SSREC Workshop Descriptions

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1. Mountaintop Removal Road Show-This presentation will explain how this process works, the social and environmental devastation it is causing, what people are doing to end it, and how you can get involved to support the preservation of the ecosystems, communities and cultures of Appalachia.

2. Deepening Our Connections-We will examine systems of oppression that divide us such as racism, sexism, classism, anthropocentrism and egocentrism. We will also explore systems of deeply connecting us and liberating all such as deep ecology, ecofeminism, social ecology, environmental justice and mysticism.

3. Nukes in the South-With 17 of the 30 new nuclear reactors proposed in the Southeast, we are the primary target of the United States nuclear industry. With our region’s water and economic resources already seriously constrained, continuing down the nuclear path with only keep us from the safe and clean energy future we all work so hard for. This workshop will help debunk some of the myths about nuclear power, focusing on water, waste, and economics and discuss some of the ways we can take action against this false “solution.”

4. Renewable Energy Technologies-  Learn the fundamentals of how renewable energy technologies work, from solar to wind and geothermal energy, as well as new and emerging technologies.  This workshop will focus on giving participants the knowledge base needed to be an effective advocate and agent of change for the transition to renewable energy.

5. Non-violent Direct Action: Exploring Resistance in the Environmental Movement- We will discuss the history of non-violence in social movements, the role of affinity groups, current NVDA tactics being employed by the environmental movement, deescalation and working with the media.  This workshop will help deepen our understanding of how we react in these situations and prepare us to move forward in putting these tactics into practice

6. Movement Building 101- This workshop will explain the importance of building a strong campaign that is both effective and applicable to one's environment, whether that be community, campus, or other using SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic/relevant, time-oriented).

7. Movement Building 102-  Building Power is at the heart of our work to end destructive fossil fuels addictions and to jump start our clean, just energy future. This workshop helps participants grow a practical understanding of 'Power', with tools for mapping and analyzing it.

8. Movement Building 103-  This workshop is for new leaders to help them answer the question of 'leadership for what purpose?' Learn the five practices and the ten commitments of leadership. Learn how to hold other accountable without being overbearing and how to evoke sustainable, outstanding performance in teams.

9. Clear cutting the Climate: Biomass Power Generation, Paper Production, and Forest Loss in the South-Biomass power generation, where trees are burned to produce electricity, is being peddled by big utilities as an easy replacement for coal, and a “renewable carbon neutral fuel,” especially for the Southern US. This workshop discusses the competing demand for trees for biomass power production and the paper industry could result in as much as a doubling of forest loss rates, and a major blow to efforts to stop climate change.

10. Corporate Campaigning: How to Target Corporate (or University) Public Image to Win Your Campaign-This workshop will examine Dogwood Alliance’s successful history of campaigns targeting major corporations as a model for how to use hard hitting public campaigns to win for the environment. We will discuss tools, strategies, and tactics for designing creative and engaging campaigns, and organizing to win.

11. Using Media to Win Campaigns-This training will give you the nuts and bolts of how to work with media in a strategic and directed way to not only ensure the visibility of your campaign/event, but also to create meaningful relationships with local media officials.

12. Beyond Bake Sales -Fundraising- Learn from experienced fundraisers proving techniques for supporting your campaign and initiatives.

13. Innovative Social Finance:Creating a Cost Effective Clean Energy Economy-This presentation and Q&A session will focus on an innovative model of collaborative investment used for financing community-owned renewable energy projects. Topics covered in this presentation include public policy, tax law, business, finance, and community organizing."

14. Renewable Energy Solutions: Defining the South’s Competitive Advantage-Transitioning away from increasingly scarce, carbon-intensive and polluting fossil fuels is one of the key challenges facing modern society.  Prominent among the energy supply options with inherently low life-cycle CO2 emissions is a suite of renewable technologies. The Southeast has been the laggard in the US. This presentation will address the current state of renewable in the Southeast and opportunities for market transformation.

15. Transition Towns: Responding to Climate and Peak Oil-Started in 2006, Transition groups have been exploring what can be done at the low-cost community level to prepare for climate change, peak oil & extended recession. This workshop will be mostly lecture/panelist talks, with some small group exercises.

16. Gettin' Green: Funding clean energy on campus-Green fees can pave the way for universities to move towards renewable energy and making campuses more sustainable.  This workshop will feature green fee campaign basics: tactics, strategies, recruitment, setting goals as well as sustaining the green fee and best practices after establishment

17. Creating a Just Food System:  Leveraging student power for food justice-This workshop will serve as a launchpad for students interested in running sustainable agriculture and food justice campaigns on their campuses. Students will gain an understanding of how they can alter the food system on a larger system-level scale using their student power, how their activism directly relates to broader food justice issues,

18. Actively Confronting Oppression- In this workshop participants will be introduced to the concepts of oppression, it's counterpart and how they can be agents of change in the world. They will also learn about the spectrum levels of oppression and how to track group membership in order to identify patterns to change or reinforce what they see.

19. International Climate Change Policy and You-So Mother Earth has a rising temperature, and so far commitments by the world's nations have fallen short of curing this fever. Taking a global perspective, we'll discuss where policy negotiations stand, how young people are getting involved, and what could turn things around.

20. Shifting the Political Power–This workshop will explore tools we can use to shift the political power from elected officials and special interests back to the people and voters. The workshop focuses on holding politicians and legislators accountable through direct and indirect constituent contact, such as lobbying, letter campaigns, bird-dogging, and call-in days.

21. Bridging the Economic and Climate Gap  - looks at how climate and economic issues mirror each other and the solutions we can all contribute too. It is very interactive and awesome.  Let me know what details you need around this.

22. Active Listening/ Listening Project Training- Listening projects have been the basis of the work of United Mountain Defense since 2005.  This workshop will train volunteers how to do door to door work and use active listening skills to gauge community response and help steer a campaign. 

23. From the Gulf to the Tar Sands: Protecting People and the Planet- National Wildlife Federation staff discuss dirty energy's impacts from the Gulf to the Tar Sands and share stories of communities organizing to protect their local environment.

24. Occupy Wall Street and the Bank of America, the Bank of Coal- Rainforest Action Network has a long history of succesful corporate campaigns and will be discussing the connections of their new Bank of America campaign to the dirty coal industry.

Guest Workshops Presented by the UNCA Energy Grants Team

25. Community Based Social Marketing vs. Traditional Education Campaigns- So much of the work done to increase the sustainability of our campuses and communities inherently focuses on changing behavior; advocates want to get the public to conserve water and energy, recycle, compost, drive less, or adopt other patterns of behavior that have a smaller footprint.  Traditionally we have relied on educational and informational campaigns, with the belief being that if people understand ways they can have less of an impact on the environment, then they will change their behavior.  This presentation will discuss why this method of outreach is often ineffective and offer an alternative model; Community Based Social Marketing, as a means to promote sustainable behavior.  Examples of such programs will be given from UNCA's own Student Energy Internship and Fellowship Program. 

26. Student Energy Internship and Fellowship Program and Grant- This presentation will give an overview of UNCA's Student Energy Internship and Fellowship Program (SEIP), funded by a grant from the NC State Energy Office. This program has several different project areas touching many areas of campus sustainability including education and outreach, facilities energy management and energy policy. In addition, this program has served as a vehicle for forwarding efficiency with several community organizations; helping to build stronger community connections between these partners and UNCA and serving the community as a whole.  This presentation will provide project ideas and lessons learned for replication at other campuses, and will briefly discuss opportunities for funding this kind of project elsewhere.