earthsong.org.au

EarthSong eNotes August

Pat Long — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 04:19:06 +0000

We Seek to Learn New Ways

The Sacred Connection: Tues 12 Oct 7.00 – 9.00, Tues 26 Oct 7.00 – 9.00, Sat 20 Nov 1- 4 This series will explore, through a variety of media, the experience of the sacred through connection with place and the power of the feminine in this context. Participants will be encouraged to spend time between sessions reflecting on the elements of interconnectedness in the other than human world and the spirituality that expresses this experience. The Grove: 263 Nicholson St East Coburg. Bookings are essential: ph. 9383 1993. Presenter: Anne Boyd

Towards Earth Literacy

We can probe a buttercup with the eyes of a mite, ride the electron shuttle of photosynthesis, feel the shiver of a neuron in thought, or watch in color as a star is born. We can see, more clearly than ever, how nature works her miracles. When we stare this deeply into nature’s eyes, it takes our breath away, and in a good way, it bursts our bubble. We realize that all our inventions have already appeared in nature in a more elegant form and at a lot less cost to the the planet. (Benyus, p.6)

This 1997 documentation of researchers who are applying nature’s ingenious solutions to the problem of human survival remains so pertinent in 2010. Key questions addressed in the book include how will we feed ourselves, harness energy, make things, store what we learn and conduct business. By coming home to earth and learning her ways we will uncover much more than solutions to human problems. Awe and reverence will be re-awakened in the face of nature’s wisdom. As we discover what nature already knows, we will remember how it feels to roar like a jaguar – to be a part of, not apart from, the genius that surrounds us. (Benyus, p.10) (Janine Benyus, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, Harper Collins, 1997)

Check out what’s happening in biomimicry: http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org/

The International Year of Biodiversity will feature in the Spring issue of the EarthSong Journal. This 8 minute video clip reminds us of the wonder and necessity of the diversity at the heart of all life. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1VYmpTikgw

We are being called into a new place

WALK AGAINST WARMING Walk with the People. Not the Big Polluters.
SUNDAY, 15 AUGUST 2010, 12.30 p.m.

Join a Walk near you and help us convince our political leaders to Walk with the People. Not the Big Polluters. For details of events in every State click on the link provided: http://www.walkagainstwarming.org

Sustainable House Day is on again!

The ninth annual Sustainable House Day on Sunday 12 September will showcase some of Australia’s most environmentally sustainable homes to the public as millions of Australians continue to embrace renewable energy, recycling and other practices designed to lessen our impact on the environment. Environmental awareness – or being ‘green’ – is great, but putting it into practice around your own home is the best contribution you can make to living in harmony with our planet. Find out directly from home owners who’ve put sustainable living into practice, about reducing waste around your home, saving water, natural home heating and cooling and more. For details got to: http://www.sustainablehouseday.com/

Sustainable House Day is on again!

The ninth annual Sustainable House Day on Sunday 12 September will showcase some of Australia’s most environmentally sustainable homes to the public as millions of Australians continue to embrace renewable energy, recycling and other practices designed to lessen our impact on the environment. Environmental awareness – or being ‘green’ – is great, but putting it into practice around your own home is the best contribution you can make to living in harmony with our planet.
Find out directly from home owners who’ve put sustainable living into practice, about reducing waste around your home, saving water, natural home heating and cooling and more.

EarthSong eNotes July

Pat Long — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 02:34:01 +0000

Tiny increases in the amount of daylight we are witnessing in the southern part of our ancient land are somewhat overshadowed by an experience of winter not evidenced in our recent past. The coldness brings with it an invigorating element should we choose to embrace it. Green shoots are bursting through the soil, a reminderof the invisible preparation for life and growth which is carried out in the depths of things. Some of our natives are flourishing in these conditions. Any moment now wattles will bloom in a stunning array of colour. Earth takes us by surprise at every turn should we take the time to find our place and attend to her activity. Perhaps her ways will create a path for us to walk.

We seek to learn new ways

EarthSong Retreat at Glenburn: July 9 – 11. Two places remain for this residential seminar, jointly sponsored by the Centre for Ecology and Spirituality and EarthSong. In a beautiful bush setting, experience a holistic opportunity to delve into the origins of the universe, the birth of planet Earth, the interconnectedness of life and the role of the human in this context. For more information: EarthSongRetreat Registration: $200. Download a registration form from our website or contact us if you wish to register: ph. 03 83590106.

