3.2.3c Youth Voice Sustainability Learning Journey to San Francisco, USA and beyond:
View to the illustrated interview Randal did with with Greenplanet FM on his return
Description:
 On 16 - 25 March, 2007 five Kiwi Youth Voice people who are sustainable development activists selflessly working for the environment and the future, visited San Francisco and the USA. They included Randal Stensness* - Hokianga Harbourcare, Carl Chenery - Auckland, Madeleine Sylvie Watson* - Raglan, Jacinta Syme - Wellington and Samantha Rowlands - Lincoln Ecotown, Christchurch. The Objectives of this trip were:
- Gather in international information, ideas and best practices to bring home for their communities.
- Attend 5 day retreat www.ecoliteracy.org "At the Crossroads:
Education in an Age of Ecological Uncertainty"
- To connect into networks with US and other youth and attend workshops that aim to help grow a massive Youth Voice presence at the next Digital Earth Conference being held in San Francisco on 5-9 June 2007
- Carl will also attend the www.solonline.org 4 day Seminar "Business Innovation for Sustainability in Atlanta.
- Randal left early to take the opportunity to visit our friends in Haida Gwaii and see what they are doing to preserve their environment, community, culture and future. He also attended a seminar with international guru Paul Stamets on Mushroom cultivation leading to Bio-remediation (see our Toxic Site decontamination project) and spent a four days working with our friends on a range of Lopez Island community development projects
 The Kiwi Youth Voice (www.thelongsong.com) is a dedicated network of young people determined to have a strong say in their own future and that of future generations. They formed in 2006 to gather in a contingent of 100 to support the Digital Earth Summit on Sustainability held in Auckland in August 2006. At this Helen Clark PM and other NZ Cabinet members reinforced a renewed government commitment to sustainability. The Youth Voice is not a formal organisation but instead a network whose members embrace many other national sustainable development organisations ( eg Enviroschools, Sir Peter Blake Trust Youth Environment Forum, Nexus, Pacific Centre for Participatory Democracy, Sustainable Aotearoa, Kaitiakitanga Network,,, ). Many now exert their influence in their jobs in government and in other commercial organisations. They represent a fresh approach and thinking that reminds the baby boom bulge generation that the demographics have already changed and it is time for some real leadership development and succession to take place.
Members from our Kaitiakitanga Network Hokianga Harbourcare and Te Mauri tau in Whaingaroa Raglan) were privileged to be part of the traveling group and return with much new information. We were been honored be able to use the international interdependency connections and friendships we have grown to help open doors for this trip. In Particular Bill Daul and members of the Next Now network centred in San Francisco need special thanks for their help. Some of our Kaitiakitanga Program projects that have lead to this capability include:
TRIP REPORT:
Well, I knew It was going to be a trip of a lifetime, but what an Inspiring, Educational and Absolutely Amazing journey I had indeed.
a. Visiting our Whanau on Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands, West Coast, Canada)
 
 
 
 
 
