Natural World Museum Symposium on Sustainability

NATURAL WORLD MUSEUM PRESENTS
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........."Toward a Culture of Sustainability" ........


Symposium 2004

Do you want to contribute to the 'greening' of our
society and economy through creative action? Can
artists, scientists, and conservation activists join
forces to create a culture of sustainability?

Join us for a unique opportunity to network and
collaborate with eco-warriors from the front lines of
environmental and cultural activism.

.................... PRESENTERS ......................

ON NATURE

John Milton - Sacred Passage
David Seaborg - World Rainforest Fund
Robert White Mountain - Midnight Strong Heart Society
of the Lakota Nation

ON CONSERVATION

Jaime Chaves - UCLA Center for Tropical Research
Julia Butterfly Hill - Circle of Life
Melissa Nelson - Cultural Conservancy

ON ART

Sam Bower - greenmuseum.org
Manech Ibar - Vth Season
Alison Stenger - Archeologist and Curator

MODERATED BY

Matt Mellen - The Web of Hope: Best Practices
in Sustainability

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Saturday Oct 23, 2004
10:00am - 4:00pm

$15 students - pls present student ID at the door
$20 limited general
$30 at the door

Herbst International Exhibition Hall
Building 385 Moraga @ Montgomery
(south of the bowling center, off Arguello)
San Francisco Presidio
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FOR MAP: http://www.fortmason.org/directions
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION:
http://www.presidio.gov/Visiting/DirectionsShuttle
DRIVING DIRECTIONS:
http://www.naturalworldmuseum.org/download/DRIVING_DIRECTIONS.pdf
BUY YOUR TICKETS ONLINE:
http://www.acteva.com/ttghits.cfm?EVA_ID=22314
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http://www.naturalworldmuseum.org
info@naturalworldmuseum.org
(415)606-3467

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TOWARD A CULTURE OF SUSTAINABILITY SYMPOSIUM 2004
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As we approach the frontier of a global society, we
are challenged to generate new ideas that provide
innovative solutions that can infuse cultural trends
with eco-consciousness. Environmental Art is a
manifestation of the urgent need for environmental
sustainability facing our world. You are invited to
join the Environmental Art movement and participate in
cutting edge dialogue with seasoned eco-warriors.

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SPEAKERS
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NATURE 10:15am - 11:30am
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JOHN MILTON
http://www.sacredpassage.com/

John P. Milton is a pioneering ecologist,
spiritual teacher, meditation master, vision quest
leader and shaman. Since the 1950's, John has
conducted numerous expeditions and field projects in
wilderness areas of the United States, Alaska and the
Canadian Arctic, Central and South America, Asia and
Africa. He has has also guided thousands of people
into the wilderness through his Sacred Passage
programs that teach a unique, vital way of spiritual
cultivation in Nature influenced by Eastern
meditation.

John received his M.S. in Ecology and Environmental
Conservation from the University of Michigan in
1962. Between 1963 and 1972 he directed the
International Programs Division of the
Conservation Foundation, now a part of the World
Wildlife Fund - WWF). In the early 1970's, John was
the first ecologist on staff at the White House,
working with the President's Council of Economic
Advisors. He has taught Environmental Studies at
a unversity level and has also served on a variety
of committees at the National Academy of Sciences.

DAVID SEABORG
World Rainforest Fund

David Seaborg is an evolutionary biologist who does
scientific research on evolutionary theory. He is
an active environmental leader, founder of the
World Rainforest Fund, a nonprofit foundation
dedicated to saving tropical rainforest, and the
Seaborg open Space Fund, a nonprofit foundation
dedicated to saving open space in the East Bay,
named after David’s father, Glenn Seaborg. David has
been to over 30 countries, observing various natural
ecosystems and wildlife. He is an award-winning
nature and wildlife photographer and an award-winning
poet. An excellent public speaker, he lectures to
various scientific, environmental, civic, business,
and other organizations on evolutionary biology, the
philosophical implications of science, and
environmental issues.

ROBERT WHITE MOUNTAIN
http://www.LakotaVision.net

Robert White Mountain is a Lakota elder and
visionary activist seeking to alleviate the
poverty, homelessness, and despair devastating
Native American communities through cultural revival
and sustainable development. At the Indian
reservation in Wounded Knee and surrounding areas,
there is up to 95% unemployment, 90% homelessness,
80% poverty, rampant drug and alcohol abuse, and
pervasive violence. Through the Midnight Strong
Heart Society, he seeks introduce sustainable
villages to the Pine Ridge Reservation, that bring
a return to ancestral wisdom and balance traditional
Lakota teachings with the realities faced by Native
youth today. Through the adaptation of a low-cost
building method (cob), ideal for the harsh
climate of the Northern Plains, the Society
will provide sustainable homes in exchange for its
members' commitment to revive traditional practices
and values.

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CONSERVATION 11:45 am - 1:00 pm
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JAIME CHAVES
UCLA Center for Tropical Research
Numashir Foundation
http://www.numashir.org

Jaime Chaves holds an M.S. in Ecology and Systematic
Biology from San Francisco State and is currently a
PhD candidate at UCLA's Biology, Ecology and Evolution
Department. Jaime specializes in the ecology of
tropical forest, in particular seed dispersal and bird
behavior. He has authored many research papers
on birds of the tropical forest, including work on the
evolution and ecophysiology of hummingbirds in Ecuador.
He is a member of the Numashir Foundation, which seeks
to actively engage Ecuadorian scientists in
conservation and aims to protect and establish natural
reserves in endangered regions in Ecuador. Jaime is
also a Research Associate in the Center for Tropical
Research at UCLA, which seeks to understand the biotic
processes that underline and maintain the
diversity of life.

