Mushrooms are amazing; some varieties cure the bird flu, others are high in vitamin D and some are good for dying fabric. Check out their website to see how you can get involved.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Mycological Society of San Francisco
Mushrooms are amazing; some varieties cure the bird flu, others are high in vitamin D and some are good for dying fabric. Check out their website to see how you can get involved.
Something to think about...
“If I am not for myself, who will be? But then, if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?”-Hillel
Bioneers 2008
Art Installation by the Eco Art Matters class at Bioneers, 2008
Watersite, a gathering place
Wishing well made from a discarded satellite dish
Buying Local, organic produce is simplified!
Sign up for either Grub Box
or
with Phat Beet produce
to get a weekly bag of locally grown, organic produce.
Picking up the grub box at your neighborhood drop off location is like Christmas- you never know what seasonal produce is going to be in there!
Drop off locations are around the San Francisco East Bay.
You can have weekly, bimonthly or monthly grub boxes.
Both nonprofits offer low income options.
And Phat Beets has a 1/2 box option.
Sign up now and make your life easier.
No more having to remember to go to the farmer's market or to have bring cash and your own bags.
Instead pickup local, organic produce around the corner by prepaying for it online.
No more having to remember to go to the farmer's market or to have bring cash and your own bags.
Instead pickup local, organic produce around the corner by prepaying for it online.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Painting class with the option to use natural dyes
Judi Pettite teaches a regular painting class with the option to paint with eco materials. You can sign up for one of her classes (beginning, continuing or special projects painting).
All three classes run concurrently on Wednesdays 6-9:50pm, at Berkeley City College, starting January 25, 2012.
Judi also teaches occasional workshops, say once or twice a year on how to make your own plant and earth pigments.
Check out Judi Pettite's website: www.biohue.com
Judy Pettite, Untitled
2010
Watercolor
8" x 10"
Drip experiments using various earth and plant pigments.
Global Warnings
Global Warnings, June Steingart Gallery, Laney campus, Fall 2009
More photos to come for this group exhibit.
Installation by Kiki Rostad
My work was focused on The book : Last Child in the Woods; by Richard Louv, Saving our children from Nature Deficit Disorder. At that time I was working with a group of children at a mental health center with a psychologist and we focused on art & nature all that fall. I could not use pictures of the children or their names so my piece was a “sand tray” filled with an old type writer and items from nature like a touch and feel box or tray. 2 pick-nick baskets filled with pine cones and seeds and Walking stick. All the joys of nature. The photograph is stagnant the piece was “alive” you had to be there!
Kiki Rostad teaches ceramics at The Richmond Art Center
Green classes at Merritt College
"The Merritt College Environmental Management and Technology Program, and Environmental Center (Self-Reliant House) are located in the Oakland Hills between two wild land watershed open spaces.
Courses offered cover an array of subjects including: Ecological Restoration and Watershed Management, Agroecology and Urban Farming, Alternative Energies, Ecology, Global Warming, Ecological Restoration, Food Security, Environmental Justice, Sustainable Cities, Policy and Planning, Human Ecology, Forests, Wetlands, Water Resources, Ranger/ Naturalist Training, Environmental Education, Air Quality, Recycling, Pollution, Wildlife, Population, Transportation and Green Building.
The Merritt College Environmental Center is also home to the East Bay
Watershed Center and the David R. Brower, Ronald V. Dellums Institute for
Sustainable Policy Studies.
For more information, contact: Merritt College Environmental Programs at
510-434-3840, or 510-436-2418 for the Landscape Horticulture and
Environmental Program office assistant."
Courses offered cover an array of subjects including: Ecological Restoration and Watershed Management, Agroecology and Urban Farming, Alternative Energies, Ecology, Global Warming, Ecological Restoration, Food Security, Environmental Justice, Sustainable Cities, Policy and Planning, Human Ecology, Forests, Wetlands, Water Resources, Ranger/ Naturalist Training, Environmental Education, Air Quality, Recycling, Pollution, Wildlife, Population, Transportation and Green Building.
