Together on the Land - Friday Panel Discussion
Submitted by Megan on May 2, 2009 - 11:12am.
06/05/2009 - 7:00pm
06/05/2009 - 8:30pm
TOGETHER ON THE LAND
Options for Sustainable, Affordable & Ecological Living in Community
PANEL DISCUSSION
Second Congregational Church - 16 Court Square – Greenfield, MA
Can we build sustainable communities that are affordable and ecological? Yes! Throughout the Pioneer Valley there are numerous models for how to create communities that balance affordability, ecology and community connections. No one model has all the answers – but they all offer tremendous insights and for some, may be the answer you were looking for today.
You may pre-register for Friday's talk online by clicking here.
Friday Evening Panel Discussion Speakers Include:
Lynn Benander, SalmonFallsLand Association & Co-op Power
- Lynn Benander has been a member of the Salmon Falls Land Association for several years. She has a broad background in cooperative and community development, specializing in legal and governance structures for group-based businesses. As manager of Co-op Power, she also has experience in energy efficiency and renewable energy.
- As a kid on a Virginia dairy farm, Bill Cole says, “We used DDT on everything; I still remember the stench.” After boarding with a Rodale-believing family during his first stint teaching in the late ‘60s, he “discovered the pleasures of organically grown food. Then followed underground and strawbale houses and the idea of sustainability.” In 2004, he decided to begin an ecovillage, and a year later discovered Colrain. Katywil Ecovillage is now a reality, with two houses under construction and two more lots sold.
Bick Corsa, Corsa Carpentry
- Bick Corsa has been building and renovating energy efficient homes since 1980 when he and his brothers built a passive solar-heated home in Michigan. He has over 30 years experience as a professional carpenter and builder, and has been an energy auditor and home weatherization educator. Bick just completed an award-winning zero energy home that is being recognized in Massachusetts and nationally for being a net energy producer. The home has applied for Platinum LEED certification and used safer, healthier building materials and sustainably-harvested wood products.
Pam Kimball, MountGrace Land Conservation Trust
- Pam Kimball is the Development Director at Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust where she works to raise funds and get the word out about the importance of protecting farmland, forestland and water resources to sustain healthy communities for the residents of north central and western MA. Pam is personally interested in helping to manifest a mosaic of protected working and wild lands interspersed with clusters of sustainable housing.
Juanita Nelson, Valley Community Land Trust
- Juanita Nelson was one of the initiating members of an economic study group that met for the winter of 1975 at Woolman Hill where she lives. This group decided to create a community land trust, which became the Valley CLT. While not a VCLT lessee, Juanita lives in a land trust mode and has been an active member of VCLT for over 30 years. Her belief concerning land stewardship is part of her philosophy of trying to live non-violently.
This panel will include experts and people living in community. Come to learn more about:
- Cooperative Housing
- Cohousing
- Eco-Villages
- Community Land Trusts
- Conservation Land Trusts
This discussion is a great opportunity to learn the basics before going on the multi-site tour on Saturday or a way to learn more if you can't make the tour. Come talk with your neighbors and learn more about the nuts & bolts of these different models.
Friday night speakers are from the following organizations:
- Cooperative Development Institute (CDI) is the Northeast's center for cooperative business education, training and technical assistance. CDI's mission is to increase economic opportunities and benefits for people in the Northeast by fostering the growth and success of all types of cooperative enterprises.
- Co-op Power is a regional network of local communities creating a multi-class, multi-racial movement for a sustainable and just energy future. We are a consumer-owned energy cooperative serving New England and New York.
- Katywil Ecovillage is envisioned as a community of people who treasure the beauty of this land and its subtle pleasures, who wish to simplify their lives, and who relish the company of others.
- Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust protects significant natural, agricultural, and scenic areas and encourages land stewardship in North Central and Western Massachusetts for the benefit of the environment, the economy and future generations.
- The Valley Community Land Trust (VCLT) is a non-profit organization that holds title to land, considering it neither as private nor public property, but as a sacred resource to be held in trust for present and future generations.
