Past sustainability events

Jul
25-29

• Sustainability Summer Camp 2011 - Remaking Our World: Greening the planet and our lives
  Date: July 25-July 29
  Time: 9:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M.
  Register here
  

  WHO: Students entering grades 6, 7 or 8, dedicated to creating a more sustainable world.
  
  WHAT: Campers will be engaged in hands-on projects using artistic media and film technologies to document and promote their environmental learning from the week. Activities throughout the week will include environmental crafts, building, utilizing energy technologies, and scientific research in the campus forest. Field trips and swimming are also part of the week.
  
  WHY: The goal of camp is to develop creative sustainability leaders equipped to respond to the environmental challenges of the 21st century. Topics covered include Renewable Energy Technologies, Environmental Science, Environmental Math, and Nutrition.
  
  WHERE: At UMASS Dartmouth Campus, 285 Old Westport Rd, North Dartmouth. School bus transportation to and from camp will be available.
  
  WHEN: The week of July 25 through July 29, 2011.
  
  COST: $80 per child. Scholarships are available.
  
  LUNCH: Brought from home - Refrigeration is not available.
  
  CAMP CONTACT: Jennifer Gonet 508-910-6484 or email JGonet@umassd.edu.

  Read about our camps for 2009 and 2010.

August

Aug
2

• Inaugural Green Drinks
  Date: August 2, 6:30 PM, Rose Alley Ale House, New Bedford
  Join fellow South Coast residents for the region’s inaugural Green Drinks event at Rose Alley Ale House on Tuesday, August 2. Green Drinks is an informal, open, post-work social event (i.e. happy hour) for people interested in “green” topics and initiatives happening both in our region and elsewhere. There is no set structure or itinerary and everyone is welcome to attend. Just show up at or after 6:30 and look for the “SouthCoast Green Drinks” sign.
  
  Still not sure what the deal is? Here are some answers to a few frequently asked questions:
  
  
  1. I can’t make it that day. Will there be anymore events like this in the future?
     Most definitely. The key to a successful Green Drinks is, quite aptly, sustainability. This will therefore be a recurring event, happening on the first Tuesday night of every month. Only the location will vary, so join our Facebook page or send your email to jgonet@umassd.edu to stay in the loop.
  2. I stopped wearing hemp necklaces in high school and I forgot to take out my recycling bin last week. Am I still “green”?
     Another key to a successful Green Drinks effort is openness. Everyone is welcome to attend Green Drinks, regardless of where you work, what you drive, or how many trees you’ve hugged. Plus, just attending Green Drinks—to paraphrase Billy Joel—is greener than drinking alone. If you have any interest in what you consider to be “green” topics, this is the place to share ideas, meet new people, get inspired, and support a local establishment at the same time.
  3. Who’s in charge here?
     Green Drinks is intended to be an informal, self-organizing network whose events are facilitated by email, Facebook, and sometimes a host bar or restaurant. The logistics of the SouthCoast’s first Green Drinks even are being managed by a pair of UMass Dartmouth graduate students with the support of the university’s Office of Sustainability. To learn more or to help with future efforts, visit our Facebook page or contact Jen Gonet or Colleen Dawicki. SouthCoast Green Drinks is part of a worldwide movement that you can read about here.

Aug
10-Sep 1

• Weatherization Training
  Looking to get into the Residential Weatherization Workforce? UMASS offers a grant-funded program: Become Certified in up to three nationally recognized BPI (Building Performance Institute) accreditations! Details here.
  

Past Events

February

Feb
15

• Regional Bikeway Summit
  Join the discussion about people connecting our South Coast communities through a Regional Bikeway. With oil prices rising and health concerns mounting a voice is growing in the South Coast—calling for healthy, safe, and sustainable alternative modes of transportation. Join us for a presentation of the South Coast Regional Bikeway vision. Learn what other communities have achieved; and what the South Coast is and can be doing to expand bikeways in the region
  Learn more at http://www.councilonsustainability.org
  Location: The ATMC in Fall River
  12:30 - 4:00 p.m.

Feb
16

• Sustainability Film Series: Burning the Future: Coal in America (Released 2008)
  This film examines the explosive forces that have set in motion a groundswell of conflict between the Coal Industry and residents of West Virginia.
  Learn more at http://www.burningthefuture.org or http://www.amazon.com/Burning-Future-America-Maria-Gunnoe/dp/B001W63DZA
  Location: Visual and Performing Arts Building (CVPA - Group 6) - Room 153
  6:30 p.m.

