Greening a CoOperative Learning Environment

One of the basic requirements for establishing a CoOperative learning environment is an awareness and commitment of participants capacity to objectively agree to disagree in the pursuit of knowledge where ever they may find it.
 While the environment or sense of place plays a secondary but important aspect in the early development of such relationships, development of a comfortable place for collaboration can help build trust amongst the participants. Where Trust, communication and hands-on cooperative learning are established, chances are there is fertile ground for growing new ideas, projects and tangential relationships that can bring lasting friendships and capacity for change.
 The Community Greenhouses in Waterford at the old Ernst proprty has many of the elements needed for just such a learning environment to take place.
 By cooperatively pooling resouces of time, energy, ideas, physical resources and money perhaps we can create some sustaining projects and working relationships that can grow into our communities, empowering all manner of creative involvement.
 This morning just walking around the Royal Oak market and talking with farmers selling their produce I am reminded of the cooperative need and capacity to co-create tangible answers to lower the cost of delivering good quality food to the public. If we could develop a small cooperative to explore amongst other ideas the use of Solar air heating systems to extend growing seasons and to cut food drying costs by perhaps 50-60%. Just the act of exploring such a project has enormous opportunity to build cooperative learning environments.
 Many of the farmers I have spoken to would be interested in co-participating to varying degrees in exploring better uses of natural energies to produce better quality and less expesive foods.
 Organic is in, what is needed is proper preperation of the growing environment that will allow for growing organic ideas and communications that will help change the way we live our lives and do business in our communities.
Why don't you step up with your shovel and some seeds, dig in let's get busy!