Dear Subscriber,
“By unleashing the collective genius of those around us…we can build ways of living that are more connected, more enriching and that recognize the biological limits of our planet.” —Rob Hopkins, founder, Transition Initiatives
Since Transition Santa Cruz published its Towards a Sustainable Water Plan for Santa Cruz last August, the collective genius of the community has begun to generate sustainable water strategies. Here are some examples:
- UCSC geologic consultant, Gerald Weber, wrote in Sunday’s Sentinel about the “sizeable groundwater resource that underlies the UCSC campus.”
- Minardi Engineering, in a comment submitted for the desalination plant EIR scope, provides a drawing of a simple system to automatically fill toilet tanks with rainwater from the roof.
- Former City Water Production Manager, Jim Bentley, has resurrected from obscurity the strategy of inter-district water transfers for aquifer relief and drought security.
- Scores of citizens have attended workshops in running laundry water to their landscape.
We can all be part of this exciting upwelling of local smarts and democracy by getting educated about the fascinating, complex issues of re-localization. Check out the Santa Cruz Desal Alternatives event and much more in this newsletter.
—Rick Longinotti and Michael Levy
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Desalination and the Alternatives
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Wednesday, February 16
7-8:30 pm
Unity Temple, 407 Broadway, near Ocean
free admission
Conner Everts will be the featured speaker at this event, sponsored by Santa Cruz Desal Alternatives.
Conner is the executive director of the Southern California Watershed Alliance. Mr. Everts was convener of the California Urban Water Conservation Council and served on the State Task Force on Desalination. He is an advisor to the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water and Southern California Steelhead Alliance, helping remove dams on the streams where he fished as a youth.
For more information, go to desalalternatives.org.
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Rose petal raffle to benefit TSC
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What do Cupid, a local surfing legend, peak oil, and ecological landscaping have in common? An unlikely union of local organizations and businesses are collaborating in a one-of-a-kind benefit to help Santa Cruzans heal their addictions while literally showering a bed of roses on the lucky raffle winner.
On Monday, February 14 a raffle will be held at noon inside Greenspace in Santa Cruz. Darryl Virostko, three-time Mavericks competition winner, film star and founder of FleaHab, a surfing program for recovering addicts will draw the winning ticket at the store. The prize from Terra Nova Ecological Landscaping is a complete garden bed mulching using reclaimed, food-grade and kosher rose petals created for tea making but narrowly rescued from being sent to the landfill. The raffle proceeds will be donated to Transition Santa Cruz. Cupid has never been so socially and environmentally aware.
The raffle tickets for the Valentine’s Day drawing are $3.00 and can be purchased in advance at Greenspace, 1122 Soquel Avenue, Santa Cruz, 831-423-7200 or by calling Ken Foster of Terra Nova at 831-359-5717.
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2 events for your heart and soul
| "Agents of Change" Pachamama Workshop
Saturday, February 19
Louden Nelson Community Center
For fans of the Pachamama Alliance's deeply moving Awakening the Dreamer Symposium, here's a special opportunity: a new daylong workshop on getting active, called Agents of Change. It will be conducted by Tracy Apple and senior staff of The Pachamama Alliance. "An interactive transformational workshop designed to deepen our understanding of what it means to be an agent of change and to empower our capacity to address humanity's most pressing issues."
Details here, and registration here. For more details you can also contact Derek Tennant.
"Sacred Activism" with Andrew Harvey
Friday, February 25, 7 pm
Inner Light Center, 5630 Soquel Dr., Soquel
$15
Join Andrew Harvey, renowned scholar and visionary and author of The Hope and Heart Yoga, as he makes a rare visit to Santa Cruz . Through stories, laughter, and maybe even tears, he will take us on his journey as a Sacred Activist and illuminate our fears, anguish, and opportunities in these extraordinary times.
Tickets and more info available here.
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Also worthy of attention...
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Great classes from Food Not Lawns
Tuesdays, 5:30 pm, March thru May
1145 Laurel St., Santa Cruz
Free
FNL is a housing cooperative on the westside geared towards backyard urban farming and permaculture. They teach a series of sustainable living classes each quarter through FreeSkool Santa Cruz. See the "community events" section on the TSC website for a full listing, or call Jacob, 619-942-4558 for more information.
The Economics of Happiness
Save the date! Friday March 18, 7 pm
Rio Theatre, just $5
An excellent, hopeful new film about globalization vs. local economies.
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Contact Details
831-427-9916
http://transitionsc.org
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Potluck with a Purpose
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♦ Wednesday, February 23, 6:30 to 9:00 pm
♦ Live Oak Grange, 1900 17th Ave. (map)
♦ Free/donation
♦ Family friendly
♦ Bring a dish to share, any items to swap, and community announcements
Focus on Food:
Beyond the Backyard Garden
How can neighborhoods develop their local food resources and build community at the same time?
The TSC Food Working Group will share some of the work it is doing to develop food resilience at the community level, followed by an open discussion of ways we can build food resilience in our own neighborhoods. If you've been wondering what the Food Group is up to and/or wanting to get involved, please join us. We'll eat and talk food (but never with our mouths full)!
Projects to be discussed include:
♦ The Santa Cruz Urban Garden Sharing Network
♦ The Santa Cruz Fruit Tree Project
♦ TerraGnoma Community Demonstration Garden
♦ Food in the Hood
♦ Food Not Lawns
Everyone is encouraged to bring a potluck dish that sources at least one ingredient from as close to home as possible!
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