Art of Harvesting
Moving from Conversation to Collective Meaning Making
Sharing the harvests and practices of our collective meaning-making that help to make the results of shared experiences useful and sustainable.
GROUP DETAILS
Created: Jan 29, 2008
Updated: Jul 30, 2009
Membership: Member Referral
Semi-Private
Featured Editors
Access Privileges
Editor of the Month - November 2009
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Peter Koll
"The networking possibilities at WiserEarth is a wonderful chance to get educated |
Q: What motivates you to be a WiserEarth Editor?
Love to be in the center of interesting news, groups, ideas and like-minded people.
At WiserEarth there´s a chance to be connected, to share your projects with others. And realizing that so many courageous, supportive, compassionate, heartful individuals and teams and organizations are working for a future on Planet Earth which is a lot better than in these challenging times.
There´s not only the world of first contacts but also the feeling that many, many people and projects are working for change - at an environmental level, in peace organizations, scientifically, helping to end poverty, improvement of human rights. To be in such a community creates a lot of hope.
And it´s about sharing a big dream of a humane sustainable community on Earth, to be intelligent and wise enough to share best practices - for our children. During my journeys as a young man I witnessed many historic places of what humans are capable to cause to each other - I won´t list them here, but this suffering must have an end. And there´s an inner obligation to give hands to each other, there´s an inner responsibility to overcome walls and separation.
And the networking possibilities at WiserEarth is a wonderful chance to get educated in collaboration.
Q: What do you enjoy most doing as a WiserEarth Editor?
To listen to other projects, to hear from wise and conscious practices, to read about engagement, to be informed about what´s going on in other regions of the world. On my inner screen appears a landscape of hope, a worldmap of hope which would like to be manifested. I enjoy most to give thanks.
Q: What role do you think WiserEarth can play in the world?
WiserEarth already plays an important role while connecting people and power with the same aim.
While creating groups, power can be maximized for a common process, for a common goal, for the next steps which want to be reached. But it also could be improved via a more vivid use of the existing communication possibilities. A more just and peaceful world could be reached not through fighting the existing, not only through educating people how to build a ship, but to teach about the longing for the horizon, the longing for a vision e.g. where an open heart is valuable.
The role of WiserEarth is to help people to connect and to network, it could be strengthened by a common voice, e.g. like concluding and focussing on Earth Charter principles.
Q: What do you do in real life for a 'wiser earth’?
Most of my time I´m networking, but there are a lot of aspects in my daily life : Big part is creating and living in community - with the aim and the question how must be created a community - worldwide - which creates trust and mutual support and friendship, also between the genders, for the whole life.
I'm also working in the financial field where we are developing a new kind of "gift-economy", to humanize money. As working for more autarky I´m involved in plans and discussions of regional and local biological food autonomy, as well as processing of the solarvillage - humane solar technology. I´m also involved in meetings about how to support peace communities e.g. San José de Apartado in Colombia. All in all I´m busy with developing a complex role model for other communities.
Q: Anything else you would like to say to people visiting the editors group?
Yes, thank you for visiting, thank you for being curious, thank you for connecting, thank you for making friends, thank you for your feedback, and thank you for telling us about solutions and best practices. Thank you for sharing a dream.
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Editor of the Month - September 2009
Timonie Hood
(WiserTimonie)
United States
"It's been fascinating to learn more about the wide range of issues 'WiserEarthlings' are undertaking -- it's really inspiring."
Q: What motivates you to be a WiserEarth Editor?
I was motivated by the opportunity to support actions and change that WiserEarth makes possible by connecting great people and great organizations. I have been especially impressed by WiserEarth’s model of international user-generated site content, the global collaboration happening in WiserEarth Groups, and the range of different ways there are to contribute.
I also really enjoy helping others get involved, expand their networks, and magnify the impacts of their activities.
Q: What do you enjoy most doing as a WiserEarth Editor?
I enjoy welcoming WiserEarth newcomers. It’s been fascinating to learn more about the wide range of issues “WiserEarthlings” are undertaking -- it’s really inspiring. I enjoy reading about the newcomers interests and helping connect them with people, organizations, and Groups with similar interests. I met someone who's starting an art reuse organization and was able to connect her with an incredible nonprofit reuse expert who built a very successful eductaional reuse organization. Making connections like that feels really great.
Q: What role do you think WiserEarth can play in the world?
I think WiserEarth has played, and will continue to play, many roles in enabling change as our ever-evolving community connects and collaborates. WiserEarth is used by people all over the world to research organizations and groups working on social justice and environmental issues; identify volunteer and job opportunities; and connect people to events and training opportunities. All of these roles are changing the world for the better.