New Cosmology and New Spirituality: This workshop, for those who know the “Powers of the Universe” articulated by Brian Swimme and those interested to learn about them, will explore the implications of embracing the new cosmology for our everyday living and our spirituality.

Saturday & Sunday, July 24th & 25th, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. The Grove: 263 Nicholson St East Coburg. Bookings are essential: ph. 9383 1993. Facilitator: Margaret Mckinley.

The Sacred Connection: Tues 12 Oct 7.00 – 9.00, Tues 26 Oct 7.00 – 9.00, Sat 20 Nov 1- 4. This series will explore, through a variety of media, the experience of the sacred through connection with place and the power of the feminine in this context. Participants will be encouraged to spend time between sessions reflecting on the elements of interconnectedness in the other than human world and the spirituality that expresses this experience. The Grove: 263 Nicholson St East Coburg. Bookings are essential: ph. 9383 1993. Presenter: Anne Boyd

Towards Earth Literacy

The eucalypt appears to have a peculiar relation to the
cosmos, the greater universe. The branches seem to follow
a thousand centres in the sky. To be rinsed by the winds
of Neptune. To share affinities with the moon and the
Magellanic Clouds.
An organic relationship. Her limbs the bones of the
organism. Paying less heed to the sway of the seasons in a
zone where the seasons are weaker and the stars are
thicker. As if divining in the the stars the propitious time to
flower.
Attuned to a shifting rhythm. Her branches informed with
stars. (p.73)

John Anderson’s poetic celebration of place and being provides the reader with an opportunity to enter deeply into the richness of our land’s story.
The wonder of eucalypts, casuarinas, the Merri Creek and the Grampians are but a few of the beings honoured in exquisite poetic form. (The forest set out like the night, Black Pepper, North Fitzroy, 1995)

Practices of Place: Being Present in the Land. John and Vicki have moved from the Blue Mountains to Southern Tasmania discovering a new place of great natural beauty and elemental power, [where]everything has come under much closer scrutiny, including the very notion of spiritual practice and what spirit has to do with place (p.46). A deep attentiveness to where we are has the potential to transform fragmentation into wholeness. This thought provoking and evocative article can be accessed by subscribing to the online journal, PAN. John Cameron and Vicki King, PAN: Philosophy Activism Nature, PAN No 4, 2007.

We are being called into a new place

The Future of Renewable Energy In Australia: FREE PUBLIC LECTURE 6-8pm, Wednesday 14th July 2010, University of Melbourne. Zero Carbon Australia Stationary Energy Plan – to be launched at this seminar – argues that it is technically possible to reach 100 per cent renewable energy for Australia within a decade, and that the technology to achieve the transition is already commercially available. This event brings together key voices in the renewable energy debate to explore the state of the industry, survey the critical decade ahead, and discuss the challenges facing a zero carbon roadmap.

The Replace Hazelwood Campaign: National day of action Saturday 17th July 2010. The campaign to Replace Hazelwood, Australia’s dirtiest power station, is going from strength to strength.
Community groups are invited to create one of the following activities:
·          Protest outside your Federal MP’s office or the local Commonwealth Bank branch (8% shareholder in Hazelwood)
·          Hold a local vigil
·          Go door-knocking
·          Host a Replace Hazelwood themed event in your local park
Even better, get creative and come up with your own idea of how to call on the government to Replace Hazelwood.
Please register you action here so we can help get the word out. http://www.climateactioncentre.org/nationalhazelwoodaction
As an individual we hope you can join one of these actions or at least make a call to your Federal MP and State Labor Senator and ask them where they stand on the Hazelwood test. There is a list of MPs here: http://www.aph.gov.au/House/members/memlist.pdf and Senators here: http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/senators/contacts/los.pdf

EarthSong eNotes June

Pat Long — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 00:08:41 +0000

We draw close to the winter solstice, the time when the dark part of the day is longest. Earth’s seasonal movement invites us into her rhythms and patterns. Resting and waiting within the dark space, the birthplace of creativity, we enter into the realm of the Universe out of which all newness is manifest, the seamless Ground of all Being. The winter solstice is a time for experiencing the essence of existence, for celebration and feasting. EarthSong and the Edmund Rice Network will gather for ritual and feasting at Amberley, reconnecting with the untold groups who have gathered at this moment to honour the relationship between Earth and Sun. Please join us. (details below)

We seek to learn new ways.

