Upcoming Annual Meeting Details: November 15, 2008
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Greetings from The Good Life,
As some of you are already aware there has been a major change at The Good Life Center recently. Yes, unfortunately, the information on our website is correct. The house is closed to the public due to an unacceptable level of mold. The Board of Directors was forced to take this action after an indoor air quality assessment was performed in September.
Bob St. Peter, our Executive Director and Juli Perry, our Resident Steward told the Board that due to the continued health issues experienced by their family they would have to move out of the house. We supported them in their decision, and the assessment done by an environmental consultant confirmed that the house has become an unhealthy environment. Because the Board could no longer provide housing to the employees we were left with no other option but to agree to both Bob and Juli’s request to end their term of employment earlier than March 31, 2009. Their last day will be October 31. Since mid-September they have been commuting back and forth from their new residence in Sedgwick to finish putting the gardens to bed and give those late fall tours of the grounds, but not the house. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Potato Beetle | October 25, 2008
Topics: Features | 2 Comments »
Mold temporarily closes homestead house; gardens still open
We regret to announce that until further notice the house at Forest Farm is closed for public tours. The Board of Directors of The Good Life Center has taken this necessary action due to an unacceptable level of mold in the building.The gardens remain open and tours will be given Thursday through Monday from 1 to 5pm through the month of October.
We are working towards a full remediation of the mold with professional assistance and anticipate re-opening the house in the near future. A report of the condition of the house is available upon request.
We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your support and interest. For further information or to volunteer assistance or to contribute financially, please contact Jeanne Gaudette, The Good Life Center Board of Directors at 207-326-4735 or email jgaudette@midmaine.com.
Posted by Potato Beetle | October 25, 2008
Topics: Features | No Comments »
GLC Reprints Scott Nearing’s “The Great Madness”
Annotated by Greg Joly, with an essay by Tom Wirth. $15 from The Good Life Center (see Bookshop page for ordering).
From this basis Scott Nearing begins his scathing analysis of how the business class, represented by J.P. Morgan and company, gained control of the inner workings of the United States government and were thus able to meld nationalist patriotism into a military preparedness which finally leads to an open declaration of war.
Nearing methodically unravels the toils of plutocratic self-interest and as Tom Wirth observes: “Nearing’s consistent reaffirmation of purpose—connecting American business to the perpetuation of war and the disenfranchisement of the American worker—gave his discourse an uplifting quality, a ‘progressive’ tone which suggested the unlimited potential of the human being.”
Due to the outspokenness of his pamphlet, Nearing was trialed by the Federal government on charges of attempting to cause disloyalty and mutiny in the military forces during war time.
This fully annotated text by Greg Joly of “The Great Madness” will give the reader a sharper sense of this era and Nearing’s principled anti-war stance. Tom Wirth’s concluding essay will further enlighten the reader of Nearing’s historical importance. As Nearing said at his trial: “The destruction of life and property is incidental. The destructive forces that that puts into a man’s soul are fundamental.”
Posted by Potato Beetle | October 22, 2008
Topics: Features | 1 Comment »
HANDS-ON WORKSHOPS: Foraging for Wild Mushrooms
October 12, 2008 … Foraging for Wild Mushrooms
9:00am – 1:00pm Big Peter’s Brook in Blue Hill (Call to register and for meeting location)
Take an early Fall walk with Marc Bellenoit and learn about all things mushrooms. Marc is an experienced forager with more than 10 years experience. He will present recently foraged mushrooms and talk about what are available this time of year. He will then lead us on a walk along beautiful Peter’s Brook in Blue Hill to search for and identify mushrooms in their wild habitat. This walk will take place rain or shine. Please dress appropriately. The cost is $15-$25, sliding scale, and includes a seasonal, vegetarian picnic lunch. For more information call 326-8211. Space is limited so please register early.
Scroll down to see learn about recent GLC programs. Or click here to see 2008 Summer Schedule in its entirety.
Posted by Potato Beetle | October 12, 2008
Topics: Hands-On Workshops | No Comments »
Monday Night Meeting: Ellie Kastanoplous, Gaining Ground: Buying Land in a Crazy Market
August 11, 2008… Ellie Kastanoplous, Gaining Ground: Buying Land in a Crazy Market
Malcolm X said that “Land is the basis of all independence. Land is the basis of freedom, justice, and equality.”
