Permaculture is a design system based on ethics and design principles which can be used to guide efforts made by individuals, households and communities towards a sustainable future.   Central Coast Bioneers has featured permaculture workshops at each of its conferences.  We are pleased that we now have a local group the SLO Permaculture Guild, where those interested in permaculture can meet and exchange information with like-minded people.  “We will meet each month for a workshop to learn from one another practical permaculture techniques for backyard self-reliance,” says organizer Teresa “Tree” Lees.  Recent workshops have featured worm wrangling and a scion exchange and grafting party.  “We are planning a Permaculture Design Course this summer at Four Elements Farms,” says Lees, “and there will be a Southern California Permaculture Convergence in August.”  For more information go to the Guild’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/SLO-Permaculture-Guild/308916305792541

Are you ready to reclaim your authentic power and assist in shaping the future of the world?  Then make your reservation now for the Central Coast’s 2nd Annual Women’s Symposium, to be held Saturday, March 10 at San Luis Obispo Adult School.  The theme of this year’s conference is Women of Wisdom: Midwifing Conscious Change.  Circle of Grace, the symposium organizer, is bringing us a remarkable keynote speaker, Jungian analyst, feminist, activist and best-selling author Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D.  Dr. Bolen is the author of ten books, including The Millionth Circle, The Tao of Psychology and Goddesses in Everywoman.  I am currently reading her latest, Like a Tree: How Trees, Women and Tree People Can Save the Planet.  Dr. Bolen has been a speaker at the main Bioneers Conference in San Rafael and is a true Bioneer.   I will be attending the conference along with fellow Ecologistics Board Member Celia Zaentz and our regular E-zine Editor Alycia Kiley and we invite you to join us.  For more information and to register, go to www.spiritualcircle.org

The third Central Coast Bioneers Conference will be held October 19-21, 2012.  Headquarters this year will be the historic Monday Club, at the corner of Grand and Monterey.  Concurrent events will be happening across the street at the Holiday Inn Express Conference Room.  We are hard at work locating speakers and films that will excite and inspire you.  If you have an idea for a workshop this year, please go to our web site at www.centralcoationeers.org, print out and submit our 2012 Workshop Proposal Form.

Those of you who attended the screening of The Economics of Happiness at the Central Coast Bioneers Conference remember filmmaker Helen Norberg-Hodge’s examination of the destructive qualities inherent in the corporate-controlled market economy.  The film has now been shown at hundreds of venues in over twenty countries. 

To build on the momentum, the International Society for Ecology and Culture is hosting the Economics of Happiness Conference  from March 23-25 in Berkeley.  Featuring Vandana Shiva, Annie Leonard, Richard Heinberg, Anduradha Mittal, Manish Jain, Sulak Sivaraksa and Helena Norberg-Hodge, the conference will explore ways of building a new economic system, drawing inspiration from many international grassroots initiatives.  The film has already set the stage for an international dialogue about localization and attendees so far are coming from the U.S., Europe, Australia, Bhutan and Burma. 

For more information, go to www.theeconomicsofhappiness.org/conference

Zardoya Eagles was a featured speaker at the 2011 Central Coast Bioneers Conference.   Her closing circle was very well-received and we asked her to write about First Peace for our E-zine.

Today we are challenged to create and sustain a sense of inner peace in our daily lives even as the world we live in seems to be spinning faster and faster. How do we find peace within ourselves in the midst of so much unrest? The Discipline of Peace is about learning to stop the spin. Become quiet within. Find – and hold onto – a sense of inner peace, and move in the world from there.

 On October 16, 2011 about a dozen kindred spirits gathered in a small corner room in the Veteran’s Hall for An Introduction to First Peace. It was the very last session of the Bioneers Conference in San Luis Obispo. After three days of much activity and listening to many brilliant speakers, we all agreed that capturing an hour of peace sounded very appealing.  We focused on two of the eight Universal Principles of Peace: Awakening to the understanding of our own connection to the universe, and Opening to stillness, to being present in the moment. Through guided meditation and some sharing of words in the old way (called Stringing the Beads), we were able to create a sense of inner peace and respite after an exhausting weekend.  Just that simple. Just that quick.

This, for me, is the appeal and the power of the Discipline of Peace. The practices and tools gained are very simple and can be utilized many times throughout the course of the day. Because creating a culture of peace requires knowledge and, what is more important, practice. When disciplined practice leads to the attainment of inner peace, that is the First Peace. It is a necessary step on the journey toward creating the Second Peace: Peace between individuals or the Third Peace: Peace among nations.

 Peace – one person, one heart at a time.

For more information go to www.disciplineofpeace.org or e-mail Zardoya at firstpeacemn@gmail.com

Rebecca McGarigle was a featured speaker at the 2011 Central Coast Bioneers Conference. By popular request she has provided a summary of her program.

This workshop involved a discussion of how to philosophically and practically approach environmental conversations with those who do not consider themselves environmentalists, and who may actually be hostile to the environmental movement. In an era where effective communication is frequently compromised, there currently exists a polarization between people to the extent that differing views are frequently rebuked without consideration. Environmentalists experience a particular challenge in this arena, as they are tasked with learning to interact with those who don’t agree for the good of the planet as a whole. The level of emotional charge involved with such discussions often lead to unsuccessful outcomes—and are harmful to relationships.

