Peter Forbes, Center for Whole Communitities

Excerpt from Program:
"The boundaries that have divided us between urban and rural, rich and poor, black and white, working lands and wilderness, red state and blue state are destroying our land and our American culture. Have these boundaries become impassable divides or can we bridge them to create healthier, whole communities?

"All Americans love their land, but environmentalists haven't acknowledged this and have adopted too narrow a view of the values of the land. One of the most transformative ways that all Americans connect to the land is through what they eat, but traditional environmentalists have largely disregarded sustenance and livelihood. As a result, many believe that the environmental movement doesn't pay attention to rural communities.

"Peter will present evidence that a new model of environmentalism is taking hold in the east and in the west that is intentionally and successfully bridging divides as if people, land and community mattered most. This new land movement treats relationship as important as place, inspires action rather than demands it, and is linked by values rather than divided by geographies and strategies. This new land movement is interested in creating local dialogue about how to nurture and sustain healthy, whole communities in cities and in rural places. This movement toward whole communities sees the protection of land as a cultural act to sustain democratic traditions and old-fashioned values such as patriotism, the role of the citizen, respect and forbearance, independence, and a sense of limits."

Presentation Outline:

• Themes from the Conference...
• Whole Thinking
• Everything You Ever Needed to Know About Change...but Would Rather Not Hear
• Why is Expressing Our Values Important?
• Values and Strategies
• The Framework for Storytelling
• The New Ranch Can Tell a Different Story
• Anatomy of Story Telling
• Antidotes to the Culture of Fear