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Mushrooms and Oil Contamination Introductory Workshop #2: Sunday, May 6, 2018 at L.A. Eco-Village

Second in a series of Mushroom remediation events

DATE AND TIME:  Sunday, May 6, 2018 from 10:30am to 1pm

OTHER EVENT DETAILS:

WHERE: 
Songs at Los Angeles Eco-Village
3554 West First St.
Los Angeles 90004
Enter thru chain link gate on Bimini Place just so. of W. First St.

FEE:
$10 to $25 (self selected sliding scale)

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED:
crsp@igc.org   or 213/738-1254

MORE INFO: 
crsp@igc.org or 213-738-1254

Mycelium,  mushrooms, mycological remediation, fungi: it comes with many names, but what seems certain is that fungi of various varieties can go a long way toward cleaning up the industrial messes that have been contaminating our places and spaces since the beginnings of the industrial revolution, and even the mess that some of the ancients created, though not nearly as extensively as we have in these more contemporary times.

So, what to do, besides just dig the soil up and cart it away!  Here in the Los Angeles Eco-Village, we’ve just said No! to that!  Away?? Where’s “Away” anyway?  A “hazardous waste facility?”  A conventional landfill?  Someone else’s backyard?

Some of us here think, no matter who made the mess, it’s our place now, and we should learn to clean it up here where we’re at, because our sense of “away” for bad stuff, is that there is no “away!”

Public agencies have been helping to make that happen in a variety of ways with, for example, the US-Environmental Protection Agency’s Super-Fund sites, and to a lesser extent with a wide variety of Brownfields** throughout the country.  Cities, Counties and States, too, have been helping fund many of these clean-ups  that dig and haul soil “away.”  It’s expensive but it’s quick!  And with most developers, time is money, and everyone wants stuff to happen quickly.

Songs, a former auto  repair shop

But in the times we are living in, those monies are getting scarce, and we can only see them getting scarcer in the future, as we continue to accelerate our penchant for making our cities and rural lands more and more contaminated, not only with the devastating toxics of hydrocarbon derivatives, and toxic heavy metals in our soils, but with the poisons fostered upon our food supply, even as GMO seeds and toxic pesticides and herbicides drift onto organic farms and sometimes contaminated waters are used to irrigate the land.

We have decided to take matters into our own hands: to learn as much as we can about phyto-technologies  or bio-remediation.  These are technologies that use plants, trees, micro-organisms, fungi, air, and water to break down or take up both organic and inorganic toxins to render them harmless.  Granted the inorganic contaminants’ for example lead, copper, cadmium, etc.; take longer, but we can learn patience and how to respect these biological resources as they make their magic happen.

Our long time friend, Jim Bledsoe–artist, self-taught fungi activist, bicycle activist, inventor, carpenter, fixer–will lead us in a micro demonstration for remediating the oil contaminated concrete floor at Songs*.

We invite you to come learn with us.

———————————-

*CRSP will be sponsoring a variety of phyto-technology workshops on the new property in the north corner of the Los Angeles Eco-Village demonstration neighborhood, known as Songs, in the coming years.  We will be promoting these workshops to community groups throughout the Los Angeles area that are dealing with contaminated soils in their neighborhoods.

**A Brownfield is any site that is actually contaminated or perceived to be contaminated.  The property that CRSP purchased a little over a year ago is a brownfield with a variety of toxins in the soils and inside the buildings

Los Angeles Eco-Village is celebrating our 25th Anniversary all year long:  1993 to 2018.  Come hang out with us and share your stories about your experiences here.

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Ecovillage Social Enterprises/Cottage Industries — Why We Need Them! Sat., March 17, 2018: veggie potluck at 6:30; slideshow/talk at 7:30pm with Diana Leafe Christian at L.A. Eco-Village

In Celebration of the 25th Anniversary of Los Angeles Eco-Village

Diana Leafe Christian through a lively presentation and slide show, will show how large, well-established communities have established healthy community economies through supporting individual members’ cottage industries  — “social enterprises” — and by encouraging their members to earn, spend, invest, and, when possible, even save money onsite, and how smaller and newer communities can do the same. Inspiring success stories as well as cautionary tales from ecovillages worldwide, including Crystal Waters in Australia, the Farm in Tennessee, Dancing Rabbit in Missouri, EcoVillage at Ithaca in New York, Findhorn in Scotland, Earthaven in North Carolina, and of course our own Los Angeles Eco-Village.


