Producer/Host: Larry Dansinger
“Seeing Isn’t Believing”
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Producer/Host: Ron Beard, University of Maine Cooperative Extension
Engineer: Amy Browne
Issue: Community concerns and opportunities
Program Topic: Collaboration and Conservation: Stories from Maine and the Middle East
Key Discussion Points:
a) You have described yourself as “a serial collaborator”… what led you down that dark path? Trace some of the elements of your own path, (experiences from childhood? Education?) then as Director of Portland Trails, and your work a facilitator of cultural and environmental exchanges in the Middle East through the Quebec Labrador Foundation, etc. (Give listeners the overview, then we will go back and go deeper)
b) Portland Trails- how did that project begin, who was involved, what did you accomplish, what did you learn about collaboration?
c) That and other experiences led you to write your first book: Groundswell, in which you tell the story of Portland Trails and several other community based conservation collaborations.
• Highlight one of those other stories…
• If there are key lessons from the stories in Groundswell, what would current community and conservation leaders take away, either to adapt and put into practice, or just to ponder?
d) You are currently at work on a second book, stemming from your work with Quebec Labrador Foundation in the Middle East (Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan and Oman) and the people and communities you encountered.
• What did you learn about the people of that region, their values, their communities? Tell a story or two to share with listeners.
• What are some of the misconceptions we in the US have about the region? Did the people you worked with from those communities have misconceptions about the people of the US? How did the exchange process bridge them?
• What are the values you sense we hold in common, about our communities and the land, the local environment?
e) As you work on the book, you have said you stay grounded in your work in Biddeford, a project that links the rive and the main street… tell us about that project… who are the partners, what are the goals, what results are you seeing?
f) Imagine you are around the campfire with a mix of community folks interested in saving their favorite places, some young, just starting out, others with more experience. Are there two or three lessons or stories you might share?
g) What is still to do, for you? Where do you see your work and your own values taking you?
Guest:
Alix Hopkins, consultant, project director, Riverwalk, Biddeford, author of Groundswell: Stories of Saving Places, Finding Community
Call In Program
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Producer/Host: Rob McCall
Engineer: Denis Howard
“Seeds of Hope”
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Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco
Issue: Environmental and Social Justice
Program Topic: The Idle No More Movement
Key Discussion Points:
a) The Idle No More movement has roots in a series of recent draconian policy changes, initiated by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, which seek to dramatically change the status of First Nations within Canada’s borders. The passage of laws C-38 and C-45 have cleared the way for the Canadian government to to seek so-called agreements with First Nations communities and individuals which would reduce their status to that of municipalities, erase treaty agreements, and dismantle communal lands.
b) Panelists at a talk at the University of Maine in Orono, underlined these changes would allow for unfettered access to natural resources and the transmission of pipelines, including and specifically for tar sands oil.
c) The Idle No More movement has served as a flashpoint for ongoing social movements for indigenous rights and sovereignty and environmental justice. Solidarity actions and organizing have taken place across North America in support of First Nations.,but also to highlight the ongoing struggles of indigenous people globally. In Maine, tribal members, and others, have been engaging in actions, education and organizing around the central issues of Idle No More.
Guests:
Sheri Mitchell, founder and director of the Land Peace Foundation, Professor of — at University of Maine at Orono and member of the Penobscot Nation
Gkissitanemook, member of the Wapanoag tribe, professor of native Studies and Peace Studies at the University of Maine at Orono.
FMI:
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/01/04/f-idlenomore-faq.html
www.bangorbytes.com/2013/01/wabanaki-flash-mob-hits-bangor-mall-in.html
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Producer/Host: Jim Campbell
Here are some science sites to take a peek at that are mentioned in today’s program:
www.science.gov
www.data.gov
www.popsci.com
www.cosmosmagazine.com
www.zooniverse.org
eurekafund.org
sciflies.org
fundscience.org
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Producer/Host: Donna Loring
Engineer: Amy Browne
Program Topic: Indigenous Rights and Environmental Justice, Global effects and effects here in Maine
Key Discussion Points :
a) Global Indigenous resource issues and Environmental Justice issue how they connect
b) How both issues effect the US, Canada and Maine
c) Specific environmental projects here in Maine and their potential effects
d) What we can do to address these issues
Guests:
Sherri Mitchell esq. Penobscot Nation Tribal Member and Director of the Land Peace Foundation
Maria Girouard, Native Rights and Environmental Activist and Penobscot Nation Tribal Member
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