Brainstorming Brunch for a conference session: 10/26

[Albert]

Hi, my friend, Maria, is putting the below together. If you're
interested in attending the brunch or curious what she's up to, please
contact her at the e-mail cc'd above gree...@greengirlpdx.com

Brainstorming Brunch for a conference session
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2008 09:45:19 -0700
From: Maria Cahill <gree...@greengirlpdx.com>
Organization: Green Girl Land Development Solutions

Hello Friends,

I'd like to invite you and your big brain to a charrette, which is
just a fancy name for a brainstorming session. There's a conference
coming up that I want to submit a proposal for, the Living Future
conference, which the Cascadia Green Building Council bills as an
"unconference", but I'd like to get your creative input first.

The topic and perhaps session title, if my idea is chosen, is
"UnPlanning: Retrofitting Existing Communities for a More Sustainable
Future". I'd like to explore how existing infrastructure and past
mistakes can be transformed to provide a higher degree of ecosystem
services and healthy communities; however, you should interpret the
word "infrastructure" as a very open word. For example, it might refer
to the laws we set in place to push native people out of the country
or it really could just refer to the conventional meaning as a pipe or
a road.

My idea is to gather a group of diverse individuals with a passion for
sustainability (that's you!) and pick your brain for ideas about who
should be on a panel discussion/presentation in the first half and
also how we can engage the participants in various breakout sessions
in the second half. A critical aspect of engagement is that we tap the
expansive collective knowledge at the session, not just pontificate
about what the panelists know. I think of the panelists more as
facilitators.

Who will be on the panel and what the subject matter will be is all
open to interpretation and hopefully will be identified during the
charrette. If it turns out to be appropriate, I'd like to be a
panelist. The presentation/discussion part would be about soils as a
natural resource and as it's used (and abused) in the construction
industry. My first idea for the engagement part would be a science
experiment, perhaps comparing infiltration rates of various types of
soils; but I think this might be weak and am looking for other ideas
or am wholly prepared to simply moderate the session on the day of the
conference.

OK! Finally! The fun part! Why don't we get together for a pot luck
brunch at my house in SW Portland in Multnomah Village? It would start
around 11 am and we can chow down for an hour or so, then spend about
two hours brainstorming together.

What: Brainstorming Brunch for the Unconference
Topic: UnPlanning: Retrofitting Existing Communities for a More
Sustainable Future
Date: Sunday, Oct 26th
Time: 11 am
Where: 7345 SW 29th Avenue
How: We have a decent parking situation at our house and in our
neighborhood or you can bike here or you can take the 44 bus.
Who: You!
What to Bring: A brunch item of your choice to share. We've got all
kinds coming: vegans, vegetarians and meat eaters so we'll label your
goodies when you get here.

I'll be making two trays of something savory and vegan, probably one
of which will be roasted potatoes.

Thank you so much for coming! I look forward to seeing you then!

Peace,
Maria

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