EVENT DETAILS
:

DATE & TIME:
Saturday, March 17, 2018
Veggie Potluck at 6:30pm*
Talk begins at 7:30pm
* please bring your own non throw-away eating ware to make this a zero waste event

LOCATION
Los Angeles Eco-Village
117 Bimini Place – Lobby or Community Room
Los Angeles 90004

FEE:
$5 to $15 sliding scale

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED:
mailto:crsp@igc.org
or 213-738-1254

 

About Diana

Author, former editor of Communities magazine, and nationwide speaker and workshop presenter on starting new ecovillages, on building communities, and on sustainability, Diana lives in an off-grid homestead at Earthaven Ecovillage in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, She has said that living in an intentional community “is the longest, most expensive, personal growth workshop you will ever have.

She’s authored two books designed to help people who want to join or start their own ecovillages or other intentional communities,

In her book Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools for Growing Ecovillages and Intentional Communities, she uses success stories, cautionary tales, and step-by-step advice to cover typical time-frames and costs; the role of founders; getting started as a group; vision documents; power, governance, and decision-making; legal structures; finding and financing land; zoning issues; sustainable site plans; selecting new members; and good process and communication skills for dealing well with conflict.

In Finding Community: How to Join an Ecovillage or Intentional Community, she covers researching, visiting, evaluating, and joining communities.

More about Diana and her wide reaching influence on the intentional communities movement here

 

 

 

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Global Ecovillage Conference (GEN) Europe Conference – July 10 – 14, 2018 – Lilleoru, Estonia

Conference theme:  The Wisdom of Conscious Communities”

Including July 10, 2018: Co-Creation Day: How can we make Estonia the first organic country in the world.

The conference will bring together 500 sustainable experts, practitioners and visionaries from all over the world.

Go here for conference details:
http://gen2018.ee/?lang=en&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=genestonia100

For more information on the Global Ecovillage Network, go here

If you live in the Los Angeles area and are planning to go to this conference, please let me know:
Lois – 213/738-1254

 

 

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Mushrooms and Oil Contamination Introductory Workshop: Saturday, January 13, 2018 from 10:30am to noon at Songs in L.A. Eco-Village

First of an on-going series of events In Celebration of the
25th Anniversary of L.A. Eco-Village:

WHEN:
Saturday, January 13, 2018 from 10:30am to noon.

This workshop is full!  Please let us know if you want to be notified for the next workshop.

Where: 
Songs at Los Angeles Eco-Village, 3554 West First St.
Enter thru chain link gate on Bimini Place just so. of W. First St.

Fee:
Free

Reservations please:
crsp@igc.org   or 213/738-1254

More info: 
crsp@igc.org or 213-738-1254

Mycelium,  mushrooms, mycological remediation, fungi: it comes with many names, but what seems certain is that fungi of various varieties can go a long way toward cleaning up the industrial messes that have been contaminating our places and spaces since the beginnings of the industrial revolution, and even the mess that some of the ancients created, though not nearly as extensively as we have in these more contemporary times.

So, what to do, besides just dig the soil up and cart it away!  Here in the Los Angeles Eco-Village, we’ve just said No! to that!  Away?? Where’s “Away” anyway?  A “hazardous waste facility?”  A conventional landfill?  Someone else’s backyard?

Some of us here think, no matter who made the mess, it’s our place now, and we should learn to clean it up here where we’re at, because our sense of “away” for bad stuff, is that there is no “away!”

Public agencies have been helping to make that happen in a variety of ways with, for example, the US-Environmental Protection Agency’s Super-Fund sites, and to a lesser extent with a wide variety of Brownfields** throughout the country.  Cities, Counties and States, too, have been helping fund many of these clean-ups  that dig and haul soil “away.”  It’s expensive but it’s quick!  And with most developers, time is money, and everyone wants stuff to happen quickly.

But in the times we are living in, those monies are getting scarce, and we can only see them getting scarcer in the future, as we continue to accelerate our penchant for making our cities and rural lands more and more contaminated, not only with the devastating toxics of hydrocarbon derivatives, and toxic heavy metals in our soils, but with the poisons fostered upon our food supply, even as GMO seeds and toxic pesticides and herbicides drift onto organic farms and sometimes contaminated waters are used to irrigate the land.

