Saturday, September 26, 2015

10:20am to 12:00 noon

Resilient Garden Discussion Panel

Nadia Malarkey, Eric Limberg, Tim Honchel

Eric talked about his success in Milwaukee establishing a Community Supportive Agriculture program on top of roof tops in downtown Milwaukee.  His organization, Victory Garden Initiative, started with 20 volunteers and 50 gardens to over 500 volunteers.  Members build raised bed boxes and haul the growing medium up to the top of the roof of buildings.  The project building involved a derelict building in the city purchased for $100.    This building sat on a 1.5 acre land that is also being developed.  Eric feels that his project has affected over 13,787 area people.

Nadia talked about her consulting business involving design and building of sustainable landscaping.  She mentions that to have healthy ecosystems, you must have healthy plants and soil.  She tries to create ecosystems welcoming to wildlife.  She has recently started a program to “bring back the pollinators” – landscaping that would aid in bringing back pollinating insects including honey bees.  Nadia also plants extensive milkweed for the monarch butterflies.  Since we only share the landscaping with other creatures, she has led community efforts to establish pesticide-free areas for the sake of wildlife protection.  There is potential for an incredible diversity of life in residential yards if it is only realized.

Saturday, September 26, 2015

8:30 am to 10:00 am

Maikwe Ludwig – Dancing Rabbit Intentional Community

Sustainable is Possible – Living a Low Carbon High Quality Life

Maikwe presently lives in an intentional community located in the very rural Northeast part of Missouri.  She started off her presentation relating the idea that to most people, sustainability sucks.  This is not the case at the community where her family live.  Current belief by climate scientists includes the idea that citizens in the USA need to reduce their carbon footprint down to 10% of what they now live.  The Dancing Rabbit Intentional Community has been living in this goal for several years successfully.

Imagine a lifestyle that involves the reduction of living resources down to the 10% as recommended by climate scientists.  At her intentional community, citizens actually use 14 % of the average US electrical energy consumption.  Their community has installed Solar Photovoltaic Panels as a way to provide power to the community and sell the excess back to the area’s utility company. They use 19% of the average US water consumption.  This is achieved by using composting toilets, having gardens and not lawns, and they take showers only when needed.  The use of the community pond is frequently used during the summer months.

Dancing Rabbit Community disposes 13% of the wastes of a typical USA homeowner.  They practice recycling as well as their analyzing of what comes into their homes and what must go out.  There is a conscious choice on packaging when purchases are made.  Their community has reduced their consumption of Natural Gas down to 5% of the single home average.  Passive solar heats all of the homes in the community and cooking is down with community solar ovens.  Hay Boxes (boxes of heavily insulated materials will serve as a storage for food containing pots to finish cooking).  Their community has reduced the use of automobiles down to 7% and their gas consumption down to 6% of the national average.

Their food choices involves a vegetarian diet consisting of locally grown and available produce.  The elimination of red meat has dramatically reduced their overall carbon footprint due to its resource needs.  Their buildings and homes are quite beautiful to look at and not ugly at all.  The buildings reflect certain artistic touches that add to that sense of beauty.  Overall, there is a great commitment to reducing the carbon footprint by community members that the average home consists of about 230 square feet. 

Some principles that citizens observe are:

Re-use of materials and items

The striving for timeless work

Development of relationships

Service to community

Life Lon Learning

Balance with Technology

Weighing the values of each decision

In their community, they have a Dance Hall, Playing Field, Restaurant and Community Park that members and friends can use.  They rate their quality of life measure equal to that of Seattle Washington.  Where the average income of a typical US citizen is $43,000 per year, citizens of Dancing Rabbit have an average income of $10,000 – and live quite well.  Members practice the 4 C’s :  Creativity, Compassion, Courage, and Cooperation.  Members realize that the economic choices they make are NOT neutral but have a direct effect on other beings and people.  Part of their lives focus on making sure that the “right stuff” gets incentivized.  Change is easier when done together.