Marissa with her new friend during our San Mateo Farm Tour
I appreciate the opportunity to sample unexplored concepts. There’s no place better for that than a conference where one can sample a variety of ideas. I am very thankful for the scholarship I received last month to attend the Bioneers Conference; I got to learn a bit more about the fascinating topic of biomimcry in a workshop entitled “What Will We Solve Together?” , with Janine Benyus, co-founder of the Biomimicry Guild and The Biomimicry Institute.
I have never had a head for science myself, but have a deep appreciation for nature and have long admired those with biological knowledge. In a former worklife I interviewed over 200 scientists for the Sounds of Science, an award winning radio program. I also once lived with a biologist who initially turned me on to biomimicry and the beauty of spiders, ants and bees; I learned so much from these interactions. The essence of the biomimicry presentation at Bioneers was that we have gradually become disconnected from nature and that there is a movement to return to the natural world with a new eye – not for what we can harvest, domesticate, or extract, but for what we can learn from it – a conscious emulation of nature’s time-tested wisdom.
I recognize in these ideas a new evolution of human consciousness. A challenge can be approached by asking How would nature (a plant, a spider, etc) accomplish what I’m attempting? A range of behaviors seen in nature can translate into values for human interactions: adaptability (songbirds change pitch of songs to combat noise), cooperation, communication (bees dance / birds flock), and mentorship. In a swarm organisms come together for a purpose and then dissipate; that process could inform how we design and live in the human world as well.
So many of us have hyper-connected lives – we are busy bees cross-pollinating and swarming together to form new communities. Another vibrant hive of activity is happening this weekend: the Green Festival. BAGT launched its first tour along San Pablo Avenue in association with this event 5 years ago. To learn a little more about how we have evolved since then, take a look at the article about BAGT in the NorthBay Biz magazine briefly described below.
With Gratitude,
BAGT NEWS
Crowdfunding Update:
BAGT Teams Up with Mission High School's Green Guardians
Check out what the founder of the Green Guardians (and co-founder of the Green Festival), Kevin Danaher, has to say about their program and how BAGT is helping them!
We recently launched a $35,000 crowdfunding campaign on Fundly.com to "Keep Field Trips Alive". Our goal is to counteract cuts to educational programming by providing students with the chance to get out into local communities to meet with sustainability leaders and innovators, and explore their own career paths in this growing field. To kick off our campaign we are teaming up with Bay Area classrooms to help raise funds to go on these tours.
We are very excited to announce our first partnership with Mission High School's Green Guardians and hope to raise funds to get them out of the city to learn about California’s rich agricultural heritage. During the summer the students received permission to remove asphalt behind the school to plant an urban farm, and have worked out a relationship to sell their produce with Bi-Rite Market down the street, thus jumpstarting their own mission-driven business! We are eager to raise funds to take these kids to visit Portrero Nuevo Farm (near Half Moon Bay), whose primary charitable goal is providing for kids in East Palo Alto who do not have access to healthy food. We’d like to bring our new “farmers” there to plant or harvest in the fields and cook a meal in their commercial kitchen. They will have real hands on experience at a beautiful farm with composting toilets, solar power, and sustainable practices. A trip to the ocean is also included in a day that will have a real impact on these urban students.
Please contact us if you know a teacher or school that might like to use our crowdfunding platform for funds to join us on a tour of their choosing (gone are the days of selling candy bars and wrapping paper for fundraising)!
BAGT lands a press feature: NorthBay Biz Magazine
Bay Area Green Tours and its founder Marissa LaMagna made the Green Scene section of the NorthBay Biz magazine’s November issue! Pick up a copy to read about what we do, with an emphasis on our Northbay offerings, and hear from some of our supporters and current efforts.
Check out the online article
SELECTED TOUR RECAPS
San Mateo Public Farm Tour
On Saturday September 28th, 2013, our lucky participants boarded a luxurious biodiesel bus and were whisked away for a full day of discovery and exploration featuring sustainable farming along the San Mateo Coast. Our tour guide, Peter Ruddock shared the history of this unique farming region on the drive down the spectacular coastline.
Our journey began with a visit to Harley's Goat Farms, a restored 1910 dairy farm, with 200 alpine goats, and the home of delicious, critically acclaimed cheese. While there, we enjoyed a private tour and a cheese tasting. Next, we moved on to Pie Ranch whose sustainable farming practices emphasize soil fertility, biological diversity, and creating a relationship-based food system. Delicious, fresh, seasonal, humane; they grow food to sustain themselves, their community, and their environment. We toured the farm before sitting down to a buffet-style lunch cooked by their private chef.
Before bidding farewell to this magnificent area, we made one final stop: Pigeon Point Lighthouse. At 115 feet it’s one of the tallest lighthouses in America and has been guiding mariners from the rocky central California coast since 1872. After taking one last look at the ocean, we loaded into the bus for the ride home. Thank you to all our great participants, we hope you had an amazing time and we wish to see you again soon!
View all the photos of the San Mateo Farm tour on our Flickr.
Pleasant Hill REC Sustainable Agriculture Tour
On a recent September day we hosted an awesome group of senior citizens from the Pleasant Hill Recreation and Parks Department. We took them to Sonoma County to tour an organic farm and attend a special annual event for a day to learn from the farmers about sustainable agriculture, the history of the region, and current issues affecting farmers and communities in Marin and Sonoma Counties.
At our first stop, we met with Jolie Devoto of Devoto Gardens outside Santa Rosa. She manages an organic apple orchard, vineyard and garden. Our participants got to ask questions about making hard apple cider, selling grapes to winemakers and what it takes to get their products to market. It was an ideal introduction to heirloom agriculture since our next stop was the 3rd Annual National Heirloom Exposition.
