Post comments about your service learning experiences. Provide responses to the service learning reports of other students. Provide information about service learning opportunities.
I want to say thank you too..Dr. Walker, because my service learning project day was outstanding. I would not have contacted this organization without the push of a service learning requirement. I have always been interested in Wolftree Inc, but did not have the confidence I guess to pursue working with them. Anyway what a day, working in Beaver Ponds with Lapine High School Students. We did some easy tests, and did some observations. It was a blast and I will be going out again April 5th, and I will have my own group of students. I am so excited. Wolftree is a enviromental science education and restoration non profit based in Portland, and they have an office in Sisters.
This week, I volunteered to help out at the Green Career fair on the OSU Corvallis campus. This experience brought two key ideas to my attention:
1) Sustainable development requires an effective and efficient use of human resources. When I first arrived to help out, I was scheduled to work with seven other volunteers to be "Employer Escorts". I felt that the "human resources" of the organization were sadly underutilized, in this case. Of course, it must be difficult to effectively use volunteers who you know little about!
2) The value of bringing people together with a common interest and desire to do selfless work is immeasurable. The most powerful part of the fair was meeting the other volunteers, hearing their stories, and learning why they chose to get involved. Volunteering is a great way to form a community with positive, optimistic intent!
I spent last weekend helping out on a farm that practices permaculture, a sustainable system of agriculture. Monoculture farming (ie. a field of soybeans) grows only one type of food at a time, which forms an unnatural relationship between plants, soil, water and sun. The result of monoculture is the need for expensive fertilizers and harmful pesticides. Permaculture takes more thought and planning, but it improves soil quality over time, instead of degrading it.
I have spent most of my weekends at a boys home teaching. We are teaching them to sustain themselves. we have begun to teach them how to build a green house and grow their own fruits and vegitable. we are also teaching them to raise their own chicken. We are still working on getting to eat the eggs. We are almost finished with the the green house. The idea is their participation in growing their food they will be more likely to eat better and potiential provide their own food sources. if you like this type of sustainability with the younger generations visit http://www.squidoo.com/foodforeveryone
I am spending time helping with Strictly Organic's open mic night Thurs nights. We have a pretty wide age group in attendance every week and promote fair trade and everything anyone can get there needs to be composted or recycled, which is made quite clear at the shop. The owners are always there and are always answering questions about their business practices. It seems the attendees are growing for these open mic nights, so I believe we're able to influence more and more people every week.
I finished by class participation for the service learning project and that catapulted me into a very long project that I am still working on. That project has turned into a great interest in my school .As someone that did not consider himself a sustainable person I feel more green than ever.
I loved hearing about the gardening projects at the boys home.
When people have these kinds of hands-on experiences, it helps them internalize the direct links between water, soil, plants and people. When these processes are understood, people naturally ask themselves where their food comes from, how it was produced and where it will eventually go.
Understanding the various systems of which we are all part of seems to be a core element to sustainability, so it is awesome to hear that you are helping young people do this early in life.
Last week, I volunteered at the annual "Health and Wellness Expo" in Albany. Here is one of my insights:
Health is a BIG industry. However well intentioned a business is, a bottom line is to sell a product or service and make money off of them. This is problematic in that consumers begin to rely on their purchasing power to make them healthy, when health is actually a state of being. As a wise person once said, "health is not in a bottle". This reliant mentality seems to block many people from taking control of their own health.
In a similar manner, concepts like green washing and carbon credits seem to do something similar. These ideas give the illusion of sustainability without an actual connection to the system of life of which we are all a part of. Like health, sustainability is a state, not something that can be bought. Sustainability cannot be found in an imaginary carbon credit, or in a box of "environmentally friendly" laundry detergent. When this mentality is adopted, consumers rely on companies to be responsible for sustainability, when this responsibility should actually be shared by every individual and organization.
I am trying to start a coffee grinds recycling program at my Bellatazza store in Sunriver (they are great for your gardens!) Let me know if anyone has any ideas or anyone that might want them! Thanks!
Morgan: I like your insight on the Health and Wellness Faire. Buyer beware is crucial for all purchases and decision about health. I mentioned to you that a healthy body is not sustainable to the Medical industry. Sick bodies are profitable. That being said I am very careful with my Children's health. I do not do things just because the medical industry says its the right thing to do. There are many harmful things that are routinly done that make big money and sick bodies. It is sustainable to be healthy and strive to stay healthy.
