Ecology Center Events
Thursday, December 3, 2020
Aya de Leon on Women in Power: Politicians, Sex, and Law in Ecotopia

Ecotopia 2050 5-Part Speaker Series

Ecotopia 2050 is designed as a 5-Episode speaker discussion series with the first episode serving as an introduction/prelude to the event. The speaker discussion series is paired with corresponding book club meetings that give participants a more intimate opportunity to discuss the themes of the book in the community.

Based on the 1975 blockbuster utopian novel Ecotopia, this discussion and book club event series revisit some of the futuristic visions of the Ernest Callenbach classic. His visionary ideas, and those of his generation, that he so skillfully captured in Ecotopia are a fascinating amalgam of technical, economic, societal, and cultural transformations. They are predictive on so many levels, and the series will explore what has come true, what remains on the list of things to do that were proposed, and what new visions we might begin to pull together in the construction of an updated Ecotopian vision of today.

Registration Instructions 1. Choose your experience (single episode) or full series 2. Are you joining the book club? *choose the add on 3. Check out. 4. A secure Zoom link will be sent 24 hours ahead of event time to registered email.

Pricing:

Limited Income $20 single episode

Membership $25 single episode

General admission $35 single episode

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No-one turned away for lack of funds.

EC Scholarship Request form here

As the Ecology Center also commemorates its 50th Anniversary, the series is reflective of some of the aspirations and visions that the original founders of the Ecology Center had for the Bay area and Beyond. The vision for a world of sustainable cities; empowered resilient communities; zero waste and zero toxins; equal access to healthy food; sustainable resource use; and a safe and stable climate [wpspoiler name=" Episode Breakdowns:"] Episode#1: Welcome to Ecotopia Date: Thursday, October 1, 2020, 7:00-8:00 PM Platform: Zoom Webinar/Facebook Live Featuring: Hannah Estrada, Youth vs. The Apocalypse + Martin Bourque, Ecology Center Executive Director Description: In the 1970s, Ecotopia captured the values and vision of a generation. What does the upcoming generation of activists think? This dynamic dialogue between Martin Bourque, Ecology Center Executive Director, and activist Hannah Estrada from Youth vs. the Apocalypse will dive into how this vision has succeeded and fallen short. Ecotopia is intersectional in its vision but falls short of addressing today's major crises. Together, Martin and Hannah will explore what kind of vision we need to have a sustainable, healthy and just society by 2050. Episode #2: Ecotopia and The Future of Food Date: Thursday, October 29, 2020, 7:00-8:30 PM Platform: Zoom Webinar Featuring: Michael Pollan, New York Times best selling author Description: Ecotopia describes a food production system utilizing agroecology and sewage to reach a stable and restorative state. Ecology Center Executive Director Martin Bourque and visionary author and journalist Michael Pollan will discuss this vision, what elements have come true, and what the future of farming could look like. They will dive deep into diverging paths forward from ocean permaculture, plant-based diets, to precision agriculture, agricultural robots, and food and meat grown in labs. Together they will envision a future of healthy, sustainable, and just food production for the year 2050. Episode #3: An Atlas to Ecotopia Date: Thursday, November 12, 2020, 7:00-8:30 PM Platform: Zoom Webinar Featuring: Obi