Nov 10-12, 2006
Entering a New England forest can feel like walking into Eden, a place of peace and beauty. Ancient wisdom can be found here, too, and this wisdom can show us ways to develop and sustain vibrant lives, families, communities, and societies. Life on earth has been thriving for billions of years because of its ability to sustain itself. This sustainability is founded on three natural laws: the law of limits to growth, the law of entropy, and the law of self-organization.
These laws apply in the natural world as well as in the sociological and political worlds. For example, an animal, a tree, a forest, a hurricane, even a mountain range can grow bigger, but at a certain point, growth stops. Our tallest redwoods and our most majestic mountains eventually stop growing. Growth has limits. A system that disobeys this law—cancer, for example—brings about its own demise.
Using mini-lectures, discussions, and explorations in the surrounding forests, we will learn the natural laws of sustainability and how they can be applied to choices we make for ourselves, our families, our towns, our cities, and the larger human community. The laws of nature can lead us to a prosperity that will last.
Tom Wessels is a passionate and gifted teacher who can make you “feel like you’re discovering the secrets of the universe alongside him.” He has conducted workshops for more than 30 years and is Professor of Ecology at Antioch New England Graduate School, where he founded its masters degree program in Conservation Biology. Author of Reading the Forested Landscape: A Natural History of New England and The Granite Landscape, Tom has specialized in landscape interpretation. His newest book, The Mythology of Progress, brings a lifetime of natural intelligence to bear on the larger problems facing humanity. Rowe is honored to present the fruition of a lifetime of brilliant work.