The Merritt College Environmental Center is also home to the East Bay
Watershed Center and the David R. Brower, Ronald V. Dellums Institute for
Sustainable Policy Studies.
For more information, contact: Merritt College Environmental Programs at
510-434-3840, or 510-436-2418 for the Landscape Horticulture and
Environmental Program office assistant."
-text borrowed from eco Merritt's website
Friday, December 2, 2011
Bay Area Green Business Program
Are you looking to shop locally at businesses that care about their employees and the environment? Bay Area Green Business Program has a strict set of requirements for being awarded a Green Business. Store owners proudly display their certification on their website and on their store front.
Find a Green business on Bay Area Green Business Program.
Ecology Center
"The ECOLOGY CENTER provides the public with reliable information, tools, hands-on training, referrals, strategies, infrastructure, and models for sustainable living. Our programs enable people to adopt practices that are environmentally and socially responsible. We run Berkeley's residential curbside recycling program, the Berkeley Farmers' Markets, Farm Fresh Choice food justice program, EcoHouse demonstration home and garden, the Ecology Center Store, and a variety of Information and Climate Change Action programs," quoted from the Ecology Center's website.
Other things to check out at the Ecology Center:
- Free 4 session course on analyzing your carbon foot print and how to reduce it.
- EcoCalendar lists environmental and social justice classes, workshops, exhibits, tours, films, and events.
SOS Save Our (earth) Ship
SOS Save Our (earth) Ship, June Steingart Gallery, Laney campus, Fall 2010
More photos to come! Stay tuned!
Conversations with Earth
Conversations with Earth, Big Daddy's Garden, Emeryville, CA May 2011
More photos to come! Stay tuned!
Oakland Occupy 2011
The Fall 2011 Eco Art Matters class was asked to go to the General Strike on November 2nd and to write why they were either for or against Occupy Oakland and to watch several forms of coverage on the strike. Below is one students thoughts, which is beautifully written.
"In my opinion the Movement is a big step in the right direction.
It might not have its goals specifically defined yet, but its very existence is letting everyone know that the time has come for the majority of people to take their lives and life in general back into their hands.
Currently the beginnings of the Occupy Movement remind me of starting a creative piece of work – one usually begins to brainstorm by writing down any idea that comes to mind; one might also take a piece of charcoal and loosely put down an overall sketch that will later provide the basis for a composed and detailed drawing. Similarly, this Movement is starting by generating ideas; it’s trying to stay free of established mindsets; it feels organic; it feels logical, healthy, honest, necessary, and if not a bit late – definitely timely.
With all that’s wrong with our society, economy, environment, this movement tries to be all-inclusive. Everyone can feel a part of it and present their agenda. This should serve richly as the basis for specific proposals, strategies, and the forming of a public face.
Whether or not people agree with the Movement, it brings out the same issues everyone within the 99% is familiar with – social and economical inequality among other things.
I support the people’s Occupy Movement because I don’t see any other way change could happen. Sacrifices are made on behalf of the big bank and the corporation every day. Sacrifices will now have to be made on behalf of the remaining 99%.
It was an incredible experience at the Oakland strike on Nov 2nd. There were a wide variety of people of different professions and orientations – teachers, priests, business people, artists. There were many same sex couples. Students spoke about being in debt. I spent some time talking with the folks at the National Labor Federation booth. I was interested in how they help people deal with abuse committed by PG&E (smart meters are one of my big health concerns, and our neighborhood has had no say about them whatsoever). Overall, the feeling of solidarity and understanding among all participants was beautiful.
KPFA supports the Movement; the station followed the strike by broadcasting live a 5 hour meeting of Occupy supporters and the Oakland City Council on Thursday. 141 Oakland residents spoke; many came up with specific strategies for the movement; many were concerned about the state of Oakland schools and the number of foreclosed homes in the area.
FOX News compared Occupy protesters to hippies and Nazis. It also reported on a speech by Rudy Giuliani in which he stated that the Movement is president Obama’s fault and the result of his class warfare.
