So why this theme?

In Copenhagen last December (2009), I had the opportunity to hear Tim Jackson talk about a report entitled "Prosperity without Growth" from the Sustainable Development Commission (UK) http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/pages/redefining-prosperity.html. I was enthralled with the concepts I heard. By spring, I knew that my fall 2010 sabbatical would involve not only a project compiling stories of hope as originally planned, but also the development of a new course on redefining prosperity and sustainability.

I recently learned of my being accepted as a 2010 Audubon TogetherGreen Fellow (see http://www.togethergreen.org/people/fellows.aspx). Having just returned from a week of training for this and meeting the other fellows, it is clear that I have been given a unique opportunity to work with an amazing group of inspirational people. These seemingly unrelated events (COP15, my sabbatical and this fellowship) seem to be launching me in new directions which I will chronicle in this blog. At the training for the fellowship last week, I had the opportunity to hear Julian Agyeman from Tufts speak about "just" sustainability and was even more convinced about the importance of my course concept. If you don’t know of his work I highly recommend that you look him up.

I head to Pimampiro, Ecuador in two days to investigate a story of hope for my collection, and may not be able to get back to this blog until I return since internet access may not be available. But I am quite certain that I will be writing along the way and will post when I can.