Winter Solstice Celebration at Edmund Rice Centre, Amberley: Sunday, June 20, 4.30-7 p.m. Join the EarthSong Team and the Edmund Rice Network as we enter into the seasonal rhythms of the planet and touch the mid-winter mysteries of dark and light.

For details of this event click here: Winter Solstice

EarthSong Retreat at Glenburn: July 9 – 11. Bookings are now open for this residential seminar, jointly sponsored by the Centre for Ecology and Spirituality and EarthSong. In a beautiful bush setting, experience a holistic opportunity to delve into the origins of the universe, the birth of planet Earth, the interconnectedness of life and the role of the human in this context. For more information: EarthSongRetreat Registration: $200 Download a registration form (located on the left column of the web page)

We are being called into a new place:

2010 Deakin Lectures 6-12th June. “Brave New World? The Climate Change Challenge.“ An opportunity to hear a range of speakers including Tim Flannery, Melinda Dodson, Johannes Lehman and Sue Halliday. Click on the link for full details of the series and the opportunity to view them online 24 hours after the live presentation. http://wheelercentre.com/calendar/program/the-deakin-lectures-2010/

A Climate of Change. What are the facts? How might we critique current political approaches? What positions might we take in an election year? The discussion will be led by Will McGoldrick, Policy & Research Manager at the the Climate Institute. Saturday, 19th June, 9.30-12.30, Kildara, Centre, Rear, 39 Stanhope St Malvern (Melways ref 59 C7) sponsored by the Brigidine Community for Justice. RSVP 9509 0361 or email csbsecretary@brigidine.com.au.

Film
Cinemas are currently screening the film Food, Inc., which lifts the veil on the United States food industry and exposes the country’s highly mechanized underbelly. The nation’s food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and the environment. In a country that has bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds and tomatoes that won’t go bad, there are new strains of E. Coli, widespread levels of obesity and an epidemic level of adult diabetes

Back on Australian shores, Seed International has produced a series of two videos on the great contribution local food can make in our lives, including examples from around the world and much more. There are links to these videos from the Community Harvest Project Website; a Victorian website which promotes the local food movement on a state-wide level. The harvest project’s slogan is ‘feeding our hearts, communities and environment, as we feed ourselves.’ Visit: http://communityharvest.org.au.

Towards Earth Literacy.
This year’s State of the World Report by the WorldWatch Institute: Transforming Cultures: From Consumerism to Sustainability, gets to the heart of what makes cultural transformation an exciting possibility rather than a daunting burden, by reexamining core assumptions of modern life, from how businesses are run and what is taught in classrooms to how weddings are celebrated and the way cities are organized. (Muhammad Yunus, Founder, Grameen Bank, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate). The book documents that cultures of sustainability are well on their way. Our challenge is to make living sustainably as natural as consumerism is today. (Norton & Co New York, 2010) For further information about the Worldwatch Institute visit http://www.worldwatch.org/

eNotes May

Pat Long — Tue, 04 May 2010 23:47:11 +0000

Friends of EarthSong are welcome to attend our Annual General Meeting

Wednesday 19th May, 12.30-3 p.m. (commencing with lunch)

We’ll gather at CERES Community Environment Park

Dr Caroline Smith, senior lecturer in science and sustainable futures education at ACU will be our guest speaker:

The link between EarthSong’s vision and the practice of sustainability.

RSVP Wed 12th May by email to Pat: info@earthsong.org.au

We seek to learn new ways:

EarthSong’s Annual Symposium is fast approaching and we’re excited about the presenters who will lead us through this event.

