Surfing the Waves of Change

This lovely little video gives an overview of why the transition movement exisits, and why it is so vital to our future as a species.  It was creatied by a transition group in Ireland.

What is Sustainablity?

Came across this two minute video that sums up what sustainability is all about.

19 year old has a solution for cleaning our oceans!

19 year old, Boyan Slat has researched and designed a device for cleaning up the plastic waste that is devastating the world's oceans.  The device consists of an anchored network of floating booms and processing platforms that could be dispatched to garbage patches around the world. Instead of moving through the ocean, the array would span the radius of a garbage patch, acting as a giant funnel.   Watch his TEDx talk:

- See more at: http://www.whydontyoutrythis.com/2013/03/19-year-old-student-develops-ocean-cleanup-array-that-could-remove-7250000-tons-of-plastic-from-the-worlds-oceans.html#sthash.vhvEe0q4.dpuf

19-year-old Boyan Slat has unveiled plans to create an Ocean Cleanup Array that could remove 7,250,000 tons of plastic waste from the world’s oceans. - See more at: http://www.whydontyoutrythis.com/2013/03/19-year-old-student-develops-ocean-cleanup-array-that-could-remove-7250000-tons-of-plastic-from-the-worlds-oceans.html#sthash.vhvEe0q4.dpuf

19-year-old Boyan Slat has unveiled plans to create an Ocean Cleanup Array that could remove 7,250,000 tons of plastic waste from the world’s oceans. - See more at: http://www.whydontyoutrythis.com/2013/03/19-year-old-student-develops-ocean-cleanup-array-that-could-remove-7250000-tons-of-plastic-from-the-worlds-oceans.html#sthash.vhvEe0q4.dpuf

19-year-old Boyan Slat has unveiled plans to create an Ocean Cleanup Array that could remove 7,250,000 tons of plastic waste from the world’s oceans. - See more at: http://www.whydontyoutrythis.com/2013/03/19-year-old-student-develops-ocean-cleanup-array-that-could-remove-7250000-tons-of-plastic-from-the-worlds-oceans.html#sthash.vhvEe0q4.dpuf

19-year-old Boyan Slat has unveiled plans to create an Ocean Cleanup Array that could remove 7,250,000 tons of plastic waste from the world’s oceans. - See more at: http://www.whydontyoutrythis.com/2013/03/19-year-old-student-develops-ocean-cleanup-array-that-could-remove-7250000-tons-of-plastic-from-the-worlds-oceans.html#sthash.vhvEe0q4.dpuf

19-year-old Boyan Slat has unveiled plans to create an Ocean Cleanup Array that could remove 7,250,000 tons of plastic waste from the world’s oceans. - See more at: http://www.whydontyoutrythis.com/2013/03/19-year-old-student-develops-ocean-cleanup-array-that-could-remove-7250000-tons-of-plastic-from-the-worlds-oceans.html#sthash.vhvEe0q4.dpuf

What do Dessert, Water Buffalo, and Transition have in Common?

 Painting by Peter Matios.

This month we're having another dessert potluck (not again!) , and this time Elijah will be giving the group a brief introduction to Biodynamic Farming, based on his experiences working at Sunnivue Farm. (Sunnivue has a herd of Water Buffalo...)

Speaking of Sunnivue (located near Ailsa Craig), they are celebrating their 21st anniversary this year. On June 22nd, from 2-5pm, they will have live music, and tours of the property. As usual, the Farm Store will be open. This sounds like a great event, and I'm hoping to go. More details here. 

The plan for this week's meeting is to brainstorm other local groups that we can potentially partner with.

The meeting is this Wednesday, May 15, at 7pm, at the Coldstream Community Centre, 10227 Ilderton Rd.

I hope you can join us.

Happy International Permaculture Day!

Today, Sunday May 5th 2013, is International Permaculture Day and what a truly wonderful thing of great beauty and awe that is.  Its theme this year is ‘Grow Local!’

Permaculture is a design system for creating sustainable human environments. It is about designing households and communities that are productive, sustaining and largely self reliant and have minimal impact on the environment.

International Permaculture Day – The first Sunday in May is a day where a range of permaculture events occur across the globe. Open homes, gardens and farms, films, educational workshops, permablitzes and a host of other activities provide an opportunity for the public to see positive permaculture projects in action, to talk personally to the people living it and experience the permaculture movement first hand.

Day of Mindfulness provided by Circle R Ranch

The Mindful Way: A Skill Share Day

 Circle R Ranch, 3017 Carriage Rd. Delaware ON 

Mindfulness is the awareness of the present moment. It allows us to gain greater appreciation of ourselves and our surroundings, including people, nature, and materials we use.
We are happy to invite you to join Circle R Ranch and Transition Middlesex for a day of mindfulness and skill-sharing at the Ranch. The day will include two sessions of your choice--one in the morning and one in the afternoon--and a home-made, hearty lunch. There are no prerequisites--the aim of the sessions is to inform and educate any and all levels of experience. The fee for the day is $75.
To register, call Circle R Ranch at 519 471-3799 or click here for registration form.
We hope you can join us!