March

MAR
08

• Sustainability Film Series: End of the Line (Released 2009)
  The End of the Line chronicles how demand for cod off the coast of Newfoundland in the early 1990s led to the decimation of the most abundant cod population in the world, how hi-tech fishing vessels leave no escape routes for fish populations and how farmed fish as a solution is a myth. The film lays the responsibility squarely on consumers who innocently buy endangered fish, politicians who ignore the advice and pleas of scientists, fishermen who break quotas and fish illegally, and the global fishing industry that is slow to react to an impending disaster.
  Learn more at http://endoftheline.com/film/ or http://www.amazon.com/End-Line-Rupert-Murray/dp/B002RB56W2
  Location: Visual and Performing Arts Building (CVPA - Group 6) - Room 153
  7:00 p.m.

MAR
17

• Sustainable Environmentalism in the 21st Century
  The forum will examine the new realities and responsibilities that make it necessary to reinvent what it means to be an environmentalist in the 21st century. We will explore the state's goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the environmental implications of commuter rail, the regulatory climate surrounding renewable energy, the role of science in environmental decision making and how citizens can make a difference. We hope that you can attend to listen, learn and contribute.
  Learn more at http://councilonsustainability.org
  Location: Wheaton College, Norton, MA
  1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

April

APR
13

• Sustainability Film Series: Tapped (Released 2010)
  Is access to clean drinking water a basic human right, or a commodity that should be bought and sold like any other article of commerce? Stephanie Soechtig's debut feature is an unflinching examination of the big business of bottled water. From the producers of 'Who Killed the Electric Car' and 'I.O.U.S.A.,' this timely documentary is a behind-the-scenes look into the unregulated and unseen world of an industry that aims to privatize and sell back the one resource that ought never to become a commodity: our water. From the plastic production to the ocean in which so many of these bottles end up, this inspiring documentary trails the path of the bottled water industry and the communities which were the unwitting chips on the table.
  Learn more at http://www.tappedthemovie.com/ or http://www.amazon.com/Tapped-Stephanie-Soechtig/dp/B003M987AG
  Location: Visual and Performing Arts Building (CVPA - Group 6) - Room 153
  6:30 p.m.

APR
20

• A Day of Discovery in Our Living Classroom: Campus and Community Lessons
  Please join us for part or all of our day of unveiling and discussing our Living Classroom Initiative. The Living Classroom serves as the bridge between the University's traditional educational resources, the larger community and our natural environment.
  
  On April 20th, you can explore our newly-opened forest trails, join community members to discuss local agriculture and forestry initiatves, learn about the state-of-the-art energy projects planned for our campus, and help us to toast our 2011 Green Campus Awardees including Lyndsi Shusler (student), Facilities Designer Elizabeth Bender (staff), Political Science Professor Robert Darst (faculty), SEEAL Director Jennifer Marshall-Grantham (Community), and the Purchasing Department.
  
  Agenda:
  

  9:00-9:50	Coffee and Registration Student Leadership Breakfast Forest Walk: Welcome to the Campus Forest: walk the forest and inspect an array of interesting features including forest types, harvest activities, trees of interest, an old farmstead and dam. Explore the "Living Classroom" and hear about goals, activities and future plans
  10:00-10:15	Introduction to UMass Dartmouth's Living Classroom Project: The Living Classroom Project of UMass Dartmouth was created to educate through partnership and demonstration how our society can adapt to the challenges of population growth, resource depletion and climate change in order to create sustainable human communities and protect natural communities.
  10:15-10:35	Sustainable Forestry & Land Protection: Our forests are the life-support systems of our human and natural communities. How do we protect our forests and create sustainable communities? The Situation: Forest fragmentation, a loss of ecosystem services and sense of place. The Living Classroom: An introduction to the Campus' 400 acres; Development of Recreational & Educational infrastructure; Forest management activities & goals.
  10:35-10:50	Agriculture in the southcoast: What can we grow here? What is local? Why support local food and agriculture? Living Classroom projects: How UMass can partner with other organizations and the community to increase access to high nutrition food and create local jobs.
  11:00 - 11:20	Visioning the Future: Projects in the pipeline. A look at projects that excite and motivate us. Projects looking for thinkers, builders, leaders, funders.
  11:25 - 11:50	Adam Sulkowski: Sustainability Reporting: Crucial to the Campus-Community Conversation
  12:00 - 1:50	Lunch Presentation on Campus Energy Projects Including a $35 million ESCO project that is retooling University facilities, our wind turbine, and solar power projects. Green Campus Awards Presented to Lyndsi Shusler, Elizabeth Bender, Robert Darst, Jennifer Marshall-Grantham, the Purchasing Department and Recyclemania winners. Learn more.
  2:00 - 2:50	Forest Walk: Showcasing Management: A central goal of the Living Classroom project is to showcase types of land management. Visit the current harvest operations, hear about the management plan for the campus forest.    Workshops: TBD