Karen Alexander has a long history in the environment movement starting with the campaign to save Lake Peddar, stopping the damming of the Franklin River and on to her work today with the victoria Naturally Alliance (nine environement groups) on the health of Nature in Victoria. Trevor Gallagher, Gunditjmara man, with the permission of the local Boonerwrung and Woiwurrung people, takes visitors and students through Melbourne’s royal botanic Gardens and explains Aboriginal history and culture and the tradition use of plants. Fay white, singer and composer will lead us in song. Anthony James from CERES has composed a song for this occasion. A Panel of passionate conservationists will share the wonder and needs of a ranges of species and ecosystems all inviting our protection. with them you can share your own love of country and learn more.

All sessions: $45 Friday evening only: $15 Saturday only: $30

Biodiversity websites: Biodiversity in Australia at http://australianmuseum.net.au/biodiversity

Biodiversity library at http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ a partnership of the world’s 10 major natural history museums, botanical libraries and Harvard University to make available online their combined collections of two million biodiversity-related volumes collected over 200 years

Winter Solstice Celebration at Edmund Rice Centre, Amberley: Sunday, June 20, 4.30-7.30 p.m. Join the EarthSong Team and the Edmund Rice Network as we enter into the seasonal rhythms of the planet and touch the mid-winter mysteries of dark and light.

EarthSong Retreat at Glenburn: July 9 – 11. Bookings are now open for this residential seminar, jointly sponsored by the Centre for Ecology and Spirituality and EarthSong. In a beautiful bush setting, experience a holistic opportunity to delve into the origins of the universe, the birth of planet Earth, the interconnectedness of life and the role of the human in this context. Registration: $200 Download a registration form (located on the left column of the web page) or contact us for more information: info@earthsong.org.au

Jan Novotka will visit Australia this year and will be in Melbourne in May.

Since the early 1990’s Jan has been composing songs that flow effortlessly through her. She sings of the sacredness and oneness of all, the unfolding Universe, care for the Earth, the awakening of a new and vast dimension of human consciousness, and the Still, Silent Presence within. Her music touches people of all faiths, cultures, and backgrounds. She also works as a retreat director and spiritual director.

A number of workshops have been arranged at the Treacy Centre.

All are welcome to attend these events.

Tuesday 11th May, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.workshop (continued Wednesday 12th May, 9 a.m. – lunch) $140

Thursday 13th May, 6.30 – 9 p.m. Edmund Rice Festival at the Treacy Centre

Friday 14th May, 10.30 a.m. – lunch “Lunch with Jan Novotka”

Towards Earth Literacy:

Wildlife of Australia by Louise Egerton and Jiri Lochman is a new addition to the EarthSong library.

Magnificent photographs of the animals that live on the Australian continent including birds, frogs, reptiles, fishes, spiders, insects and mammals are a striking feature of the book.

Succinct descriptions of each of these beings provide the reader with an insight into the incredible diversity permeating our land and the quirky activities which delight the observer.

“About 840 species or 12 per cent of the world’s reptiles live in Australia and almost 90 per cent of these are found nowhere else on Earth.” p.246

“The body plan of crocodiles has barely changed in over 200 million years. They were on Earth before the dinosaurs and they survived the mass extinction event that occurred 65 million years ago.” p. 248 (Allen & Unwin, 2009)

We are being called into a new place:

5 June, World Environment Day
The major project this year is on protection of gorillas in Rwanda (see: http://www.unep.org/wed/2010/english/). More details on local activities next month.

6-12 June, Alfred Deakin Lectures: Brave New World? The Climate Change Challenge
You can book online now for one or more of these lectures which look at ” climate change from ten different perspectives, with a focus on ten different spheres of public life”. more: http://wheelercentre.com/calendar/program/the-deakin-lectures-2010/

EarthSong eNotes April

Pat Long — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 05:30:14 +0000

EarthSong’s Annual Symposium is just a few weeks away.

Come and join us for this event which will invite us into the wonders of the diversity of our country.

Friday 14th May (7.30-9.30 p.m.) – Saturday 15th May (10 a.m. – 3 p.m.)

Treacy Centre, 126 The Avenue, Parkville

Karen Alexander, Project Leader of Victoria Naturally Alliance, with extensive experience working with environmental NGOs including ACF Campaigns Director and President of Bush Heritage Australia, will be our keynote speaker.

Download a registration form (located on the left column of the web page) or contact us: info@earthsong.org.au

All sessions: $45 Friday evening only: $15 Saturday only: $30

Towards Earth Literacy:

Requiem for A Species: Why we Resist the Truth about Climate Change.