Reflections on life in Haida Gwaii, Queen Charlotte Islands, BC Canada (Randal Stensness)
First off I headed to Haida Gwaii in the Queen Charlotte Islands, BC, Canada. At the Vancouver airport is where I met the President of the Haida Nation, Guujaaw, We had coffee and Korero, I then gifted a Taonga to him that connects the People of Aotearoa and Haida People together with the rest of the world in between, we then parted company and off to the Island I flew.
So many great people I was yet to met, my next contact there was a very lovely, strong and determined Haida Woman, who is living proof of just how much one individual can endure and still move forward with their head high and glowing smile, she organised a lot of the activities I was to take part in and also my accommodation on the Island all from the goodness of her heart, Her Daughter and boyfriend then picked me up to get me settled in at a great home in the Village of Skidegate, I was made to feel at home straight away and will never forget my Haida hosts. Seals, Eagles and Ravens hangout right at the front door.
The Island community there is very cooperative and friendly, at first glance it seems as if there would be a shortage of work but everyone is very busy. The culture is very similar to ours in Aotearoa, Carving, Weaving, Song and Dance, which I took part in and had a lot of fun. They still carve their own Wa ka and take them on voyages spanning over 800 miles, I have been given the opportunity to Man a paddle at some stage. I also tried all of the traditional meals consisting of Halibut, Seaweed and Euliken (small fish) grease soup. Battered Halibut (fish n chips). Gao, which is spawn on kelp (herring eggs on seaweed). Black Cod. Smoked Salmon and all kinds of delicious berry dishes, all of the above was incredibly edible, some of the Haida people thought I might have trouble with some of the meals, but when I explained to them some of the Kai that Maori eat they quickly understood how I was able to adapt to these new foreign flavours with such enthusiasm.
There is a lot of attention towards the Youth such as activities like The Swan Bay Rediscovery Program, a Cultural camp where Children learn cultural knowledge and develop new life skills, survival, cooking, navigation, fishing, swimming, hiking, weaving, song and dance, all contributing to self esteem and confidence. The Haida language school where the Elders and Children are together preserving the language of the Elders and educating the Children from a very young age.
I traveled North to the Village of Masset (only two of many Villages are still active in Haida) with a Member of the Council of the Haida Nation Forest Guardians, spending some time there getting to know the staff before I headed off to meet the a world renowned Haida artist Christian White, He is a inspirational man that makes a living doing the things that he enjoys and is passionate about, such as Cultural Song and Dance and Carving which I found truly intriguing, I had the pleasure of staying with him and his Whanau for a night and cruising the forest and coastline looking for new material for his upcoming projects.
Back at Skidegate I was treated to a personal Tour of the Museum that is not yet open for the public but will be in the very near future, I had the pleasure of viewing hundreds of years of Haida History. There was a great spiritual presence as I observed with humbleness and respect many old artifacts that will be on display there.
Time came to move onwards into my journey, I was feeling sadness and excitement at the same time, having to say goodbye to all my new Haida Whanau, moving onto another phase of the adventure to meet many more great people and learn so much more valuable knowledge to add to my kete.
b. Downtown Vancouver and some chaos with Greyhound Busses
 
Reflections on traveling outside Aotearoa: (Randal Stensness)
c. A workshop with Paul Stammets - Mushroom Guru Extraordinaire
 
 
Reflections on the Paul Stamets Mushroom Cultivation Seminar (Randall Stensness)
Paul Stamets and his team at Fungi Perfecti absolutely blew my mind not to mention the other 35 people who took part. I believe that over the two days everyone who attended the Seminar had a change of mindset and didn't look at the world quite the same way as before; this definitely happened to me. The simplicity of growing Mushrooms was quite astounding, although listening to Paul's lectures sometimes became overwhelming, when it came to the practical hands on lessons everything then made a lot of sense.
Such amazing and wonderful discoveries have been made since Paul decided to embark on this mission in 1984, passionate and also determined. He his partner and staff have overcome many obstacles to uncover the many mysteries that the Fungi contain, such as : slowing the growth of cancer cells, a cure for small pox and all kinds of medicinal remedies, a Mushroom that kills Ecoli, Mycelium plays a major part in stopping land erosion, Toxic site soil replenishing, The Life Box (cardboard packaging that contains Fungi spawn and when discarded inappropriately gets wet and breaks itself down by growing edible mushrooms, therefore providing a food source for those less fortunate and reducing the amount of litter), Fuel that burns clean made from Fungi that has been grown on rotten old corn cobs after the corn is harvested, and so much more.
Paul believes and has proven to me and a wide range of people around the Globe that Fungi is a major part of sustaining the Earth and all life living upon it. Great connections and friends and Valuable knowledge has been obtained from this extraordinary Seminar.
I was able to bring home books for myself and other members of our Kaitiakitanga network
"Mycelium Running" - How Mushrooms can save the World by Paul Stamets
ISBN 1-85008-579-2 (340 pages of revolutionary thinking about the power of fungi)
Obtainable from Fungi Perfecti at www.fungi.org
Paul Stamets is a good friend of Guujaaw and has done some research with him in the ancient forests of Haida Gwaii. The good news I came home with was that both are planning to travel together to New Zealand where we can return their hospitality. I know the people of Te Whaiti can't wait to have them visit and explore with them the richness of their Whirinaki Rainforest
Check out our network's Mycorestoration Project which was instigated by Randal's visit. This will bring this knowledge and technology to New Zealand make environmental restoration projects more effective.
Lopez Island, San Juan Islands.
Yet another magnificent place, peaceful and beautiful - much like the people that I stayed with and met here. I have developed some very close connections on Lopez and look forward to returning there in the near future.
c. Henning's Sustainable Farm - Lopez Island
 