Rachel MADDOW seemed to be trying for more balanced observations and evaluations; it is very clear from her approach that she is a supporter. She said that the demonstrations have ‘altered the political discourse of the U.S.’ mainly because politicians and banks just cannot help but be aware and acknowledge the 99%.
Today CNN provided some very positive descriptions and stories from protests in different cities around the country. It sympathized with the 1,500 senior citizens who in Chicago hit the streets to protest the cutting of social programs. CNN called the Occupy movement ‘a call to action against unequal distribution of wealth”."- Martina Ladova, Former Eco Art Matters Student
Bay Area Salvage Yards
Do you love the thrill of the hunt, searching for thrift store treasures? Whether you are repurposing them into art or making over your home, the key is knowing where to look to maximize your time.
Thanks to Omega Salvage for compiling a list of Bay Area Salvage Yards.
While you are out, drop by Omega Salvage in Berkeley, CA. At Omega they actively go out their way to great you, they are knowledgeable and the salvage yard is clean and organized.
Thanks to Omega Salvage for compiling a list of Bay Area Salvage Yards.
While you are out, drop by Omega Salvage in Berkeley, CA. At Omega they actively go out their way to great you, they are knowledgeable and the salvage yard is clean and organized.
What and Where to Recycle
Stopwaste.org is the go-to spot to learn about what and where to recycle in Alameda County. They even have a hotline number (1-877-STOPWASTE) where you can ask where to recycle your odd ball items like scratched CDs or dead batteries.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Chinook Book, coupon book of businesses with integrity
There are Chinook Books and iPhone and Android apps for the San Francisco Bay Area, Portland, Seattle and Denver.
Judith Selby Lang and Richard Lang
Judith Selby Lang and her husband, Richard Lang, walk beaches collecting plastic objects. They wash and sort the plastic treasures by color and then make art out of them.
- Their eco art gallery, called Electric gallery is in San Francisco, CA.
- What you can do about plastic pollution- downloadable pdf
Get Involved- Public Citizen
Stop Junk Mail
Download your free Stop junk mail kit.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Mushrooms will save the world
In the above photo Paul is holding an Agarikon, which is the oldest mushroom. It can live for up to a 100 years and when it's diluted to 1% it's the effective way to treat the Bird flu.
In 2011 Paul Stamets spoke at the environmental conference, Bioneers, about how mushrooms will save the world. They are the most ancient, keystone species and yet the least studied.
The photo was borrowed from the wiki article on Paul Stamets.
Paul Stamets considers himself the voice for fungi. From his research he's discovered mushrooms that can eat oil spills and nuclear waste, along with a mushroom who's fiber is good for making clothes, and a mushroom that is super dense in vitamin D.
Paul has several patents pending on uses for mushrooms. I was curious to see what exactly he discovered, so I looked up his application on freepatentsonline.com by searching by his last name.
Bioneers Conference 2011
Bioneers is the largest, annual environmental conference in the USA. It’s like TED talks, except with a hope filled focus on how to take care of the earth. The three day conference happens every October in the San Francisco Bay Area.The one session that I connected with took place in a small tent, that seated a couple hundred people. Everyone was barefoot and sitting on the ground. We held a council and shared our knowledge on how we have experienced the divine feminine and the divine masculine.
To me the divine feminine isn’t a goddess. Instead it’s a balance of traits that I‘m searching for, the ones that will make me most effective and content in life. Women are known for being nurturing, but they are also fiercely protect their loved ones. Within myself, I want to be a whole person, both a cook and a bread winner. Then if it happens, find a man who is also actualized and together we’ll be like iron sharpening iron.
Just as women have natural strengths, men do to. I think of the divine masculine as a benchmark for the men I look to date. Are they gentle? Do they know when and how to protect? Are they humble? Are they compassionate? Do they guard their health as being the most important, for how else can you serve without life?
We talked about the imbalance of masculine versus feminine power and how men and women need to treat each other as equals. The session was co-facilitated by a man who looked like my late grate-grandfather, Popsi. He said it was up to the men to honor and respect the women by giving us space to do what we do best: taking things deeper, being creative, forming communities, sharing feelings…
Hearing from this Popsi look-alike that ladies should be praised and valued as essential, was edifying. I felt important. I felt vital. Being apart of this circle meeting gave me the further conviction to better myself, to find that balance of traits within.
