Events

A Wisdom Council Discussion Group of Transition Sebastopol 

Calling All Elders, Earth Elders, Wannabe Elders, Soon-to-become Elders, or Interested Baby Boomers on up! 


The Elder Salon is a nonhierarchical circle of peers. We’ll introduce the discussion with some thoughts from an elder voice or thought-provoking instigator to kick off our own discovery of what it is WE think and believe about the topic; what WE want and need now and in our future; what WE think should be the course of action and attitudes as we progress into and through our older years

WHY: There are a lot of new ideas about aging, staying youthful in body and spirit, and our role in society and local life. What have our generational contributions been and what is left undone? What are our mistakes and triumphs?

If we don’t want others to determine what becomes of us in very old age, we need to be proactive and begin making conscious, thoughtful choices about our future, how we want to live and be regarded. What role do elders want to play in the coming changes; what wisdom can we offer?

Reminder to all: the Elders Salon is regular and ongoing.

When:
Fourth Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m.

Location:
Sequoia Village Cohousing Common House
459 Sequoia Lane, Sebastopol —
(off Covert Lane, opposite Pacific Market (Fiesta) and west a little, before Pleasant Hill Rd.)
Please PARK ON THE STREET!

see more about this group here: http://transitionsebastopol.org/aboutelderssalon

Sharing our hearts around the community fire
With Special Guests, The Songweavers!

Friday Sept 24th 
Laguna Farm (directions below)
7:30 to 10:00
(7:30 for social time and refreshments--circle starts promptly at 8)

In addition to our regular community sharing of songs and heartfelt expressions, this time
we will be featuring special guests, the Songweavers!

We are so lucky to have them join us for our monthly HeartSing as they travel the
country offering heartfelt, beautiful harmonies and songs from around the world to inspire community. This quote from their website describes perfectly the intention of the HeartSing! event and why it's such an important part of Transition.  

"It is our mission is to share our enthusiasm for a re-emerging
awareness of the power of group singing and it’s ability to strengthen connection within a community. We believe that voices raised together in meaningful, harmonic
expression is an intrinsic element of truly sustainable community and supports the building of a new, vibrant culture."

HeartSing!  is a monthly community gathering, holding a space for us to
drop deep into our hearts with each other. We open and close the
gathering with this intention and devotion. Poet Julfire and
local troubadour, Whitebear, lead us in our sharing. All musicians,
poets and lovers of the heart are welcome!

Please bring layered clothing, any drinks or snacks you would like to share and
 firewood if you have it. 
Try to come by 8, but if you need to join us late, please be mindful of the circle protocol in holding a clear heart space; keep chatting, conversation and any information
sharing for after the closing.

All participation in singing or sharing is optional of course. You are free to offer or just listen as you feel moved. 

Your Hosts, Julfire (Julia Bystrova)
and WhiteBear

Directions:

Laguna Farm at 1764 cooper rd.

in Sebastopol off HWY 116 near the Marriot
hotel just south of Sebastopol downtown area.  

Come in the farm entrance which is
signed and park in the main lot with the solar array. Look for us near the big oak tree in the field. 

For more info on the SongWeavers,go to 
 http://www.laurencecole.com/songweavers.htmlfor
 info on Whitebear, go to    http://web.mac.com/whitebr/Site/Welcome.htmlfor
 info on julfire, go to   http://julfire.wordpress.com/
 

West County Community Seed Bank meets monthly on the last Saturday of the month (except Nov. and Dec) from 9 -11:30 am to share seeds, plants, resources and local gardening and food information.

Our vision is to create a network of seed savers that build a repository of locally grown seed for Sonoma County gardeners. The seed is offered free to anyone who will use it, and the goal is to have it be an exchange where people take seed and they bring seed to share.  In order to build the network of seed savers, we offer classes in seed saving and other food gardening skills.

The Community Seed Garden is a new project of the WCCSB, located at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Sebastopol.  We are caretaking a 1/2 acre garden the main purpose of which is to grow seed for the seed bank.  The seed garden allows us to grow more seed than many of our home gardens allow.  The garden will be used as an educational tool to teach about the seed saving process.

Creating a local source of seed is an important part of creating a healthy and resilient local food system. Seed is the beginning of the food cycle.
 
Location:
St Stephen's Church
500 Robinson Way in Sebastopol

There is a garden work party from 9:00-10:30
Class from 10:30-11:30, and seeds available all the time. 

Bring plants and seeds, questions and experience to share.
For more information contact Sara at 829-5234

Also check out the seed bank blog at westcountyseedbank.blogspot.com

All are welcome, including children!

details coming!

Staying Centered in Times of Change with Trathen Heckman and Julia Bystrova

We are living in a time of unprecedented change. These changes can impact us in many ways, affecting our relationships, work, financial stability, home, and our physical and mental health. Meanwhile, there is a new paradigm emerging from under the crumbling structure of the old. What are the corresponding perceptions, models and practical tools we need to adapt and thrive in opportune times?

In this mini-workshop/presentation we will discuss ways to find our ground and keep our center amidst the significant changes occurring within and around us. Come explore empowering ideas and tools that help you access inner power, aligned with your culture, values and beliefs. In this way, you can hone your inner compass to navigate change while building and nurturing personal resilience and inspiration. 

