Jan Spencer returns to Bellingham! Sponsored by Transition Whatcom, RE Sources for Sustainable Communities, and Sustainable Bellingham.  7:00pm, Friday March 5th at Sustainable Living Center above the RE Store. 

Global Trends - Local Choices is a timely, practical and humane call for personal empowerment and action, given the current state of our economic system, culture, natural environment and world.

GTLC recognizes the global trends that challenge us are all symptoms of deeper issues.  GTLC put its focus on those deeper issues - ourselves, culture, economics and our communities.

GTLC is action oriented - describing choices and strategies  people can make at home, in their neighborhoods and communities that can mitigate virtually all the challenges we face at the same time.  There are enormous opportunities to create positive outcomes, in these changing times, that require no permission beyond ourselves.

The  presentation is philosophical, practical and passionate while offering many visual images and descriptions of real life pioneers of eco logical culture change.  GTLC affirms that virtually all the assets, models and tools for creating a  healthy and peaceful world already exist.  Its simply a matter of the choices we make.

See Jan Spencer's Suburban Permaculture website, and check out the YouTube trailer for Global Trends - Local Choices DVD. 

Sustainable Bellingham is proud once again to be a sponsor for the Cascadia Workshops NVC Spring Learning Series. Saturday, April 17, 2010 from 10am - 5pm, plus the six (6) following Tuesday evenings, 6-9pm. Taught by Alan Seid, this is an in-depth learning series for the highly acclaimed process for preventing and resolving conflicts, creating rich and powerful relationships, and much more! One full-day Saturday plus six weekday evenings. Register here, or contact Angela MacLeod, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , phone 398-1096.

Where: Explorations Academy Library, 1701Ellis St., between Ohio & State, Bellingham, WA, USA. Cost: $400 Full Tuition •$350 Early Bird Special if paid in full by April 1, 2010  •Includes Snacks & Refreshments •Please Inquire if Needing Financial Assistance. Empowered Communication (also known as Compassionate Communication, Nonviolent CommunicationSM or NVC) is a way of speaking that facilitates the flow of communication needed to exchange information and resolve differences peacefully. It helps us identify our shared values & needs, encourages us to use language that increases goodwill, and avoid language that contributes to resentment or lowers self-esteem. Click here to learn more about NVC.  Download flyer here.

Sunday Jan. 31, 2009, 12:00-4:00

1317 Commercial (btwn Holly & Magnolia)
2nd floor – Center for Expressive Arts
Bellingham, WA
(above Uisce Pub & Trivoli Restaurant. Across the street from the Parkade)

Who should attend ?
  - Anyone with extra seed to share (in labeled containers or envelopes, please. Either ‘saved’ or ‘purchased’ seeds)

   - People with no seeds – and want seeds to grow

Presentation : Why and How to Save Your Own Seeds @ 3 PM

Schedule:
12:00- 12:30         Tea & Introductions,  Non-profit Tables, Garden Share Opportunities                                  
12:30-1:00            Circle Gathering & Seed-Swap Etiquette
1:00-3:00              Open Seed Exchange
2:00- 3:00             Specialty Seed Exchange
3:00-4:00              Presentation/Demo : Why and How to Save Your Own Seeds
       

 
Thanks to our Sponsors: Forest Garden Urban Ecology Center, Center for Local Self Reliance, Sustainable Bellingham, Food Not Lawns, Earthcare Garden Designs, and Transition Whatcom.

For more info, contact Shannon Maris, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

November 15, 1-4 PM, location: 1312 Bay St., Bellingham (American Museum of Radio and Electricity).
Heard of Transition Whatcom and want to know more? Enthusiastic about Transition to a less energy-dependent community and ready to put your commitment into real action? Willing to initiate some resilience-building in your neighborhood but don’t know where to start? If you’ve talked the talk and wanting to do more walking the walk, join up with others who are putting their commitment to Transition-ing into action!

So many people have said, "We're ready to get going!" so this interactive event will provide information about Transition projects already underway in Whatcom County and let you know how you can participate. There will be breakout sessions to connect with others in your neighborhood or area that are also committed to reducing energy dependence, and to discuss how you can work together, perhaps by starting your own Transition initiatives and/or projects. For example: neighborhood gardens, tool libraries, food resource mapping, edible perennials planted in public places, seed swapping, backyard chicken raising, skill sharing, crop sharing, learning-from-elders, kids' gardens, mini-CSAs, local currency, and more. Bring your own ideas! Download the poster here; Event announcement here: http://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/events/lets-walk-the-walk

Co-sponsored by Sustainable Bellingham.

Co-Taught by Alan Seid & Cat Zavis

An advanced-level, weekend class in NVC. You can use this "communication Aikido" for speaking what's true for you in a way that is most likely to result in a compassionate response, as well as leading to your own needs being met in a way that is in harmony with other people's needs. With NVC you can connect with the life-serving truth behind what's coming across as blame, criticism, or a verbal attack.

This class is for people who have been actively practicing NVC for at least one year, and who want to take their practice to the next level.