  Location: Woodland Commons and Campus Forest
  9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

APR
27

• Sustainability Film Series: Inside Job (Released March 8)
  'Inside Job' provides a comprehensive analysis of the global financial crisis of 2008, which at a cost over $20 trillion, caused millions of people to lose their jobs and homes in the worst recession since the Great Depression, and nearly resulted in a global financial collapse. Through exhaustive research and extensive interviews with key financial insiders, politicians, journalists, and academics, the film traces the rise of a rogue industry which has corrupted politics, regulation, and academia.
  Learn more at http://www.sonyclassics.com/insidejob/ or http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Job-Matt-Damon/dp/B0041KKYBA
  Location: Visual and Performing Arts Building (CVPA - Group 6) - Room 153
  6:30 p.m.

September

Sep
12

• Transition Town Discussion
  Date: September 12th
  Time: 7 pm
  Location: Fairhaven Town Hall

Sep
29

• Forest Forum and Opening of the UMD Forest
  Date: September 29th
  Time: 8:30 - 3:00
  Location: Woodland Commons, The Forest
  Details here

October

Oct
05

• Gasland (Sustainability Film Series)
  Date: October 5th
  Time: 6:30 PM
  Location: CVPA-153 auditorium
  Note that this was shown at the Unitarian Church during the Spring. The largest domestic natural gas drilling boom in history has swept across the United States. The Halliburton-developed drilling technology of "fracking" or hydraulic fracturing has unlocked a "Saudia Arabia of natural gas" just beneath us. But is fracking safe? When filmmaker Josh Fox is asked to lease his land for drilling, he embarks on a cross-country odyssey uncovering a trail of secrets, lies and contamination. A recently drilled nearby Pennsylvania town reports that residents are able to light their drinking water on fire. This is just one of the many absurd and astonishing revelations of a new country called GASLAND. Part verite travelogue, part expose, part mystery, part bluegrass banjo meltdown, part showdown.
  http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/

Oct
06

• Regional Council on Sustainability Quarterly Meeting: Building Sustainable Economies
  Date: October 6
  Time: 1-4 pm
  Location: The ATMC, Fall River
  Open to the public, this informative panel and discussion session will explore how the South Coast can make progress in building a more robust economy based on progressive sustainability principles. featuring presentations by, and a conversation with, Doug Hammond, Community Systems Engineer, founding Board Member and former Executive Director of BALLE, the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies; and Edgar Cahn, Visionary Economist,Founder of TimeBanks USA and Co-Founder of the Antioch School of Law.

Oct
08

• Healthy Living Day
  Date: October 8
  Time: TBA
  Location: TBA

Oct
21-23

• Connecting for Change Conference
  Date: October 21-23
  Time: All day
  Location: New Bedford
  The 7th Annual Connecting for Change: A Bioneers by the Bay Conference presented by the Marion Institute is an annual three-day, solutions based gathering that brings together a diverse audience to create deep and positive change in their communities. This internationally acclaimed event summons environmental, industry and social justice innovators to bring focus on food and farming, health and healing, green business, indigenous knowledge, environmental and social justice, women and youth empowerment, spirituality and sustainability, all working to catalyze a movement to heal our world.
  Learn more here.