Kaufmann, New York Times best selling author Description: Ecotopia envisioned a society where people are deeply enmeshed with the natural world. They work the land and respect the trees. Ecology Center Executive Director Martin Bourque and visionary Author and Artist Obi Kauffman will discuss the relationship between humans and the natural environment at the personal and societal levels. They will dive deep into the forests, the subject of Obi’s latest book, The Forests of California. From the microbial internet of the trees, to board feet, fires, and beetle booms, Martin and Obi will explore how Ecotopias vision has been advanced through Redwood summer to clearcutting and envision a safe, stable, and just future for people, forests, ecosystems, and fellow species to share in 2050. Episode #4: Women in Power: Politicians, Sex, and Law in Ecotopia Date: December 3, 2020, 7:00-8:30PM Platform: Zoom Webinar Featuring: Aya de Leon, acclaimed novelist, activist, and poet Episode #5: Ecotopia The Story Without Stuff Date: Thursday, December 17, 2020, 7:00-8:30 PM Platform: Zoom Webinar Featuring: Annie Leonard, Executive Director Greenpeace Description: Ecotopia describes a disposable free society. A place where people make, repair, reuse gifts and value the limited possessions they have. They have what they need and are free from the burden and addiction of consumerism. Ecology Center Executive Director Martin Bourque and Author and Activist Annie Leonard will discuss waste and consumerism. Martin and Annie will discuss Ecotopia’s use of plastics, its culture, and consumer-based product regulations. They will explore current corporate accountability strategies and a vision of a society without toxins or waste. [/wpspoiler] [wpspoiler name=" Join the Ecotopia Book Club! "] Join the Ecology Center for our Fall Programming, Ecotopia 2050: Book Club and Speaker Series! In the Book Club, we will be reading and discussing Ernest Callenbach’s utopian novel, Ecotopia (1975), an antidote to the environmental crisis present today. Set in 2020, the book describes a North America where California, Oregon, and Washington have seceded from the United States and created an ecologically restored and advanced society. Here, nothing is wasted, fossil fuels have been nearly eliminated, and people are responsible for taking care of their environment. Ecotopians have “...come to see that their survival and happiness depend upon giving as much weight to the biological bottom line as to the economic bottom line.” In our book club we hope to bring people together to discuss the implications of the ecological, technological, and lifestyle changes present in the book, how they compare to the actual 2020, and where we see ourselves in the near future of 2050. If you are a bookworm concerned with the climate crisis and wish to discuss environmental topics with your community, join us to get inspired and seek environmental change! We will meet via zoom and share resources via Google Classroom. Meets Thursday 11/5, 11/19, & 12/10, from 6:00 - 7:30 pm PT. Note: book club is limited to 100 registrants and individuals signed-up for complete speaker series. Book Club meets via zoom meeting. [/wpspoiler] [wpspoiler name=" Readings:"] We recommend reading the whole book, beginning to end and the epilogue and afterwards if you have the 30th or 40th Anniversary editions. While reading the book is not necessary to get a lot out of the discussions, we recommend familiarity with it and perhaps reading key sections for each dialogue. However, for the very sort on time or interest, there is the Wikipedia summary, A summary and study guide at: https://www.supersummary.com/ecotopia/summary/

