Do you ever see a space along the sidewalk that needs some Earth Art but there’s not space for a large structure such as bench or a hut? We will be building a “Cobelisk” tower which will have a living roof, nooks to put special things, a stone base, and a fun decorative feature. It will be built outside along the highway just as you enter town.

Presented By: Miguel “Coballero” Elliott

The international Transition Towns Movement was founded in 2005 by UK-based Permaculture teacher Rob Hopkins in order to engage entire communities in implementing Permaculture solutions for a more resilient future. Since that time, the Transition Movement has spread to over 1,200 communities in 50 countries, including 163 official Transition Initiatives located throughout the US. These initiatives have been successfully revitalizing local food systems, strengthening local economies, reducing dependence on fossil fuels, and reweaving the torn fabric of community for more than a decade now. Come learn from Transition US Co-Director and certified Permaculture Designer, Don Hall, about how to effectively apply Permaculture ethics, strategies, and principles to build a thriving movement for community resilience right where you live.

Presented By: Don Hall

Based in the The Work that Reconnects by Joanna Macy, this workshop initiates a palpable sensation through ritual and authentic sharing that will support you connecting with all living things on a deeper level. The way we truly walk in reverence of our Earth is through honoring the pain AND the gratitude that we share, building compassion, strength and courage to support in the healing of the planet.

Presented By: Shayna Gladstone

Matthew Anthony Stephens was born in Beverly on Chicago’s South Side. While the Windy City has not typically been the first place one would think of with regards to permaculture and urban sustainability, up until now, anyway, Matthew is doing his part to change that. As founder of the Earth Reforestation Project, Permaculture America, and Permaculture Chicago, Matthew has done forums for students at his alma mater, Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, and conducted after school mentoring programs about sustainability, design, and permaculture. Here he has been able to effectively put into practice his seven years of teambuilding, along with his study of urban food deserts and the nutritional dilemmas in urban environments that ensue from such designations.

Today, in addition to his work as a local community organizer in Chicago’s historic Hyde Park neighborhood on the city’s South Side, Matthew works with the Unitarian Universalist Church on garden maintenance and design consultation where he counts to his credit putting in a low-maintenance shade garden with swales. This fits right in with his study of passive solar architecture—a passion since 1987—and his practice of indoor gardening since 2011. He’s the proud archivist of the work of Lee Porter Butler, creator of the double envelope passive solar house design, and America’s pioneering passive solar architect of the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s last century.

Placing exclusivity on the importance of neighborhood living, Matthew travels only by foot or bicycle and does not take public transit out of protest for safety and environmental conditions, concerns, and service quality. He has boycotted AT&T and Comcast since 2011 and Big Oil since 2010.

Matthew Stephens is one of the founders and the designer of Hales Franciscan Food Forest, Chicago’s First Urban Food Forest in 2014.

2016 Convergence Workshop: Community Organizing for Urban Permaculture

Lauren Tucker is a community organizer and the Executive Director of Kiss the Ground. Kiss the Ground is a nonprofit dedicated to the vision that a new view has emerged where people are reverent of our interconnectedness with nature and our planet is restored, balanced, and abundant. Lauren’s passion for community building has led her to projects in Washington, D.C., West Africa, New Orleans, and Southern California. Lauren has studied permaculture design, biodynamic farming, and earned a B.A. in International Studies and Psychology from American University. She is a mother and urban farmer.

2016 RED Talk Presentation: Building a movement for permaculture to cool the planet