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EarthSong eNotes May 2012

Pat Long — Tue, 01 May 2012 03:28:58 +0000

Photo: Cathy O’Keeffe pbvm

Life adapts. Life remembers. Life learns. (Journey of the Universe, Brian Swimme, Mary Evelyn Tucker p.61 2011). There are moments, mostly unanticipated, which break through our everyday patterns of activity and thought processes: the angle of golden light on golden grasses, the survival of a reptile in harsh environments, the soft fog moistening my face, the mutual influence between predator and prey. Life’s creativity, honed over billions of years, holds patterns and processes which we humans are only just beginning to see and understand. Thus we can only have a glimmer of the significance of our actions for the future. Since we have become a planetary presence our challenge is to adapt to Earth’s patterns, to remember Earth’s creativity, to learn from the wisdom of the process which long precedes us and will continue beyond our existence.

We seek to learn new ways

The Gifts of the Universe: living into gratefulness. A few places remain for this event made possible by Dr Larry Edwards’ first visit to Australia, jointly sponsored by EarthSong, The Centre for Ecology and Spirituality Glenburn, and Edmund Rice Centre ‘Amberley’. Click here for details: The Gifts of the Universe

EarthSong Annual Symposium: Celebrating the Antarctic. Keynote speaker Bernadette Hince travelled to Antarctica in the summer of 03/04. Bernadette is based in Canberra where she works as a natural history writer and science editor. Other presenters and workshop leaders include Mark O’Loughlin and Melanie Mackenzie, and we’ll hear recordings of the natural sounds of this amazing continent from the work of Philip Samartzis, Coordinator of Sound in the School of Art RMIT University. Join us.

We are being called into a new place

‘Turning the Titanic’ Public forum, 7.30 p.m. Tuesday 15th May, 699 Doncaster Rd Doncaster. Guest Facilitator: David Spratt. Sponsored by A Grand Stand for the Environment Inc.

Every choice matters: Fairtrade fortnight 5 – 20 May Learn more and find out how to be part of Fair Trade Fortnight at facebook.com/fairtradeau and facebook.com/fairtrademovement Fair Trade Fortnight is Australia and New Zealand’s biggest annual celebration of all things fair trade. With events, activities and promotions happening across both countries, fairtrade fortnight gives each of us the opportunity to celebrate the life-changing difference our Fairtrade Certified choices make for millions of developing country farmers, producers, their families and communities.

Are you a bigfoot? Measure your Footprint: http://www.wwf.org.au/our_work/people_and_the_environment/human_footprint/footprint_calculator/ It’s sobering to think that Australians have one of the largest environmental footprints per capita in the world. In fact, we’re consuming more than three times our fair share of the planet’s natural resources. How many planets does it take to support your lifestyle? Find out how your lifestyle is impacting on the environment and what you can do to reduce your impact. Click here

Towards Earth Literacy

Active Hope: How to face the mess we’re in without going crazy. Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone, Finch, Sydney, 2012. Renowned for her skill in working with communities to bring healing, hope and reconnection in the midst of devastating realities, Joanna Macy’s latest book co-authored with Chris Johnstone, medical doctor and addiction specialist, builds on, synthesizes and clarifies processes articulated in previous works. Paths of ‘right action’ and ‘right relationships’ provide a simply expressed, deeply moving framework for living with integrity in the midst of crisis. For those searching for a way to participate in Earth’s next manifestation this book holds deep wisdom.

Earthsong eNotes April 2012

Pat Long — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 05:22:24 +0000

Photo:Cathy O’Keeffe

To commune may be one of the deepest tendencies of the Universe (Swimme, Tucker, Journey of the Universe, 2011 p 51). The quality of evening light at this time of seasonal transition awakens the longing to commune with the more than human world. It invites a certain stillness, basking in the soft glow at dusk. It signals the end of summer fruitfulness, slowing activity, increasing darkness. It lures us into that reflective space where the creativity for emerging futures is born. Never before in the story of our planet has there been such a need for the manifestation of this creative power. Let us take every opportunity to nurture this quality within us and allow its fruits to be in harmony with the larger creativity of the Universe process. All children of the future are dependent on it for their very survival.

We seek to learn new ways.