On Monday, August 11, Equity Trust director Ellie Kastanopolous will present ways of making that vision a reality. Equity Trust is a small, national non-profit organization committed to changing the spirit and character of our material relationships. Through technical assistance, outreach, education, and community investment, Equity Trust pursues their goal of helping communities to gain ownership interests in their food, land, and housing, and they work with people to make economic changes that balance the needs of individuals with the needs of the community, the earth, and future generations.
The Good Life Center’s Monday Night Meetings are free and open to the public. Donations are welcome. For more information or directions to Reversing Falls Sanctuary contact 326-8211.
Posted by Potato Beetle | August 11, 2008
Topics: Monday Night Meetings | No Comments »
Monday Night Meeting: Rob Shetterly & Terry Tempest Williams:
August 4… Rob Shetterly & Terry Tempest Williams: Mountain Top Removal and America’s Resource Wars
Painter and activist Robert Shetterly will be joined by author and activist Terry Tempest Williams for the August 4 Monday Night Meeting, sponsored by The Good Life Center and held at Reversing Falls Sanctuary in Brooksville.
The subject of the talk will be “Mountain Top Removal and America’s Resource Wars”. Shetterly and Williams will speak about their experiences opposing mountain top removal and mining in Kentucky and California, respectively.
Shetterly is the creator of the “Americans Who Tell the Truth” series which includes over 100 portraits and a book by the same title. He will unveil his recently completed portrait of Scott Nearing, to be housed at The Good Life Center in Harborside.
Williams is the author of numerous books, including The Open Space of Democracy and Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place. There will be an informal pot luck dinner at 5:30pm followed by the formal presentation and portrait unveiling at 7:00pm.
The Good Life Center’s Monday Night Meetings are free and open to the public. Donations are welcome. For more information or directions to Reversing Falls Sanctuary contact 326-8211.
Posted by Potato Beetle | August 4, 2008
Topics: Monday Night Meetings | No Comments »
2008 Summer Course: The Ecological Self and the World: From Fear to Action
Spend the weekend and beautiful and inspirational Forest Farm enrolled in The Ecological Self and the World, an intensive weekend designed to broaden our collective understanding of it means to be ecological citizens and what it takes on the personal, local, and global level to make the world more just and sustainable. The first part of the workshop is led by Phoebe Phelps, MA, DMin, Eco-Psychologist and Spiritual Director in Orland with a background in Transpersonal Psychology, Matthew Fox’s Creation Spirituality, and the East/West inter-religious dialogue. Phoebe will help participants deepen and clarify their understanding of the ecological self and prepare the group for taking the step from fear and despair to action.Leading the second half of the workshop is Bob St.Peter, executive director of The Good Life Center and community activist. Bob will help the group find their “sweet spot”, the place where skills, ability, and interest meet and where we can be most effective (and affective!) on a personal, community, and global level. Inventor, entrepreneur, and humanist Buckminster Fuller said: “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
Cost: $150 per person, $250 per couple. Includes course, seasonal vegetarian meals, and a place to pitch a tent or lay a sleeping bag.
COURSE AGENDA
Participants are asked to bring to the workshop an item from the natural environment around their home, perhaps a leaf, a rock, some bark, maybe some soil. Meals are vegetarian and are prepared using seasonal, local ingredients. If you have allergies or restrictions please call at least one week prior to make arrangements.
FRIDAY 6:00pm Dinner
7:30pm Ingathering, getting acquainted, and self-recognition as ecological citizens. Fire circle.
SATURDAY
7:00am – 8:00am Bread labor at Forest Farm. Activities may include light garden work, gathering firewood from the forest or seaweed from the beach
8:00am–9:00am Breakfast
9:15am–12:00pm Deepening Our Awareness of Our Irrevocable Embeddedness in the Natural World
12:00pm–2:00pm Lunch & Tour of Eliot Coleman’s Four Season Farm 2:15pm – 5:00pm Clarifying Our Ecological Citizenship on an Increasingly Interdependent Planet
5:30pm–7:00pm Dinner
8:00pm Further discussion, music or chanting. A sauna will be available and a pond for swimming
SUNDAY
7:00am–8:00am Bread labor
8:00am–9:00am Breakfast
9:15am–12:00pm Finding Your “Sweet Spot” – the place where your skills, passion, and interests meet and where we can be most effective (and affective) as advocates for a just and sustainable world. The morning will conclude with each participant identifying actions they can take in their personal lives and their local and global community.
12:00pm Lunch
1:00pm–2:00pm Departure
See 2008 Summer Schedule in its entirety.
Posted by Joel | June 20, 2008
Topics: Workshops | No Comments »
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