Events

Council Member Kathleen Shaffer and Sonoma County Conservation Action's "Know Your Neighbor Program" will help you do the math to reduce your water and electric bills at home. We know what a gallon looks like, but do you know what a therm is? They will host a meeting on Monday, July 13 at the Sebastopol Library, 6:30pm to demonstrate how to save gallons and therms. This will help you save money and reduce your carbon emissions every day. Sebastopol has asked for a voluntary 15% reduction in water use and Sonoma County has set a goal of 67.5 gallons per person a day. For electricity, the goal is 2.05 therms a day.

Bring your water and electric bills to the meeting and we will determine your usage. Then we will make a plan to reach new conservation goals. For information call: 829-0669

5 miles

The public is invited to join the seventh in a series of walks in and 
about Sebastopol.  Join Laguna docents in an exploration of Laguna 
land not open to the public, following the northern Laguna trail route 
proposed by the Open Space District. Walkers will walk along 
Meadowlark field to Kelly Farm wetlands and along the Laguna to the 
turn around spot just before Occidental Road. Docents will discuss 
Laguna plants and animals, and the importance of wetland habitats.

Leaders: Laguna Docents.

Download the full 2009 Sebastopol Walks schedule here.

Like to excercise & create community at the same time? The Sebastopol Walks series is a great way of doing both!

You can also visit the iWALK site which lists other scheduled Sonoma County walks and allows you to add to the calendar, too.

Hosted by the West County Community Seed Bank (read more below!)

Drop in any time
Inviting all interested gardeners to join in cultivating a grassroots community seed bank that supports Sonoma County gardeners with free, locally grown, open pollinated, pesticide and GMO free seeds.

"Planning for your Winter Garden"
10:30-11:30
Seed & Plant Exchange also and at noon a local food potluck!

West County Community Seed Bank is a grassroots organization that meets monthly to share seeds,plants, resources and local gardening information. 

                                     
Next gathering August 30th
For more information: Sara Mc Camant     
829-5234 or saramc@emeraldearth.org

Location:
Salmon Creek School Garden
1935 Bohemian HWY
Occidental

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West County Community Seed Library

Vision:
To create a grassroots community seed bank that supports Sonoma County gardeners with locally grown, open pollinated, pesticide and GMO free seeds. Anyone can become a member of the West County Seed Library, we ask for a donation of $5.00-$20.00 and a commitment to grow out and donate back seed following the library's protocol for growing clean seeds.  No on is turned away for lack of funds.   The West County Seed Library will be housed at the Salmon Creek School Garden and will be open to the public monthly for classes, resource sharing and a seed and plant exchange. The West County Seed Library will have resources available to members on growing and processing seeds.
 
Why save seed and why a local seed bank?
Our rapidly changing world gives us all the more reason to strengthen our local resources and our ability to be self-sufficient.  Local seed saving allows us to cultivate plants that do well in our region, with each generation adapting more to the local environment.   It also lets us preserve heirloom seeds that are being lost as the seed industry is being concentrated into fewer and fewer large corporations.  Seed banks are a great investment; with some plants one seed can return up to 40.000.  The abundance seed savers experience should be shared with the community and helps to model a different economic system.    We hope to cultivate a network of seed savers in the region to support each other and the seed library, which will be a resource for the expanding community of gardeners and help strengthen our local food system.

For more information contact Sara McCamant 829-5234 or saramc@emeraldearth.org

Come join us at our next Transition Sebastopol Movie Night at the French Garden Restaurant!

We are once again inviting special guests to join us in our post movie lively discussion!

Special Guest: Barry Vesser, Deputy Director at the Climate Protection Campaign. Sonoma County's Climate Protection Campaign is at the forefront of innovative Climate Change Education and Action, such as their Community Action Plan! Barry will join us to update us on local and national climate issues and opportunities as well as answer some of your questions and ponderings associated with "The Inconvenient Truth."

About the Movie:
Director Davis Guggenheim eloquently weaves the science of global warming with Mr. Gore's personal history and lifelong commitment to reversing the effects of global climate change.  A longtime advocate for the environment, Gore presents a wide array of facts and information in a thoughtful and compelling way.  "Al Gore strips his presentations of politics, laying out the facts for the audience to draw their own conclusions in a charming, funny and engaging style, and by the end has everyone on the edge of their seats, gripped by his haunting message," said Guggenheim.  An Inconvenient Truth is not a story of despair but rather a rallying cry to protect the one earth we all share.  "It is now clear that we face a deepening global climate crisis that requires us to act boldly, quickly, and wisely," said Gore.

Watch the trailer here.

Official movie web site with great background info here.

~ FREE EVENT ~
donations appreciated

Location:
The French Garden Restaurant
8050 Bodega Avenue, Sebastopol (map)

LIVE MUSIC, ECO FASHION SHOW, ORGANIC MATTE,
WINE, WINE AND MORE WINE.
Come out and have some great fun while showing your support for three incredible local groups--Daily Acts, Go Local, and the Leadership Institute. We promise you this will be a night to remember! The best part of all is that we will be offering you, our local community, a chance to place special orders for one of a kind fair trade/organic apparel at amazing wholesale prices.  

See you there!

Location:
The Glaser Center
547 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa
(see map below)

Please RSVP at http://ecofashionfun.eventbrite.com

LOCATION MAP:

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The Occidental Arts and Ecology Center will offer a Roofwater Catchment workshop on Sunday, August 2 starting at 9 am until noon

This half day workshop is for all those interested in how to safely harvest and store high quality water from your roof for potable and/or landscape use. We all depend on fresh water and a roof water harvesting system can provide a cost-effective and self-sufficient source of clean water that is not dependent upon diminishing ground and surface water supplies and provides water for fire protection during the dry season. In addition, roof water systems can enhance overall watershed health and assist in the recovery of endangered salmonids by reducing demands on the creek water that is so critical to their survival. This course will have a lecture/slideshow component that covers all the details of system design as well as a tour of the various systems we have installed on site.

Please try to arrive by 8:45 am in order to leave time to park and get settled in.

The instructor is Brock Dolman. The course fee is $35.

For information visit The Occidental Arts and Ecology Center (OAEC) | Occidental Arts & Ecology Center or call (707) 874-1557 x.201.

OAEC is located at 15290 Coleman Valley Road, Occidental, CA 95465