JULIA BUTTERFLY HILL
http://www.circleoflife.org

Julia Butterfly Hill is a poet, writer, and activist
who brought international attention to the world's
last remaining ancient forests when she climbed 180
feet up into the branches of a 1,000-year-old redwood
tree and refused to come down for two long years.
She is the author of the national best seller
"The Legacy of Luna" — which chronicles her
tree-sitting experience and offers readers insight
into her environmental views and commitments—and the
co-author of One Makes the Difference, both published
by Harper San Francisco. In 1999, Julia founded the
non-profit organization Circle of Life, to promote
the sustainability, restoration, and preservation of
life. Her latest project, We The Planet, is a tour
and festival which produces environmentally
sustainable, creative, and dynamic community events
in the Bay Area, California, and all over the
United States.

MELISSA NELSON
http://www.nativeland.org

Melissa K. Nelson, Ph.D. is a writer, scholar, and
activist committed to the revitalization of
indigenous cultures and their ancestral lands.
For the past 10 years she has served as the
executive director of The Cultural Conservancy,
an indigenous-rights nonprofit organization. She
is an assistant professor of American Indian Studies
at San Francisco State University and is a member of
the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians.

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ART 2:00 pm - 3:15 pm
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SAM BOWER
http://www.greenmuseum.org

Sam Bower is a founder and Executive Director of
greenmuseum.org, the nonprofit online museum of
environmental art which began in 2001 and now serves
over 800 visitors per day from around the world. He
created environmental art for 8 years as part of a
Bay Area collaborative art group known as Meadowsweet
Dairy. He was involved in the formation of Cellspace,
a non-profit community art space in San Francisco,
and Co-Directed Crucible Steel Gallery. He has worked
as a solo artist, web designer, in advertising, events
planning and the environmental non-profit sector in
the United States and in Ecuador. He is currently on
the Land Use Committee of the DiRosa Art and
Nature Preserve in Napa, CA, on the Advisory Board of
artist Natalie Jeremijenko's "One Trees" Project and
a Founding Board member of the Soul of America
Project. Sam graduated in 1988, with a BA in History,
Pomona College, Claremont, CA.

MANECH IBAR
http://www.vthseason.com

Manech Ibar is the Founder and President of
Vth Season, a multimedia production company that
builds cultural bridges for global education,
communication, and understanding. Through fieldwork,
educational programs and emerging technology,
Vth Season seeks to create a Cultural Media Library
that allows people worldwide to share experiences and
traditions. Vth produces a network of reciprocal
understanding by establishing an intercultural
dialogue using technology and media as the primary
method of communication.

ALISON STENGER
Archeologist and Curator

Alison is a Curator of Chinese and American Indian
art. Her primary focus is upon learning the truth
about past cultures. She feels that part of her
obligation as a curator is to recognize what each
specimen has to tell us, and then to convey that
information to other scholars and the public. Her
position is that each item carries with it a message
about the past, a piece of an unfinished mosaic.
The questions of subsistence, social structure,
regional differences and similarities, and past
environments can often be answered through the
unbiased study of these items.

Dr. Stenger has retained her 20 year position with
the Institute for Archaeological Studies, as
Director of Research, is an Honorary Fellow with
the Center for Climatic Research of the Gaylord
Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, is a
member of the Governor's Oregon Archaeology
Celebration Committee, and is an advisor to the
Oregon Archaeological Society.

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ABOUT THE NATURAL WORLD MUSEUM
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San Francisco’s emerging Natural World Museum is a
501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to
showcase educational art exhibitions that cultivate
environmental awareness and stimulate social
engagement in conservation.

http://www.naturalworldmuseum.org

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ANIMA MUNDI ~ SOUL OF THE WORLD EXHIBITION & PROGRAMS
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Showing Oct 1-31, 2004 at the SF Presidio's
Herbst International Exhibition Hall
Tues - Fri 10am -7pm, Sat & Sun 10am - 5pm
$4 general/ $2 students

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Join the Natural World Museum in launching its debut
exhibition of Environmental Art. Take a journey
through 6,000 years of art in 12 unique installations,
from ancient and indigenous objects to multimedia
visions. Featuring a special collection of nature
paintings by Robert Bateman, renowned wildlife artist
and avid naturalist. Enjoy hands-on experiences
through evocative educational contexts about
conservation and sustainability.

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EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS
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- ENVIRONMENTAL PAINTINGS by Robert Bateman
- CARBON WALLS composed of five elements by Hirokazu Kosaka
- WILD SOUNDSCAPES by Bernie Krause of Wild Sanctuary
- DIGITAL GARDEN featuring 30 eco-artists from Greenmuseum.org
- MINERAL GARDEN from the California Academy of Sciences
- NATIVE NORTH AMERICAN ART from the NW Museum of Arts & Culture
- ANCIENT CHINESE CERAMICS from the Babka Collection
- PRESIDIO'S NATURAL TREASURES photos by Vincent Versace
- BIODIVERSITY SHOWCASE by Costa Rica Conservation Trust
- FIVE ELEMENTS EXPERIENCE virtual interactive
green screen by Incredible Places

and more....

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PROGRAMS
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To complement the show, we host a wide array of
lectures, workshops, and film screenings throughout
October to highlight the caliber of art and
educational programming NWM will offer as we move
forward in establishing a permanent site.

For a detailed schedule visit:
http://www.naturalworldmuseum.org/calendar/oct.asp#schedule

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Art is the signature of civilization and the
cornerstone of conservation. From the paintings of
Robert Bateman, to the indigenous objects of Native
Americans to the soundscapes of Bernie Krause, the
message is loud and clear

~ nature’s beauty is fragile and finite.

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