Compost making workshop: theory and practice Ecology, Economy, Philosophy

A cycle of three workshops addressing home compost-making is designed as a holistic approach to the issue of recycling at the source. The topic will be addressed in theory and practice with hands-on opportunity and it will address the practicalities of composting as well as its application and place in the philosophical movements in life.
Bring with you all organic remains collected during the previous week in a plastic bag. These may include peels, leaves, weeds as well as egg shells! We will provide the carbon-rich materials in the form of paper, carton, dry leaves, etc.

Dates:
Sunday, March 28th
Registration deadline 26/3
Sunday, May 30th
Registration deadline 23/5
Sunday,September 5th
Registration deadline 29/8

Instructors: Nicholas Anastasopoulos and George Loudos both practice composting with several methods for more that one decade. Philosopher/ writer Fotis Terzakis will illuminate the aspects of human thought and belief systems through various religions in relationship with the meaning of death and rebirth, the life cycle and nature through the different traditions.

We highly recommend participation in all three workshops which form a conceptual and practical unit and complement each other. At the end of each workshop there will be refreshments and snacks served prepared from local produce.

Attention:
Meeting places will be gardens in Nea Makri.
We ask for a donation of 5 euros per person.
Maximum number of participants: 30 persons

For direction and any last minute changes please visit the site one week prior to the scheduled event.

First workshop will take place on Sunday, March 28th at 4:30 pm at Nea Makri. You can reach the garden where 1st workshop takes place if coming from Athens or anywhere else more distant than a few kilometers from Nea Makri either by car or public transport. We generally favor reduced use of cars, therefore it is always a good idea to share a ride with someone else. If you drive, you must park on Argostoliou street and then walk on foot to Olympou 2.

Buses leaving from "Pedion toy Areos" with indications Marathon, Grammatiko, Agia Marina, all make a stop at "Agios Konstantinos", one stop past the Nea Makri square. From the stop you can walk to the house and it takes about 10 minutes to get there.
Please study and print the diagram below for directions and reference.




You may register for the first workshop until March 26/3 by e-mail: gloudos@teiath.gr mentioning the 1st compost workshop as title to your mail.

Deep recession is a reality and so is climate change!
We have been experiencing the consequences of rising destructive temperatures with the fires of 2007 and 2009.
While most ecology movements and mass media project a grim picture of the future in ecological and financial terms -a prospect that tends to paralyze and not empower people- in the case of the Transition Towns movement the central message is optimism:

Over the past five years Transition initiatives propose answers and ways of addressing problems that today appear crucial at a survival level such as climate change and the economy. Transition towns propose ways of tackling our current labyrinthine mess and attempt to give answers to these crises which threaten livelihood and the planet, such as the economic crisis and climate change. Central to Transition towns is the meaning of resilience, a term better known in ecology and understood as the capacity of a system to absorb disturbance and reorganize while undergoing change, so as to still retain essentially the same function, structure, identity and feedbacks.

In this presentation we will examine methods of the communities in a transition process and the up to the present results.

Time and place:
11:00 am, Saturday, March 27th at the foyer of the Aliki movie theatre in the Athletic and Cultural Park of Nea Makri.

Nicholas Anastasopoulos/ Zina Razis

The meeting place for this public forum is the foyer of the Aliki movie theater (a component of the Athletic and Cultural center of Nea Makri) and is open to the public.

How to get there:

If coming by public transport (buses going to Marathon, Grammatiko and Ag. Marina all make stops there) the ex-military American base site is also a bus stop, so just notify that this is where you want to get off. From there the Aliki movie theater is a 5’ walk inside the Athletic and Cultural center of Nea Makri.
If coming by car from Marathon avenue driving towards Marathon, about 150 m after the Dionysos intersection and just after the fire station you need to slow down and turn right into the Athletic and Cultural center of Nea Makri. Park and walk to the movie theater.

Climate Change, education and the everyday/ AKTO Amphitheater, 6:30 pm, 25th February

TREE opens 2010 and invites you to a round-table discussion that addresses the Copenhagen Summit on climate change as well as the people's movements related to climate change and climate justice and the future from now on:
What might be the link between an economic crisis and the climate change phenomenon?
How might everyday life contribute to the emergence of climate change, how is it affected by it and how might it harbor the answer?

Local communities need to boost their resilience towards climate change related threats and the educational component through an updating of content and curriculum can contribute by rising up to the challenges and efficiently addressing change.