Co-Sponsored by Sustainable Bellingham

When:
Saturday and Sunday
October 10 and 11
10am-5pm

Where:
100 East Maple Street, Bellingham, Washington

Cost:
$250-to-$200 Sliding Scale
*Includes Snacks & Refreshments
*Please Inquire if Needing Financial Assistance

Co-taught by Alan Seid and Cat Zavis.
Click here for Alan's bio or here for Alan's CV
See Cat's Website: www.catjzavis.com

Register by email here, or by calling Angela MacLeod at (360) 398-1096

An in-depth learning series for the highly acclaimed process for preventing and resolving conflicts, creating rich and powerful relationships, and much more!

Co-Sponsored by Sustainable Bellingham
Learn more about NVC


This class consists of one full-day Saturday plus six weekday evenings for a total of seven sessions which add up to 24 hours of workshop time.


Register Online Now

When:
Saturday, September 26, 2009, 10am - 5pm
plus the following six (6) Tuesday evenings, 6-9pm

Where:
Explorations Academy Library
1701Ellis St., between Ohio & State, Bellingham, Washington
Click for map

Cost:
$400 Full Tuition
($350 Early Bird Special if paid in full by Monday, September 14, 2009 - Early Bird Special deadline extended: $350 if paid in full by Tuesday Sept. 22nd!)
*Includes Snacks & Refreshments
*Please Inquire if Needing Financial Assistance

Taught by Alan Seid, who has studied NVC since 1995, primarily with the creator of the process, Marshall Rosenberg. Alan was certified as a Trainer by the Center for Nonviolent Communication in 2003.
Click for Alan's bio.
Click for Alan's CV.

To Register or if you have questions:
Contact Angela at (360) 398-1096, or
email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Register Online Here.

"Alan is well studied and well practiced in his work. I probably learned as much from observing and sensing his energy when he interacts and talks with people as from his 6 week course. What an inspiration!  I often hold Alan (with his calm and intentional way of being) in my mind when I am getting my creative juices flowing on how I might approach a communication challenge - and it has always helped. I thought I would get something from the course that would help me on a 'surface level' but my experience has been profoundly deep and very practical.  I am very grateful."
Cindi Landreth, Vice-President A1 Builders and Adaptations Design Studio, Spring 2009 NVC Series Participant


"As a male from the east coast I sought a more compassionate style of communication in my relationship with my flower-child partner from Maple Falls. This NVC workshop joined us deeply. Coastal difference vaporized."
Rick Dubrow, Spring 2009 NVC Series Participant

Presentation & Discussion
with Kathryn Fentress, Ph.D.

June 11, 2009, 7 - 9 PM - Social at 6.30

Wise Awakening - Orca Room

314 East Holly Street, Bellingham

Suggested donation $5

Sponsored by Bellingham IONS

Cosponsored by
Sustainable Bellingham and
Transition Whatcom

Sustainable Bellingham is proud to congratulate one of our own for winning the "Environmental Hero" award for 2009. For the seventh year, local environmental education and advocacy organization, RE Sources for Sustainable Communities, celebrates local people working for the environment by naming their 2009 Environmental Heroes. On April 25th, David MacLeod will be among the six community heroes being honored this year at the Award Banquet held at the Leopold Crystal Ballroom. As the award announcement states, "David MacLeod is a quiet force for change," and we have been pleased to have him on board as a committed Sustainable Bellingham volunteer since the founding of our organization in 2005.  

When asked to comment on winning this award David said, I was shocked. I really wasn't expecting this. It's quite an honor to win an award for something that is so important to me, and I'd like to thank James Loucky for making the nomination. However, it also feels a bit strange to be singled out like this. There are so many people in our community who are working very hard on sustainability and environmental issues. Nothing is accomplished in isolation, and I really have to share this award with all of the Sustaianble Bellingham team, especially the most recent Vision Team, consisting of Lynnette Allen, Craig Mayberry, Jeff Westcott, Rich Taylor, Dan Martin, and Marilyn Flint. I would also like to acknowledge Allison and Dave Ewoldt, David x, Calvin Priest, Sandy Hoelterhoff, Lynnette Allen and Tiffany Schoessler, who served on the original team that launched SB."

Originally coming on board to our web team, David has consistently kept our website updated with new content. His special interest early on was the "Sustainability Documentation Project" on our wiki site, with numerous pages devoted to recording the best internet articles coming out on the various topics related to sustainability. Our mailing list was originally being used just for the occasional updates on the goings on of Sustainable Bellingham, but David offered to edit a weekly newsletter that informed readers of as many sustainability related events as possible going on in our community, regardless of whether they were sponsored by SB. The idea was readily accepted, as it fit the part of our mission that called for us to collaborate with and support all sustainability efforts happening locally.

"It made sense to send the information out to people, rather than wait for them to come to us, in hopes that they would find and use our online calendar," David said. "However, part of my motivation was that this newsletter would allow me to pass along the many great articles I was finding on the internet that relate to our mission and the issues we at Sustainable Bellingham are concerned about."  

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