Guest Editorial: Sonia Nordenson
Ojai Still Reads
We may have lost all but one local bookstore, but on Tuesday evening, June 10, a group of at least thirty citizens of Our Town gathered at the Ojai Library at 7:00 to talk about the first in a whole planned series of environmental books to be read and discussed under the aegis of the “Ojai Reads” project.
The project was initiated in April by Kenley Neufeld, chair of the Ojai Valley Green Coalition’s Transportation Committee. Kenley chose the book—Lester Brown’s Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization—and also enlisted a panel of local experts to give their thoughts on the ideas expressed by Brown. This community reading program is being cosponsored by the Green Coalition, the Ojai Valley Library Friends and Foundation, the Ojai Library, and Local Hero Books (which is, sadly, soon to be no more).
The three panel members were Warren Brush, a Certified Permaculture Designer and the cofounder of the Quail Springs Learning Oasis and Permaculture Farm in the Cuyama Valley; Geoff Wardle, an automotive engineer and designer and the director of Advanced Mobility Research for the Art Center College of Design; and Todd Cossairt, the Director of Sustainability at Besant Hill School and developer of a collaborative community-sustainability general plan integrating 500 acres there.
Kale Starbird, co-chair of the Coalition’s Event Planning Committee, welcomed the attendees and introduced the three panelists. Each of the panelists then spoke succinctly but compellingly on various topics related to Brown’s well-regarded book. After this we were to have divided ourselves into a number of smaller discussions, but the attendees voted to continue the discussion as one group. So, as the lively and thoughtful conversation went on, we all took part by the raising of hands, each person being given the opportunity to have his or her say at least once before it was time for the library to close, and the discussion with it, at 8:30. As I left, several participants were still carrying on the conversation just outside the library doors.
Kenley says the next book in the series has yet to be determined, but whatever it is I plan to take part in the discussion, as I found this first “Ojai Reads” gathering to be a stimulating, unifying, and altogether positive experience.
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Comments (1)
How totally fabulous, informative and inspiring to have this Guest Editorial by Ojai's own Sonia Nordenson!
Comment #1 Posted by: Suza | June 17, 2008 04:38 PM