Ecotopia Dialogue Focused Reading

Michael Pollan Episode #2: Ecotopia and The Future of Food Food, Sewage, and Stable States Communications in Ecotopia: Press Television and Publishing Obi Kauffman Episode #3: An Atlas to Ecotopia In Ecotopia’s Big Woods Peoples’ Relationship to Nature Aya de Leon Episode #4: Women in Power: Politicians, Sex, and Law in Ecotopia Race in Ecotopia: Apartied or Equality Annie Leonard Episode #5: Ecotopia The Story Without Stuff Their Plastic and Ours Energy From Sun and Sea Consumerism (Story of Stuff) Corporate Regulation [/wpspoiler]

Click below to Buy Ecotopia online and pick up at our store

[wpspoiler name=" Speakers:"] Martin Bourque Executive Director, Ecology Center Since 2000, Martin has led the Ecology Center, a community-based organization incorporated on Earth Day in 1970. Under Martin’s leadership, the Ecology Center is leveraging local direct community service programs to have state and national impact. Martin has spearheaded innovative efforts such as creating a farmers’ market industry group, pioneering electronic food stamp access and incentives at farmers’ markets, and passing the nation’s first Soda Tax. By linking local grassroots grit with highly competent program implementation, and increasingly effective policy advocacy, Martin has led the Ecology Center to become a high impact engine for change. Hannah Estrada, Youth vs. the Apocalypse Youth Versus Apocalypse is a youth-led environmental justice group that focuses on the intersections of climate justice. We work hard to uplift voices of color, marginalized communities, and educate our young people. We are Bay Area-based and responsible for organizing the March 15th strike last year, and the September 20th strike last year. Michael Pollan, New York Times bestselling author For more than thirty years, Michael Kevin Pollan has been writing books and articles about the places where nature and culture intersect: on our plates, in our farms and gardens, and in our minds. He is the author of the new book How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence and five New York Times bestsellers: Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation (2013), Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual (2010); In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto (2008); The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (2006) and The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World (2001).Several of his books have been adapted for television. Netflix created a four-part documentary series based on Cooked in 2016, and documentary adaptations of In Defense of Food (2015) and The Botany of Desire (2009) both premiered on PBS. Pollan also appeared in the Academy Award-nominated 2009 feature documentary, Food Inc. Obi Kauffman, New York Times bestselling author Growing up in the East Bay as the son of an astrophysicist and a psychologist, Obi Kaufmann spent most of high school practicing calculus and breaking away on weekends to scramble around Mount Diablo and map its creeks, oak forests, and sage mazes. Into adulthood, he would regularly journey into the mountains, spending more summer nights without a roof than with one. For Kaufmann, the epic narrative of the California backcountry holds enough art, science, mythology, and language for a hundred field atlases to come. Author of the best-selling California Field Atlas Aya de Leon, acclaimed novelist, activist, and poet Aya de Leon directs the Poetry for the People program, teaching creative writing at UC Berkeley. Kensington Books publishes her award-winning feminist heist/romance series, Justice Hustlers: UPTOWN THIEF (2016), THE BOSS (2017), THE ACCIDENTAL MISTRESS (2018), and SIDE CHICK NATION (2019) which was the first novel published about Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Aya has received acclaim in the Washington Post, Village Voice, SF Chronicle, and The Establishment.In 2020, Kensington will publish her first spy novel, about FBI infiltration of an African American eco-racial justice organization. Annie Leonard, Executive Director of Greenpeace USA Annie Leonard is the Executive Director of Greenpeace USA an independent environmental organization that uses research, creative communication, non-violent direct action, and people-power to expose environmental harm and advance solutions. She is also currently partnering with Jane Fonda to launch Fire Drill Fridays, a project to inspire more people to engage in climate activism. Prior to taking the helm at Greenpeace, she created The Story of Stuff, a hit 20-minute web film and book that take viewers on an eye-opening tour of the often hidden environmental and social costs of our consumer-driven culture. The Story of Stuff film has generated over 40 million views in more than 200 countries and territories since its launch, making it one of the most-watched online environmental-themed films to date and sparking a much-needed conversation about patterns of consumption today. [/wpspoiler] For any questions or inquiries, please email ecotopia2050@ecologycenter.org
Time: 7:00pm - 8:30pm
Location: Online Event, Online Event
Cost: Free – 110.00

Saturday, December 5, 2020
50TH ANNIVERSARY FRIENDRAISER CELEBRATION!

50TH ANNIVERSARY FRIENDRAISER CELEBRATION! Ecology Center Past, Present, and Future December 5, 2020 Green Room 6:30-7:00 PM (Paid Event)* Main Event 7:00-8:00 PM (Free)

Main Event Details

This year Ecology Center celebrates 50 years of paving the way for a more sustainable, healthy, and just community for the East Bay, Bay Area, and Beyond. This event is

virtual community sharing reflecting on past accomplishments and looking forward to the future. The commemorative event will feature key figures from the Ecology Center’s past, present, and beyond. This is a free online community event.

Featuring Ecology Center Board & Staff with a special performance by award-winning songwriter & artist Jennifer Johns.

Green Room Details

Enjoy a carefully curated meal sourced from the Berkeley Farmers' Market prepared by Cosecha Cafe. As part of this Green Room farm to table experience, you will also be

invited live to a pre-event dinner chat where you will meet the Farmers’ who grew your food and the head chef of Cosecha Cafe Dominica Rice - Cisneros. Graciously hosted by Ecology Center Food and Farming Director Carle Brinkman.