Schedule:
8:30 - 9:00 Registration

9:10 - Introduction - Sherry-Lynne Kirschner

9:30 - Morning Session

12:00 - Lunch
1:00 - Afternoon Session

3:00 - Skill Share Conclusion
3:30 Free Screening of In Transition 2.0 (all welcome)

Sessions

Mindfulness With Children
with Sherry-Lynne Kirschner
"Attention in Action" is a program that promotes the development of present moment awareness in children in a fun and appealing way. Often we ask and expect children to "pay attention" but, what do we actually do to teach them how? They are bombarded by stimuli in their environment in the form of television, social media, and video games. School expectations can cause further stress. It can be very challenging for children to filter and focus, find stillness and centre themselves. Through exciting and enriching games, activities and exercises, the "Attention in Action" program teaches children the skills to consciously direct their attention, calm themselves and develop a greater sense and appreciation of themselves and others. The interactive activities can be used by teachers in the classroom, by parents in the home or by caregivers everywhere!

Mindfulness With Horses
with Sherry-Lynne Kirschner
Horses dwell in the present moment and can keenly mirror our level of mindful awareness. The atmosphere created by horses can be calm, serene and peaceful. These noble, honest creatures can provide authentic guidance to discovering our inner wisdom. They are gifted facilitators who help us recognize the impact of our emotions on our present state of being. This workshop will combine Mindfulness activities with equine facilitated experiences. By exploring the unique bond between human and horse in an engaging manner, participants will have the opportunity to develop and deepen their sense of personal awareness. No previous experience with horses is required. All activities will take place on the ground. No riding experience is necessary.

Inner Gardening
with Jeremiah Riehl
Viewing the Garden as an outer expression of our inner selves, we begin to blur the line of separation that has brought us to this point of living on a withering Earth. How can we give back to the Earth all we have taken? By spending time observing and mindfully interacting with the plants in our garden we develop deep relationships with them. This workshop will help you to begin the journey of opening your heart to the natural world.

Jeremiah is the resident gardener at Circle R, where he has begun to transition the garden into a food forest. He lives in a tiny shack in the woods and is currently studying Permaculture and Forest Gardening. This will be his third summer working the garden and teaching children who come to camp about ecology, forest gardening, wild edibles and how to develop a deeper connection with the landscape.

Nature Walk
with John Russell
John and Milly Russell are the originators of Circle R Ranch. They have been observing the flora and fauna of their Carolinian forest for over 48 years. This is a great chance to go for an open-styled, casual nature walk with John, who is eager to share his vast knowlegde.

Bird Watching
with Gail McNeil
Gail McNeil is a local birder who is the Birding Wing Chair with Nature London. She leads various walks for Nature London and teaches "Birding in Ontario" for the City of London. She claims her backyard is "for the birds"!

Spinning and Knitting
with Wendy Bestward and Joanne Preszcator
Wendy is a spinner and knitter with 25 years of practical experience spinning wool from raw fleece and knitting with handspun wool. Joanne has been knitting and designing patterns for over 20 years.
Meet Bella the ewe (female sheep) and see how fleece is spun into wool, then knit a simple piece of your choice, i.e. hotpad, headband, pocket purse.

Wire-wrapped Bracelets
with Leah Tandy
Leah Tandy has been a jewelry maker at heart ever since being a kid playing around with plastic pony beads. Since then, she has enjoyed making many different styles of jewelry, from earrings to necklaces to bracelets using strung-together seed beads and wrapping wire. Her session will focus on the wire-wrapping technique, using sections of different gauges of wire and glass beads to create one-of-a-kind bracelets. Everyone will at least start a bracelet and go home with the supplies and techniques to finish. The style of wire wrapping you will learn can be used for many different things including earrings, necklaces, home decorations, and fixing little things around the home too!

Woodworking
with Nigel Tracy
Nigel has a passion for woodworking with handtools, and enjoys immersing in the tactile, asthetic side of creating with wood.
Participants will learn about the intimate craft of finessing with chisels and planes, as well as the importance of the materials used. The peculiarities of colour, grain, and texture will be explored in the context of native wood species. Participants will get some hands-on experience with the tools, and will take home a sample of air-dried cherry, maple, or walnut harvested from the Ranch to use in their next project--hopefully a piece inspired by their experience at the skill share day!

Photography
with Ian Besch
Ian is the resident photographer and media specialist at Circle R. He invites you to take a stroll through the woods with him while he shares his extensive knowledge of the craft of photography. "Explore the Nature of Seeing; and the Seeing of Nature." Bring your camera!

Registration

Online Registration Formor
Call: (519) 471-3799
Email: info@circlerranch.ca