ESTIA International EcoPeace Community Conference Oct. 22
Contact: Ellen Woodhead, (207) 581-2609
BELFAST — The 7th Annual ESTIA International EcoPeace Community Conference Oct. 22 at the University of Maine Hutchinson Center in Belfast will present speakers and panel discussions on the environment, education and sustainable community development.
From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., speakers and breakout groups will discuss philosophical and practical issues surrounding ecovillages, permaculture and sustainability. This year’s conference title is “Ecovillages Redefined: Actualizing Integrity, Stability & Beauty.”
Keynote speakers include Roger Kelly, who served as director of the Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales and is now director of Energy Solutions in London; Philip Snyder, who has served as the executive director of several non-profit organizations, including the Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy at Cornell university and the Global Ecovillage Network in Denmark; Daniel Greenberg, founder and director of Living Routes, a non-profit that partners with the University of Massachusetts to offer study abroad programs based in “ecovillages” around the world; and Zoe Weil, author, co-founder and president of the Institute for Humane Education.
Facilitated group discussions will be led by gkisedtanamoogk (Native American Spirituality); Mark Fulford (From Soil to Table: The living pathways of nutritional agriculture); Jesse Watson and Jeffrey Maybee (Urban Permaculture/Community Gardens); Phyllis Brazee (What is the Role of Forgiveness?); Mike Gold and Stacy Gambrel (Maine Farmland Trust); Joline Blais (Belfast Ecovillage) and Alastair Lough (Transition Towns: Waltzing with Bears).
The ESTIA Epicenter for EcoPeace and Sustainability was made possible last year through a donation of land and a cabin on Williams Pond Road in Bucksport, by Sheila Holtz, which allowed ESTIA to expand its educational and outreach opportunities.
Complete information about the conference, including fees, schedule and speaker biographies, are available on the ESTIA website at www.estiamaine.org/ or by calling 207-581-2609 or 207-581-2636. The conference is co-sponsored by the UMaine Peace and Reconciliation Studies Program and the Hutchinson Center.