* Cost: $65.00 for two people includes classic margaritas, persimmon pomegranate salad, chips, salsa & guacamole.

Pickup by appointment at Saturday's Berkeley Farmers' Market on 12/5/2020.

Special 50th Anniversary Gift included while supplies last.

Can’t make it but want to support? Donate here and type “brunch2020” in the “leave us a note” field. [wpspoiler name="Be An Event Sponsor"] Sponsoring the Ecology Center is a win-win! Your sponsorship will benefit your business and directly support our vital programs. Not only is your sponsorship largely tax-deductible, but it is also an excellent way to raise visibility for your business. All attendees at the Ecology Center’s Friendraiser Brunch will be people who share a common interest in a sustainable future and a deeply rooted trust in the Ecology Center’s values regarding partner businesses. Sponsoring our event is both a tacit and an active endorsement of your business and its practices by one of the most trusted names in the Bay Area environmental community. View Sponsorship Levels, benefits, and payment form here: We'd be happy to speak to you more about sponsorship! Please contact us: Erika Evearitt-, Development Director, (510) 548-2220x230 or email erika@ecologycenter.org. [/wpspoiler] [wpspoiler name="Be an Ambassador"] Thank you for your interest in being an Ambassador! As an Ambassador, you personally invite friends, family members, and colleagues who you think might resonate with the Ecology Center’s mission to attend the event. If you would like to be an Ambassador, please RSVP with erika@ecologycenter.org. [/wpspoiler] [wpspoiler name="2020 Sponsors"]

2020 Sponsors

Builder

Partner

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Supporters

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Friends

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In Kind

Chinook Book Wachira Wine De Novo Wine Stasher Cosecha Cafe

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Time: 6:30pm - 8:00pm
Location: Online Event, Online Event

Wednesday, December 9, 2020
Electric Vehicles (EV) 101
Thinking about buying an electric car? Curious about the benefits of driving all-electric? Interested in clean transportation? Our Electric Vehicles (EV) 101 workshop will discuss the wide variety of vehicles on the market today, and their respective ranges. Other topics of discussion include home and public charging, available rebates and incentives, special programs for income-qualified drivers, buying and leasing opportunities, and tips for finding the right plug-in car for your lifestyle. There will be plenty of time for questions and answers at the end of the presentation. This EV 101 workshop is open to all, whether you're ready to swap out your old vehicle for a new one, or just interested in learning more about electric vehicles in general. The workshop will be presented by the cities of Berkeley, Albany, and San Francisco, but community members from any city are welcome to join.
Time: 5:30pm - 6:30pm
Location: Online Event, Online Event
Cost: Free
Info: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/electric-vehicles-ev-101-tickets-126899464715

Thursday, December 10, 2020
Ecotopia 2050 Book Club #3: Lifestyle

Ecotopia 2050 Book Club

Join the Ecology Center for our Fall Programming, Ecotopia 2050: Book Club and Speaker Series! In the Book Club, we will be reading and discussing Ernest Callenbach’s utopian novel, “Ecotopia” (1975), an antidote to the environmental crisis present today. Set in 2020, the book describes a North America where California, Oregon, and Washington have seceded from the United States and created an ecologically restored and advanced society. Here, nothing is wasted, fossil fuels have been nearly eliminated, and people are responsible for taking care of their environment. Ecotopians have “...come to see that their survival and happiness depend upon giving as much weight to the biological bottom line as to the economic bottom line.” What to Bring: Yourself and Thoughts! Students, Bookworms, and Environmental Justice Community Welcomed! In our book club we hope to bring people together to discuss the implications of the ecological, technological, and lifestyle changes present in the book, how they compare to the actual 2020, and where we see ourselves in the near future of 2050. If you are a bookworm concerned with the climate crisis, a student, or just wish to discuss environmental topics with your community, join us to get inspired and seek environmental change! We will meet via zoom and share resources via Google Classroom

Registration Instructions:

1. Choose your experience (single episode) or full series 2. Are you joining the book club? *choose the add on 3. Check out. 4. A secure Zoom link will be sent 24 hours ahead of event time to registered email. You will also receive a custom link to access the book club.