On a personal note, my family learned about a Japanese Lantern Ceremony for World Peace http://www.progressiveportal.org/lanterns/ in Berkeley, California, from WiserEarth and it was one of the highlights of my sister’s summer vacation visit.
I know that many in the WiserEarth community are working to overcome some of the world's greatest challenges:
- Poverty and Economic Reform
- Human Rights and Social Justice
- Global Climate Change
- Species Extinction
I believe that the people and organizations on WiserEarth will continue to work together on the site and move us all toward a more just and sustainable world.
Q: What do you do in real life for a 'wiser earth’?
I just completed a Leadership Development Program rotation at WiserEarth working on social media strategy and tracking. I was really impressed by the work being done by WiserEarth's staff and volunteers and by the quantity and quality of environmental information being shared through social media.
I'm now returning to my job with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Pacific Southwest Office, http://www.epa.gov/region09 where I work on green building and resource conservation (source reduction, reuse recycling, green purchasing). I help develop partnerships, manage grants, provide input on EPA policy, and conduct training.
The most exciting project I work on is an international green building competition called the Lifecycle Building Challenge http://www.lifecyclebuilding.org. The competition invites students, architects, designers, and builders to share ideas and built projects about on designing buildings on the front end for adaptability and reuse.
I am also a nature lover; active recycler, composter, and litter-picker-upper; and nonprofit supporter.
Q: Anything else you would like to say to people visiting the editors group?
Thanks for visiting!
WiserEarth provides a lot of different ways to get involved. I’d encourage newcomers and those thinking about joining the editors group to dive in and participate in -- or start new -- WiserEarth Groups. http://www.wiserearth.org/article/wiserearthgroups
You can also get to know WiserEarth on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/WiserEarth and Twitter @WiserEarth http://www.twitter.com/WiserEarth
Wishing you a WiserEarth!
Editor of the Month - August 2009
Kerry Vineberg
(sternklar)
United States
"When I first heard
about WiserEarth
in 2007,
I realized it was all
about connectivity,
and knew I needed to be more than just a casual bystander."
Q: What motivates you to be a WiserEarth Editor?
When I was little, I watched my mother single-handedly create a bonobo newsletter on her home computer (they were pretty clunky back then), print it up, hand-seal all the envelopes and mail them off to fellow primatologists. She went to Africa three times to research those so-called pygmy chimpanzees and returned with stories of the Congo and conservation efforts. Since those early years, I have associated connectivity -- in educational newsletters, in personal letters to friends, and otherwise -- with making a difference in the conservation world, and that is huge to me.
When I first heard about WiserEarth in 2007, I realized it was all about connectivity, and knew I needed to be more than just a casual bystander. WiserEarth gets it. It gets that the movement isn't just one thing, it isn't just educating about climate change, working towards peace, lobbying to protect the wetlands, researching bee diseases, raising cultural awareness, devising sustainable agricultural methods, connecting to nature, creating meaningful art. It's all of them and more. And it's completely amazing to catch a glimpse of that larger whole.
Beyond that grand vision we share, WiserEarth also gets that small actions matter. Being an editor to me is being a highly active and focused user, and in some ways, developer of WiserEarth (though not in the tech sense). Each time I post an event or begin a discussion or write about a group that has done great work, I feel like my action is helping to develop the movement. That's my motivation.
Q: What do you enjoy most doing as a WiserEarth Editor?
I enjoy a lot about being an editor. One fun thing for me is throwing out an idea for ways to improve the site, or new projects, on the discussion board of this group. We have a highly intelligent and creative team of people, and it's exciting to see what comes out of many of the brainstorming sessions, and it's great to have a say in what happens next. I enjoy helping to craft our community newsletter (our second issue just came out!). It's also been wonderful to chat with others on the site. Everyone is doing such great work!
Q: What role do you think WiserEarth can play in the world?
I think, or hope, that it is already playing a role in the world! Others have said it better than I have, but WE is a hub for all of us to talk, and a way of being efficient with our work. And does the nonprofit/environmental/social justice world ever need efficiency! Not all of us do this for a job, some of us volunteer, and even those of us that do work in those fields are overrun not only with the challenges of tackling these vast, often global issues, but with the additional time-sinks of making ends meet, marketing, and other logistics.
So we want to make every action count. For example, if you're starting up an organization around marine conservation, and someone has already created a guide for that, it's great to be able to find it, and even collaborate with the authors, rather than write another one. You can then use your energy to create something the community doesn't have yet, or even join a team that's already got the ball rolling. The potential for this is incredible, and it thrills me to read success stories from organizations where it is already happening.
