SLN Blog
Replacing Oil with Oats
Stephen Leslie plows on a spring morning. By Taylor Knoop.
By Taylor Knoop and Edie Farwell
Stephen Leslie has linked his background in art and seven years as a Benedictine monk by sculpting and harvesting the earth. Using sustainable practices. Stephen and his wife Kerry Gawalt make their livelihood farming Cedar Mountain Farm, located on the Cobb
Exploring Pathways to Systems Change
Andaman Forest, a Natural System. By Anna da Costa
By Anna da Costa
When it comes to making the world a better place, there is no dearth of ideas out there. Some believe in the power of markets to level playing fields and distribute dwindling resources. Some see our best hopes in technological innovation and smart systems.
Learning from Nature: A Course in Biomimicry
By Agnieszka Rawa and Amalia Souza; photo by Clemens Kalischer (c) 2009
PLEASE NOTE: When using the course, please credit the Sustainability Leaders Network and let us know of your successes and lessons learned, in addition to where you are teaching and the approximate age and number of your students. Please do this via a comment at
Fellow Tse-Sung Wu Leading Green Chemistry Efforts at Pharmaceutical Giant, Genentech
Fellow Tse-Sung Wu is leading GreenBioPharma at Genentech, a successful effort to reduce costs and benefit the environment in the research and development of medicines. Watch the video here:
Learn more on Genentech’s Sustainability page. And learn more about about green chemistry here.
Fellow Trista Patterson Featured in BBC “Power of Nature” Series
Photo courtesy of Clemens Kalischer, © 2009
The BBC recently launched its new 10-episode series, the Power of Nature, highlighting the value of wilderness with stunning cinematography. Fellow Trista Patterson offers commentary in the episodes on the Himalayas, the Great Barrier Reef, the Antarctic Ocean, and Rivers in the Sky (the Amazon). View the first 4-minute
Visioning and Systems Session Offered in Webinar for Young Global Leaders
SLN Core Team member, Dominic Stucker, was invited by Earth Charter International and Youth Action for Change to design and lead a session on “Visioning and Systems Thinking for Local Sustainability Projects” as part of the semester-long, online course Youth Leadership, Sustainability, and Ethics. The 1.5-hour session was held on 23 October and attended by 15
Fellow Mike Dupee Helping Increase Food Security among Coffee Growers
Coffee farming family, Central America. From video “After the Harvest,” produced by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters.
Today, Andrew Revkin of the New York Times featured an article by Fellow Mike Dupee, Vice President for Corporate Social Responsibility at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, in the Dot Earth section of the paper: “A Coffee Seller Seeks to Cut
Art of Hosting: Shedding Tears and Building Community Bridges in South Minneapolis
Participants in the Art of Hosting training, south Minneapolis
Fellow Jerry Nagel, Co-Founder of the Meadowlark Institute, reflects that:
Since my experience of co-learning and co-creation during my time as a Fellow at Cobb Hill, much has happened. Deep learning journeys into work and life. I have become a Global Steward in the Art of Hosting Community
Awakening and Expanding Our Conception of Leadership: Weaving Networks for Sustainability
The Children in Nature Collaborative’s “Natural Learning Project” encourages unstructured play and opening of the senses to connect with the landscape and natural materials.
Fellow Mary Roscoe of the Children in Nature Collaborative is based in the San Francisco Bay Area and offers these reflections on leadership and network weaving. Through a personal case study, she
Article on the Art of Sustainability in SoL Reflections Journal
Dominic Stucker and Johanna Bozuwa wrote an article highlighting Jay Mead‘s pioneering work in the “art of sustainability” for the Society for Organizational Learning‘s (SoL’s) Reflections Journal. The abstract for the article “The Art of Sustainability: Creative Expression as a Tool for Social Change” summarizes:
Much of the work to date on sustainability has relied on
Announcing Leadership Programs with Peter Senge and SoL Colleagues
Sustainability Leaders Network is pleased to share with you the following leadership workshops from our partner, the Society for Organizational Learning (SoL). Please click on the links below for more information or to download registration forms. See a short video of Peter Senge, Founding Chair of SoL, speaking about these programs.
Executive Champions’ Workshop, August 14-17,
Summering in Sustainability – My Internship
Path through Cobb Hill
For two months, I have followed the road past Cobb Hill’s cows and chickens and walked between abundant flowers on the trail up to Edie Farwell’s front door, the Director of Sustainability Leaders Network (SLN). I don’t think any other intern in the world has a more pleasant walk to work. When
Volvo Adventure Calls for Young Applicants: Projects for the Environment
Reef Rangers team member planting trees to prevent coastal erosion. 2012 finalists.
