Urban/Suburban Ecoliteracy Workshop 
Saturday, January 23, 2010 at Milagro Allegro Community Garden in Highland Park
behind the Highland Theater at 5604 N. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles 90042
9am - 6pm

Just as none of us learned the principles of practical financial literacy in school, none of us were taught the practical principles of how to live on a finite planet. Becoming ecoliterate is getting at the root of changing yourself and society with the intent and objective of leaving this Earth in better stead environmentally than the way we all found it. Sustainability is not possible without ecological literacy as a foundation.

If you care about the future of your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, you owe it to them to pass on a better environmental legacy as opposed to deeper ecological debt. Striving for authentic sustainability at this point in human history is requisite for our survival as a species and it entails attunement with earth’s systems and cycles – the sources of our collective survival, well-being, and wealth. Humans appropriate all of the material means of their sustenance and economic activity from the planet. Ecology trumps economy – it always has and always will.

Just a taste of what you will learn:
~ The myriad (and surprising) ways that the quality of your life is intertwined with your local community, watershed, state, nation, and the planet and why these connections matter
~ Ten common garden and landscape myths and misconceptions that often lead to expensive errors
~ The one important key theme common to all high quality, ecologically literate garden and landscape design
~ The steps of a systematic approach to landscape and garden project management that saves you time, money, and water while preventing wasted effort - very important for DIY homeowners
~ How to do a site analysis and assessment within an urban/suburban context - this is fundamental to successful and site/climate appropriate garden design

If you are creating your garden or landscape from scratch, revamping your garden, and/or are tentative about how or where to start, this workshop is oriented to help you. If you are converting your conventional garden or lawn to a drought tolerant CA native garden or edible landscape, congratulations! This workshop will help you. If you seek ways to integrate sustainability into your life and landscape, this introductory workshop will help you reset your mindset and perceptions so that the content from classes and workshops in organic gardening, greener living, garden design with drought tolerant & CA native plants, and Permaculture are easier to integrate into your life.

Two professional ecological designers will be teaching the very same practical skills that they use regularly in their businesses in this intensive all-day workshop. Wendy Talaro of Fruits to Nuts and Steve Hernandez of NativeScape Development Corp. will lead workshop participants in a systematic way through the process of ecological design and problem solving.

~ Bilingual instruction in English and Español with real time translation
~ There is mandatory homework that must be completed prior to the workshop.
~ Registration is open from now until January 16th. Early registration is strongly recommended because of the homework - you're accountable to your fellow classmates for the quality of the content so give yourself ample time to complete it.
~ Potluck lunch on-site to facilitate networking and community building, so please bring your business cards and a dish or snack to share
~ Enrollment is strictly limited on a first come, first served basis to 24 individuals - walk-in registrants will only be guaranteed space for the next available local workshop.
~ To register, send deposit or full payment of $40 to Wendy Talaro, 15411 S. Menlo Avenue; Gardena 90247 or via PayPal to basil_gardens@hotmail.com. Homework (2.1 MB PDF file) will be sent to you via e-mail or snail mailed upon receipt of payment.
~ 25% student discount available w/proof of current 1/2 to full time registration – must be sent w/payment
~ 25% 55+ senior citizen discount available w/proof of how young you are - must be sent w/payment
~ Cancellation Policy: 7-day minimum advance registration is required with deposit to secure space. Balance due may be paid on arrival. No refunds unless the instructors initiate class cancellation.

In 1992, David W. Orr (author of six books, member of the board of directors for the Center for Ecoliteracy, and professor of environmental studies at Oberlin College) introduced the term “ecological literacy” when his first book was published. The phrase was later shortened to “ecoliteracy” and is defined by Fritjof Capra (physicist, systems theorist, and international bestselling author of four books) as “our ability to understand the basic principles of ecology and live accordingly.”

As the workshop’s co-instructors define it, ecoliteracy is about understanding the language of place through nature's rhythms, cycles, and patterns. The applications of that language are tangible and practical. Urban/suburban ecoliteracy is fundamental to greening your home and community while saving money, water, energy and time. It is the foundation of all beautiful organic gardens that grow with little or no fertilizer or chemical pesticides and with less maintenance and water than conventional gardens. Learning to become ecoliterate is easier than you might think!

If you have further questions, please call Wendy @ 310.329.5719 or e-mail info@fruits2nuts.com. Para preguntas en Español, llame Esteban, marque 818.302.9699 o coreo electronico steve@gogreennsd.com. We look forward to your active engagement in the workshop.