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Santa Cruz Bioneers - First Meeting - 11/2/03

Agenda

1.  Welcome (Michelle):  Make use of the momentum and hopefulness generated by people's experiences both at Bioneers conference and at the two Michael Moore presentations.    Some of us are more identified with looking out for the little guy and some with looking out for the biosphere.  We need to find ways to do both at once.  We need to make the emotional connection, to understand that the issues we usually divide into “social justice” and “environmentalism” share the same deep roots of true compassion and shared responsibility.   We need to know, not just intellectually but also in our hearts, that the only solutions for social or environmental concerns that will work in the long-term are solutions that honor those shared roots.

We hope to leave this meeting in about 2 hours with a vehicle to actually carry out the vision.  This is our agenda for today. (Review agenda.)  While we're meeting, we'll pass around a sign-up sheet:  please write down names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses - and we will make this list available to everyone here.  If for some reason you have to leave early, be sure you sign this first – then email or call me about what you missed.  Introductions from each person – why they’re interested in Bioneers

We're also going to pass the hat for contributions to the cost of renting the room. It cost $20 - so if we collect $40, we'll be OK for both this time and next time.  If everyone could manage a dollar, that would be great. (got $18)

2. Introduce small groups (Judy):  If we're to take the leadership in changing our world and not wait for the politicians, we have to be full of hope and energy.  Perhaps our greatest challenge is not unseating the Bush administration but overcoming our own alienation and cynicism.  So we'd like you to get in smaller circles in which everyone has the opportunity to answer this question:  What would it take for you to feel the opposite of alienated as you go about your daily life in Santa Cruz?  We have some egg timers and suggest these be passed from person to person, so that each person can self-monitor, letting each person speak uninterrupted for three minutes. 

3.  Break into groups of 8 (or less – 5 minimum)

4.  (Michelle) Get back together. Brainstorm best ideas from Bioneers, Michael Moore and recent discussion.  (Ask for recorders). What did you hear that you thought particularly interesting or useful?  What did you want to hear more about?  What questions came to mind?  What ideas did you have for further reflection or for action?  The record of these brainstorms will be made available to everybody - for further development (discussion fodder for weekly groups).

Brainstorming ideas …

1.      Tape library.  Mish has quite a few of the audio tapes.

2.      Get the Bioneers radio series on local community supported radio stations (KUSP)

3.      Create community gatherings to view and discuss tapes

4.      Create an online, co-evolving repository and record (WIKI)

5.      Education … make it visual! 

a.       Put pictures of landfills on garbage cans (vs. recycling bins) in the City of County… to help bring consciousness to what we’re doing.

b.      How do we make it stylish to carry your own coffee cup (make it weird if you don’t)?

c.       Sustainable behavior coaching (Lili Wright’s business)

6.      Zero Waste goals … set up recycling stations with “waste monitor” assistance at events.

7.      Use this kiosk as part of the venue for a Bioneers screening showcase.

8.      Build bridges to the business community …

9.      The Apollo Alliance:  in the 1960s, Kennedy put forth the challenge of going to the moon in 10 years; now we can put forth the challenge of becoming energy independent in 10 years. 

a.       Santa Cruz as a model for solar, mini-hydro, and wave power? 

b.      Better landscaping and architectural design … permaculture

c.       Water and other resource management

10.  Santa Cruz to serve as a model for the rest of the country.  What would it take?

11.  Twelve month project to vote this current federal administration out of office, and of the ethos of love, understanding, generosity and caring.

a.       Usher in new, electronic voting systems with paper audit trail

b.      There’s a bill being introduced in New Jersey called the Voter Verifiable Audit Trails (HR2239), let Boxer and Feinstein know we support it.

c.       Contact Kevin Shelley in Sacramento… he needs to hear from all of us

12.  Get Santa Cruz to focus on becoming a Municipal Utility District (Palo Alto, CA, and Austin, TX have already done this).

13.  Michael Moore idea to volunteer in order to win back the Democratic seat in a district where it is in dispute (30 key areas, see MM’s website).

14.  Keep this movement “fed.”  Note that Bioneers is having a fundraising event 11/18 in San Francisco.

15.  Santa Cruz Green Building Working Group … See Coleen Douglas; a Monterey chapter of the US Green Building Council is also coming together.  See #23 below.

16.  Becoming a model is also about creating jobs and economies … and including diversity … youth, Latino leaders, the business community.

17.  Build a bridge to the business community … economics drive change.

18.  Carpool to Nov. 8 - 9 Green Festival

19.  Develop a network of all the groups that exist in Santa Cruz … GreenPeace, Barrios Unidos, Central Coast Commercial Sustainability Network (www.in3inc.com/c3sn.html).

20.  Judy is an EcoPsychologist … “we gotta change the idea of what the Self is.”

21.  Help change the perception of what Bioneers is, gain more positive mainstream press.

22.  Change the State’s standards for science curriculum to reflect the more modern ecoreality.  Influence the State Board of Education to make these changes.

