Reflections On NYC Resilience Spore

Here's a thread to post anything you learned or would like to reflect on re: last week's NYC Resilience Spore. I had a great time and learned a lot, and am just full of gratitude to the Commons and Evolver for making it happen.

This is just my subjective account, limited by a whole number of arbitrary circumstances. If your work is not represented here it is in no way a slight -- please add to the thread!

And one last thing -- of those who attended, how many of you are familiar with the Transition Towns movement? Do any of you have the Transition Handbook and would you be interested in a discussion group?

• Mark Schwimmer -- Personal Resilience and Mythogenic Self-Process
• It sounded like everyone really enjoyed their sessions with him. He'd been working since that morning so I was impressed at his willingness to provide free tunings so late into the evening. Mark's process helps you remember moments where you felt at your absolute peak, and how you carried your body in those moments, then identify those muscle movements to recreate feeling "in the zone" ("relaxed energy" state). I've been using the advice he gave me this past week.
• Adam -- Rooftop Gardening
• Kiddie pools! Using 10 dollar, fiberglass kiddie pools for rooftop plant beds -- that's just brilliant. I'd like to take it further and plan some kind of neighborhood pick-up for the end of summer, when families are just going to throw out their kiddie pools. Save them from landfills and put them to use!
• Melissa -- founder of The Commons space
• I just admire what she's doing, so much. Community spaces are so precious in NYC, we have to make sure she is supported.
• Renee -- Food and Water Watch
• There are a lot of campaigns for Evolvers to help out on, here, from the gas drilling upstate to the privatization of water sources.
• Donation based yoga at the Commons -- yay! Can't wait!
• Charlie -- Green Bus Tour
• Sounds brilliant, they'll be at the June 5th festival in Staten Island
• Vandra -- Vokashi fermentation-based composting
• Who knew there was a whole other way to compost? Bokashi, used now in Japan and Europe, may be more practical for NYC households as we bring mass composting online.
• Owen Taylor -- Just Food and NYC Chickens Meetup
• Didn't get to talk to them much but I picked up their handout.

Thanks,
Michael ONeil
Green Party of Brooklyn