June 2009
Paul Hawken - a powerful speech to a graduating class from Portland University
This is the transcript of a recent speech by Paul Hawken - a noted environmentalist and author - to the "Class of 2009" students graduating from the University of Portland, Oregon.
STORIES OF EXPERIENCE - OLD WISDOM FOR MODERN TIMES - review by Russ Grayson
I remember it as one of those hazy memories from a distant childhood... it was at a football game in Maryborough (I later learned that there was another town by that name somewhere down south, but we Queenslanders knew those southerners like to copy the Sunshine State) and I was collecting discarded soft drink bottles and taking them to the shop. There, the shopkeeper would give me money for them. I didn't know then that this was something called 'container deposit', nor that it would become an environmental cause in later years. For me and my friends, it was nothing more than the opportunity to come across a little extra pocket money.
Swapping thrown-away bottles for a coin is one of those practices now long gone except in enlightened states like South Australia. It is the memory of such practices that has inspired Meg Bishop and Graeme Gibson to produce their little book, Stories of Experience — learning from the environmental experiences of older Australians.
ON THE ROAD (apologies to Jack Kerouac) WITH THE CITY OF SYDNEY EDUCATIONAL TOURS OF COMMUNITY GARDENS by Russ Grayson
Let me say a good word about someone new to her job... someone still learning but who is bound for success because she has the needed combination of right motivation, right attitude and right action. Her name is Annie Walker and just this January she started her new job with City of Sydney as its volunteer and community gardens officer. Young and smart, Annie comes with a background in local government sustainability education.