At the Heirloom Expo in Santa Rosa, guests had a catered lunch while listening to local bluegrass bands. Afterwards, everyone was able to find their favorite exhibits to learn from local pioneers in sustainable agriculture. With more than 3000 varieties of produce and more than 100 speakers, it is known to be the most anticipated pure foods event of the year, and we were excited to facilitate this amazing group experience.
View all the photos of the Sonoma Sustainable Agriculture tour on our Flickr.
Pleasant Hill REC Zero Waste Tour
Our recent Zero Waste Tour brought 40 senior citizens from Pleasant Hill Recreation Center on a BAGT excursion to five places that are transforming our society’s relationship to waste in creative ways. In the morning we visited Urban Ore, Berkeley's Transfer Station, and Green Citizen. These entities play a dynamic role in the reuse, repair, repurposing, or recycling of a significant portion of the Berkeley waste stream as the city strives for a zero waste goal.
As we stopped for a catered lunch at the beautiful David Brower Center, our group contemplated the intersection of consumables, waste, and functionality: the topics ranged from the green features of the 53% recycled building to compostable parts of our meal and utensils. The final stop was the most dramatic — Altamont Landfill: a model facility using methane extracted from the stored waste to create energy which could then be used to power its trucks. We also learned that because of diversion practices like those at our earlier stops the amount of incoming trash is diminishing, reducing the amount of land used. By day’s end participants felt that they had gained new insights into how the waste we produce is generated, were curious about how their own cities process their waste, and excited to share the resources they had gathered with friends and family.
View all the photos from the Zero Waste tour on our Flickr.
Along with classic program favorites – Green Business, Fair Trade, Community Action and more – Green Festival introduces brand new, hands-on programming including the Good Food Stage, The California Artisanal Marketplace, Exhibitor Demos and a fabulous eco-fashion show.
Learn by doing as you gain practical skills to increase your self-sufficiency while saving your money. Discover fabulous recipes for a healthy, happy family. Be entertained by live demonstrations detailing energy upgrades, healthy building materials, herbal remedies, homemade healthy beverages and more.
PLAID FRIDAY: Shop Local & Independent this November 29th
Plaid Friday is the fun and enjoyable alternative to the big box store “Black Friday,” and is designed promote both local and independently owned businesses during the holidays. Plaid Friday was conceptualized in Oakland, CA, a city known for strong shop local campaigns.
Help us celebrate by wearing plaid while shopping at participating businesses on Friday, November 29th. Look for the special plaid placards at your local shops. Many of theses businesses are offering specials during Plaid Friday.
Special Request for anyone who's ever been on a tour: Do you know that Bay Area Green Tours has a Yelp page?
Whether you are a past client, a member of the board, or a former BAGT team member, you undoubtedly have an opinion about your experience. Right now we only have a couple of reviews and we can easily increase our ranking on yelp if every one of you would leave us a review about a Bay Area Green Tour! This would be a huge help for future clients that browse our organization and wonder how people feel about it.
If you don't have a yelp account, you can create one in seconds for free. Thanks for your yelp!
BAGT GRATITUDE – THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS!
Thank you to the following people and organizations who have supported our work in a variety of unique and important ways:
▪ Kari Wrede for her contribution to the art and design of BAGT materials. Check out her website ▪ Karen Rusiniak for her gorgeous photos taken during our tours. ▪ BAGT Advisory Board Member Kevin Danaher for his ongoing support.
We would like to give a special THANK YOU to all our crowdfunding supporters and especially our donors:
Lee Foley, Darick Tong, Bonnie MacLaird, Robert Bostick, Barbara Eilson, Kate Luna, Kevin Danaher, Robert Girling, John Michels, Jules Tippett, Gabe Luna-Ostaseski, Mark McLeod, Daniel Winkler, Alexandra Eldridge, Connie and Jerry Weisenfelder, Danielle Woermann, Patti Cohn, Devi Jacobs, Billy Sproul, Tyler Blank, Jill Epner, Jay and Carol Weisenfelder, John Allen, Judy Wicks, Emmet Brady, Linda Early and Anonymous (whoever you are!)
BAGT INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES!
Learn about Bay Area green businesses, non-profits and farms while building up your resume, collaborating with a fabulous team, making valuable contacts, and getting hands on experience at a cutting edge organization! BAGT invites passionate and dedicated individuals to volunteer to help us further our mission of inspiring and educating people about sustainability. We are especially looking for interns in the areas of: computer support, marketing/outreach/pr, fundraising/spsonsorships, video, and administrative support, as well as research, tour development, graphic design, and multi-media documentation. For information about applying for our internships, please click here.
BAGT WISH LIST
At the top of our wish list are laptop computers and possibly a desktop computer -- preferably MACs. This would be a tax-deductible donation since BAGT is a non-profit organization.
Thank you for your consideration!
Bay Area Green Tours Mission
We provide educational tours and events that demonstrate the sustainable economy in action, inspire support of local green businesses, and empower people to incorporate environmental responsibility and social justice into their personal and professional lives.
Tax Deductible Donation Request
In order to be sustainable ourselves we need to rely on grants, sponsorship and donations.
Please consider making a tax deductible donation to our 501(c)3 to help connect more people to solutions for our future. Your donation can help get more students into the field to witness potential jobs for their future!
Here are ways you can help support our mission: Donate to our Campaign to Keep Field Trips Alive!
Send a check to 2150 Allston Way Suite 280, Berkeley, CA 94704
Become a sponsor: please contact Marissa@bayareagreentours.org