Oct
24

• National Food Day
  Date: October 24th
  Time: TBA
  Location: TBA

Oct
25

• The Coca Cola Case (Sustainability Film Series)
  Date: October 25
  Time: 7:00 p.m.
  Location: CVPA-153 auditorium
  Colombia is the trade union murder capital of the world. Since 2002, more than 470 workers' leaders have been brutally killed, usually by paramilitaries hired by private companies intent on crushing the unions. Among these unscrupulous corporate brands is the poster boy for American business: Coca-Cola. U.S. lawyers Daniel Kovalik and Terry Collingsworth, as well as activist Ray Rogers, have launched an ambitious crusade against the behemoth Coca-Cola. In an incredible three-year saga, filmmakers German Gutierrez and Carmen Garcia follow these heroes in a legal game of cat and mouse. From Bogota to New York, Guatemala to Atlanta, Washington to Canada, The Coca-Cola Case maintains the suspense of a hard-fought struggle.
  http://www.thecoca-colacase.org/

Oct
29

• Friends and Family Day
  Date: October 29
  Time: TBA
  Location: TBA

 

February

14

• Reading and Discussion of Naomi Wolf's End of America(open to all) 
  Date: February 14 
  Time: 12:30PM-1:30PM 
  Location:Frederick Douglas Unity House

15

• Faculty and student panel discussion on civil liberties issues --local and national 
  Date: February 15 
  Time: 12:00PM-1:00PM 
  Location:LARTS 117

16

• The End of Americafilm screening (2009, 73 minutes) 
  From award-winning filmmakers Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern comes the provocative film, THE END OF AMERICA, based on The New York Times best-seller by the same name. In a stunning indictment of sweeping policy changes during the Bush years, author Naomi Wolf makes a chilling case that American democracy is under threat. Investigating parallels between our current situation and the rise of dictators and fascism in once-free societies, Wolf uncovers a number of deeply unsettling similarities—from the use of paramilitary groups and secret prisons to the targeted suspension of the rule of law. With this galvanizing call to arms based on her recent book, she urges regular citizens to take back our legacy of freedom and justice. 
  Remember that Naomi Wolf will be speaking at UMass Dartmouth on Wednesday, March 27th! 
  http://www.endofamericamovie.com/ 
  Time: 6:30PM 
  Location:SENG 226

28

• Reading and Discussion of Naomi Wolf's End of America (open to all) 
  Time: 12:30PM-1:30PM 
  Location:Frederick Douglas Unity House

March

3

• Resilience Circle Training 
  Date: March 3 
  Time: 10:00AM-4:00PM 
  Location:Campus Center Conference Room

13

• Reading and Discussion of Naomi Wolf's End of America (open to all) 
  Date: March 13 
  Time: 12:30PM-1:30PM 
  Location:Frederick Douglas Unity House

14

• South Coast Bikeway Presentation: Building the Bikeway 
  The South Coast Bikeway Committee invites you to be a part of a workshop on the nuts and bolts of building a bicycle-friendly community. The workshop will feature a brief overview of the proposed South Coast Bikeway given by Adam Recchia of the Southeastern Regional Planning & Economic Development District, followed by a presentation on low-cost alternatives to building a bicycle-friendly community given by Bill DeSantis, P.E. of Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. 
  Time: 5:30-7:30PM 
  Location:  Greater New Bedford Vocational Technical High School (1121 Ashley Blvd, New Bedford)

27

• Reading and Discussion of Naomi Wolf's End of America (open to all) 
  Date: March 17 
  Time: 12:30PM-1:30PM 
  Location:Frederick Douglas Unity House

27

• Guest Speaker Naomi Wolf 
  Naomi Wolf , author of  Give me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries, will be speaking from 2-3:30 in Woodland Commons.  Hosted by the UMD Center for Jewish Culture, the Women's Studies Department and the Office of Sustainability, the talk is the centerpiece of a semester-long focus on the state of democracy in America. 
  Time: 2:00PM-3:30PM 
  Location: Woodland Commons

29

• 2nd Anual Southeastern Massacusets Sustainability Summit 
  All across our region, sustainability projects are blossoming as churches, schools, chambers of commerce, towns, cities, and neighborhoods are going through retrofits, installing solar panels, planting community gardens, running buy-local campaigns, starting up green businesses, restoring eco-systems and developing climate adaptation plans. Join us to hear about what your neighbors are doing and how you can join in! Presentations and discussions on regional initiatives in transportation, energy, food, natural resources, and economic development will be followed by a discussion on new initiatives and next steps. You are an important part of the discussion and we look forward to your participation.  
  Time:9:00 AM - 12:30PM (Check out the agenda here) 
  Location:Woodland Commons 
  