The workshop discussed how to approach this passionately important subject in an emotionally neutral way, paradoxically increasing the potential for the message to be positively received. The first step in this process is by communicating with a primary focus on creating and retaining positive relationships. Agreement then becomes secondary to respect out of pragmatic necessity. The message becomes less important than the way the message is conveyed. When we converse without the intent of converting another person, we can be ourselves and relax. This allows the other person to do so as well. When they are relaxed and the conversation isn’t tense, it becomes more possible to convey our thoughts in a way that the other person may be able to digest.

To be effective in environmental education, it is essential to focus on relationships, invite positive discussions, agree to disagree in a friendly manner, and disengage positively from the topic if the discussion deteriorates. This approach to education allows for disagreement within the context of an overall mutually comfortable interaction, and makes it possible to influence and educate others in a positive and successful way.

CCBioneers Bioneers E-zine editor Alycia Kiley, inspired by after learning about the program at the Central Coast Bioneers Conference, enrolled in Quail Springs’s Permaculture Design Course, taught by the amazing Warren Brush.  Alycia attended the program from October 30-November 14, living at Quail Springs for the entire two weeks.

“I found it an incredibly powerful experience,” says Alycia.  “It was what I call deep learning because our teachers are actually living what they were teaching us.”  A typical day of learning began at 8:00 with the ringing of the breakfast bell.  “We gathered in the commons, and a fire had been built,” says Alycia.  “After an abundant breakfast we began our classwork at 9:00.”  Afterwards, the students did hands on work, building swales, mixing cob foundations, and even observing the killing of a chicken in a sacred way.  The program included instruction on water systems, soil systems, and large and small scale permaculture solutions.  “What most impressed me,” commented Alycia, “was that the 30 people in this class took the time to step out of their regular lives and learn information that will help us face critical issues in the world today.

Since coming home, Alycia has created a worm bin, baked her own bread, made yogurt, and is planting an herb garden.  “We just touched the surface of a new way of life in the class,” she says.  She is doing further study in permaculture on her own and wants to link up with people starting permaculture projects.  Her eventual goal is to own her own land to create a demonstration project.

Good luck, Alycia, and thanks for walking the talk!

In this workshop Paul Ogren, a lifelong social activist, will speak on the dangers of the American Military. He will emphasize the environmental and humanitarian issues that ensue. Plus Ogren will describe the life of materials used by his company, From War to Peace. The material is birthed in the Montana mountains, used as the most violent weapons, and ends up as crafted art to promote non-violence, American labor, and environmental consciousness. Created in 2010 and based in San Luis Obispo, the company sells jewelry and works of art made from copper recycled from US nuclear weapons systems. Twenty percent of the profits are donated to peace and social justice organizations.

“Turning weapons meant to destroy us into art meant to restore us, swords into plowshares, bombs into beauty, hate into love, and war into peace,” states a quote on the company website.

Ogren is a healthcare entrepreneur and former Minnesota state legislator. While in office he formed MinnesotaCare, a state healthcare act providing subsidized health insurance to poor working class families.

Judy Piazza will be playing her Earth honoring music, greeting people as they arrive for the morning plenaries. On Saturday during lunch she invites you to join her. Bring drums, percussion, and your lovely voices to celebrate in a circle of music and song. Small hand percussion instruments will be available. Piazza’s devotional chants and music enters our bodies, soothing our spirit, mind, and heart.

Piazza is well known as a talented musician. She plays many instruments including the drums, didgeridoo, native flute, guitar, and an instrument she created called the dulsitar (a combination of a dulcimer and sitar). Studying the yoga of sound since she was young, Piazza is interested in the power music has to affect us. She has studied indigenous rhythm and music, and sound therapy. As a percussionist and singer/songwriter, Piazza has traveled extensively performing and putting on workshops. She has taught nationally and internationally. Piazza has been involved with other Bioneers conferences in the country and CCB is glad to welcome her this year.

Sherry Lee Bryan and Laura Hebert will lead this workshop on a program flourishing in Santa Barbara and Monterey Counties. The Green Gardener Program is a bilingual (English and Spanish) curriculum educating local gardeners. “The reason for this program,” Hebert said, “is to reduce waste- (ie: green waste) and pollution (from pesticides, fertilizers, and fossil fuel powered equipment), to conserve natural resources (water), and produce healthy urban areas.” The program includes class time, fieldwork, and results in a certification card. As the population is increasing and resources are limited, we must all garden responsibly. Having the knowledge to shift gardening practices to sustainable ones, becomes an increasingly important skill.

“The program is designed for landscapers, maintenance gardeners, and anyone interested in ways to care for their landscape in a more ecologically sound manner,” Hebert explained. Program topics include resource efficiency, pollution prevention in landscaping, low maintenance landscapes, green waste reduction, watershed health, and fertilizer management. Santa Barbara and Monterey Counties have certified over 200 gardeners in the program.

Bryan is the coordinator and lead instructor of Monterey Bay Green Gardener Certification Program and co-chair of the Central Coast Graywater Alliance. Hebert is a technician with the SLO Agriculture Department. While pursuing her Master’s at Cal Poly she is also in the process of establishing a Green Gardener Program here in SLO. Working with Cuesta College, Hebert hopes to get the program on its feet by Spring 2012.