Location:
St. Stephens Church
500 Robinson Way, Sebastopol

Trathen Heckman is the founding director of Daily Acts, publisher of Ripples Journal and a backyard farmer. He is the former director of Green Sangha and serves on the board of Transition US. With an emphasis on reverence for life, Trathen inspires, educates and collaborates with communities, business and municipal leaders to harness the power of nature and inspired action to restore the health of our lives and communities. He lives in the Petaluma River Watershed where he grows food, medicine and wonder while working to compost apathy and lack.

Julia Bystrova is an ordained interfaith minister, writer/performer, intuitive health counselor and bodyworker. She has been producing events and classes in the area of consciousness and transformation for 20 years. Her life long research and education has been in understanding the relationship between science and spirituality and how this helps us to build bridges in our thinking, cultivate discernment and lead us to a more heart-centered way of living. A long time resident, she is currently working with Transition Sebastopol, nurturing both the Heart and Soul and the Healthcare group.

Come help us organize the Reskilling Fair in November!

Tuesday September 28th, 7 pm

St Stephen's Church
500 Robinson Road

For more information, please contact Sara at 829-5234.

Join us at this special Food, Farming, and Environmental Justice Movie Night at the French Garden Restaurant
with special guests – filmmakers Deborah Koons Garcia, John Antonelli, and Will Parinello

Featuring seven short films from The Mill Valley Film Group's The New Environmentalists
and Deborah Koons Garcia's Soil in Good Heart, along with discussion with the filmmakers

Wednesday, September 29
7:00 - 9:00pm
Please arrive on time!
Come early and enjoy dinner! 

Location:
The French Garden Restaurant
8050 Bodega Avenue, Sebastopol
Google map: http://tinyurl.com/frenchgardenmap

Food and Farming in Motion

For the first time, Bioneers and two local Transition initiatives are partnering to create a very special program. Bioneers is pleased to present a sneak-peak of the Bioneers Conference’s Moving Image Festival—a highlight of the conference each year that showcases world-class documentaries and short films on social and environmental issues impacting people and the planet. Designed exclusively for Transition participants, the evening will feature seven short films from The Mill Valley Film Group’s The New Environmentalists, and Deborah Koons Garcia’s Soil in Good Heart—works that shine a lens on food, farming and activist heroes fighting for environmental justice.
Enlivened with dialogue from the filmmakers themselves, including John Antonelli, Will Parinello and Deborah Koons Garcia, as well as local CSA farmers, the evening will ignite discourse on the current issues that are impacting our food supply, and the Earth.

For more information on the Moving Image Festival and the Bioneers 21st Annual Conference taking place in San Rafael October 15-17th, 2010, visit www.bioneers.org. Register now for 10% off the listed price on the website, or become a Bioneers member and get 15% off the 2010 conference fee. To register: http://www.bioneers.org/conference.

BIONEERS MOVING IMAGE FESTIVAL MOVIES:

Soil in Good Heart
Directed by Deborah Koons Garcia (The Future of Food), Soil in Good Heart is a short documentary focuses not only on how land-based food is dependent on sunlight, water and soil, but seeks to awaken the public to the importance of preserving and rebuilding this foundation of sustainable agriculture.
The New Environmentalists

Narrated by Robert Redford, Global Focus VII, The New Environmentalists , is an Emmy Award winning series featuring portraits of passionate and dedicated activists. Their goal is to safeguard Earth's natural resources from shortsighted exploitation and unbridled pollution while fighting for environmental justice in their communities. We will be featuring the stories of Lynn Henning in the USA who exposed the polluting practices of CAFOs; Humberto Rios Lambrata in Cuba who promoted sustainable agriculture by working with farmers to increase crop diversity; and Malgorzata Gorska in Poland who led the fight to protect one of Europe's last true wilderness areas.

BIOGRAPHIES:

Deborah Koons Garcia, independent filmmaker
Deborah Koons Garcia’s film The Future of Food (2004) has won awards and been shown all over the world in theaters and was chosen by the Oscar Screening Committee as one of the best documentaries of the year. Garcia's other film credits include Grateful Dawg, a documentary featuring her late husband, Jerry Garcia, of the Grateful Dead. She is now working on Symphony of the Soil, a film about soil and fertility.

John Antonelli, filmmaker and producer, The Mill Valley Film Group
John Antonelli’s recently completed Sam Cooke Crossing Over was broadcast on the acclaimed PBS series American Masters and the feature length documentary Jack Kerouac: King of the Beats which has played around the world. For the past seven years, Antonelli has been producing, directing and writing segments for Global Focus: The New Environmentalists - a half hour program narrated by Robert Redford that is broadcast on PBS stations and The Sundance Channel.

Will Parrinello, filmmaker and producer, The Mill Valley Film Group
Parrinello’s credits include Dreaming of Tibet, an intimate portrait of three Tibetan exiles, which received an Audience Award at the Amnesty International Film Festival. His series Global Focus: The New Environmentalists, narrated by Robert Redford, profiles international grassroots activists. Parrinello co-produced and edited the feature-length documentary Kerouac, which was broadcast on PBS, A&E and The Learning Channel. He also shot and edited In the Light of Reverence, a film about Native American sacred lands.

About Bioneers
Bioneers (www.bioneers.org) is a nonprofit educational organization that highlights breakthrough solutions for restoring people and planet. Since 1990, Bioneers has acted as a hub of social and scientific innovators with practical and visionary solutions for the world’s most pressing environmental and social challenges. A celebration of the genius of nature and human creativity, Bioneers connects people with solutions and each other. Its acclaimed annual national and local conferences are complemented by extensive media outreach including an award-winning radio series, book series, and role in media projects such as Leonardo DiCaprio’s film The 11th Hour.