SPOTLIGHT ON OUR BUSINESS HEROES

THE FUTURE IS NOW— ECOVATIVE DESIGN

Eben Bayer and Gavin McIntyre were fascinated by mushrooms growing on wood chips, and observing how the fungal mycelium strongly bonded the wood chips together. This inspired them to think of new ways of using mycelium as a resin. In 2007 they formulated a new process for binding together insulating particles, creating some remarkable materials that could replace Styrofoam™. Rather than just decreasing the environmental impact of conventional polystyrene foams, this invention created a whole new paradigm where composite materials are literally grown, harnessing the incredible efficiency of nature. Since the first offering as “EcoCradle Packaging”, Ecovative has supplied packaging solutions to a growing number of Fortune 500 companies.

Ecovative Design is now racing to increase production of these revolutionary materials. As people across the world want to eliminate environmentally damaging plastics and synthetics, today Ecovative has grown to 35 full time employees at their facility in Green Island, providing a radical solution to live sustainably on planet Earth.

http://www.ecovativedesign.com

SPOTLIGHT ON ONE OF OUR ENVIRONMENTAL HEROES

YOUTH ORGANICS (YO!)

Youth Organics (YO!) gives inner city teens the experience of hands-on gardening under the tutelage of experienced gardeners, educating them about where their food comes from, nutrition and healthy eating habits. The program assists participants and their families in establishing their own garden plots and helps neighbors with tools, seeds and technical advice.

The South End neighborhood in the City of Albany is chronically under-served by community organizations, and in particular services for young people. The Youth Organics (YO!) program enables youth to develop and foster deep connections with their neighborhood. The program helps energize neighborhood youth and their families to work in their community, build relationships, learn about locally grown vegetables and plants, and have a hand in creating a safe space. Leadership development among the teens is a key element and guides the future of the program.

http://grandarts.org/programs/youth-organics-yo

BIG MIND LEARNING ANNOUNCES OUR LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL HEROES FOR 2012

During this time of gratitude and thanksgiving, we are delighted to announce all of our Local Environmental Heroes for 2012.

We extend our congratulations and heartfelt thanks to these undaunted, inspiring, forward-thinking individuals and organizations responsible for transforming our lives and environment. We salute their spirit of commitment, community and hope.

The winners are the following in the five categories of businesses, farm organizations, schools, advocacy organizations and legislators:

Businesses

Whether new on the block or longstanding companies and stores, these cutting-edge businesses and non-profit organizations allow consumers to make enlightened choices about what they put in their homes, their bodies and their property. Their sustainable solutions benefit the entire community. We encourage our clients and neighbors to patronize these businesses and learn about these organizations.

Ecovative Design, Green Island
Green Conscience, Saratoga Springs
The Green Grocer, Clifton Park
Honest Weight Food Coop, Albany
The Radix Ecological Sustainability Center, Albany
Youth Organics, Albany

Farm Organizations

These organizations work with the community to conserve the farmland, forests, wildlife habitat, and rural character of our area, strengthening connections between people and the land. They promote environmentally-sound farming practices and work to keep family farmers on their farms. They have helped to save millions of acres of farmland.

Columbia Land Conservancy
American Farmland Trust, local chapter: Saratoga Springs

Schools

A few schools are actively trying to reduce their waste and carbon footprint while also investigating how science and math can improve their community. We applaud the efforts and successes of two schools, one in Schenectady and one in Schoharie, involved in school team-building, partnerships and problem-solving. We hope other schools will follow their fine example.

Steinmetz Career and Leadership Academy, Schenectady
          Science Teacher, Deborah Katz
          Social Worker, Ron Levine
Schoharie High School
          Teacher/Advisor, Amy Hausmann

Advocacy Organizations

We thank the individuals of these organizations and their indefatigable support of the environment. Working day and night for a variety of environmental causes, they lobby legislators, canvass the community, run rallies and conferences, and write press releases and reports that change minds and lives.

Capital District Against Fracking
Frack Action
Water Equality
The Sierra Club, Atlantic Chapter

Legislators from the Albany Common Council

We celebrate these legislators for their unflagging support of environmental and social justice issues in the city of Albany. Four individuals co-sponsored a bill banning hydro-fracking in Albany and courageously fought to achieve a super majority against the practice.

Hon. Dominick Calsolaro, Ward 1
Hon. Barbara Smith, Ward 4
Hon. Leah Golby, Ward 10
Hon. Anton Konev, Ward 11

LOCAL HEROES

IN PRAISE OF THE DEDICATION OF ADULTS & THE COURAGE OF CHILDREN

GRAND PRIZE AWARD TO SCHOHARIE RECOVERY

Big Mind Learning is thrilled to announce our list of 2012 Local Heroes for the Environment. This week we will salute those activists, legislators, businesses, and schools working to make altruistic contributions to our local scene. We thank them heartily and encourage their commitment and spirit of solidarity. We also know that a dedication to environmental values makes good business sense.

