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Vickie Strand
Creating Change from the Ground-up: Encouraging cultural shift through physical and environment elements: Sacred places can hold a magnetic energy for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years. There are people who can immediately sense the past energy of a room or a house. The energy of place is a powerful element in the human experience, and people are drawn to places of positive energy. Physical environment then, can contribute greatly to the process of social and cultural change. Years after an effective workshop, a participant can remember the place – the sounds, sights and even smells and tastes of the event hold powerful memories of the potential for change. I am interested in exploring the connections between place, spirit and community: the elements of design that support creative cultural change. Permaculture says that the edges are where things really happen – elements of both systems allow a much richer environment for the surrounding communities; holding sustenance and nourishment for both systems. Intentional design can build rich, successful, life-filled edges for both the earth and our communities. Examples to be studied and explored may range from the Center for Ethical Leadership, Moonshadow Farms (a CSA), the Multi-Service Center of Redmond and (optionally) other organizations that have successfully designed edges that nourish more than one community system.
Study Background
Sacred places can hold a magnetic energy for hundreds,
perhaps thousands of years. There are
people who can immediately sense the past energy of a room or a house. The energy of place is a powerful element in
the human experience, and people are drawn to places of positive energy. Physical environment then, can contribute
greatly to the process of social and cultural change. Years after an effective workshop, a
participant can remember the place – the sounds, sights and even smells and
tastes of the event hold powerful memories of the potential for change. I am interested in exploring the connections between place,
spirit and community: the elements of design
that support creative cultural change.
Permaculture says that the edges are where things really happen –
elements of both systems allow a much richer environment for the surrounding
communities; holding sustenance and nourishment for both systems. Intentional design can build rich,
successful, life-filled edges for both the earth and our communities. Examples to be studied and explored may range
from the Center for Ethical Leadership, Moonshadow Farms (a CSA), the
Multi-Service Center of Redmond and (optionally) other organizations that have
successfully designed edges that nourish more than one community system.
Learning Goals
- Gain a more formal understanding of the structures, both physical and … that support connections between multiple systems.
- Observe and reflect on the connections between successful edges and their design.
- Identify issues, patterns and themes of success points and struggles in creating strong and healthy systems.
- Deepen my knowledge of effective use of space, pattern and design in supporting community edges.
Course Readings
- Alexander, C., Ishikawa, S., & Silverstein, M. (1977). A pattern language : towns, buildings, construction. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Mollison, B. (1981). Permaculture One : A perennial agriculture for human settlements. New South Wales, AUS: Tagari Press
- Mollison, B. (1979). Permaculture Two : A practical design for town and country in permanent agriculture. Stanley, AUS: Tagari Press
For more information, email Vickie.