6 February 2010
Upcoming Speakers and Meetings
Posted by jcloud under: Events; Forum; Future; Haiti; Organization; Permaculture; Sustainability .
We have two very special Sustainable Leadership Forum meetings coming up: this weekend and March 13th. We’d love to see you there.
- Saturday, February 13th, 1:00-4:00 pm at the Wayne Public Library, 461 Valley Rd, Wayne, NJ 07470
The agenda includes networking, member updates around sustainability projects and interests, and a presentation on Spreading an Awareness of Permaculture Principles.
Permaculture means both “permanent sustainable agriculture” and “permanent sustainable culture.”
Permaculture is the use of systems thinking and design principles to regenerate landscapes which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature, while yielding an abundance of food and energy for provision of local needs. Paul Nick and Wanda Knapik will discuss how you can get involved in upcoming permaculture projects and educational programs and grow the permaculture community in New Jersey. As co-founders of the Permaculture Network of NJ, Wanda and Nick will share how they intend to spread the adoption and application of Permaculture principles.
The speakers:
- Paul Nick completed the Permaculture Design Certification Program in 2009. He serves as board member and dental field assistant for the Amazon Health Project, and is a board member of Genesis Farm, an Earth Studies Center.
- Wanda Knapik also completed the Permaculture Design Certification Program in 2009 and the Permaculture Teacher’s Training as well. She teaches permaculture classes and organic vegetable garden practices to gardeners of all ages across the state. She is the owner of My Local Garden, a NJ-based garden consulting and design business, focused on creating a more sustainable local food system. Her website is www.mylocalgarden.com.
In addition to our special presentation by Wanda Knapik & Paul Nick on Permaculture Principles and the Permaculture Network in NJ, we’ll be introducing a new initiative to foster a dialogue in support of a Sustainable Future for Haiti at our meeting this Saturday at the Wayne Public Library.
I invite you to learn more about the Sustainable Haiti project by reading Toward a Sustainable Future for Haiti. This grew out of meeting at the Institute for Sustainable Enteprise at FDU on February 5. We’ll be posting shortly a brief discussion paper, and scheduling a conference call for those interested in being a part of this initiative. If we want to make a difference, this is the time to do so. We are looking for one or more individuals who are interested in pursuing this as a leadership opportunity, i.e., to become involved in carrying this forward to the next level, which might involve looking for funding, engaging with international development entities, etc., to influence the reconstruction efforts in Haiti. If you are interested, you can contact me or attend the meeting and learn more.
Mark your calendar for the following meeting:
- Saturday, March 13, from 1:00 – 4:00 pm, Wayne Public Library. Presentations include:
- Paul Heitmann will share his views on the state-of-the-art in transportation electrification. Paul recently joined Phoenix-based eTec, which received a grant for $100 million to undertake the largest deployment of electric vehicles and charging stations in U.S. history. Previously, Paul worked for Comverge (NJ), a demand response and energy efficiency company, providing smart grid solutions to utilities and their commercial, industrial and residential customers.
- Regan Caton was inspired to create The Awarenest when she had trouble finding sustainable and green living resources in her community. The Awarenest is an online portal connecting and delivering sustainable resources to local communities. Due to take flight February 20th, please take a look at the site in beta-testing: http://awarenest.stage.cc. Founder-Regan Caton has spent the last 25 years in accessory design and is also the co-owner of Rumblefish Collection which offers eco-friendly jewelry that is cause oriented. Regan is also the “green” product advisor for EcoMattersTV which will be launching online June 2010.
Please let us know if you can join us for either of these meetings. If this is your first Sustainable Leadership Forum meeting, the meeting is free to you and your guests. If you have joined us before, our membership fees are modest, and can be optionally offset by volunteering. More information elsewhere in this site.
For directions to the Wayne Public Library, 461 Valley Rd, Wayne, NJ 07470, see http://www.waynepubliclibrary.org/locations_hours.html.