Sharing the Seeds of Love

It's that time of year again and the window sills are lined with starters: beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash. The Green Committee is caring for the seedlings now that will become your family's food at the great giveaway this April. Earth Week at MdTL is my favorite time of year, embodying so much of what we all strive for: a strong community that shares with joyful, expectation-free abundance; an opportunity to learn from one another about how to simplify our lives through practical, responsible living; a time to celebrate the great Earth that we all inhabit; and an occasion when our children can inspire us with compost 'how-to' and planet inspired poetry! This living is a supreme gift and Earth Week provides the sprinkling of wonder, friendship, partnership and generosity that makes our community whole.

A Final Earth Day Thought...

Infecting Ahmedabad: Kiran Bir Sethi Teaches Kids to Take Charge (TEDIndia)

TED WARNING: Only go to this site if you have at least 10 minutes (you'll want at least an hour) to watch one of the hundreds of empowering talks. http://www.ted.com/talks

Each year, the world's leading thinkers and doers gather in for an event many describe as the highlight of their year. Attendees have called it "The ultimate brain spa," "Davos for optimists" and "A four-day journey into the future, in the company of those creating it." This event is called TED and it is truly a transformational conference like no other.

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design -- three broad subject areas that are, collectively, shaping our future. And in fact, the event is broader still, showcasing ideas that matter in any discipline. The format is fast paced: 50+ talks over the course of four days (to say nothing of the morning and evening events). This immersive environment allows attendees and speakers from vastly different fields to cross-fertilize and draw inspiration from unlikely places. This is the magic of TED.

Attendance at TED is by invitation only, and the attendees -- CEOs, scientists, designers, intellectuals -- are as extraordinary as the speakers

http://www.ted.com/talks

It's hard to not think of Montessori in this 'infectious' talk by Kiran Bir Sethi.

PLANT A FRUIT TREE

In the last 5 years, the Fruit Tree Tour Program has directly impacted 40,000 students, transformed over 100 urban schools and community centers into abundant orchards, and planted over 3,000 fruit trees.

In the Spring of 2009, 27 eco-educators and performing artists once again traveled in the world's largest veggie- oil-powered caravan to plant trees, play drums, dance, perform, and write eco-rhymes with urban youth and adults from San Diego to Sacramento.