23.  Beaming Bioneers would require a diverse group of people, in a given region, coming together, that it would positively impact the community, and fundraising capabilities.  It costs $2,000, and we could leverage their marketing.  Would require a room that seats 200-500 people, and a facility with satellite hookup.  CSUMB and UCSC and the SC Civic have this capability.  11/12 location TBD from 5:30 - 7:30p.

5.  (Lili)– Beaming Bioneers Status Report – Quickly, any other events to announce?

Lili:  Organizing meeting for US Green Building, 11/12, 5:30-7:30pm, location First National Bank Community Meeting Room, 615 Abrego Street Monterey, contact lili@lili-co.net

Mish: Electronic voting machines issues – I didn’t get times

others???

6.   (Michelle)  Judy and I wanted to bring local people together, using the energy and ideas from recent events to CATALYZE local discussions.  I suspect that many of you have chosen to live in Santa Cruz because of the sense of potential here. Judy and I hope that weekly meetings of smaller groups, with occasional larger gatherings like this, will allow us to keep that energy alive here in the Santa Cruz area.  We have BIG work to do:  we have a huge, globally dominant culture to change.  To do it, we will need the intimacy and support of small groups, and the cooperative strength of larger gatherings. 

In a minute, we’ll start arranging these smaller groups that can meet three or four times before our next big group meeting on December 7^th.  During those small group meetings, we’d like you to take some time to figure out what the structure and function of the larger group should be.  Talk about how best to keep both the small groups and the larger group going, without over-burdening any one person.  Make sure you spend plenty of time getting to know one another, talking about the things you want to talk about, and enjoying each other’s company.  It’s these personal relationships that provide us with the energy and motivation to spend time doing the BIG work that we know in our hearts is important. 

(Judy) Organize into ongoing support groups of 6-10 people by day of the week.  Most of the work needs to happen at that level - alternate with monthly plenary meeting.  We recommend weekly meetings - given all that we need to do, but each group makes its own decisions, has its own style.  Some will meet in homes, others in cafes, or at the beach, etc.  Some will have potlucks, some will want to include music or dance or meditation.   Whatever floats your boats.  We assume that every group will have some people, if not everyone, with skills in communication, so that everyone gets heard and meetings can be productive – we’ve also printed up some Conversation Café mini-manuals that might help facilitate your discussions.

We're deliberately not organizing by interests, i.e., construction, transportation, agriculture, Green Party, etc., because people are already meeting in those interest groups.  But there may have to be some further sorting before everyone finds themselves where they are comfortable,  For ex., there may be geographical concerns - people from Bonny Doon, for ex., may want to meet with others from there.  I have a mobility impairment - so I need to meet with a group whose meetings will be accessible to me.   - so when you sign up, please make a note if you have a special concern and we'll try to sort it out.  And - this is important - if you might be willing to be the convener of your small group, please put a star by your name. 

 Call out times- record number of hands: 

Sunday morning
Sunday afternoon
Sunday evening
Monday evening
Tuesday evening
Wednesday evening
Thursday evening
Friday evening
Saturday morning
Saturday afternoon
Saturday evening

(Michelle) Judy and I took a risk in calling together SC Bioneers and organizing this first meeting - but we really wanted to seize the moment.  We felt the first meeting needed to accomplish something, or we'd be dead before we even began. It seemed that the most important thing was to get these smaller discussions going.

Our thought is that at least a part of the next meeting  - here at 2 pm on the first Sunday of the month, December 7, will be devoted to democratic self-organization involving everyone who shows up.  Please have someone in each small group get back to me before December 7^th, with your group’s thoughts about what the agenda for that meeting should be.  Judy and I will help coordinate that next plenary meeting, but hopefully others can take over some of the responsibilities after that. 

It looks like we have the following groups:
Sunday afternoon
Monday evening
Tuesday evening 

Let's take 10 minutes for people to sign up for groups and figure out where to have a first meeting.  [Call out small groups sign-up spots.] We’ll try to get this self-organizing: go to your preferred spot, if there aren’t enough (6) people there wave people over; if there are too many (more than 10), see if some can pick different times.  Then choose a convener and a meeting place.  Have the convener take a CC handbook and give me their name on a post-it. (people only signed up for Monday and Tuesday-these are on for 10^th and 11th)

If you can’t find a group that works for you, or if you have other special concerns, please talk to Judy afterwards.

Santa Cruz
Bioneers
2nd Gathering

Sunday, December 7th, 2:00 PM

Santa Cruz Public Library
Central Branch, 2nd Floor (handicapped accessible)
Church Street, Santa Cruz, CA

For more information, contact Michelle at (831) 234-0898 or apegrrl@rattlebrain.com

Pulling Together, Grounding the Vision

INVITE YOUR FRIENDS All are welcome to join the discussion!

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I'm also trying to help with the crisis following the flood at Bohorok on Sumatra. Any advice or support would be appreciated!

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US Green Building Council Monterey Bay Chapter
ORGANIZING MEETING
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2003
5:30-7:30 PM

LOCATION: First National Bank Community Meeting Room, 615 Abrego Street Monterey

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