Staunton Green 2020

Virginia Natural Resource Leadership Institute (VNRLI) is now accepting applications for Fellows.

Here’s more info on the program:

VNRLI is changing the way people make environmental decisions in the Commonwealth by helping Virginians take on the most challenging, costly and divisive local, regional and state environmental and land use issues through collaborative problem solving – reaching beyond common ground to “higher ground.” Our graduate Fellows – numbering over 250 – are working professionals in industry, small and independent businesses, local, state and federal government, educational institutions, and environmental, civic and non-profit organizations.

We are accepting applications for the 2010-2011 session workshops: six three-day learning experiences that we offer approximately two months apart – starting in September 2010 and ending in June 2011. The sessions usually start at mid-day on a Wednesday and end by mid-day on Friday. We offer each session in a different location in Virginia and focus on a set of natural resource issues of interest to citizens there. However, the underlying Institute theme across all sessions is to develop leaders who can help groups involved in contentious natural resources issues move beyond conflict toward consensus building and collaborative problem solving.

The VNRLI program grew out of a strong partnership between the University of Virginia Institute for Environmental Negotiation, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Department of Forestry and the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Our alumni are involved in collaborative efforts in local, state and federal government, business and the nonprofit sector. They tell us that the VNRLI experience has helped them have the confidence and skill to get involved in resolving conflict in their work. They also report that the VNRLI experience has enhanced their careers and fostered new opportunities.

If you are interested in becoming a VNRLI Fellow, please visit our website:

http://www.virginia.edu/ien/vnrli/index.html

A big thanks to our panel – and all the attendees – for coming out to the SG2020 event, “Switching to Grass in Staunton and Augusta County” last night.

Please comment here if you have questions you’d like to pass along to our panel of experts, and, what you thought.

We’re planning more events that capture the Staunton Green 2020 mission to build community partnerships that through education, research and collaboration:

~ Reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions

~ Increase renewable energy

~ Generate Green jobs

~ Preserve green space

~ Facilitate sustainable community development

Also, thanks to Mary Baldwin College for hosting. See you at our next event:

Dirt, The Movie
Thur. Mar. 18 @ 7pm

• Mockingbird Restaurant – Downtown Staunton (doors open at 5:30pm for delicious dinner)
• A free, fast-paced film about the threatened life sustaining soil on which we depend
• Co-sponsored by Transition Staunton Augusta & Valley Conservation Council

Act quickly so you can see “HOME”, for FREE!

HOME is a harrowingly beautiful 90 minute documentary, narrated by Glenn Close – see synopsis below.  But hurry, it will only be available on YouTube for three more days! It may change and/or reinforce your outlook of this fragile, incredibly beautiful and interdependent world we call home…and the urgency for all of us to act decisively, collectively and individually, one act at a time.

Synopsis
In 200,000 years on Earth, humanity has upset the balance of the planet, established by nearly four billion years of evolution. The price to pay is high, but it is too late to be a pessimist: humanity has barely ten years to reverse the trend, become aware of the full extent of its spoliation of the Earth’s riches and change its patterns of consumption.
http://www.youtube.com/homeproject

Are you seeking to enhance your leadership skills and discuss complex environmental and social issues? Apply for a short course at the Virginia National Resources Leadership Institute (University of Virginia). There are six three-day leadership sessions, and one in our area. You can earn 12 continuing education credits.

Good news: the deadline to apply is extended to June 15th and scholarships are available.

Further details at the VNRLI website. I hope one or more people from Staunton will attend!