Eco-Peace, Permaculture Conference Nov. 10 in Belfast
Contact: Hugh Curran, 581-2609; George Manlove, 581-3756
BELFAST — The international eco-peace community ESTIA, a non-profit organization that includes Peace Studies Program faculty members at the University of Maine in Orono, will present its third annual conference, “Building Today’s Eco-Peace Village,” Nov. 10 at the Hutchinson Center in Belfast.
The conference, from 12-5 p.m., is supported by the University of Maine Hutchinson Center and the UMaine Peace Studies Program.
The annual eco-peace conference should be of interest to anyone concerned with sustainability issues and eco-villages, according to Hugh Curran, vice president of ESTIA (Eco-peace, Sustainability, Training, International Affiliations) and a peace studies faculty member. Registration fees are $15 for adults and $10 for students. Reservations can be made by calling the Hutchinson Center at 1-800 –753-9044 by Nov. 3.
The conference will open at noon with a blessing by Penobscot Elder Arnie Neptune and his wife Jane.
Speakers for the afternoon conference include permaculturists Julia and Charles Yelton, former residents of Crystal Waters, a permaculture eco-village in Queensland, Australia, and designers of the Humustacia Permaculture Gardens in Whitefield, Maine, who will discuss sustainability, from 12:15-1 p.m. Permaculture is a design system for creating sustainable human environments. It offers solutions to the problems facing the world using ecology as the basis of designing integrated systems of food production, housing, technology and community development.
Emily Markides, president of ESTIA and a peace studies faculty member, will discuss the question “Why eco-peace villages?” from 1-1:45 p.m.
Panel discussions from 2-3 p.m. follow the talks. Panel topics and group leaders include:
“Taking Back the Commons” with Joline Blais, a UMaine New Media Department faculty member, who will explore the historical developments that have taken away individuals’ ability to sustain themselves;
“Transformative Peace Education” with Phyllis Brazee, director of the Peace Studies Program, discussing the transformation of conflict into creativity through a new paradigm of holistic, interdisciplinary and experiential education;
“Spirituality and the Arts” with Hugh Curran and Nancy Earle, an artist and Franciscan nun, who will make the case for eco-villages’ need for art and creativity; Curran will co-host the panel with Earle and will lead a discussion on the importance of creating a spiritual and ethical perspective in the development of eco-peace communities.
“Soil Health, Stabilizing and Localizing Our Food Supply,” with Mark Fulford, farmer and agricultural educator and consultant from Monroe, Maine, who will discuss why people need to look beyond labels and paradigms to secure a safe and stable food supply;
“Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)” with Richard Graves, chair of LEED, and architect Ayola Greene, who will focus on green building design and high performance buildings, and the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED rating system;
“Appropriate Technologies and Retrofitting,” with Richard Komp, president of the Maine Solar Energy Foundation, and engineer Claudia Lowd, who will consider practical ways to make a home or business more “green” and environmentally friendly through the incorporation of conservation and renewable energy sources such as solar, air and water heaters;
And “Medicinal Herbs and Community Health” with herbalist Deb Soule, founder of Avena Botanicals in Rockport.
Further details are available by calling the Peace Studies Program at 581-2609.