We have decided to take matters into our own hands: to learn as much as we can about phyto-technologies  or bio-remediation.  These are technologies that use plants, trees, micro-organisms, fungi, air, and water to break down or take up both organic and inorganic toxins to render them harmless.  Granted the inorganic contaminants’ for example lead, copper, cadmium, etc.; take longer, but we can learn patience and how to respect these biological resources as they make their magic happen.

Our long time friend, Jim Bledsoe–artist, self-taught fungi activist, bicycle activist, inventor, carpenter, fixer–will lead us in a micro demonstration for remediating an oil soaked corner of Songs garage.

We invite you to come learn with us.

———————————-

CRSP will be sponsoring a variety of phyto-technology workshops on the new property in the north corner of the Los Angeles Eco-Village demonstration neighborhood, known as Songs, in the coming years.  We will be promoting these workshops to community groups throughout the Los Angeles area that are dealing with contaminated soils in their neighborhoods.

**A Brownfield is any site that is actually contaminated or perceived to be contaminated.  The property that CRSP purchased a little over a year ago is a brownfield with a variety of toxins in the soils and inside the buildings.

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Public Meeting Sat., Nov 11, 2017 from 10am to noon at 117 Bimini Pl, LA 90004

This Public Meeting is Regarding Contaminants and Proposed Remediation

Concerning the property at:

 3554 and 3560 West First Street – Los Angeles 90004

Previously known as Song’s Auto Shop
and the Teriyaki House

This meeting is a component of a proposal being prepared by the nonprofit property owner, CRSP, in the Los Angeles Eco-Village, for a US-Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) Brownfields Clean-Up grant.  A draft copy of the CRSP proposal will be available as noted below by November 10, 2017.  Your comments will be incorporated into the final grant proposal to the US-EPA and should be received by CRSP no later than November 14, 2017

A summary of the US-EPA’s “Analysis of Brownfield Cleanup Alternatives (ABCA)” and the alternatives for remediation of contaminants can be viewed on-line below.  The complete 43 page ABCA report can be viewed in hard copy at 117 Bimini Place, Lobby, Los Angeles 90004 or you can access it here.

Public comments can be mailed to:
CRSP
117 Bimini Pl, #221
Los Angeles CA 90004
Or sent via email to:     crsp@igc.org
Or submitted in person at the November 11th meeting.

A Plan for redeveloping the property includes car-free co-op oriented mixed uses, including an environmentally sensitive hostel, small green businesses  operated by neighbors within the Los Angeles Eco-Village on Bimini and White House Place or within easy walking distance. CRSP will also be continuing its co-op training and education programs on the site, including workshops on phytotechnologies for remediating brownfields.

See additional information or keep updated at http://laecovillage.org/home/news/
or contact: crsp@igc.org    213-738-1254

Executive Summary for Analysis of
Brownfield Remediation Alternatives  (ABCA) at
3554 and 3560 West First Street
Los Angeles 90004

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In 2017, Weston Solutions, Inc. (WESTON®), performed a Phase II Targeted Brownfields Assessment (Phase II TBA) at 3554 and 3560 West 1st Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California (the Site). The TBA was requested by the property owner (applicant), CRSP, and performed under contract with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The purpose of the TBA was to characterize conditions at the Site, because it is being considered for redevelopment.

Contaminants, including toxic heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons, were detected in surface soils and or soil gas
analyzed as part of the TBA work. This Analysis of Brownfields Cleanup Alternatives (ABCA) report identifies and compares different cleanup scenarios for the Site based on results obtained from the Phase II TBA (WESTON 2017). These scenarios are ranked on effectiveness, implementability, and cost.

The proposed redevelopment of this site will include an ecologically sensitive hostel with environmentally and co-op oriented mixed retail uses or services. Based on that proposed use, cleanup of the Site to standards suitable for a commercial-industrial use exposure scenario is recommended before planned re-use/redevelopment can begin.

The Site is composed of an approximately 0.25 acre parcel located in a mixed commercial-residential-institutional neighborhood approximately 3 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. The western portion of the Site contains a single-story approximately 600 square foot commercial building formerly used as a restaurant. The eastern portion contains a  one-story commercial structure, with a small second floor loft, approximately 2,600 square feet, formerly used as an automotive repair shop.

The following concerns were identified during the Phase II TBA:

Cadmium was present at concentrations that exceed the specified human health screening levels for a commercial use exposure scenario in two surface soil samples collected from the southern portion of the Site.

Four semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) were present at concentrations that exceed the human health screening levels in a surface soil sample collected from the southwest portion of the Site.