We carpooled up to Marin county, that's just north of San Francisco for the Bioneers Conference.
We helped man the WEAD booth, which is the Women Environmental Artists Directory.
Over the three day weekend, the morning sessions were held in the main auditorium, where we heard from top environmentalists, scientists and activists.
Besides having a vendors tent of organic/fair trade/eco-friendly products, there was an art exhibit by the artist-in-residence from Recology.
If you are interested in going next year to the Bioneers Conference in October, be sure to check out the scholarships. They offer them for youth, full time college students, seniors and activists. They also have a scholarship for teachers who use the Bioneers DVDs as part of their curriculum.
One of my favorite presentations at the conference was by Paul Stamets. He talked about how mushrooms can save the world. Also check out Stamets presentation on TED.
-Article by installation artist and former student of the Eco Art Matters Class, Elizabeth Symington.
Eco Arts Award
DEADLINE EXTENDED TO JANUARY 31, 2012
The Eco Arts Award is giving $1,000 to the first place winners in the six different categories. In a time where creativity is essential for solving world issues, us artists are even more valuable then before.
Categories include:
songwriting
literature
photography
fine art
functional art
short video
The deadline has been extended to January 31, 2012, so look at the guidelines now and start writing your proposal! Submission fee is only $30.
My Plastic-free Life blog
The albatross has the longest wingspan of up to 11 feet! They spend most of their lives gliding over seas, often going hours without landing. Surprisingly enough they also drink salt water.
The albatross are attracted to floating objects, which unfortunately lots of plastic are floating in the ocean. The famous National Geographic image shown above is of a washed up albatross and the trash found in its stomach.
Since how the ocean is down hill from everything, trash accumulates there. In the Pacific ocean there is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It's a swirling mass of plastic. When it was first discovered it was the size of Texas. It's now the size of the continental US and just as deep. All of this plastic is killing sea life and they are also eating and we're in turn digesting the plastic too.
Check out this wonderful blog called My Plastic-free Life for practical ideas on how to avoid and/or reduce using plastic. A good place to start is to buy a metal canteen instead of using plastic water bottles.
350.org
Depending on what's happening in the community during the semester, the class might participate in marches that relate to environment and/or social justice. One year we marched with 350.org, a non-profit that educates about the elevated levels of carbon dioxide that's in the air and how that effects everyone worldwide.
"And what does this 350 number even mean?
350 is the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide—measured in "Parts Per Million" in our atmosphere. 350 PPM—it's the number humanity needs to get back to as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change."-350.org's official website
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Assignment #1: Art Project Inspired by a Nature Walk
Take a walk in nature alone for at least one hour. Be watchful of patterns, wildlife, smells, sounds, and your personal experience, taking time to be still and listen. Think about your relationship to nature.
If you wanted to give back something of your experience or ideas, how could you interpret that into an artwork?
Create a small piece based on your experience. Do drawings from nature; write ideas in your sketchbook.
Check the syllabus for the deadline. Depending on class size, we might extend the critique over two class periods.
If you wanted to give back something of your experience or ideas, how could you interpret that into an artwork?
Create a small piece based on your experience. Do drawings from nature; write ideas in your sketchbook.
Check the syllabus for the deadline. Depending on class size, we might extend the critique over two class periods.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Women Environmental Artists Directory
Focusing on women's unique perspectives, we collaborate internationally to further the field and understanding of ecological and social justice art.
Click on WEAD and sign up for their newsletter, look at images of eco-art and apply to be apart of the directory.
Make a Bat Box
The 20 million Mexican free-tailed bats from Bracken Cave, Texas, eat approximately 200 tons
of insects nightly.
of insects nightly.
To encourage bats to live in your neighborhood, make a bat box! Having bats around will insect control and pollination.
You can decorate your bat box however you'd like!
If you'd like to learn more about bats check out
Sulphur Creek Nature Center, in Hayward, CA.