Pricing:

Book Club is a FREE add-on with the purchase of an episode

Limited Income $60 full series $20 single episode

Membership $90 full series $25 single episode

General admission $110 series $35 single episode

[raw]

[/raw]

No-one turned away for lack of funds.

EC Scholarship Request form here

Obi Kauffman Episode #3: An Atlas to Ecotopia In Ecotopia’s Big Woods Peoples’ Relationship to Nature

Aya de Leon Episode #4: Women in Power: Politicians, Sex, and Law in Ecotopia Race in Ecotopia: Apartied or Equality Annie Leonard Episode #5: Ecotopia The Story Without Stuff Their Plastic and Ours Energy From Sun and Sea Consumerism (Story of Stuff) Corporate Regulation [/wpspoiler]

Click below to Buy Ecotopia online and pick up at our store

For any questions or inquiries, please email ecotopia2050@ecologycenter.org
Time: 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Location: Online Event, Online Event
Cost: Free – 110.00

Thursday, December 17, 2020
Annie Leonard on Ecotopia and The Story Without Stuff

Ecotopia 2050 5-Part Speaker Series

Registration Instructions 1. Choose your experience (single episode) or full series 2. Are you joining the book club? *choose the add on Note: You must be registered for the full series if you register for book club. 3. Check out. 4. A secure Zoom link will be sent 24 hours ahead of event time to registered email.

Pricing:

Limited Income $60 full series $20 single episode

Membership $90 full series $25 single episode

General admission $110 series $35 single episode

[raw]

[/raw]

No-one turned away for lack of funds.

EC Scholarship Request form here

Ecotopia Dialogue Focused Reading

Click below to Buy Ecotopia online and pick up at our store

Community Events
Monday, November 30, 2020
Goldman Environmental Prize Virtual Ceremony
The 2020 Goldman Environmental Prize Virtual Ceremony on Monday, Nov. 30 features Sigourney Weaver, Jack Johnson, Robert Redford, and Michael Franti.
Time: 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Location: Online Event, Online Event
Cost: Free
Info: https://rsvp.goldmanprize.org/event/e49c5057-5d23-429d-9371-ad53bd5d0bed/summary?environment=P2&5S%2CM3%2Ce49c5057-5d23-429d-9371-ad53bd5d0bed=

Thursday, December 3, 2020
Botanical Garden Winter Conifers Virtual Tour
From the ‘noble fir’ to the ‘humble pine’, join us for a virtual tour highlighting the UC Botanical Garden’s remarkable collection of conifer trees with UCBG horticulturist Gideon Dollarhide. We’ll explore via Zoom the unexpected origins, distinguishing features, and unique uses of this special group of plants. Get to know these winter plant friends.
Time: 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Location: Online Event, Online Event
Cost: 5
Info: https://events.berkeley.edu/index.php/calendar/sn/bot.html?event_ID=136503&date=2020-12-03&filter=Event%20Type&filtersel=

Thursday, December 3, 2020
California’s Equitable Carbon Neutral Future
Join California EPA Secretary Jared Blumenfeld as he discusses California’s path to carbon neutrality. Mr. Blumenfeld will discuss the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and recent wildfires, as well as an equitable plan for recovery for all Californians. For more information about upcoming events in the Series, go to Sunnyvale.ca.gov, search “Sustainability Speaker Series.”
Time: 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Location: Online Event, Online Event
Cost: Free
Info: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/californias-equitable-carbon-neutral-future-tickets-125542337511