Total petroleum hydrocarbons as diesel (TPH-d) were present at concentrations that exceed the residential human health screening levels, but are below the commercial/industrial screening levels in southwestern portion of the Site, in the same surface soil sample as the SVOCs.

The building materials and some appurtenances (i.e., fluorescent lights and possibly other electrical equipment) in both buildings contain non-friable asbestos-containing material (ACM), lead based paint (LBP), and/or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

Ethylbenzene and chloroform are present in sub-slab soil gas above the human health screening levels for a residential exposure scenario in the former auto repair shop.

To continue reading the US-EPA ABCA, go here.

NOTE FROM CRSP REGARDING PHYTOREMEDIATION:  Although the US-EPA did not include any alternatives on  phytoremediation or phytotechnology for rendering soil contaminants harmless to human health in the ABCA, there is additional information on the successful use of various plants, trees, and microorganisms for brownfield soil remediation.  Please learn about them on line at the Center for Creative Land Recycling: http://mailchi.mp/cclr/webinars-07-31-17
or at this website for the International Journal on Phytoremediation“.   It is CRSP’s intent to apply the current US-EPA grant application for the remediation of hazardous materials within the buildings, and to develop a future remediation plan for the soils beneath the currently paved surfaces outside the buildings.

 

 

 

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The Nuts & Bolts of a Worker Co-op Start-up – Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017 in Culver City at 7pm

Long time L.A. Eco-Village resident, and founder of Pacific Electric Worker Co-op, Somerset Waters, will share his experiences as the founder of a start-up worker co-op.

Sponsored by:
LAWORCS: LA Worker Ownership Resources & Cooperative Services
More info:
The Nuts and Bolts of a Worker Cooperative Start-Up with Somerset Waters

 

Wednesday, October 25, 2017  at 7:00 PM
at

About Somerset:

somer photoSomerset Waters (“Somer”) wears multiple hats at Pacific Electric Co-op, including client relations, project manager, and lead electrician.  He has over two decades of experience as an electrician, one decade in the solar industry, and enjoys manipulating energy.  He is a licensed C-10, California Certified Electrician.  The trade runs in his blood: his maternal grandfather was an electrician at a factory in Poland.  His great-grandfather was a mason, a brilliant carpenter, and a master of quality in his projects.  Prior to cofounding Pacific Electric Co-op, Somer was a Journeyman Electrician out of IBEW Local 11 and worked for several large solar companies. Somer and his family live in Los Angeles Eco-Village. He plays the cello and performs with his wife, Aursiha. Watching his daughter grow up makes his heart sing.

Pacific Electric logoPacific Electric is a full service electrical and solar contracting firm based in Los Angeles committed to serving our clients, supporting our workers, creating jobs, and practicing environmental sustainability.  Contact: somerset@pacificelectric.coop
pacificelectric.coop

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for a sustainable water future

Hands-On Greywater Workshops/Conference: Simi Valley, Oakland – 10/21/17; Yosemite – 11/1-3/17

Please share with interested people and organizations.

Hands-on greywater workshop in Simi Valley 10/21/17.  Learn more here.

AND:

What: Localizing California Waters Conference

When:  Nov. 1-3, 2017

Where:  Rush Creek/Evergreen Lodge in Yosemite, CA

Details here:  http://californiawaterreuse.org/

Summary:

Join us to convene on-site water organizations under one voice: California Onsite Water Association. At this intimate water reuse conference (focusing on rainwater, blackwater, greywater, and stormwater) professionals, designers, and policy advisers will work together to advance onsite water’s technical and policy future.

Audience:

Stakeholders working in or on the integration and collaboration of onsite, distributed, and centralized systems.  Policy advisors, designers, professionals looking to create innovative BMPs, code adoption, policy advisement and evaluation feedback through collaboration.  Funding organizations interested in looking for input or participants in scalable resiliency water management projects/collaborations for California and the Western United States.  Watershed based management groups looking to collaborate with Water Management advisers to create resilient ecosystem services.