On the local scale, I've passed along events posted on WE which excited people, or that I decided to attend. If WE can connect networks and events to users who already support the goals of those networks, that is success too. WiserEarth works.
Q: What do you do in real life for a 'wiser earth’?
Wait, this isn't real life? :) I recently became an intern for WiserEarth and am researching events and solutions for the site. Off the site, I do my best to educate myself about what is happening in the world, and what scientists and other thinkers believe we should do about it. I'm beginning a marine biology course. I read books, I read news, and I watch documentaries.
Then,
I reach out and begin to share with my friends and family what I've
learned, both in person and in writing, and they share with me what
they know. From there, we decide what to do about it: do we purchase
only organic vegetables? Do we walk instead of taking the car today? Do
we spend time writing to our Congressional representative about this
issue?
It may sound insignificant, but I believe that we can have the largest impact on the people who know and trust us (it's part of why large conservation and political organizations ask you to "tell a friend!"). They then reach others through their own web of friends, and change begins to happen. I am careful to verify everything I pass on to them, and to be as diplomatic and non-polarized as possible. Over the past few years, I've discussed many issues with them: global warming, civil liberties, sustainable fisheries, agriculture, endangered species, poverty, responsible business.
Sometimes people who seem to disagree completely with you have similar underlying values. I try to find the common ground. The more we know the facts and all sides of the discussion, the more sound decisions we can make, and the more convincing we will be in our persuasion.
Q: Anything else you would like to say to people visiting the editors group?
Welcome! Don't be intimidated by the many discussions and projects cycling here... we want to hear from you. What you think matters! Please add your voice to the community.
Editor of the Month - July 2009
Q: What motivates you to be a WiserEarth Editor?
I wanted to be even more active in WiserEarth, be a point of contact in Australia, seeing as we didn't have an editor in this region. I also wanted to be able to assist from time to time with projects that the Editors group might be participating in to grow WE.
I want to assist with spreading the word about WiserEarth. A lot of people have heard of WE, but think it is just a huge repository of information, not getting that it is also a tool for communication and connection.
I want to help with that next stage where we can expand peoples ideas on what this site is - a tool for connecting people with similar goals and aspirations. A friend called it the thinking persons Facebook!
Q: What do you enjoy most doing as a WiserEarth Editor?
Welcoming new members to WiserEarth, and helping members find links to other members and groups. Also encouraging new members to write a short story about themselves so that other members in WE can find them and connect.
Q: What role do you think WiserEarth can play in the world?
The whole concept of WiserEarth speaks to me. So much effort is wasted by enviornmentalists, activists, community, small groups, trying to reinvent work already done by others (but we dont know this because we are not connected).
We already have limited means and time and many organisations are active due to the dedication of volunteers, who are time poor. Having been a volunteer I can easily attest to how easily it is to burn out and waste effort trying to get something done for the group, possibly failing, or never quite getting there because of lack of skills, ideas or experience and most importantly time to implement.
WE fills that void allowing connections and experience to be shared, so we dont have to waste our efforts on the same things over and over, and can get on with the work we really want to be doing.
I think WE is already playing that role, the next step is to network (network, network, .....) and connect people to the resources and show them how they can use them for their best advantage.
Q: What do you do in real life for a 'wiser earth’?
I try to go slow (score 4/10) , connect people to other people with similar interests (score 7/10), and share as much as possible about permaculture, peace, freedom and justice issues (score 12/10). I am growing my skills in the alternative health field, and using a lot of my previous life experience in problem solving, project planning and management to assist our local group to grow and implement sustainable food growing.
Q: Anything else you would like to say to people visiting the editors group?
Yes, please leave us a comment! Think about what you can do to spread the word about WiserEarth. What are one or two things can you do right now in WiserEarth to enhance it, or help to grow connections? Spend a little time looking around WiserEarth, look at what some of the active people are doing in here to get an better idea of how you can use the space. Join some groups, participate and share your resources and ideas. Use your profile to let people know what you are doing, and what they might be interested in following up on. Make connections with members who have similar interests to you! Have fun building a WiserEarth.
Previously Featured
Deborah Phelan
(boatsie)
"I like to think of WiserEarth as the ultimate learning community."
Q. What motivates you to be a WiserEarth Editor?
I love working with words! I’ve been doing it all my life. Given the challenges which characterize the times in which we are living, my role as a volunteer WiserEarth Editor might just be the most meaningful community work I could be doing right now.