Are you interested in deepening your understanding and experience of yourself as part of an interconnected, Earth community? Join a small group of fellow explorers ‘Growing our Ecological Identity’. Tuesdays, April 10, 17, 24. May 1,8,15. 1.30 – 4.30 p.m. Treacy Centre, 126 The Avenue, Parkville. For more information and registration contact Pat: pat@earthsong.org.au, ph. 83590107. Download our program brochure Program 2012 or visit the website for program details and registration form: http://earthsong.org.au/

The Gifts of the Universe: living into gratefulness. Register now for this event made possible by Dr Larry Edwards’ first visit to Australia, jointly sponsored by EarthSong, The Centre for Ecology and Spirituality Glenburn, and Edmund Rice Centre ‘Amberley’. Click here for details: The Gifts of the Universe

We are being called into a new place

EARTH HOUR – 31 MARCH 2012: http://www.earthhour.org/

EARTH Hour is about to go beyond the Earth, with the International Space Station crew promising to turn off or dim non-essential lights on March 31. The space station orbits the Earth 15 times a day at altitudes of between 300 and 400 kilometres. Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers will provide live commentary as lights go off around the globe at 8.30pm local time. In Australia there are about 2000 businesses, organisations and councils signed up so far. The number of businesses and groups committing to the event is growing. Why not turn off your lights on Saturday night?

Towards Earth Literacy

Replete with stunning images of exploration sites and fossils, Frozen in Time:Prehistoric Life in Antarctica provides a comprehensive overview of the fossil record of Antarctica. For those interested in the radical changes occurring in Antarctica in a geological ‘blink of an eye’ this book is a must read. For those who want to be drawn into the beauty of this wild continent the images and photographs will inspire. Authors: Jeffrey Stilwell, John A Long, CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, 2011.

EarthSong eNotes March 2012

Pat Long — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 04:24:43 +0000

Australian Year of the Farmer 2012. Conventional farmers are aiming to draw our attention to the contribution of their work towards our well-being, reminding us in their manifesto that Farming is Australia’s Life Support System. http://www.yearofthefarmer.com.au/about/manifesto.html As our Australian population continues to concentrate in urban areas it is easy to become disconnected from the sources of our basic needs and to take for granted the effort that goes into creating the conditions for our nourishment on a daily basis. In this 21st century, the life support systems which sustain and enable the farmers to produce such abundance are themselves under threat. Changes in water supply, climate and oil prices combine to pose a unique challenge to conventional thinking about farming practices. In preparation for changing weather patterns and increasing costs of fossil fuels alternative farming methods are growing in momentum, modelling small-scale, intensive, local efforts which may well become the face of our food sources in the future. Local farmers markets are on the increase, responding to our desire to know more about the source of our food, how it is grown and who is doing the growing. Growing food at home is also on the rise, opening opportunities for reconnection with this vital source of our well-being as well as re-awakening our awareness of the amazing cycle from seed to to flower to fruit and back to seed.

We are being called into a new place

EarthSong March Programs.

Themes of Creativity, 13th March 7.30 – 9.30 pm, repeated 21st March 10- 12 noon. Kildara Centre.

The Road to Rio + 20, Saturday 17th March, 9.30- 12, Kildara Centre. Presented by Joan Power.

For details about all EarthSong Programs: Program 2012

We Seek to learn new ways

Being Together, Becoming Sustainable course at CERES from 17th April 2012. There will be an information session on 20th March, 7-8.00pm, CERES Van Raay Centre. For further details visit http://www.ceres.org.au/being-together

The Grace of Forests.

Prepared by the Columban Mission Institute Centre for Peace Ecology and Justice, this new resource is available now online at no cost. The Stations of the Forests dvd and booklet is also available for online purchase.

http://www.columban.org.au/resources/The-Grace-of-Forests/

FAIRTRADE chocolate Easter Campaign. If you want to eat your Easter chocolate with the knowledge that its producers promote FAIRTRADE check out your options by clicking on the link: http://www.fta.org.au/get-involved/campaigns/make-fairtrade-choice-easter

Towards Earth Literacy

This engaging book for young (and not so young) by Elin Kelsey, teacher in the School of Environment and Sustainability at Royal Roads University, Victoria, BC, is packed with good news messages. It begins by emphasizing our interconnectedness with our Earth home, highlighting relationships between everyday items and the well-being of the planet. The book is replete with positive suggestions for making a difference to consumer-based lifestyles, showcasing alternatives which engender hope. For all of us who are concerned about how children respond to today’s ecological realities, this book finds a way to emphasize the possibilities for a more healthy future for Earth. (Owlkids Books, Toronto, 2010)