What does living in a tree teach you?

In 2000, Barry Shainbaum spent 4 hours in the tree named “Luna” with Julia Butterfly Hill,   photographing and interviewing her for inclusion in his book: Hope & Heroes.   Julia has the world record for tree-sitting: 737 days

Julia Butterfly Hill who spent over two years living in a tree as a protest against clear cutting

According to Wikipedia:

Clearcutting, or clearfelling, is a controversial forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Clearcutting, along with  shelterwood and seed tree harvest, is used by foresters to create certain types of forest ecosystems and to promote select species that require an abundance of sunlight or grow in large, even-age stands. Logging companies and forest-worker unions in some countries support the practice for scientific, safety, and economic reasons. Detractors see clearcutting as synonymous with deforestation, destroying natural habitats^] and contributing to climate change.

What do you think about Julia living in a tree.  Besides the cause for old forest preservation, how else did Julia say she benefitted in life by her experience.

Do you have any causes that you would be willing to do something like this to make a stand?

More on Julia tomorrow.

Red card and seeing the bigger picture

Watch the video and count the red cards!

Future Workforce – Manufacturing

What were some of the “soft skills” Mike mentioned that are important for those interested in manufacturing jobs?

Public Chalkboard- Before I die I want to….

Candy Chang is an artist, designer, and urban planner who explores making  cities more comfortable and contemplative places. She believes in the  potential of introspection and collective wisdom in public space to  improve our communities and help us lead better lives.

What would you write on the board in answer to the qustion, “Before I die I want to……”

If you could put a question up in a public space what would it be?

This video features David Gallow who is an oceanographer.  It contains jaw-dropping footage of amazing sea creatures, including a color-shifting cuttlefish, a perfectly camouflaged octopus, and a Times Square’s worth of neon light displays from fish who live in the blackest depths of the ocean.

What did you think of the video?

Future Workforce – Health and Wellness

Why will there be more demand for health care workers in the future?

What types of health care jobs will be available?

How people perceive time…and the impact on behaviour

The video starts by identifying six ways to perceive time:

1) Looking at the past as “the good old times” (past positive)

2) Looking at the past as a time filled with regrets and failure (past negative)

3) Present Hedonistic – focused on maximizing immediate pleasure and minimizing immediate pain

4) Present Fated – things happen because of my conditions

5) Future oriented, working to succeed in the future. Resisting temptation.

6) Future oriented, focused on an afterlife

What was his thought about the effects of video games on thinking?  What do you think about this.

Building homes with recycled goods

Dan Phillips is founder of The Phoenix Commotion, a business that builds affordable homes from free, salvaged and recycled materials. In 1996, Phillips and his wife Marsha, mortgaged their home to finance this socially-conscious company. They are committed to reducing landfill-waste by diverting discarded but useable materials to low-income housing.    Website: http://www.phoenixcommotion.com/

What types of materials does Dan use in the homes he builds?

What was Dan’s degree/specialty?  Is it related to what he is doing presently?

Why would he hire unskilled labourers?

What is a mentor?  Do you have one?

What community partners need to work together to make projects like this successful?

For the Birds!

What’s the moral of the story?

There’s a lot going on here (desire for own space, wanting to make friends, respecting personal space, bullying, role of a crowd to influence). It’s a delightful way to get these points across without a lecture!

Baby Robin Hatching

Time-lapse photography is a technique whereby the frequency at which film frames are captured (the frame rate) is much lower than that used to view the sequence. When played at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus lapsing. For example, an image of a scene may be captured once every second, then played back at 30 frames per second. The result is an apparent 30-times speed increase. Time-lapse photography can be considered the opposite of high speed photography or slow motion.

Isn’t it cool how the mother bird doesn’t help the baby bird get out of the egg (the struggle), but assists by removing the obstacles (empty egg shell remains)?

What are some other videos you would like to create if you were to use the time lapse photography technique?