Q.What do you enjoy most doing as a WiserEarth Editor?
I thoroughly enjoy how we collaboratively work on fine-tuning content. I enjoy chores, like helping out with our email blast and updating entries in the data base. I truly loved researching and writing for our first newsletter.
Q. What role do you think WiserEarth can play in the world?
I like to think of WiserEarth as the ultimate learning community, a place where students, activists, nongovernment, even government, officials, routinely visit to participate in real life learning. My vision of WiserEarth? It is a buzzing, multilingual 24x7 sustainability factory, perpetually in a state of flow.
Q. What do you do in real life for a 'wiser earth' ?
Right now, I’m really excited about Transition Towns. I just finished training in March and we’ll be hosting the first official event in my neighborhood this spring. I’m always working building out my WiserEarth group, Transition Towns Marin.
Q. Anything else you'd like to say to people visiting the editors group?
The editor’s group is probably one of the most inspiring WiserEarth communities. Never a dull moment. A great place to ‘get your feet wet!’
Ernest J.P. Muhly
(JPMS)
"WiserEarth offers opportunities for people and groups to focus on doing what they do best."
Q. What motivates you to be a WiserEarth Editor?
Ecosystems organize and reorganize toward resilience. Can an 'electronic/virtual-ecosystem' do the same? My motivation to be part of the WiserEarth Editors group comes from a desire to learn how to allow for the evolution of the serendipitous and spontaneous collections of groups, information and people into sustainable systems that support the environment.
Q. What do you enjoy most doing as a WiserEarth Editor?
Simplifying procedures and helping to create more inclusive ways for people to be a part of a process. While many young people in the over-developed parts of the world are fairly computer literate, as WiserEarth seeks to attract people from other cultures and experiences I feel it needs to assume that while all people are intelligent, that they might also be put off by some of the exclusiveness of the computer world.
Q. What role do you think WiserEarth can play in the world?
There is a great need for a networking of people, groups and organizations. Too often people and funding organizations have felt that each new effort needed to be a stand-alone entity to be effective and creditable.
WiserEarth offers opportunities for people and groups to focus on doing what they do best, while at the same time drawing on the experiences and resources of other WiserEarth people and groups to enhance their efforts.
Q. What do you do in real life for a 'wiser earth' ?
I am a beekeeper and when I can teach about bees and pollinators. I am a heirloom organic gardener and when I can teach about biodiversity and heirloom gardening. I am a weaver of ideas and focus on increasing the networking of groups and people who share similar experiences and hopes for the future.
Q. Anything else you'd like to say to people visiting the editors group?
There are infinite ways of doing things and viewing reality. Focusing on acceptance and understanding is a good way to encourage people to join the process. Being a Editor is about supporting people in a way that allows them to be heard, and hear others.
Janine Michelsons
(Janine)
"WiserEarth is a valuable free resource for all the idealists of the world."
Q. What motivates you to be a WiserEarth Editor?
WiserEarth gives us the power to work collectively & avoid reinventing the wheel. I hope to increase interconnections among good people. We can do things together we cannot do alone.
Q. What do you enjoy most doing as a WiserEarth Editor?
I enjoy cross-referencing to interconnect people & groups with similar areas of focus who could synergize. I am encouraged to see more geographically based groups, making it easier to meet in real life.
Locally based groups are growing with the use of Cascadia, Victoria, Bellingham, Seattle, Olympia, Portland, & Eugene Portals. Please use our powerful database to see who else in your region shares your passions!
Q. What role do you think WiserEarth can play in the world?
WiserEarth is a valuable free resource for all the idealists of the world. You can find kindred spirits around the world using the “area of focus” search feature. Then you can join forces on common events, organizations, jobs, forums, discussions, resources, & individuals to make substantial change.
Collectively we are changing the world. Our power is in working together.
Q. What do you do in real life for a 'wiser earth’?
I work in information security – protecting valuable data like credit card numbers, health information, and other sensitive information from hackers and with no right to your information. With increasing reliance on computers we are at increasing risk from others misusing or profiting from stealing financial, medical, or personal data. This type of work can induce paranoid about cyber-criminals, a tiny minority of people in the world.
WiserEarth is a balance to that type of work. Through free sharing of information, people work together for positive change. From every profile I read, I am encouraged to find yet another of the billions of good people improving the world.
Q. Anything else you would like to say to people visiting the editors group?
Thank you everyone, for the many good things you do, in life & online! Please use all the powerful features of WiserEarth to synergize and we can achieve our dreams.
