Workshops
As part of the October 24 350 activities in downtown Hamilton, we have arranged a number of inspiring (and even tasty) presentations to help get you in the mood for change!
From raw food to transition towns, you'll learn the steps we can take as individuals as well as pressure points for government action.
All workshops start at 1:00 PM and will end in time for participants to reconvene at Gore Park and then march to the Federal Building.
Sign up for your workshop at Gore Park starting at noon on the 24th. Then, take in some of the activities at Gore Park, maybe grab a bite to eat downtown (restaurants that feature locally-sourced food can be found on this list) and head to your workshop for 1 p.m.
We'll provide maps to get to the venues, most of which are near Gore Park.
See below for a description of the various workshops being offered.
Transition Towns: A Community Response To Climate Change
Peak oil. Climate change. Environmental destruction. Economic crisis. Social inequity. What are we doing about these visible signs of economic, environmental and social collapse occurring at the same time? Governments are not doing enough fast enough. We cannot depend on corporations or technology.
Creating a "Transition Town" is the only viable option for a better and sustainable world. The Transition Town concept inspires and empowers us as individuals to adopt lifestyles of voluntary simplicity and to work together in community to build local resilience. Be the change you want to see in the world. Join us as we explore how as individuals we can make the world a better place for all.
Workshop Leader: Kenrick Chin, a long time resident of West Hamilton and Dundas and employee of McMaster University, has devoted himself to helping to build the global Transition Towns movement. He is a founding member of Dundas Ontario in Transition (DO-iT). Dundas is one of six official Transition Towns in Canada, along with Peterborough, Guelph, Victoria, Nelson and Ottawa.
Intro To Raw Food
Visit the certified kitchen of raw food chef Barbara Maccaroni. There isn't even a stove! However, there are dehydrators and other food preparation devices to discover. The shelves are lined with fruits, nuts, berries and seeds that are packed with life. Always remember that "you are what you eat"!
Workshop Leader: Barbara Maccaroni is a raw food chef and owner of B.Love, which is believed to be Hamilton's first raw food catering business.
Solar Hot Water Heating Systems
Engineer Peter Ormond will review the components, installation and performance of one of Hamilton's few residential solar hot water systems. Discover why every home in Hamilton and across Canada should have this proven renewable energy technology on their roof-top.
Workshop Leader: A mechanical engineer with a Masters degree in Environmental Engineering and a Queen's MBA, Peter Ormond has worked throughout Canada and overseas. He has taught courses related to engineering, business and the environment at Mohawk College and McMaster University, and has consulted on many innovative projects related to conservation, renewable energy, climate change and sustainability.
Greening Sacred Spaces
Greening Sacred Spaces (GSS) is a practical program to assist faith communities in taking concrete actions to create a more energy efficient place of worship and to educate members of the community about ecological issues.
GSS will help people of faith live out the call to protect our planet home within their own context. It also provides an opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations about the spirituality of eco-sustainability and save money too! Join us and learn about the program, see a short GSS video and take home a resource sheet.
Workshop Leader: Beatrice Ekwa Ekoko is the facilitator of the GSS program for the Hamilton area. She has been working with the Hamilton faith community for over two years on various projects that have as underlying theme conservation and sustainability in the place of worship and within the home.
Movie Must-see: The Power Of Community
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba's oil imports were cut by more than 50% and food by 80%. This film tells of the struggles as well as the community and creativity of the Cuban people during this "Special Period" of economic hardship. Cubans share how they transitioned from a highly mechanized, industrial agricultural system to one using organic methods of farming and local, urban gardens.
The film opens with a short history of peak oil, a term for the time when world oil production will reach its all-time peak and begin to decline forever. Cuba, the only country that has faced such a crisis - the massive reduction of fossil fuels - is an example of options and hope.
Location: the sanctuary of Centenary United Church, 24 Main St. W. (at MacNab).
Life, Money and Illusion: Living on Earth as if We Want to Stay
Mike Nickerson is the author of Life, Money and Illusion: Living on Earth as if We Want to Stay. His book launches a review of economic expansion and points the way to a sustainable future by showing how the economy can be restructured to remain within planetary limits. It's an engaging and empowering vision of the future that celebrates humanity's extraordinary ability to adapt and evolve.
Nickerson's Hamilton 350 talk is one of over 40 he's doing this fall in southern Ontario. Mike's objective: with each person who grasps that we cannot grow forever on our finite planet, the conventional wisdom shifts a little farther toward the point when society, as a whole, will be working toward sustainability.
Workshop Leader: Mike Nickerson.
Impending Disaster Or Manageable Crisis? What Difference Do Our Food Choices Make Anyway?
Our food supply has become one that places convenience before taste, cosmetic appeal over nutrient value, and worst of all profits before people. Awareness of the impact of climate change on our current unsustainable global food system is growing, while the cheap resources and economic conditions that have supported it are abruptly shifting.
Our food security isn't something that we can take for granted anymore. Can our individual food choices and habits make a difference - and a significant one - before climate change reaches that certain 'critical' point and becomes permanent climate disorder? Add your voice to the growing global, national and community-wide conversations about the future of our food.
Workshop Leader: Karen Burson is a chef, caterer, food writer, Slow Food lover... and the chick with the brownie obsession! She is the founder of the Bread & Roses Caf at Skydragon Cooperative, named "The Best Restaurant in Canada Serving Organic Food" by the Canadian Organic Growers in the cafe's first year of operation. In 2007, she established Slow Food Hamilton and currently co-chairs the organization with food writer Barbara Ramsay Orr. Karen currently works as the Project Manager for Hamilton Eat Local.