Dear Fellow Permaculturalists,

The Green Lifestyle Film Festival is pleased to announce that we will be screening the films, “Learning Garden” and “Isadore”at 3PM this Sunday, December 16th at the Microsoft Store in the Westfield Century City Mall in Los Angeles. “Learning Garden” filmmaker David Crow will be available for a Q&A, as well as our beloved David King, the creator of the Venice Learning Garden. Kabira Stokes of Isadore Electronics Recycling will also be conducting a Q&A after the screening of her film. We hope you can make it out! Film synopses below:

“LEARNING GARDEN”:

“The Learning Garden was launched in March of 2001. Since then it has quickly become one of the country’s largest and most successful school gardens. The learning garden is an example of how school gardens can transform the lives of students and teachers and the environment of their community. For several years, many groups worked with the high school horticulture program to transform the 60,000 square foot plot of land into a garden, but due to lack of stronger community support it remained mostly an eyesore filled with trash, overgrown with weeds, and a magnet for vandalism. Today, the agricultural plots are filled with organic food grown by the high school students. Health-related classes such as tai chi, qigong, and natural food cooking are offered on its large stone patio. The garden has a large medicinal plant section for educational purposes, a pond with a water garden and waterfall, and a California native plant and cacti garden. A community garden is tended by local volunteers, and numerous groups and organizations use and support the garden.

The Learning Garden is much more than a garden. For the students of the high school it is an opportunity to be closer to nature, a place to learn about respecting the environment and taking care of plants and animals. For the teachers it is a place of solace. For the community it is a place of visual beauty. For those who have dedicated thousands of hours to making the inspiration of the garden a reality, it is a joyful and fulfilling accomplishment. For all who come, whether to a single event or as a regular volunteer, The Learning Garden is a remarkable and unique place that touches something deep in the heart and soul.

David Crow, the filmmaker of “Learning Garden” is an acupuncturist and herbalist with over thirty years of clinical experience. He is the author of “In Search of the Medicine Buddha,” a book about his studies of Tibetan and Ayurvedic medicine in the Himalayas. He is the founder of Floracopeia, a company that supports ecologically sustainable agriculture through the production of essential oils, and Medicinecrow.com, an online community dedicated to sharing the knowledge and wisdom of plant-based medicine. He is the cofounder of The Learning Garden, one of the country’s largest school gardens, which has helped bring cultivation of organic food and medicinal plants into the Los Angeles public school system. Through his writing and teaching he is promoting the creation of a grassroots healthcare system.

"ISADORE:"

“Launched in 2011, Isidore Electronics Recycling provides electronic recycling services to Los Angeles residents, businesses and governmental organizations while functioning as an on-the-job training and employment program for previously incarcerated Angelinos who face barriers to employment. Isidore is a full service electronics recycler offering recycling, data destruction and reselling services and is a woman-owned Limited Liability Corporation operating as a triple bottom line social enterprise.

We often host e-waste Collection events at businesses and other organizations. We provide the staffing and materials to be able to safely, securely and conveniently collect electronics, and can provide support with marketing materials and outreach. Once items are received, those containing data are segregated and secured until data is wiped or destroyed in accordance with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Guidelines for Media Sanitation. Certificates of destruction are provided to customers when requested.” http://www.isidorerecycling.com/

http://vimeo.com/focusforwardfilms/semifinalists/51886933


Hope to see you there!

Upwards & onwards,

Joy Cernac

Community Outreach Director (Volunteer)

Green Lifestyle Film Festival

www.greenlifestyles.org