I think it's great that this class is getting us out into our community! I has made me remember hhow easy and rewarding helping out is, even in small ways!
a) Ecotrust.org supports the surfacing of a conservation economy in the coastal temperate rain forest region of North America. In Ecotrust‘s view, the world's cultural, political and economic systems are ultimately built on the back of the natural order, and the collapse of that order threatens everything else. In a world of reliable prosperity, economic arrangements of all kinds are gradually redesigned so that they restore nature and society. Ecotrust is headquartered in Portland, Oregon and is a unique organization; it integrates public and private purpose and for-profit and non-profit associations, which include co-founding the world's first environmental bank, starting the world's first ecosystem investment fund, creating a range of programs in fisheries, forestry, food, farms and children's health, and developing new scientific and information tools to improve social, economic and environmental decision-making.
b) Ecotrust is a really well laid out website that is easy to navigate. The site offers information on current projects and how they are involved in businesses and new developments. I thought it was neat that they are located in Oregon, even though they are known much more far-reaching than that.
A couple of weekends ago, I went to Hobbit Beach (just outside of Florence) with a group of friends for a beach cleanup. We picked up trash of all different colors, took it all to someone's house, then made an enormous art project out of it all! For an idea of what a beach combing art project looks like, check out this link:
The project was effective in demonstrating that nothing is actually "trash". It all goes somewhere, and there is ALWAYS a useful purpose for something. All it takes is some thought and creativity!
This Sunday, I volunteered at the Stone Soup kitchen at First Christian Church in Corvallis. At Stone Soup, anyone can come eat a free, hot, quality meal, no questions asked. I enjoyed cooking with my fellow volunteers, but my favorite part was interacting with the patrons. I ate and conversed with them; it was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. The people that i spoke with seemed as though they did not feel respected by the majority of society, so when I looked them in the eyes and treated them as a normal person, their demeanor brightened. I learned that treating people with dignity is powerful in drawing people into a participatory communication process.
I'm no longer working at Strictly O, but I have to say, working on my project sure did open my eyes to new (well, new ways to me that is) ways of achieving a sustainable lifestyle.
17 comments:
I want to say thank you too..Dr. Walker, because my service learning project day was outstanding. I would not have contacted this organization without the push of a service learning requirement. I have always been interested in Wolftree Inc, but did not have the confidence I guess to pursue working with them. Anyway what a day, working in Beaver Ponds with Lapine High School Students. We did some easy tests, and did some observations. It was a blast and I will be going out again April 5th, and I will have my own group of students. I am so excited. Wolftree is a enviromental science education and restoration non profit based in Portland, and they have an office in Sisters.
Community Garden at the Enviromental Center kick-off is this Friday if anyone is interested!
This week, I volunteered to help out at the Green Career fair on the OSU Corvallis campus. This experience brought two key ideas to my attention:
1) Sustainable development requires an effective and efficient use of human resources. When I first arrived to help out, I was scheduled to work with seven other volunteers to be "Employer Escorts". I felt that the "human resources" of the organization were sadly underutilized, in this case. Of course, it must be difficult to effectively use volunteers who you know little about!
2) The value of bringing people together with a common interest and desire to do selfless work is immeasurable. The most powerful part of the fair was meeting the other volunteers, hearing their stories, and learning why they chose to get involved. Volunteering is a great way to form a community with positive, optimistic intent!
I spent last weekend helping out on a farm that practices permaculture, a sustainable system of agriculture. Monoculture farming (ie. a field of soybeans) grows only one type of food at a time, which forms an unnatural relationship between plants, soil, water and sun. The result of monoculture is the need for expensive fertilizers and harmful pesticides. Permaculture takes more thought and planning, but it improves soil quality over time, instead of degrading it.
To learn more, check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permaculture
I have spent most of my weekends at a boys home teaching. We are teaching them to sustain themselves. we have begun to teach them how to build a green house and grow their own fruits and vegitable. we are also teaching them to raise their own chicken. We are still working on getting to eat the eggs. We are almost finished with the the green house. The idea is their participation in growing their food they will be more likely to eat better and potiential provide their own food sources. if you like this type of sustainability with the younger generations visit http://www.squidoo.com/foodforeveryone
I am spending time helping with Strictly Organic's open mic night Thurs nights. We have a pretty wide age group in attendance every week and promote fair trade and everything anyone can get there needs to be composted or recycled, which is made quite clear at the shop. The owners are always there and are always answering questions about their business practices. It seems the attendees are growing for these open mic nights, so I believe we're able to influence more and more people every week.
