Liberation Permaculture and Community Eco-Justice Event @ Sol Collective

Today, February 8, from 6 to 8 pm, Sol Collective will host a lecture by Carla Maria Perez, a community organizer and Indigenous Permaculture Design Consultant on the topic of liberation permaculture.  There will be a brief discussion after the lecture about the possibilities of this group including future event topics for 2011. This series will combine lecture, discussion, skills sharing, films, interactive activities, as well as group projects.  The event will be held at Sol Collective's Main Gallery at 2574 21^st Street in Sacramento.  Please tell a friend and join the green movement in Sacramento!  For more information, contact Rafael Aguilera at (916) 752-2929 or Rafael@solcollective.org.

Race, Space and Nature: A One-day Symposium
at the University of California, Berkeley

April 27, 2011

This conference aims to open up dialogue among graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, faculty, and independent scholars who critically engage with analytics of race/racialization and 'the environment', broadly conceived. We are interested in understanding how scholars understand the experiences, practices, creativities, political economies and subjectivities of racialized groups in relationship to the spaces that they move through and create: the environment, nature and cities. In what ways do racialized experiences and identities come to structure narratives, practices, and politics in relationship to built and "natural" environments? If racialization occurs in and through places, how are these processes sedimented or resisted by people? How do racial constructs connect to spatial/environmental ones and vice versa - and why does it matter?

The symposium will include a working lunch where we will match scholars with others in their fields. The event is open to the public, free, and includes lunch with registration, as funds allow. We will conclude with a keynote from UC Berkeley Assistant Professor Carolyn Finney (ESPM).  For more information, contact conference organizers Rachel Brahinsky, Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern, and Jade Sasser at race.conference.berkeley@gmail.com. 

The Sacramento Hunger Coalition (SHC) has received a USDA Hunger Free Communities Grant.  The $99,396 grant will be split 60% to SHC and 40% to Valley Vision.  The grant period begins March 15.  The SHC's share is to do the 2011 Hunger Hits Home and Valley Vision's share is to conduct a systems stakeholder analysis.  For more information, contact Bob Erlenbusch at berlenbusch@communitycouncil.org or (916) 447-7063 x335.   

GREEN SPOTLIGHT:  Hot Italian is Sacramento's First LEED-Certified Restaurant

Recently, all eyes in Sacramento were on a popular restaurant at the corner of 16^th and P.  Hot Italian becomes the first "Green" restaurant in the Sacramento region by earning a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.  The LEED was awarded to Hot Italian for their Sustainable Site, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality and Innovation and Design.  Hot Italian's innovations were celebrated by Mayor Kevin Johnson's Greenwise Sacramento Initiative.  Its water conservation tools include low-flow faucets, toilets and waterless urinals.  Solar thermal water heating by Aztec Solar is used for dish washers and sinks. 

In addition to its energy-saving measures, no food at Hot Italian goes to waste.  The side alley of the restaurant is home to the Earth Tub, an industrial-size, fully-enclosed compost bin that turns the day's food waste into rich compost for local farms and community gardens.  The owners of Hot Italian are also committed to clean transportation, as evidenced by their European-style, space-saving bike racks to their location close to public transit to their promotion of transportation alternatives in the restaurant.  So the next time you want great Italian cuisine, why not reward a local restaurant the gets it!

Transportation Equity Network Seeks Field Director 

The Transportation Equity Network (TEN), a project of Gamaliel, is seeking a Field Director.  The Field Director works with local groups to strengthen their campaigns, and to advocate for equity-oriented transportation policy. TEN has grown and changed over the last two years and we are poised to make some great advances for transportation equity. It's a great time to join the team.  Visit the website for a complete job description, or contact Laura Barrett at (314) 443-5915 or laura@transportationequity.org. 

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