Willamette University

Center for Sustainable Communities

Calendar of Events

Fall 2012 - Spring 2013

Thursday, September 20-21, 2012
TBDPhotovoltaic (Solar) Entry Level Training And Examination
Willamette University

This training is for individuals wanting to enter the solar field. This workshop does not certify individuals to install
PV systems.

40-HOUR WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES INCLUDE:

1. PV Markets and Applications
2. Safety Basics
3. Electricity Basics
4. Solar Energy Fundamentals
5. PV Module Fundamentals
6. System Components
7. PV Systems Sizing Principles
8. PV Systems Electrical Design
9. PV System Mechanical Design
10. Performance Analysis
11. Maintenance and Troubleshooting

Upon completion, participants will sit for the NABCEP PV Entry
Level examination. Candidates receiving a passing score of 65%
or higher will receive a letter signed by the Chairperson of
NABCEP’s Board and a suitable-for-framing document listing the
candidate’s name, date and NABCEP identification number.

Note: Electricians, please provide license #’s for continuing education
credits.

Thursday, September 27-28, 2012
TBDPhotovoltaic (Solar) Entry Level Training And Examination
Willamette University
This training is for individuals wanting to enter the solar field. This workshop does not certify individuals to install
PV systems.

40-HOUR WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES INCLUDE:

1. PV Markets and Applications
2. Safety Basics
3. Electricity Basics
4. Solar Energy Fundamentals
5. PV Module Fundamentals
6. System Components
7. PV Systems Sizing Principles
8. PV Systems Electrical Design
9. PV System Mechanical Design
10. Performance Analysis
11. Maintenance and Troubleshooting

Upon completion, participants will sit for the NABCEP PV Entry
Level examination. Candidates receiving a passing score of 65%
or higher will receive a letter signed by the Chairperson of
NABCEP’s Board and a suitable-for-framing document listing the
candidate’s name, date and NABCEP identification number.

Note: Electricians, please provide license #’s for continuing education
credits.
Monday, October 01, 2012
4:00 PM - 5:00 PMFilm Premiere: Permaculture Dance Project

Professor Matt Nelson won a 2012 Faculty Research Fellowship Grant from the Center for Sustainable Communities, which funded his project Permaculture Dance Project that will premiere October 1st in Ford Hall.

Permaculture Dance Project explores principles of sustainable design through the aesthetics of contemporary dance. In an abstract, meditative, and uniquely informative visual journey the screen becomes a window to the fantastical and the concrete in motion--superimposing aspects of place, people, and purpose.

Permaculture Dance Project is the aesthetic result of investigating David Holmgren’s 12 principles of permaculture through movement. The movements that we as a culture find "beautiful," and worth practicing in the studio, are based in our value systems and constructs. I often hear people claim that dancing bodies become broken down through the practice of dancing and performing. I don't think this needs to be the case--choosing movement that sustains and increases the capacity of the body is possible just as permaculture shows that farming the land can increase rather than decrease its health and capacitance. The movement that results from such a goal has specific aesthetic properties, and relates to an emerging cultural value of sustainability.

Friday, October 05, 2012
TBDPhotovoltaic (Solar) Entry Level Training And Examination
Willamette University
This training is for individuals wanting to enter the solar field. This workshop does not certify individuals to install
PV systems.

40-HOUR WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES INCLUDE:

1. PV Markets and Applications
2. Safety Basics
3. Electricity Basics
4. Solar Energy Fundamentals
5. PV Module Fundamentals
6. System Components
7. PV Systems Sizing Principles
8. PV Systems Electrical Design
9. PV System Mechanical Design
10. Performance Analysis
11. Maintenance and Troubleshooting

Upon completion, participants will sit for the NABCEP PV Entry
Level examination. Candidates receiving a passing score of 65%
or higher will receive a letter signed by the Chairperson of
NABCEP’s Board and a suitable-for-framing document listing the
candidate’s name, date and NABCEP identification number.