I finished by class participation for the service learning project and that catapulted me into a very long project that I am still working on. That project has turned into a great interest in my school .As someone that did not consider himself a sustainable person I feel more green than ever.
schooler-
I loved hearing about the gardening projects at the boys home.
When people have these kinds of hands-on experiences, it helps them internalize the direct links between water, soil, plants and people. When these processes are understood, people naturally ask themselves where their food comes from, how it was produced and where it will eventually go.
Understanding the various systems of which we are all part of seems to be a core element to sustainability, so it is awesome to hear that you are helping young people do this early in life.
Last week, I volunteered at the annual "Health and Wellness Expo" in Albany. Here is one of my insights:
Health is a BIG industry. However well intentioned a business is, a bottom line is to sell a product or service and make money off of them. This is problematic in that consumers begin to rely on their purchasing power to make them healthy, when health is actually a state of being. As a wise person once said, "health is not in a bottle". This reliant mentality seems to block many people from taking control of their own health.
In a similar manner, concepts like green washing and carbon credits seem to do something similar. These ideas give the illusion of sustainability without an actual connection to the system of life of which we are all a part of. Like health, sustainability is a state, not something that can be bought. Sustainability cannot be found in an imaginary carbon credit, or in a box of "environmentally friendly" laundry detergent. When this mentality is adopted, consumers rely on companies to be responsible for sustainability, when this responsibility should actually be shared by every individual and organization.
I am trying to start a coffee grinds recycling program at my Bellatazza store in Sunriver (they are great for your gardens!) Let me know if anyone has any ideas or anyone that might want them! Thanks!
I love the added satisfaction that one derives from contributing to the community.
Morgan: I like your insight on the Health and Wellness Faire. Buyer beware is crucial for all purchases and decision about health. I mentioned to you that a healthy body is not sustainable to the Medical industry. Sick bodies are profitable. That being said I am very careful with my Children's health. I do not do things just because the medical industry says its the right thing to do. There are many harmful things that are routinly done that make big money and sick bodies. It is sustainable to be healthy and strive to stay healthy.
I think it's great that this class is getting us out into our community! I has made me remember hhow easy and rewarding helping out is, even in small ways!
ecotrust.org
a) Ecotrust.org supports the surfacing of a conservation economy in the coastal temperate rain forest region of North America. In Ecotrust‘s view, the world's cultural, political and economic systems are ultimately built on the back of the natural order, and the collapse of that order threatens everything else. In a world of reliable prosperity, economic arrangements of all kinds are gradually redesigned so that they restore nature and society. Ecotrust is headquartered in Portland, Oregon and is a unique organization; it integrates public and private purpose and for-profit and non-profit associations, which include co-founding the world's first environmental bank, starting the world's first ecosystem investment fund, creating a range of programs in fisheries, forestry, food, farms and children's health, and developing new scientific and information tools to improve social, economic and environmental decision-making.
b) Ecotrust is a really well laid out website that is easy to navigate. The site offers information on current projects and how they are involved in businesses and new developments. I thought it was neat that they are located in Oregon, even though they are known much more far-reaching than that.
A couple of weekends ago, I went to Hobbit Beach (just outside of Florence) with a group of friends for a beach cleanup. We picked up trash of all different colors, took it all to someone's house, then made an enormous art project out of it all! For an idea of what a beach combing art project looks like, check out this link:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MiIBjnU0ovc/Suexzmq8YtI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/_ttCgskYXPM/s400/clear+art.jpg
The project was effective in demonstrating that nothing is actually "trash". It all goes somewhere, and there is ALWAYS a useful purpose for something. All it takes is some thought and creativity!
This Sunday, I volunteered at the Stone Soup kitchen at First Christian Church in Corvallis. At Stone Soup, anyone can come eat a free, hot, quality meal, no questions asked. I enjoyed cooking with my fellow volunteers, but my favorite part was interacting with the patrons. I ate and conversed with them; it was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. The people that i spoke with seemed as though they did not feel respected by the majority of society, so when I looked them in the eyes and treated them as a normal person, their demeanor brightened. I learned that treating people with dignity is powerful in drawing people into a participatory communication process.
I'm no longer working at Strictly O, but I have to say, working on my project sure did open my eyes to new (well, new ways to me that is) ways of achieving a sustainable lifestyle.
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