29

• Iron Jawed Angelsfilm screening (2004, 123 minutes) 
  Katja von Garnier's "Iron Jawed Angels" tells the remarkable and little-known story of a group of passionate and dynamic young women, led by Alice Paul (Hilary Swank) and her friend Lucy Burns (Frances O'Connor), who put their lives on the line to fight for American women's right to vote. They and a rebel band of young women seek their seat at the table with the steely older generation of suffragettes. This true story has startling parallels to today, as the young activists struggle with issues such as the challenges of protesting a popular President during wartime and the perennial balancing act between love and career. Utilizing a pulsing soundtrack, vivid colors, and a freewheeling camera, Katja von Garnier's driving filmmaking style shakes up the preconceptions of the period film and gives history a vibrant contemporary energy and relevance. 
  This film is included in the program for Women's History Month. 
  http://iron-jawed-angels.com/ 
  Time: 6:30PM 
  Location:SENG 226

April

June

10

• Reading and Discussion of Naomi Wolf's End of America (open to all) 
  Date: March 17 
  Time: 12:30PM-1:30PM 
  Location:Frederick Douglas Unity House

11

• V for Vendettafilm screening (2006, 132 minutes) 
  "Remember, remember the fifth of November," for on this day, in 2020, the minds of the masses shall be set free. So says code-name V, a man on a mission to shake society out of its blank complacent stares in the film V for Vendetta. His tactics, however, are a bit revolutionary, to say the least. The world in which V lives is very similar to Orwell's totalitarian dystopia in 1984: after years of various wars, England is now under "big brother" Chancellor Adam Sutler, whose party uses force and fear to run the nation. After they gained power, minorities and political dissenters were rounded up and removed; artistic and unacceptable religious works were confiscated. Cameras and microphones are littered throughout the land, and the people are perpetually sedated through the governmentally controlled media. Taking inspiration from Guy Fawkes, the 17th century co-conspirator of a failed attempt to blow up Parliament on November 5, 1605, V dons a Fawkes mask and costume and sets off to wake the masses by destroying the symbols of their oppressors, literally and figuratively. At the beginning of his vendetta, V rescues Evey from a group of police officers and has her live with him in his underworld lair. It is through their relationship where we learn how V became V, the extremities of the party's corruption, the problems of an oppressive government, V's revenge plot, and his philosophy on how to induce change. 
  http://vforvendetta.warnerbros.com/ 
  Time: 6:30PM 
  Location:SENG 226

17

• John Perkins: Geo-Politics, the Future, and You: A Call To action 
   John Perkins will appear at UMass Dartmouth on April 17th at 12:30 p.m. in Woodland Commons and at 7:30 p.m. at the New Bedford Ocean Explorium. Perkins' classic exposé Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, spent over 70 weeks on the New York Times best-seller lists and is published in more than 30 languages. His two follow-up books, - New York Times best-seller, The Secret History of the American Empire, and Hoodwinked -provide a plan for creating a better world. He is also the author of Shapeshifting, The World Is As You Dream It, and other books on indigenous cultures; the founder and board member of Dream Change and The Pachamama Alliance, nonprofit organizations devoted to establishing a sustainable, just, and peaceful world; and has lectured at universities on four continents. 
  Time: 12:30PM-2:00PM 
  Location:Woodland Commons

19

• Reading and Discussion of Naomi Wolf's End of America (open to all) 
  Time: 12:30PM-1:30PM 
  Location:Frederick Douglas Unity House

27

• Carolyn Baker Presentation 
  Time:8:30am-12:30pm at UMass Dartmouth’s Campus Center Reflection Room 
  7pm at the Unitarian Universalist Memorial Church, Fairhaven

May

July

Sustainability Summer Camp 16th-20th

Sustainability embeds the university in the community, and vice versa. During the summers, middle-school students come to campus to learn about sustainability while having fun and making new friends. Click here to find out more!

01

August

• Green Campus Awards Luncheon 
  Join us for our annual Green Campus Awards Luncheon, as we celebrate those who make a difference on campus and in the community. 
  Time:Noon-1:30PM 
  Location:Woodland Commons