The Volvo Adventure – in partnership with the United Nations Environment Program – is an educational program that rewards environmental activities and the decision-makers of the future. To enter, form a team of 2 to 5 members aged 13 to 16 (at competition opening
Land stewardship and sustainable agriculture in Montana: Ways you can get involved
Anna in rye field
In addition to her full time job in Helena, Montana coordinating national-level sustainable operations for the US Forest Service, Fellow Anna Jones-Crabtree and her husband Doug Crabtree farm. They are deep into their fourth season, working weekends far to the north near the Canadian border from March through November. Neither a small-scale
Rio+20 Youth Voice: Action for the Future
Kiara Worth of South Africa, representing the UN Major Group for Children and Youth, gave this collaboratively-written speech expressing the feelings and aspirations of youth at the end of the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development. Undeterred by the weak governmental agreement coming out of the meeting, the speech emphasizes the need for intergenerational cooperation,
The Future We Want: Workshop Report
Fellow Chris Page recently spent a weekend at the spectacular Esalen Institute in Big Sur, teaching a workshop on systems thinking and sustainable business to a diverse and enthusiastic group. She writes:
We dove into basic loops, discussed what it means to be a sustainable business, puzzled over John Sterman’s bathtub exercise… and then took a break
Featured Fellow: Maria Latumahina
Maria Latumahina, Civil Society and Forest Advocate
Jayapura, Papua, Indonesia
Maria’s vision is that, by the end of the century, no tree in West Papua, Indonesia be cut without a replacement being planted. Through her previous work as founder and director of the Papua Civil Society Support Foundation and presently as consultant to the Climate Change Unit
Embracing Confusion on the Path toward Sustainability: Reflections from Ladakh
Solar panels on a rooftop in Yang-Tang, Ladakh. By Taylor Knoop.
By Taylor Knoop, young leader and co-founder of WorldYato.
In my community “sustainability” is a catchphrase, an adjective that describes the progressiveness of a building, idea or concept. As a small, upscale suburb of Providence, Rhode Island, my town values the “green” movement, so long as
Systems Thinking through Art in Nature
Art pieces by Jay Mead, Michaelyn Bachhuber, Nirmala Nair, and Dominic Stucker
By Dominic Stucker, Program Manager at Sustainability Leaders Network.
Systems thinking and creativity are essential for bringing about the transition to sustainability. Systems thinking helps us assemble diverse stakeholders to better understand the integrated economic, social, and environmental systems we seek to change. Creativity and art help
A Unique Rest Area in Vermont: Young Leaders Reflect on Past Wars and Future Innovation
The Sharon Academy students Rajana Dion and Katie Spencer
By Rajana Dion, Katie Spencer, and Dominic Stucker
You might not consider a rest area a destination, but rather part of the journey. Edie Farwell of Sustainability Leaders Network sees one particular rest stop in Sharon, Vermont as both. She recently took her Personal Leadership class, one of our Young
From ‘Limits to Growth’ to ‘Life Beyond Growth’
By Dominic Stucker, Program Manager at Sustainability Leaders Network. This piece also appeared in the March 2012 issue of The Systems Thinker.
Celebrating the Publication of Limits to Growth
The Club of Rome and the Smithsonian Institute hosted the symposium Perspectives on Limits to Growth: Challenges to Building a Sustainable Planet in Washington, DC on March 1 to celebrate the 40th anniversary
First New England Fellows Regional Gathering
Some of the hikers: Jay Mead, Phil Rice, Virginia Farley, Lynn Stoddard, and Jed Davis.
In the first event of its kind, New England Dana Meadows Fellows convened a regional gathering on February 17 at Cobb Hill. The event was designed for Fellows to reconnect, meet Fellows across cohorts, exchange information about regional sustainability projects, explore
Fellow Angela Park in Audubon Magazine on Diversity in the Environmental Field
Fellow Angela Park was featured in an Audubon Magazine article, Facing the Future, by Barry Yeoman. The article’s header is: “While environmental groups often work toward preserving biodiversity in ecosystems, many are now grappling with trying to figure out how to diversify their own ranks.” Her interview for the article is articulate and powerful, making
Jay Mead on Ken Robinson’s TED Talk “Do Schools Kill Creativity?”
In looking at what Ken Robinson says about creativity and how schools are currently killing this natural part of our being, it’s clear that he, along with other visionaries, believe that this industrial model of education no longer serves us. He states that “creativity is as important as literacy,” and that we should be cultivating
The Future We Want: A Systems Approach to Growing Sustainable Business
Esalen Institute Coast
Come to the world-renowned Esalen Institute from May 18-20, 2012, on the scenic northern California coast near Big Sur, for a dynamic, interactive workshop on systems thinking and sustainable business.