 
 
Reflections on Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (Randal Stensness)
Crow Foot Farm, an Organic fruit farm run by a great couple who showed me the best hospitality and also how to graft a fruit tree. Making a living from 10,000 Strawberry plants and establishing a large variety of Apples, is a very positive and happy lifestyle.
Hennings Bio Dynamic Organic Farm is owned and managed by an elderly couple who are both Professors. They grow and produce all their own meat ( Cattle, Pigs, Sheep, Chickens), vege and fruit, right down to all dairy products including Ice cream. Just like Distilled Water, the Pasteurization and Standardisation of Milk renders the product useless, not only removing the threat of bugs and disease but also stripping the product of any good qualitys such as the living Organisms and Microisms that provide us with Protein, Vitamins and Minerals etc.
There is no use of any Chemical treatments such as drenches or wormers, fertilisers or pesticides, because of the excellent quality of management these substances are not required as the health of all is sustained by providing clean water and lush pastures, all a process to create excellent well being for the people, which was obvious after spending the day with them and seeing the health and energy they have.
The key to the Bio Dynamic Farm concept is the Dairy Cow, the manure contains a Fertility Hormone making this a very effective Fertiliser, When composted into the soil or irrigated over pastures the growth rate and health is nothing less than Miraculous, illuminating any need or reason to discharge effluents into the waterways. Hennings Farm has also recently provided a portion of Their Farm for Community Supported Agriculture, which is managed by another lovely young couple, dedicated to providing the community with fresh Organic produce. Membership is required giving those Members ownership and belonging with a weekly supply of fresh Organic produce while supporting the Young Farmers, I had the pleasure of spending a day here helping to pot up many varieties of tomatoes for the oncoming summer crops.
d. Sustainable Housing on Lopez Island
 
 
Sustainable and permanently affordable housing:
The Community Land Trust provides the platform for the Lopez Community to live in a sustainable manner by obtaining and managing land, providing affordable eco friendly housing and protection from mass land investments for commercial developments and the world's Rich and Famous and such that threaten the Lopez way of life and the balance of the community.
I was offered the opportunity to return to help build an Eco friendly home from the ground up is in August, although from what I learned while I was there I have a reasonably good idea how to already, using Natural timbers for the main strength and structure and clay, sand and straw for walls and such. These are remarkable homes which show the owners character and are designed to suit with little or no harm to our environment, because of a lifestyle of dealing with your own waste in your own back yard.
Lopez school, town and around (Randal Stensness)
The Community Land Trust provides the platform for the Lopez Community to live in a sustainable manner by obtaining and managing land providing affordable eco friendly housing and protection from mass land investments for commercial developments and such that threaten the Lopez way of life.
Lopez Island Farm Education (life) is a collaboration of the Lopez School, Land Trust S&S Centre for Sustainable Agriculture and Lopez Education Foundation, Creating sustainable locally based Organic farming and gardening experiences, integrated into the Lopez school curriculum and cafeteria programs, which provides education and also the best of foods for the youth while they learn.
Lopez Island School was a real eye opener, along with 123 and ABC the youth are taught positivity, cooperation and to support others, all Students are encouraged to know one another by name, when I was at school the only names I knew were of close friends and the rest of the Pupils remained strangers. I was privileged to have the attention of 50 Students for 80 minutes and had a lot of fun, educating and entertaining them on the basic History of Aotearoa, My People and the area I'm from, The Mission of Harbour Care and the Importance of preserving the Environment for future generations, Kaitiakitanga.
One question asked has stuck with me " What is our Culture here on Lopez?" I replied " You are all now my whanau so my culture is yours also, along with all other cultures in the World, as the Earth Mother nurtures us all the same.
Once again my stay here was over, but I was so relieved to know my Hosts on Lopez, Sandy and Rhea whom I have grown to love dearly, were also attending the Ecoliteracy Seminar and we would be travelling together from Lopez to our final destination San Francisco; what a blessing.
e. San Francisco town
 