Nikos Chrysogelos, Ecogreens party representative
Nicholas Anastasopoulos, Architect/ AKTO/ TREE
Nikiforos Plytas, MEDSOS representative on Climate Change and Energy
This event takes place at the AKTO amphitheater, 3 Kranaou street, Psirri at 6:30 pm, on Thursday 25th February and is going to be in greek.

24 January 2010 ---> A people's celebration 10:30 am at the Aliki foyer, former American Base, Nea Makri

DYNAMI POLITON-ΔΥΝΑΜΗ ΠΟΛΙΤΩΝ, TREE and SARCHA (School of Architecture for All) invite you to a celebration:
Become familiar with the electronic pilot forum “Sustainable Nea Makri”, participate in the traditional New Year’s pie cutting while enjoying home-made mezedes and sweets with wine, hear live music by the group Les Marionettes!...

DYNAMI POLITON will wave good-bye to 2009 with a brief recounting of their actions, while TREE will announce the 2010 schedule and SARCHA (School of Architecture for All) will develop the idea behind the program for 2010-1.

So what do we do after the Copenhagen letdown? Meet the Transition Towns Movement

Climate change is a reality.
Copenhagen didn't bring the deal people all over the world hoped for. There's something to be said about the gap between what people want and what governments deliver.
The psychological "climate" after Copenhagen seems to be that of disappointment, pessimism and abandon. Yet, pessimism has never been a good ally.
There are already several other approaches to these issues in the world that may serve as examples. See how others see these issues through the "lenses" of the burgeoning transition towns movement:

Transition Towns are communities found in several countries already that attempt to change their functions having in mind the looming oil depletion, the peak oil phenomenon, the energy crisis and climate change. They volontarily turn to renewable energy, cut down consumption, place emphasis on local food and local goods in order to increase resilience and work to foster community in order to boost self-reliance and individual and community robustness and health. This can be achieved through identifying specific targets and reaching them, targets that aim to re-introduce a simpler way of life, less dependence on fossil fuel and local production. Ia a sense, this movement is a direct descendant to the Permaculture principles and attempts to bring transformation within existing communities.

Transition Towns Movement

A People's Declaration from Klimaforum09

Please sign the Not-done-yet campaign: not-done-yet! not-done-yet


In this picture from the People’s declaration for the climate meeting the text of the declaration is projected on the screen in draft form while it is being read and people can comment on it by suggesting additions and changes. You may find the final text here:A People’s Declaration from Klimaforum09


Here you can get an idea on the Copenhagen "climate" last week (8-13/12)!

TREE's brief initial report from the Copenhagen climate

Denmark after centuries of deforestation and transformation of its land into pastures has ended up with a completely altered landscape.Rivers have been diverted into straight lines and channeled into crop fields while many species of its fauna and flora have vanished forever.
Having said that, it also needs to be said that the Danes give lessons of sustainability these days to all of us on many other fronts. That includes renewable energy, urban mobility and transportation, strong social networks and good education. Today, a large percentage of citizens uses bicycles to move around town and much of the energy used is from renewable sources. These days, Copenhagen is host to the UN Climate Change Conference, an event of paramount significance for the future. People from everywhere are flocking in, including government officials, NGO representatives, activists and independent travelers.

Bella Center is the official headquarters where the COP15 proceedings are being held. Access is not easy to anyone without accreditation. The interesting meetings though take place at GDI, a sports center near the train station bustling with human energy. That's where NGOs and activists from all over the world hold meetings, conferences, exchange information and just generally network:
People's Climate Summit
On the other hand at Christiania, the independent community of Copenhagen, (for more on Christiania see http://www.christiania.org/) it is where the Climate Bottom Meeting: Windows of Hope is held.
There, a different type of approach is being developed: it is we, the people that need to empower ourselves in order to achieve both social and climate change.

Several cultural parallel events take place. The '' Rethink contemporary art and climate change event comprises of Rethink Kakotopia at the Nicolaj Copenhagen Contemporary Art Center, the Den Frie Centre for Contemporary Art and the Danish Art Gallery, Rethink Relations and Rethink the Implicit the produces an interesting link on the topic and art.

The COP15 event has a great significance for the future as everything is at stake. Also it means something else for everyone.
At one event taking place at DGI the Klimaforum 09 Declaration was being prepared. This text was being put together by people from many countries(many of them indigenous people)attempting to incorporate the ramifications of history of more than two centuries into the current state of things. Tomorrow (12/12) is the big march with an official estimate of at least 50.000 people from 516 organizations.
Climate March at the climate summit 12-12