Clive Hamilton’s insight into the nature of our society and its bearing on our response to global warming is a challenging but essential read for any of us wanting to act for a safer future for Earth in her myriad expressions. He suggests that for those of us in affluent nations, the test of our capacity to adapt to hardships could be the stimulus for a new orientation to life with more attention to higher goals. (p.217) His concluding chapter suggests a three stage pathway: Despair, Accept, Act. These are the three stages we must pass through. Despair is a natural human response to the new reality we face and to resist it is to deny the truth…. Emerging from despair means accepting the situation and resuming our equanimity; but if we go no further we risk becoming mired in passivity and fatalism. Only by acting, and acting ethically, can we redeem our humanity. (p.226) (Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, 2010)

The Autumn edition of the EarthSong Journal has recently been published.

Perspectives on climate change and related behaviour change are featured.

Feature articles and editorial from previously published issues can be found in the publications section of the website.

If you are interested in becoming a subscriber please download a subscription form on the left column of this webpage.

We seek to learn new ways:

EarthSong Residential Program for Educators: A New Heart and a New Mind.

26th-28th May. Edmund Rice Centre, Amberley, Lower Plenty.

For more details contact us: info@earthsong.org.au. Registrations close 30th April.

Jan Novotka will visit Australia this year and will be in Melbourne in May.

A number of workshops have been arranged at the Treacy Centre.

All are welcome to attend these events.

Tuesday 11th May, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.workshop (continued Wednesday 12th May, 9 a.m. – lunch)

Thursday 13th may, 6.30 – 9 p.m. Edmund Rice Festival at the Treacy Centre

Friday 14th may, 10.30 a.m. – lunch “Lunch with Jan Novotka”

As more details about these events become available they will be posted on the EarthSong website.

We are being called into a new place:

Earth Day 2010 -22^ndApril

Join Earth Day’s 40^th Anniversary celebrations!

Forty years after the first Earth Day, the world is in greater peril than ever. While climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, it also presents the greatest opportunity – an unprecedented opportunity to build a healthy, prosperous, clean energy economy now and for the future.

Earth Day 2010 can be a turning point to advance climate policy, energy efficiency, renewable energy and green jobs. Earth Day Network is galvanizing millions who make personal commitments to sustainability. Earth Day 2010 is a pivotal opportunity for individuals, corporations and governments to join together and create a global green economy. Join the more than one billion people in 190 countries that are taking action for Earth Day.

For more information see: http://www.earthday.org/earthday2010

Fair Trade Fortnight 2010, 1^st – 16^th May

World Fair Trade Day 8^th May

Fair Trade Fortnight is Australia and New Zealand’s biggest annual celebration of all things fair trade!

With events, activities and promotions happening across each country, the Fortnight gives each of us the opportunity to celebrate and recognise the life-changing difference fair trade makes for millions of developing country farmers, their families and communities.

As part of Fair Trade Fortnight 2010, Aussies are being urged to make The Big Swap!
Making the swap to Fair Trade is simple but it can help make a big difference for developing country farmers by giving them access to fair prices and money to invest in everyday things for their communities such as education and healthcare.

So this Fair Trade Fortnight, whether it’s your daily caffeine fix, afternoon cuppa, chocolate treat or even when buying a gift – make the swap to Fair Trade and you can help create a better and brighter future farmers and their families around the globe.

EarthSong eNotes March

Pat Long — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:59:39 +0000

Seasonal change draws us into the rhythms of the planet. The changes, of course, are more dramatic the further south or north we find ourselves from the equator. This outer change invites a corresponding inner change. In southern Australia, there are signs that summer is drawing to a close. Daylight hours are diminishing. A subtle shift in the quality of the light, crisp, cool evenings and mornings bring with them a drawing down of the fruitfulness and vigour of summer growth. Embracing this seasonal movement provides opportunity for the ongoing work of inner transition towards a new way of being into the future. Perhaps as we move towards the moment of equal light and dark we will take the opportunity to dream of a future which will be more enriching and satisfying for all. “Anything you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it” (Goethe)

Towards Earth Literacy:

The Pine Island Paradox, Kathleen Dean Moore, Milkwood Editions, Minneapolis, 2004.