Friday, December 4, 2020
Deep Ocean to Outer Space: Plastic Pollution Solutions

Deep Ocean to Outer Space: Plastic Pollution Solutions

Are you concerned about the amount of plastic inside us, in our oceans, and in outer space? Join us for our December 4 webinar, where panelists will discuss the impacts of and potential solutions to plastic pollution in the ocean, as well as in outer space. This special event is in partnership with the Conrad Foundation and the Conrad Challenge, which empowers students to change the world. The webinar will be moderated by Dianna Cohen, Co-Founder & CEO at Plastic Pollution Coalition, with these esteemed panelists: Dr. Sylvia Earle, President & Chairman of Mission Blue and National Geographic Society Explorer in Residence, and Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, Chair of Aerospace History at the Smithsonian Institution.
Time: 3:00pm - 4:30pm
Location: , CA
Cost: Free
Info: https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/ppc-webinar-120420

Saturday, December 5, 2020
Celebrating Womxn’s Leadership in Food: Growing Power, Cultivating Change
Join Women Leaders in Food on Saturday, December 5th, for a half-day, virtual symposium. We will hear from leaders working on the front lines of the farmworker justice movement, enjoy live music, ground ourselves through storytelling, connect through skill shares, build community and grow power. While we cannot meet in person for our annual symposium this fall, we are committed to fostering connection and bringing together many of the powerful and inspiring pieces of the day we all look forward to each year.
Time: 9:30am - 2:00pm
Location: Online Event, Online Event
Cost: 15 – 40
Info: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4809120%20and%20https://foundationsandthefuture.wordpress.com/2020-virtual-symposium/

Sunday, December 6, 2020
Reduce Waste at Head West Temescal Marketplace
Come join us at the Head West outdoor marketplace in Oakland's Temescal district. Re-Up Refill Shop Popup and help reduce single-use plastic waste! We will be part of the Head West Outdoor Popup Marketplace. We will have ecological bath, body, cooking, and cleaning products--from laundry detergent to olive oil to toothpaste, we've got it all. Bring your own containers to refill, or use our refillable containers.ne
Time: 9:00am - 2:00pm
Location: Head West (Telegraph and 49th Street), Oakland, CA, 94609
Info: https://headwestmarketplace.com/temescal

Saturday, December 12, 2020
Wreath Making At Home: A Zoom Program with the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley
This year our annual holiday tradition is going virtual! Join us on Zoom to prepare your garden holiday wreaths while using unique and special materials from the UC Botanical Garden. Registration includes all the materials you need to make a wreath and a one hour live Zoom workshop with Garden staff who will guide you through the process and be available to answer any questions you might have. (Pick up materials from the Garden on Saturday December 12; 11am-1pm)
Time: 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Location: Online Event, Online Event
Cost: 60
Info: https://events.berkeley.edu/index.php/calendar/sn/bot.html?event_ID=136383&date=2020-12-12&filter=Event%20Type&filtersel=

Monday, December 21, 2020
Monkey Business Winter Break Camp

If you would like your child to be in a fun community with lots of play and connection, and you would like some time to catch up with work uninterrupted, to rest or prep for holidays, join us! We will follow same COVID prevention guidelines that created our successful past 6 week summer with 58 families. The Monkey Business team was so buoyed by the wonderful response given by so many families after the summer program, and we are excited for more.

We will be hosting an eight-day Winter camp, Dec 21-24 and Dec 28-31. Camps are 8:30-4:30 at The Berkwood Hedge School near downtown Berkeley. Campers can be ages 6-10, with youth leaders ages 11+. More Winter Camp details can be found here and include info on location, group size and age ranges for groups, staff, youth leaders, and Covid-19 precautions. Space is limited, and if your kids are coming with friends, please coordinate to make sure you sign up for the same group.

Time: 8:30am - 4:30pm
Location: Berkwood Hedge School, 1809 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA, 94703
Cost: 75 – 490
Info: https://monkeybusinesscamp.com/thanksgiving-and-winter-2020-camp/