Most semesters, naturalists from Sulphur Creek visit the Eco Art Matters class to talk about the importance of bats. The best part is that they bring adorable live bats to the classroom!
Art Roots Here
Art Roots Here, Big Daddy's Community Garden, Emeryville, CA May 2009
Art Roots Here , postcard from the show
Spring, 2009
Spring, 2009
Curator’s Statement
It’s my privilege to have been selected to bring together a collection of artworks by a group of people who are as interested and committed to the renewal of our environment and spiritual balance as I am. The urban garden site that I manage on the Emeryville/Oakland border and that we’re utilizing for our show is a great emblem of this commitment. Until just a few years ago the location of “Big Daddy’s Complete Rejuvenating Community Garden” was a broken down service station with an auto-detailing business, as much a symbol of an industrial past as today it is a symbol of recycling and creative re-use.
The works produced by Laney College’s Eco-Art class students combine a central focus with a variety of individual perspectives, many keying on the garden and its growth, many a celebration of organic materials and forms. All share a dedication to improving the health of our planet and quality of our lives.
-Vickie Jo Sowell
Earth Goddess by Pam Cronsear
I was inspired by a visit to the Albany Bulb during that semester. I learned how up until the mid '80s that location had been formed when a literal dumping ground for all kinds of construction waste grew into a little peninsula in the Bay. When dumping became illegal in the late '80s, nature—in the form of nesting birds and rodents, vines and bushes, etc.—reclaimed the land. Today it is a park with pathways meandering past broken brick chimneys overgrown with brush and probably housing many small residents; twigs twining up alongside rebar; people-made shelters where the homeless have not only lived but embellished their nooks with artwork...
The "Earth Goddess" for me was a symbol of nature's power to thrive despite mankind's ridiculous and destructive activities. She is created out of a cast-off pile of bricks and straw I found on site. Then I built her up with left-over concrete and grout, broken pottery (I'm a mosaic artist so I have lots of that kind of stuff), and a necklace and crown fashioned out of beer bottle caps that I found across the street, plus washers and other metal items picked up off of sidewalks, and wire.
Pam Consear
services: www.handygaloakland.com
reuse shop: www.HandyGalStudios.etsy.com
art shop: www.PamConsear.etsy.com
Local Food Garden by Tracy Nguyen and Barbara Petterson
Materials: straw bales, soil, plants/herbs, wire fencing, cardboard, wood shavings
“Three studies…suggest that residents in Oakland’s low-income neighborhoods are unable to access healthy foods due to lack of proximity to vendors that stock affordable, healthy foods. The studies were based on surveys and focus groups within the East and West Oakland communities. Overall, the studies suggest that increased availability of healthy foods is a critical concern to these communities. Based on focus group responses, the studies also conclude that more education is necessary to inform residents of food options, and that access must be improved by adding grocery stores with healthy foods, farmers markets, fruit and vegetable stands, and community gardens to these neighborhoods.125" (Unger and Wooten, 2006)
“…more than 80 percent of the students in Emery Unified School District … receive free or reduced-price meals before, during and after school. However, this program is in trouble after State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell announced that state funding for subsidized meals is running out.” (Martinez, 2009)
That’s why we decided to get together to help Oaklanders and Emeryvillers get easier and better access to healthy, affordable foods. By building and growing our Local Food Garden at the juncture of Emeryville and West Oakland, we are providing a place where community members can get together and learn how they can grow their own food. It is also a place for contemplation in the midst of the city, as people are welcome to take a seat and breathe in nature or take a walk around the path. Our hope is that the quotes, educational facts and beauty of the garden will inspire people to try growing their own food themselves.
Martinez, A., In Emeryville. (2009). Budget scare for popular free lunch program. Retrieved April 18, 2009, from http://inemeryville.org/2008/12/09/popular-free-lunch-program-is-put-on-the-chopping-block/.
Unger, S. & Wooten, H, Oakland Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and University of California, Berkeley, Department of City and Regional Planning. (2006). A food systems assessment for Oakland, ca: toward a sustainable food plan. Retrieved April 18, 2009, from
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