As the featured speaker in the eighth Commons Speaker Series presentation, Chris shared reflections on the passions he is pursuing in his life, offered insights into his personal journey which led him to the current convergence of food and sustainability and entrepreneurship, and how his training as an educator has equipped him to be one of the movers and shakers in the food world in and around Rochester. Active for the past 10 years in the Greater Rochester region, Hartman’s work in the community has opened the door for new educational experiences for youth, established new business models for our community, and created ways to help the Rochester area move toward a more sustainable future. He offered examples of work he has immersed himself in with students and with local farmers, and challenged the audience to consider some big questions about how we can Grow Change in our approach and practices with food.

At the end of his presentation (which ranged from early inroads at Harley to his business, Headwater Food Hub, being recently certified as a B corporation), Chris answered questions about GMOs, community composting, and the price of food vs. the cost of food. Even after the presentation concluded, the members of the audience lingered to connect with each other, ask follow up questions, and to speak enthusiastically about the future of food and farming in the Rochester area.

Elizabeth shared how she and her husband developed the idea of “giving back as you go”. They are committed to sharing enabling technologies that can be put to use the day they arrive in any destination, with just 1-2 hours of training with local residents by the equipped travelers. The Untapped Shores International units are designed for short deployments with long-term long distance support and cost just under $500 to make. Once travelers sign up to deliver a unit, the support is crowdsourced through social media. The recipients of the equipment form a franchise arrangement with Untapped Shores International to receive ongoing support (nearly everyone has access to cell phones and texting) and to report back the impact the technology is having on their local community.

Mrs. Schirmer demonstrated the hand-held solar powered water purifier that can support 2000 people a day. With a battery, connecting wires, and access to any salt water, the unit creates quantities of chlorine through saline electrolysis which can then be used to purify water, sanitize medical equipment and dishes, and reduce the spread of water-and-contact borne diseases. The chlorine concentration is tested for the first three months to ensure that it is at the proper potency and effectiveness. Where salt water is not available, USI provides quantities of salt so that the local villagers can mix their own salt water to then put through electrolysis. In situations where any water is not readily available, Untapped Shores International partners with Cherry Water, which works to get water to the villages through building irrigation systems.

Elizabeth also shared her work with hydroponics, particularly in locations where the ground soil is contaminated. Working with the Institute for Simplified Hydroponics (http://www.carbon.org/) and founder Peggy Bradley, USI has experimented with creating the most effective proprietary medium (mushroom compost, chicken poop and sawdust) for growing. She shared some examples of growing vessels some villages have used–buckets, burlap bags, and even hanging pairs of pants! USI encourages using ladybugs and garlic spray as pesticides, and even developed a board game, Hydroponica, which provides the basics of troubleshooting and allows the locals to explore possible scenarios as they begin to grow their food.

Slaughter spoke initially about “What can one person do?” She discussed the importance of civic engagement and shared about her 14-year effort to pass the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act and current efforts in Congress. She credited persistence and a great team of people as her greatest assets in swaying minority interests to majority legislation. Stories about gender and ethnic equality in medical research, insider information for stock trading, and the use of antibiotics were referenced as key examples. The floor was then opened up to questions which ranged from how young people can take a stand on the daunting negative issues of the day to education and poverty. It was a lively discussion, peppered with with and humor, as well as some sobering truths about the state of our country. It was a powerful and educational evening for all who attended!

The setting was casual and more like a fireside chat than a presentation. A wide variety of topics were discussed:

Millennials — “Millennials have recognized that the world is changing–has changed.”

Incentive zoning  — “Incentive zoning is a wonderful tool” and reference to a storm water management project (using phosphate-retaining soil developed by Cornell) and new trail systems

Environmental efforts  — “Brighton was the first suburban town in Monroe County to ban fracking, secondary fracking and individual processes related to storage”–”Electric charging stations will likely be installed at Town Hall by June.”

Diversity — “Diversity is an important community amenity”

Civil Rights — Brighton will adopt its own GENDA law even if New York State doesn’t pass it. (You can read more here)

Recent election — “There are a lot of people out there who don’t want to be confused by the facts.”