Led by Christina Page, Dana Fellows Cohort #1 and Global Director of Energy and Sustainability Strategy for Yahoo!, the workshop will feature best practices
Fellows Collaboration in Indonesia
Yoga Retreat in Bandung led by Nirmala Nair, December 2011
After many years of work-related travels, Fellow Nirmala Nair of South Africa decided to take a vacation to Bali. She writes: “As always, when one is open and ready to take on the opportunities coming one’s way, there is an effortless grace about events that unfold.”
Partnering Kids with Horses
Maeve on Horse-Drawn Plow
Stephen Leslie originally published this article in the 2011 Fall edition of the Small Farmer’s Journal. Reprinted with permission. Stephen runs our Farmers Apprenticeship.
At Cedar Mountain Farm, we have been hosting school groups for more than a decade. In recent years many of these visits have been under the auspices of the Farm
Justin Maxson Featured in Grist Magazine
Justin Maxson featured in Grist Magazine, December 2011
Fellow Justin Maxson was featured as a “Change Gang” member in Grist Magazine in December 2011. Change Gang members are “people who are leading change on the ground toward a more sustainable society and a greener planet.” The article, Justin Maxson: An Appalachian trailblazer for sustainability, was written by Andrew
Featured Fellow: Tim Brown
Tim Brown, Renewable Energy Entrepreneur
Illinois, USA
Tim is the president of Wabashco, LLC, a green investment project development firm located in Chicago, Illinois, and is principal of Forest Hill Energy, LLC. Tim is developing a portfolio of renewable energy projects in the Midwest. His current work includes removal of methane – a potent greenhouse gas –
For the Love of Horses
Stephen Leslie originally published this article on the Cedar Mountain Farm Blog on June 16, 2010.* Reprinted with permission. Stephen runs our Farmers’ Apprenticeship.
I have always favored a broad brimmed hat over a ball cap, especially so after working on the land out west. Without a proper cover on your head the mid-summer sun will crisp
Youth Engagement and Intergenerational Partnership
Dominic Stucker speaking on youth engagement at conference in New Zealand, January 2011
Core Team member Dominic Stucker, in his former work with Earth Charter International and now volunteering on the Steering Committee for IUCN‘s Commission on Education and Communication, has (co)written several pieces on youth engagement and intergenerational partnership:
We’re in This Together: Five reasons why young people are needed to solve
Featured Fellow: Huma Beg
Huma Beg, Foundation Director and Documentary Producer
Islamabad, Pakistan
Through Serendip – the media and communications company she founded with her husband – Fellow Huma Beg has created hundreds of documentaries on all issues of development and poverty alleviation, including frontline flood impacts in her country. Especially in the last two years, some 7 million people have
Student Taylor Knoop Raising $11,000 for Ladakhi Village
Village of Ursi, Ladakh by Taylor Knoop
This article was written by Elizabeth McNamera and posted on the EastGreenwichPatch on November 3, 2011. Reposted with permission.
She spent last semester there; the money would be used to provide a consistent water source for crops.
Taylor Knoop looks like a regular teenager. She’s medium height, with bright eyes, fair
Cobb Hill Harvest Celebration: Keynote Address
By Stephen Leslie. Speech given at Cobb Hill Harvest Celebration, October 19, 2011.
Introduction
I was not born into the farming life. A child of suburbia, I came into agriculture by a circuitous route and did not start farming fulltime until I was 31 years old. As a young adult I attended art school and then soon after
Michelle Erickson Launches Consultancy
Erickson Strategies Website
Drawing on her professional experience and leadership practices honed as a Fellow, Michelle Erickson launched her own consultancy, Erickson Strategies, in October 2011. Michelle describes her consultancy as:
…a boutique consultancy specializing in sustainability, technology, and innovation. We deliver custom, leading-edge solutions in program design, training, and communications. We tailor engagements to our clients’
October 2011 Fellows Network Seminar
Participants in the 3-7 October 2011 workshop at Cobb Hill Cohousing represented six countries and the non-profit, business, and government sectors. Speakers included Beth Sawin and Phil Rice of Climate Interactive; Virginia Farley and colleagues of the Marsh Billings Rockefeller National Historical Park; Karabi Acharya of Ashoka Changemakers; and Jonathan Halperin of Designing Sustainability.
In photo: (top left) Elaine Kohrman, Trista Patterson,
