Ojai Earth Day 2016
Has Amazing Guests and Activities!

This year's Earth Day, with the theme 'Trees for Our Valley', is Saturday, April 23, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Hosted by Oak Grove School at 220 West Lomita, Ojai California, the event is brought to you by the Coalition, Oak Grove School, Food for Thought Ojai and the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy.

Dr. Vandana Shiva, hailed throughout the world for her conservation activism, headlines this year's event. (see Dr. Shiva's awesome bio link below). The Sustainable Transportation Showcase and Exhibitors will be better than ever, and there's tons of kid fun planned - be sure to look for the 'Tree Ring' and roving 'Tree Hugger.' Get all the details at the Ojai Earth Day website and be sure to drop by the Coalition Center to buy your Earth Day raffle tickets, grand prize $3,000, to support our work on Earth Day.

We could also use your participation:

• If you are an EV owner and would like to show your vehicle at Earth Day and talk to folks about it, email Russell Sydney or call him at 805-652-1482.
• To have fun staffing our Coalition booths, email Noel Douglas or call us at (805) 669-8445 with any questions.

Earth Day News:

Please take the time to read the links below,
our efforts are worth it!

A rare FREE audience with Dr. Vandana Shiva: read more.

Earth Day is a good time to encourage people
to move away from fossil fuel: read more.

Coalition rolls out our Save Our Water, Ojai! campaign,
please visit our booth: read more.

Thursday, April 7 Salon Theme is
"Biophilia"

Artwork courtesy of Ojai artist and environmentalist Dianne Bennett

The Salon Series meets the 1st Thursday of every other month at the Coalition Resource Center - 206 N. Signal St., Suite S, in downtown Ojai. The evening is a casually structured conversation and our intention for the Salon Series is to be a place to get 'heart & soul' nourishment for the many challenges we face, NOT cite problems and resolve issues. A donation and beverage to share is appreciated, though not required.

The Salon begins promptly at 7 p.m. and seating is limited. We encourage early arrival with doors opening at 6:45.

Your host for the April Salon on Thursday the 7th is Laurie Walters, who shares that "... the Biophilia Hypothesis suggests there is an instinctive bond between humans and living things. The term Biophilia is a combination of two Greek words - bios meaning life, and philia meaning friendship, attraction, or affinity. We are familiar with 'bio' in words like biology, or biosphere."

Biophilia was apparently first used by Erich Fromm to describe a psychological orientation of being attracted to all that is alive and vital. The biologist and writer E.O. Wilson uses the term in the same sense when he suggests that Biophilia describes "the connections that human beings subconsciously seek with the rest of life." He proposed the possibility that the deep affiliations humans have with other life forms and nature as a whole are rooted in our biology. Unlike phobias, which are the aversions and fears that people have of things in the natural world, philias are the attractions and positive feelings that people have toward organisms, species, habitats, processes and objects in their natural surroundings. Although named by Fromm, the concept of Biophilia has been proposed and defined many times over. Aristotle was one of many to put forward a concept that could be summarized as "love of life." (Wikipedia)

Laurie goes on to say, "I don't know if this is now a generally accepted hypothesis in psychology but I know it resonated with me immediately. The way I heard of it was noticing that E.O.Wilson, a favorite of mine, had written a book entitled 'Biophilia.' I was so happy there was an official term that named a feeling I'd always had - a deep attraction to, affection for, gratitude towards the living world."

"I wanted to do this as a Salon topic because I wanted to hear other people's 'love stories.' When did they fall in love with something out in the natural world? What was it? How did they feel? Does the feeling continue? Has it changed? What is the part of nature that is truly personal to you?"

Please join us on April 7th!.

The Coalition Board
Welcomes Its Newest Director:

Laurie Walters

Many of you already know Laurie Walters as the friendly faced "eco-librarian" at the OVGC Resource Center. We are pleased to announce she has joined the Coalition Board of Directors.

"I've watched this organization tackle so many issues I consider important, and all with very little money and a minimal staff working very hard, from the heart," said Laurie. "I am honored to join the board and help the work of the Green Coalition continue and expand."

If you've been involved with the Coalition for a few years you've probably also know Laurie as our volunteer of the year in 2013. Laurie worked alongside Deborah Pendrey getting our Resource Center library organized.

"The Coalition is very fortunate to have Laurie as a member," says Deborah Pendrey, OVGC program director. "She has supported the organization financially and regularly spends time at the resource center. When our lending library needed a champion, Laurie's love of books and film made her a natural and she has taken on this project with gusto. I'm looking forward to working with her in this new role."

If Laurie's face seems familiar it may also be as a local actress and director. Or, if you are of a certain age, it could be for her role as Joanie Bradford in the television series "Eight is Enough." That popular role brought her into households across America during the late 70's and into the 80's.

to read more click here.

Mark Your Calendar for the Coalition's

7th Annual Green Living Tour
and Home Show

You might have noticed we've moved our annual Green Living Tour from October to May and the timing is perfect. A tour of the El Toro Rd. House on the Hill would not have been possible back in October. For our Green Living Tour fans, you will recall the 'before' tour of this 8-acre estate in 2014. The finishing touches are happening now and we'll be touring the 'after' results, which highlight the preservation of architectural history while incorporating 21st century thinking around sustainability and permaculture design.

At the other end of the spectrum will be a model Tiny House Village, and two sites in between - one a water-efficient Garden of Eden oasis, the other featuring the ultimate water-saving landscape design. See you Saturday, May 21 at the MOB Shop. Look for complete details in our May newsletter.