 
Reflections on arriving in San Francisco
Ecoliteracy Retreat :
 
 
 
Reflections on the Ecoliteracy Retreat
“What would it take for us to be indigenous again? Not as we were but as we might be…”
I would like to express my respect and gratitude to those from the Kiwi Youth Voice, the Kaitiakitanga Network and the many others in NZ and US who helped make this learning journey possible, including my whanau and the Whaingaroa community who gave me their support and confidence. My deepest thanks goes to the four Okanagan first nations people, Jeannette Armstrong, Henry Michel, Inez Pierre and Marlowe Sam whose innate generosity allowed us insight into their knowledge and wisdom as received from their tupuna and their land.
I was one of five young New Zealanders given the opportunity to travel to California for an exchange of learning and hope.
We participated in the four day seminar, ‘At the Crossroads: Education in an age of ecological uncertainty’ in Sonoma County where thirty people of various ethnic backgrounds and ages connected through the practical application of an Okanagan philosophy. ‘En’owkin’ stems from the understanding that whole communities must be engaged in decision making in order to achieve sustainable outcomes. Jeanette, Marlow, Inez and Henry were gentle and natural facilitators in this process of celebration, creation and sharing. The experience empowered each individual to step into her and his role as an integral part of community.
Each person at the seminar became a member of one of four groups. We fell naturally into the metaphorical roles of ‘Mothers’(human relations, workable systems), ‘Fathers’(security, sustenance, shelter), ‘Elders’(connected to the land and tradition) and ‘Youth’(innovative possibilities). In the ‘Innovators’ or ‘Youth’ group I was surrounded by individuals whose ages spanned generations but who are “like-minded in their tremendous creative energy as they yearn for change that will bring a better future”.
The practise of En’owkin achieves informed, consensual decision-making that acknowledges the interdependency of each member of the community and the environment. Each individual is honoured as a contribution in a process of deep collaboration, LIFE. (See 'Let us begin with Courage’ )
This seminar provided insight that has allowed me to embrace and move with the strength of diversity within the group of young people I work alongside, our whanau and larger community. Our learning and experience will be shared with the national community here in Aotearoa as we continue to be involved in creating opportunities for young people to collaborate with all generations in realising our collective vision for a future on earth.
All our experiences in California facilitated connections with an international network of ‘Youth’ who are actively engaged in the movement towards sustainability in its fullest sense. The perspectives and skills shared amongst these conscious activists was invaluable and inspiring. Technology will enable us to continue this collaboration of global awareness and action and will allow En’owkin to be embraced by the international community.
At this crossroads of ecological uncertainty, people of many nations are choosing a path that combines the deep wisdom of our tupuna with the power of creative innovation. This fusion will facilitate the emergence of new ideas and technologies which honour the understanding that we are all tangata whenua, we are all indigenous to earth and if we are to survive we must walk this path as one nation.
Madelin Sylvie Watson 22/4/07
The Centre for Ecoliteracy’s (CEL) seminar; “Education in an age of ecological transformation”, was a rich experience bridging the need to convene as a single community for optimum success, with a means to compassionatly effect mass collaboration amongst our diverse societies.
The four-day seminar was led by four Native American Indian elders, in collaboration with CEL, and embodied the time-tested teachings of the Native American collaborative community decision making process. After embedding ourselves in a deep and empathetic understanding of the traditional process where we identify and empathise with the qualities of the ‘four societies’, we were armed with the conscious ability to come together in and celebrating and honouring each of our differences in opinion and outlook, to leverage the most synergistic and optimum outcome possible. In applying our now embedded practice to the concept of ecological education, we were able to critically assess and simultaneously honour innovative and yet, practical methods of ecological education; many of which are being implicated by participants in their own communities, as I write.
More than a tool-kit of resources for improved ecological education, the CEL seminar gave us the foundation from which to become better informed and be present to aligned opportunities for creating valid, steadfast application of the emergent tools we might come across in our many diverse educational contexts. This was a highly rewarding process, as retrospectively we can see the immense power and momentum effected, in giving an otherwise flimsy choice framework, a solid, considered foundation from which to gather and generate intellectual and emotional collateral.
Here in New Zealand, it will be an honour to share the process of the four societies through work-shopping; modeling the activity with further application of Maori Kaitiakitanga, and leadership and behavioural perspectives taken form leading thinkers and communication programmes. Specifically, correlations between the four societies learning model, Mark Gerzon’s principles for leading through conflict, and the behavioral programme; TetraMap: Mapping communication styles against the natural elements of Earth, Air Water fire, will be demonstrated. With the outcome of creating a blueprint model for the development of a New Zealand specific approach to ecological education. Working partnerships with Ministry for the Environment and SANZ (Sustainable Aotearoa New Zealand), are being explored to enable the running of workshops throughout New Zealand.
Jacinta Syme - Apr 07
Down to Youth Business in San Francisco
 