Before we name our recipients, we want to honor all of the individuals associated with Schoharie Recovery, www.schoharierecovery.org. In light of the crisis precipitated by Hurricane Irene, residents of Schoharie, NY rose to the enormous challenge of rebuilding their community. We name Schoharie Recovery as the number one recipient of our Local Heroes Award. Since the flooding occurred, this organization has valiantly worked to rebuild, to recover, and to support those in crisis.

                                                          Photo courtesy of Seth Sholtes


    Photo courtesy of Seth Sholtes

Katie Farineau, Lily Caza, Allen Rossetti, and Seth Sholtes from Schoharie Central School participated in a reading devoted to Schoharie Recovery at The Carrot Barn on June 14, 2012. The dream of this event started from my own desire to spread the word about Katie Farineau's moving essay about Schoharie which won first prize in the Big Mind Learning Scholarship Contest. 

We reprint Seth Sholtes's poem here.

The Field of Dust

                            

by Seth Sholtes, 8^th grade, Schoharie Central School                                

I walk across a field of dust,

that once was lush and green,

with oiled ground as red as rust,

I wish it was a dream.

The crops are sculptures made of sand,

curved downward like a bow.

Their leaves crumble in my hand,

their coating falls like snow.

The field of dust holds empty shells

of memories now long gone,

replaced with that of screams and yells,

that lasted until dawn.

Debris is the new crop of the field,

piled high in large mounds.

The trees are dead, their bark is peeled,

toys buried in the ground.

As I walk across this field of dust,

I wake up from my dream.

I look outside and see only just

The field I had just seen.

Artist and Writer Anthony Thompson and the Martinez Gallery

In our appreciation of artists interpreting the natural world, we now focus on Anthony Thompson, a painter, teacher of studio art, and a student of psychology and neuroscience. He is involved in understanding the way in which artists make “non-conscious perceptions concrete” in their art and, in his words, “seem to be agents or mediums through which someone or something else is creating.” In both his writing and teaching, this artist compellingly explores the roots of creation and perception.

Living in the Hudson Valley, Thompson has been influenced by the American Hudson River School of landscape painters such as Thomas Cole and Frederic Edwin Church (of Olana). This movement incorporated pastoral settings and showed harmony between human beings and nature. In addition to his traditional landscapes, he also produces contemporary landscapes and drawings combined with abstraction, showing his intense investigation into cognitive psychology and the creative process.  

Thompson has had numerous solo shows in Boston and New York, and his work has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, NYC and the Institute for Contemporary Art in Boston. Locally he shows his work at the Martinez Gallery in Troy, NY, www.martinezgallery.net, located in Monument Square at 3 Broadway, in the district for arts and antiques. This gallery features contemporary art focusing, but not exclusively, on Latino and Latin American art.

Samples of Thompson's work:

"Olana" (2004)

“Cohoes Falls” (2002)

“Wiltsie Bridge” (2005)

“Pond” (2007)

Check out Tony’s website at http://www.tonythompsonpainter.com.

Big Mind Learning 2012 Scholarship Essay Contest Winners Announced

Big Mind Learning is delighted to announce the winners and finalists of our 2012 second annual Scholarship Essay Contest. The judges were very impressed by the quality of the entries, and we are always happy to celebrate personal essays that express directness, maturity, and style while discussing compelling subjects. We honor all the students who submitted their work and hope they will continue to write with candor and expressiveness.

To the schools and students who submitted, thank you very much for your participation. We look forward to your continued interest next year.

In 2013 we will expand the scope of our contests to include a competitive fellowship for teachers concerning a project related to the STEM subjects: science, technology, engineering and math. Please look for the announcement of both contests in August.

Congratulations to our winners and finalists!

Read the winning essays at www.bigmindlearning.com.

Jojo Ans, Photographer

Jojo was raised in New York’s Hudson River Valley, and remembers having a Kodak Instamatic X-35F camera as a girl. The best part was after sending the film off in the mail, she would get the package back, addressed to her, with her prints from the weeks before. It seemed like magic.


She went on to study photography before its digital age, and continues to shoot with film. She processes the black and white photographs herself now, and still has a moment of heart skipping excitement when she sees what has been revealed.


After her formal education, she traveled across the U.S., then Europe, and had extended stays in France, New Mexico and New Hampshire as an artist in residence. She also worked in the fashion photo world of New York City for many years.

Half House, Hudson Valley

Canoe, Hudson Valley