Poverty – When asked if he was unique as a town supervisor in terms of seeing a suburb’s obligation to the city regarding the huge concentration of poverty in Rochester, he said he was not alone in his efforts and referenced others strongly involved in Unite Rochester (@UniteRochester) to address affordable housing and educational equity, most notably, Mark Assini in Gates.

The evening’s discussion served as a meaningful look into the world of local politics and community efforts to improve our area. It also will serve as a great point of reference when we hear from Congresswoman Louise Slaughter in December as she speaks about the democratic process at the national level.

The rescheduled date was finally determined, and unfortunately none of the Harley students (Dezmond Morrow, Bjarne Nielsen and Jack Sladden) were able to join the musical crew for the concert. They were missed, but under the keen guidance and musical mentoring of our own Mike Kaupa and IfCM’s Chris Teal, the event was a great success! The evening consisted of performances of student-composed pieces, a collaborative creation between bassist Matthew Golumbisky and graphic artist, Maryella Dyson, both in Argentina (check out the video below to hear an explanation of the process and see the product), more pieces, and finally a community-improvised composition involving all audience members and musicians, conducted by Matthew thanks to the magic of the internet!

The list of performers for the evening featured:

Gretta Cavatassi — Voice (School of the Arts)
Thomas Mariano — Piano (School of the Arts)
Lochlan Boebel — Bass (Bloomfield HS)
Taylor Simmons — Trumpet (School of the Arts)
Mike Kaupa — Trumpet (Harley School–IfCM Teaching Artist)
Chris Teal — Drums (IfCM Teaching Artist, co-director)
Matthew Golumbisky — (IfCM Teaching Artist)
Maryella Dyson — Artist

It was a fantastic expression of some of the overall goals for community connections for which the space was designed. We look forward to more opportunities and great music!

Opening welcome and composed tunes

Connecting to Argentina and creating art/music collaboration

More composed tunes

Community composition

Videos of the music throughout the evening

Theme for the Commons

Montana

Explanation of Art/Music inspiration by Matthew and Maryella in Argentina

Taylor and Maryella–Live collaboration creation

~Sustainability is being able to sustain natural resources in an efficient way.
~Sustainability is using as [few] resources as we can & being mindful about it, including turning off lights, using less water, walking and biking.
~Sustainability is being self-sufficient to make the world a better place. This can include turning off lights, biking, and growing your own food.
~Sustainability is keeping the environment clean and well for a long time.
~Sustainability is to sustain a work force by reusing as many materials as possible.
~Sustainability is meeting the needs of this generation without compromising the needs of the future.
~Sustainability is a habit to conserve resources and reuse materials.
~Sustainability is the ability for something to sustain itself for a long time period. It is also the ability for someone to have a green mindset.

The students and teachers from GCCS stayed through lunch, and everyone had a meaningful time sharing ideas!

The focus of their sessions with the various groups of students was around community, the sounds that are found therein, and how musicians work together to create music. The 6th graders brainstormed ideas for what belongs in a community, then applied imagination to instruments to create sounds for each element. They worked together with the IfCM crew to rehearse the sections, then they determined the order in which the sections were to be played.

Sixth Grade:

The work with the Upper School ensembles consisted of digging into new compositions by Matthew….each with aleatoric elements, to-be-determined sequence, and ensemble decisions. The two ensembles had different musical works to explore, and they threw themselves into the innovative work of interpreting the music and performing their compelling renditions.

Upper School Strings:

Upper School Wind Ensemble:

This residency will be continued in the spring when the members of IfCM will return and hold a community-wide concert in the Briggs Center for Civic Engagement in the Commons. Meaningful learning opportunities which partner community and Harley resources will be the backbone of the Common School offerings in this new space of ours. Look for more information on these upcoming events soon!

Birke Baehr’s TedX talk

We were lucky enough to have Birke and his mother, Tricia, visit Harley and speak with Chris Hartman’s Upper School elective Farm and Community class. Although his visit was brief, he toured our Micro-farm and spoke with the students about their interest in local food and sustainability. Birke has authored a book, appropriately titled Birke on the Farm, which we will acquire for our Lower School library. Here are some photos from Birke’s brief, but meaningful visit:

You can follow Birke on Twitter at @BirkeBaehr and his website is http://www.birkeonthefarm.com