Okavango Challenge

Excellent Development supports community groups in semi-arid rural Kenya to improve their enviroment sustainably through soil and water conservation, improving food and water supply, health and incomes. The key activities are terracing land, building sand dams and planting trees. These three work together to significantly improve conservation of soil and water in this delicate environment.

Excellent Development field staff visit farmers on their farms to provide support to increase food production. After terracing land and maximising the use of available water, techniques such as intercropping, zero grazing, using cover crops and drought resistant crops can dramatically increase yields.

“When Excellent Development Kenya started working with us, Field Officer Muthama trained us on terracing and I took the initiative. He laid the standard terraces for me and I dug and there is a big change. My harvest increased from 3 bags of 90kgs to 8 bags of 90kg. I am encouraged and I will dig the whole farm. Terraces conserve water. My orange trees don’t dry anymore and I am happy.”
Mr Mutunga Ngitu, Kilili Catchment

Duration : 0:5:56

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Technorati Tags: Africa, climate change, community, Conservation, farmers, food security, intercropping, Kenya, land, Rural, sand dams, Soil, sustainable development, terracing, trees, water, zero grazing

Focus Green 2009, presented by Dowling Company Improvement Foundation, speaker Kevin Fletcher discusses sustainable development, and how we reaching the tipping point for environmental development and living.
He believes in the triple bottom line with sustainability This includes:
Environmental quality
Social desirability
Economic viability
Special Thanks to Maui Style Media, Hawaii Nature Center, Everett Dowling, Kevin Fletcher, and Audubon International.

Duration : 0:2:49

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Technorati Tags: al, audubon, augusta, beach, Building, center, community, company, Day, developer, earth, ecofriendly, everett dowling, fletcher, focus, gore, Green, hawaii, improvement, international, kevin, makena, Maluaka, maui, media, nature, obama, ocean, responsible, style, sustainability, Tiger, Tourism, video, water, Woods

Hot off the press, this week Ci’s Kierstin De West shares findings from Ci’s SHIFT report - a 5,000 people study of what North Americans think of this thing called sustainability. The top issue?? Connecting with friends, family and community. So the tips for this week are focused on community.

Duration : 0:4:2

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Technorati Tags: ci, community, conscientious, de, Green, innovation, kierstin, shift, sustainability, tips, west

Andy Lipkis, Founder and President of TreePeople, describes how this organization has pioneered an integrated approach to managing urban ecosystems as watersheds in the Los Angeles region. This involves strategic tree planting, tree-mimicking technologies, and community engagement to generate multiple solutions to the environmental threats facing our cities, including ensuring a sustainable water supply, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, preventing water and air pollution, fostering stronger neighborhoods, and creating jobs. For a summary of TreePeople’s six demonstration projects that are now collecting 1.25 million gallons of water every time it rains 1″ in Los Angeles, visit www. treepeople.org. Video Going to Green: Planting Seeds of Change with Community Forestry produced by the Media & Policy Center Foundation for PBS.

Duration : 0:15:22

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Technorati Tags: Adaptation, adapting, air, and, Andy, capture, Catchment, Change, cisterns, Cities, Climate, community, Design, development, Ecosystem, emissions, Forest, Forestry, Functioning, gas, Global, Going, Green, greenhouse, Harvesting, Impact, Infrastructure, Integrated, Lipkis, Low, Management, Mitigation, nature, nonprofit, pollution, Preventing, rain, Rainwater, Resources, services, Smart, stormwater, sustainability, Sustainable, to, Urban, Warming, water, Watershed

For nearly a decade, sustainability has been at the forefront of the Portland Development Commission’s goals and the common thread that weaves through each of its projects.

PDC’s sustainability efforts, as outlined in the City of Portland Charter, are outlined in this way:

The commission shall advance social equity in carrying out all of its duties and shall involve the constituencies of the city to create, maintain and promote a diverse, sustainable community in which economic prosperity, quality housing and employment opportunities are made available to all residents.

To download the 2007-2008 PDC sustainability report, please visit: http://www.pdc.us/sustainability/

For more information about the Portland Development Commission please visit: http://www.pdc.us/

This video was produced by John Cardenas at the Portland Development Commission.

Duration : 0:1:43

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Technorati Tags: Building, Commission, community, Develppment, Economic, environment, Green, Oregon, PDC, Portland, Report, sustainability

Greg Smith, professor of teacher education at Lewis & Clark, received a $19,380 grant from the Oregon Community Foundation to train teachers on environmental issues. The grant aims to increase the number of teachers implementing sustainability projects in schools, and increase student and educator awareness of local natural systems, ecologies, and social needs. During three courses offered in 2009, Smith will prepare 50-60 teachers to incorporate sustainability issues into their classrooms and help them implement school or community projects that will enhance local, natural, and social environments.

Duration : 0:3:45

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Technorati Tags: classroom, community, ecology, education, environnment, grant, instruction, place-based, projects, school, sustainability, teach, teacher, west linn