Kathleen Dean Moore’s essays are evocative and nourishing, drawing the reader into the richness of re-connection and posing questions which invite us to frame an ecological ethic of care.

Nature writer and teacher of philosophy from the Pacific Northwest USA, her passion for seeing more deeply into the sacredness of what is commonly perceived as the mundane, is palpable.

….. an island is in fact only a high point in the continuous skin of the planet, the small part we can see of the hidden substance that connects everything on earth. It’s a sign – a beautiful, rock-solid, bird spattered sign – of the wholeness of being, the intricate interdependencies that link people and places. (p.4)

Uncovering the diversity of our world: The Square Metre Project.

If you’re interested in being drawn more deeply into life’s wonders watch this short video and take up the square metre project.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvO_8_Ch6lE&feature=related

We seek to learn new ways:

Reading Circle

Join our monthly Reading Circle which features writers evoking the wonders of our Earth.

Treacy Centre

3rd Monday of each month

2-3 p.m.

For further information phone Pat: 83590107 or email info@earthsong.org.au

Canticles to the Cosmos

A DVD Series by Brian Swimme

Wednesdays, February 10th, March 10th, April 14th

The Nature of the Human will be the focus for our March gathering.

7.30 – 9.30 p.m.

Kildara Centre, rear 39 Stanhope St Malvern

We are being called into a new place:

World Water Day: Monday March 22nd. Join like-minded folk who will celebrate the sacred nature of water and raise awareness about what’s happening to water around the planet.

Earth Hour: On Saturday 27th March 2010 at 8:30pm, people and organisations across the world will switch off their lights for Earth Hour. Please join them and consider marking the occasion by sharing a candle-lit meal with friends or creating a local community gathering viewing the night-sky.

Bush Blitz! – Australia’s International Year of Biodiversity kicks off…

Bush Blitz is the world’s first continental scale survey – a three year multimillion dollar partnership to document the plants and animals in hundreds of properties across Australia’s National Reserve System. Teams of Australia’s top scientists will survey hundreds of Australian reserves to document the native plants and animals they protect. The surveys are expected to uncover hundreds of new species and provide baseline scientific data that will help protect Australia’s biodiversity for a generation to come. www.bushblitz.org.au

Are you wondering how to recycle your mobile phones? Check out the act4nature website to see how Melbourne Zoo will process these phones and help save mountain gorillas. http://www.act4nature.org.au/Act-Now.html

Welcome to EarthSong 2010

Pat Long — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 05:05:18 +0000

EarthSong in the International Year of Biodiversity.

To focus our year on life’s incredible diversity, to celebrate the interdependence of the ecological systems of our planet, and to mourn their diminishment in these times of extinction seems apt as we enter this new decade. Join us for our annual symposium which will focus on the plants and animals of South Eastern Australia .

Biodiversity is a word used to describe every living thing on the planet – everything that ever was, is now or ever will be.

The term refers to plants, animals and micro-organisms, as well as the genetic material that is contained in each individual organism and the ecosystems which these organisms create.

Australia is one of seventeen countries defined as megadiverse in July 2002. These 17 countries contain over 70% of the world’s species. Our ancient land supports the largest number of native species of reptiles and overall non-fish vertebrates and has the fifth largest number of native plant species.(source Australian Geographic website) Read more: http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/society/a-nation-of-megadiversity.htm#ixzz0d1qHTQsE

Towards Earth Literacy:

Wild Habitats: A Natural History of Australian Ecosystems,

Allan Fox & Steve Parish, ABC Books, Sydney, 2007.

A life-long obsession with nature has brought together the photography of Steve Parish and Allen Fox’s story of how Australian habitats function.

The result is a book which provides two vital ingredients for our task of participating as members of the earth community in a time of escalating change.

The stunning beauty of our continent, brought to life through the photography of Steve Parish combines with Allen’s explication of an ever-changing ephemeral landscape, filled to overflowing with diversity and drama. (p.8)

We seek to learn new ways:

Reading Circle

Treacy Centre

3rd Monday of each month

2-3 p.m.

Canticles to the Cosmos

Wednesdays, February 10th, March 10th, April 14th

7.30 – 9.30 p.m.

