getting a Grip. READ AN EXTRACT
This December we will be publishing Entering This Land: A History of Knoll Farm. Learn more about the book, and how to buy it for your favorite fellow alumnus! READ STORY
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Erica Wheeler, singer, songwriter and educator, shares her story of her work using the power of song to connect people to land. You can also hear Erica's song "Good Summer Rain," inspired by her Whole Thinking Retreat. READ INTERVIEW
How can acknowledging and exploring our emotional reactions to change help us learn how to cope with that change? How can we “step into the next world upright?” Whole Communities faculty member Kaylynn TwoTrees considered these and other questions in a public talk given at Knoll Farm earlier this year: “Standing at the Crossroads: Human Spiritual and Emotional Responses to Our Planet’s Changes.” READ TALK and join a discussion about the issues it raises
Ah, language. Hard to live without -- but it certainly can get you in a pickle. Alumna Susan Bartlett, a Vermont state senator, writes here about the predicaments posed by the word "enviromentalist" in her work. READ ARTICLE
TOOLS FOR CHANGE
We were recently introduced to the Center for Diversity & the Environment, which provides heaps of information about strategies, efforts, research, organizations, and people that are diversifying the environmental movement. Co-founder Marcelo Bonta also co-wrote a chapter in the new book, “Diversity and the Future of the U.S. Environmental Movement” with Charles Jordan. (Click on the link to see the book in free downloadable chapters.)
One resource we’ve found particularly helpful regarding issues of diversity in the environmental movement is a publication by Dearborn, Michigan’s Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services. Their “Building Capacity Through Diversity” project focused on creating a more diverse, inclusive environmental movement. Participants took part in year-long dismantling racism and oppression trainings with other environmentalists from around the state. We learned a great deal from their experiences through this report and hope you will, too. READ REPORT (PDF)
KNOLL FARM UPDATE
We didn't manage to get this photo of Peter with a praying mantis on his face with the trail camera -- it was taken by Whole Thinking Workshop participant and photographer Stephen Trimble -- but it added a little (bio)diversity to our camera trap results this month. A few rather beautiful and Bambi-like deer dominate the photos, one of them quite curious! SEE PHOTOS
The days are short, the trees are bare, and a little snow fell at Knoll Farm yesterday for the first time this season. Helen has shared her wonderful leek, potato and roasted garlic soup recipe to cheer us all up as winter looms! SEE RECIPE
That's all for this quarter. Send us your news, stories and whole thinking resource ideas for our next issue of ComPost, coming out when (climate allowing) Knoll Farm is snowy and cold.