Key Invites:

Pisces Foundation, Water Foundation, California Governor’s Office of Planning Research, Wildlife Conservation Board, State Water Resources Control Board, Department of Water Resources, Department of Public Health, SFPUC, EBMUD, LADWP, Alliance for Water Efficiency, Central Coast Salmon Enhancement, Trout Unlimited, Cal Trout, SRF, The Water Institute, Occidental Arts and Ecology, Sierra Nevada Alliance, Sierra Nevada Conservancy, Trust for Public Lands, Sustainable Silicon Valley, Imperial Water District, Pasadena Water and Power, Recode Oregon, Water Reuse, Utah Onsite Water Association, IAPMO, UC Irvine Pire Group, California Department of General Services (Architect), California Directors of Environmental Health, Imagine H20, ACWA, Water Reuse, The Walton Family Foundation, Dean Witter Foundation, California Resource Conservation District Association (Director), CASQA, ARCSA, QWELL, WERS, Santa Rosa Alternative Working Group

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Third Annual West Coast Communities Conference – September 29 – October 1, 2017 in Escondido CA

Conference Theme:  Thriving, Not Just Surviving – Fiscal Health in Community

Featuring Keynote Speaker: Diana Leafe Christian, author of Creating a Life Together

Taking off from last year’s theme of economic justice, we are organizing this year’s topics around the subject of equitable and sustainable income and affordability.  We have workshops

Workshop topics and speakers include:
– Financially feasible ways to start Community and ongoing affordability
– Organizing for affordability in less able neighborhoods
– Intentional Business (IB): Kinds of businesses that may be suitable with Intentional Community
– A look at Worker Cooperatives (Collectives)
– Fairness of equitable effort: Everyone pulling their own weight while respecting those less able
– Balancing Intra (local) Economy and Extra (global) Economy
– Alternative Trade Systems: LETS, TimeBank, HourWorld, etc.
– Sources of Funding

The event will be held near Escondido, CA, off Highway 15 between Los Angeles and San Diego.

Click here for Reservations

Community founders and other experts in cohousing and other kinds of intentional communities in California will share what works well, especially in community financial and economic health.

Diana Leafe Christian’s keynote address will be on “Recipe for a Thriving Community: Establishing an Internal Economy with Social Enterprises, Community Labor Systems, and More.”

 

Workshop presenters include Lois Arkin, founder of Los Angeles Eco-Village and longtime ecovillage activist; FIC Executive Director and longtime Twin Oaks Community member Sky Blue; cohousing activists Raines Cohen and Betsy Morris; and Jonah Mesritz, superstar expert on finding and financing community property and cofounder of Emerald Village Ecovillage.

Panel discussions of experts on healthy communities, and  on community financing, and Diana Leafe Christian’s breakout workshop on Sociocracy for cohousing and other kinds of intentional communities.

Call for Volunteers:  Help make this year’s event even better.  There are several roles we can use help with.  People are needed for registration, volunteer coordination, website administration, among others.  Those who would like to get involved or for more information, please contact:

Contact Us: Conference Email; Conference FaceBook Page; South-West Intentional Community Alliance (SWICA) website; SWICA Email

Organized by SWICASouth West IC Alliance,
Co-sponsors:
Fellowship for Intentional Community
Cohousing California
Terra Madre Gardens
Sustainable Living Institute

Event organizers:
Werner Kontara  (949) 551-2800
Steve Fuji, SWICA Committee Head – (505) 715-1418

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Sustainable Living Tour – California – October 1 – 12, 2017

Immerse yourself in leading sustainable living education centers showcasing real examples of soil, watershed and human relationship restoration.

Lots More info:  http://earthjourneys.org/

EARTH JOURNEYS

Empowering change seekers to cultivate lifestyles that regenerate the mind, body, soul and planet through transformative journeys and earth-based education. Our nature retreats blend personal development, permaculture education and spiritual exploration to support regenerative lifestyles and leadership.

Embark on this journey to..

    • Gain a deep understanding of how to thrive in community.
    • Be inspired by real examples of soil, water and habitat restoration.
    • Reconnect with your intrinsic gifts to use them for good.
    • Uplevel your hard skills through hands on workshops.
    • Tend meaningful relationships for personal growth, collaboration and fulfillment.
    • Create life-long friendships with fellow passionate changemakers.
    • Find clarity to what role you play in the world.
    • Embody your interconnection with all living beings.
    • Leave with an action plan for your calling or project.
    • Participate in on-going support for 1-year after the tour.

Hands-On Experiences and Learning at:

CalEarth http://www.calearth.org/
Quail Spring: http://www.calearth.org/
Emerald Ecovillage http://www.calearth.org/
LA Eco-Village http://laecovillage.org/
Wild Willow Farm & Educational Center http://www.sandiegoroots.org/farm/index.php
East End Eden http://www.sandiegoroots.org/farm/index.php
The Ecology Center https://www.theecologycenter.org/

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