Kildara Centre, rear 39 Stanhope St Malvern

Details of EarthSong’s Programs for 2010 are located in the left column.

We are being called into a new place:

The Transition Decade will be launched at the Melbourne Town Hall on Sunday, 14th February, 12 noon – 3 p.m. Drawing together and showcasing the work of environment and social groups working for a decade of transition to a safe climate and sustainable future. Free event but please register. http://www.t10.net.au/

Earth Hour: On Saturday 27th March 2010 at 8:30pm, people and organisations across the world will switch off their lights for Earth Hour. Please join them and consider marking the occasion by sharing a candle-lit meal with friends or creating a local community gathering viewing the night-sky.

Sustainable Living Festival: This year’s main events will be at Federation Square, Friday – Sunday, 19-21st February. Anne Boyd from EarthSong will be a panelist on the Greenfaith sponsored conversation: Spirit of the environment. Click on the link provided to view the complete program and get a sense of the variety and depth of the movement creating a sustainable future: http://festival.slf.org.au/

Welcome to EarthSong

Pat Long — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 03:21:22 +0000

EarthSong is very pleased to be launching a more interactive website and it seems apt that it coincides with so many new faces of Earth emerging just now. In those parts of our country which have experienced re-vitalising Spring rains the surge in growth of all things green is stunning for those who have the opportunity to take a moment each day to observe life around them. Co-existing with the familiar seasonal variations of the more temperate regions of our land are the unprecedented events of dust storms and flooding which remind us of how delicately poised we are at this time of Earth’s emergence, and how urgent is our task of reducing our negative impact on its life systems.

Upcoming Events.

Annual General Meeting

Friends of Earthsong are invited to join us at our Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, 14th October, 6.30-7.30 p.m. at the Treacy Centre, 126 The Avenue, Parkville.

This will be an opportunity to join in conversation about the work of EarthSong over the past 12 months and to contribute to the vision for the future.

RSVP Friday, 9th October, email: pat@earthsong.org.au.

A residential program for teachers.

A New Heart and a New Mind. Ecological Conversion: The Challenge of the 21st Century.

Wednesday, 18th – Friday 20th November 2009.

Edmund Rice Centre ‘Amberley’

7 Amberley Way, Lower Plenty

This program will explore current understandings of the origin and nature of the Universe, as a basis for opening up fresh insights into the place and role of the humanwithin a ‘single, sacred community’ (T.Berry) Principles for living out our ecological responsibility will be examined in the light of these understandings.

Participants will be invited to engage in interactive, creative processes. Time will also be given for personal reflection.

Program Presenters: Each of the presenters, Anne Boyd, Carmel Crameri, Trevor Parton and Pat Long are experienced educators. Each has training in the fields of Earth Literacy and Spirituality and has led many seminars in these areas.

Registration: For further information please email pat@earthsong.org.au.

Exploring a New Cosmology: an Introductory Series.

The Centre for Faith, Life and Learning together with EarthSong presents these four sessions exploring how the stories we tell ourselves about the cosmos and our place in it shape the way we live and interact together. Our need to reflect on these questions has never been more pressing.

Doncaster East Baptist Church

43-57 Tunstall Rd East Doncaster

Thursday nights: 7.30 – 9.30

October 8: Modern Science: how has it shaped the new cosmology?

October 15: Cosmology: the nature and power of story.

October 22: Spirituality: celebrating the sacredness of all creation

October 29: Sustainable living: an ethical imperative.

Presenters: Anne Boyd, Carmel Crameri, Pat Long, Trevor Parton.

$50 for the series, $15 per night. Enquiries and bookings: 9842 8466. Numbers are limited.

The Centre for Faith, Life and Learning is a joint project of the East Doncaster Baptist Church and Templestowe Uniting Church searching for an open and progressive approach to Christian Faith.

The Powers of the Universe.

The Grove Wholistic Centre for Spirituality is hosting this series of 5 evenings. It provides an opportunity for a small group of women to view together and discuss the The Powers of the Universe DVD series by Brian Swimme. Presenter: Pat Long

Tuesday evenings: October 13 & 20, November 10,& 17, December 1. 263 Nicholson St East Coburg. Bookings are essential: ph. 9383 1993