2010:
School of Living's Strategic Plan Finalized and Approved. Click
here to
view document (pdf)
April 2010
Community Reports:
Ahimsa Village:
Kelle has taken over as the director of the Appalachian Zen House
at Ahimsa; Roslyn will be returning for about 6 weeks. A Transition
initiative has been forming in the Bald Eagle Valley, as well as
one in State College. They got about the same amount of maple syrup
this year as last year, and plan to have bees again. The Summer
Camp may not happen this year.
Common Ground:
There was a workday recently with 50 Quakers from Baltimore Yearly
Meeting who came to expand the garden so more food can be grown
for the Teen Adventure Program coming up this summer. The couple
living in Rita Jane’s house are applying for membership –
ideally they will move to Joellen’s house. They have been
working on the garden. Glen returned from Sierra Leone early –
he was very ill, possibly with malaria and typhoid, but after he
got back to the US it was determined he has 2 forms of leukemia,
which he is now receiving treatment for. He plans to offer scholarships
for students to come to him to learn shoemaking. He shared his expertise
about building compost toilets while he was there, and his ideas
are continuing to be used.
Continuum:
All is well. The original group is looking for additional investors.
Heathcote:
It is an exciting time at Heathcote – lots of energy and projects
going on, ideas being made manifest. The Educational Program is
going well – there is increased enrollment with Karen and
Patty teaching. The bunkroom, conference room and mill apartment
have been renovated. They have been having house concerts. Betsy
is the garden manager and has organized the hoop house. There are
currently 17 adults, 6 children, and 4 provisional members. They
are reworking how they are organized since they are dealing with
a larger group.
Julian Woods:
There are plans to have a farm stand at the end of the lane –
a “green store”, to sell flowers, vegetables, etc. Deb
and her flower business were featured in an article in a local periodical
about her weed walks, and she has made other local connections.
There are plans for a sauna at John’s.
July
13, 2009: School of Living Retreat a Big Success
We
THANK everyone for their help in shaping the future of the School
of Living at our Reaching In, Reaching Out workshop held
on July 10 - 12, 2009 at Julian Woods Community. Pictures, video,
and results of the workshop will be posted to this web site. Please
contact Ginny Green at Ginnyblackie@aol.com with questions.
School
of Living Archival Library ~~ Coming Soon !!
We
are in the process of designing and building a room, next to the
SOL Office, to house an Archival Library for School of Living. We
plan to hold the complete works of Ralph Borsodi and Mildred Loomis,
as well as other writers connected to the organization and its history.
We have some original papers and photographs as well. Further, we
plan to archive all volumes of Green Revolution. All items will
be available for archival research and perusing. The main idea is
to bring all of SOL’s printed matter to one safe central location.
Please consider becoming a “Friend of the SOL Library”
by donating to School of Living - a 501(c)3 tax-exempt educational
organization. An acknowledgement of your contribution is available
upon request.
No contribution is too large or too small - Thank you !
School of Living, 215 Julian Woods Lane, Julian, PA 16844
Reaching
In, Reaching Out, Strategic Planning Retreat
May
2009: SoL will be hosting its first Strategic Planning Retreat in
many years at the Julian Woods Community in July, 2009. Complete
details (pdf).
Strategic
Planning
Nov.
13, 2008: The SoL is currently undergoing a strategic planning process.
This is an exciting time in the organization as we plan for the
future. Please consider getting involved. Contact Ginny Green at
ginnyblackie@aol.com to participate.
AERO
Produces DVD Highlighting SoL
July
2008: Jerry Mintz of AERO (the Alternative Education Resource Organization,
the alt education wing of SoL) recently produced a 2-hr DVD that
highlights some of the history of SoL. He did the filming at the
July Board meeting and interviewed many SoL pioneers including Grace
Lefever and Robert Forsberg. It includes a tour of JWC and Ahimsa
plus captured Karen's "Saturday Night Program" on the
"Scholar Ship." Copies are available to members for a
$10 donation. Please contact Bob Flatley at e4bob@yahoo.com if you'd
like a copy. View a clip of the film:
SoL
Adds Straw Lot to Land Trust
May,
2008: The SoL has acquired a 3A parcel known as the Straw Lot. This
piece of land was an inholding in the 320 acre land trust that makes
up Ahimsa Village, Continuum Community, and Julian Woods Community.
The lot has been added to Ahimsa Village's leasehold.
Ahimsa
Village
Nov.
1, 2006: Ahimsa Village Community is our newest community addition
to the School of Living Land Trust. Continuum is located in Julian,
Pennsylvania next to Julian Woods Community. We welcome Kelle Kersten,
Bob Flatley, and Greg Martin to the School of Living Community and
extend our support and friendship. To learn more visit www.ahimsavillage.org.