Note: Electricians, please provide license #’s for continuing education
credits.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
7:00 PM - 8:30 PMCoal Hard Truth Forum
WU Campus
The Beyond Coal campaign in Salem is hosting four speaker from the Salem community. This is to educate everyone about the proposed coal exportation that is planned to come through Salem.
Monday, December 03-16, 2012
All Day22nd Annual Permaculture Design Course
Off Campus
22nd Annual Permaculture Design Course
at Lost Valley Education Center
with Jude Hobbs, Rick Valley, and Marisha Auerbach
certified by the Permaculture Institute of North America (PINA)

December 3  - December 16
Lost Valley Education Center 
Dexter, OR (near Eugene, OR)

Permaculture is a design system for sustainable human settlements based in the unique characteristics of each place.  Permaculture design offers ways for you to create a prosperous culture by conscious, sustainable use of resources in all aspects of living.  The time to plan for a resilient and abundant future is now. 

Course Topics Include:
* Permaculture Ethics & Principles
* Mapping & Design Exercises
* Natural Cycles & Pattern Recognition
* Observation & Site Analysis
* Garden Design & Establishment
* Useful Plants & Planting Strategies
* Water Harvesting, Management, & Conservation
* Soil Building & Ecology
* Animals in the System
* Forests, Agroforestry, & Tree Crops
* Eco-Building & Appropriate Technology
* Urban Permaculture & Village Design
* Cooperative Economics

Cost: $1250 including accommodations and prepared organic meals.

For information on Lost Valley and the course, visit: lostvalley.org/dec-pdc/
For instructor bios, visit: http://www.herbnwisdom.com/TeachingTeam.php

To register, contact Marisha Auerbach (503)454 -6656 orqueenbee@herbnwisdom.com
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
10:00 AM - 10:15 AMWillamette Valley Regional Resilience Summit
Elected officials and representatives from across the Willamette Valley have been invited to this summit to build momentum for the adoption of the Willamette Valley Resilience Compact. The Compact is a voluntary, non-regulatory agreement to enhance the resilience of the Valley's economy, public health, and food, water, and energy supply in the face of existing natural hazards and anticipated impacts from a changing climate. This innovative and cooperative approach led by local governments, engages state and federal agencies, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations, as a means of strengthening community and regional resilience toward building a sustainable future for the entire Valley. 

There is limited seating and RSVPs are required.
If you are interested in attending please contact Stacy Vynne with The Resource Innovation Group at:
541-654-4048
stacy@trig-clig.org
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
7:30 PM - 9:30 PMDempsey Lecture 2013
WU Campus

America’s most famous sustainable farmer to deliver Dempsey Lecture

Farmer Joel Salatin, Owner and Operator of Polyface Farm, believes our country’s food system is in a state of crisis — from nutrient deficiency to pollution to animal abuse to rural economic decay — and that all of these issues can be solved by one thing: local food. Read More

Sunday, February 17, 2013
1:00 PM - 5:00 PMForward on Climate
WU Campus
On February 17th thousands of people will be demonstrating at the White House to urge President Obama to deny a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline and take strong action on climate change. Here at Willamette we will be having an event to show support and stimulate community involvement! There will be four speakers, a brainstorm session, and a workshop on easy actions you can take. Come join ECOS and Peaceworks in Ford hall to rally with the world, for a better, cleaner earth.
Friday, March 15-16, 2013
9:00 AM - 4:00 PMFood Ethics Conference
Off Campus
How can we renew our moral and religious imaginations to shape ethics and practices for food and agriculture in ways that better support human health, social justice, rich cultures and healthy ecosystems? Through keynotes and panel discussions, the Food Ethics Conference, co-sponsored with the Interfaith Food & Farms Partnership of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, will explore this and other questions about our human relationship with land and food from the perspective of diverse disciplines and cultures.

Keynote speaker Dr. Norm Wirzba (research professor of theology, ecology and rural life at Duke Divinity School) will discuss "Making Peace with the Land: Shaping Food Ethics" to open the conference, which will continue on the Willamette campus on Saturday, March 16.
12:30 PM - 1:30 PMThursday, April 11, 2013
WU Campus
Professor Warren Binford traveled to Africa with her family as a Fulbright Scholar in 2012. She is giving a slideshow presentation on their adventures. The presentation will include information about the Fulbright Program.

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For additional sustainability events in the Salem area.