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Visit to Marin Headlands Institute - Environmental Centre
 
 
 
 
Getting it all together for Digital Earth in June
Glen and Carl stay on to attend The Society for Organisational Learning (SOL) seminar:
Reflections about SOL (Carl Chenery)
Last fond glimpses of San Francisco:
 
 
 
Relecting on Californian and Aotearoa environmental communities sharing:
It was astounding as a NZYV representative to experience the interest generated in our journeying internationally to exchange learning and insight, and to grow authentic relationships for collaboration. Our presence was indeed viewed as a catalyst for global awareness and action.
During our time in the US we established meaningful relationships for action and empowerment including organisations like: Bioneers, Energy Action Coalition, Lopez Community Housing Trust, the Marin Headlands institute, the Centre for Ecoliteracy, Henning’s Sustainable Farm, Sustainable Ventures, the NextNow Collaboratory, the Institute of Noetic Sciences, and the Californian organising committee for Digital Earth 05, spanning networks of over 10,000 people. Making linkages to these communities housing a wealth of intellect and environmental consciousness means we are pooling resources and building bridges for innovative solutions for the future.
Being amongst these environmental communities and experiencing such a mass of talent was both humbling and enormously empowering. This mass of collective talent and environmental good-will creates an undeniable sense of optimism about our potential to step-up to our environmental challenge.
We were honoured to be able to travel to make such connections and recognise that we have the ability to open the door for goodworks by the many. Those many then have the ability to catalyse the goodwill of the majority through their example. It is our collective role to recognise these qualities in people, and assist them in achieving their greatest potential, whilst nurturing our own.
This trip has enhanced the potential each one of us has to contribute to leveraged, mass environmental shift. On our return we commit to share our learning and experiences, encouraging others to be a part of the change by assisting them to identify their own personal contributions, and linking them with resources, support communities, and opportunities to shape our collective future.
Jacinta Syme 15/4/07
Outcomes expected:
- Powerful networks of young people and others with international links, tools and perspectives
- Information that is shared between communities, much of which is critical to our development
- Recognition that the concepts of Kaitiakitanga can add great leverage to sustainability action.
Start Date: 1 March 2007
Expected Completion: 30 March 2007
Budget: Bridging finance was provided to allow this to happen and it was included in the Youth Voice Proposal to Cabinet for government support for the greater Digital Earth Initiative. In the end no government support for this was received so the costs were covered by members of the Kaitiakitanga network and the young participants themselves.
Nominal Project Leader:
Project Team:
Issues Register:
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Unable to get funding support for positive initiatives by young people who buy into government sustainability messages. |
Try some new ways next time. |
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Progress Log
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