Theme: Earth: Our Home

At TedxKatuah 2012 Earth:Our Home we gathered on the edge of a beautiful lake on a wonderful autumn day to share ideas about live on, and our relationship with, the Earth. During the event we:
shared prayers for the health of our planet and its inhabitants
discussed alternatives to conventional agriculture
honored our ancestors by learning from their example
learned how to connect to other earth beings
listened to the ideas of the young folks who dream of a more interactive education system
had a flock of geese join the audience
then, ended the day with poetry, music and a farm to table dinner.

HIghkand Lake Cove amphitheatre
Flat Rock, North Carolina
United States

June ellen 'junebug' Bradley

June Ellen graduated as a biologist from Wheaton College, Norton , Ma She has a career as a landscape painter and muralist which was full time, before studying Native American Earthskills and Philosophy with Tom Brown Jr for 10 years, then apprenticing with Rosemary Gladstar in the study of herbal medicine. She had private practice as an herbalist for 7 years. JE is presently supporting local agriculture at the Mill Spring Ag Center in Polk County. She is a part time Personal Trainer and Coach at Pro Health and Fitness in Columbus. Her hobbies include native plant rescue and swimming.

judi elia

The Reverend Judith Elia is a Florida Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and an ordained Unity Minister. She has organized conferences and events internationally for World Peace, Holistic Medicine, and the Spiritual Unity of the World’s Religions. From a young age her fascination with the soul of psychology led her to train extensively with both Erik Erikson and Virginia Satir. She graduated from Ithaca College (B.A.) with honors in Psychology, and the University of Rhode Island (M.S.) in Human Development, Counseling and Family Studies. Rev. Elia is the co-producer of the “Heart of Peace: Music and Meditation” CD with NPR Jazz Artist Stefan Scaggiari and singer/songwriter Megon McDonough. She is currently employed as a Licensed Clinician at a Non-profit Agency in Jacksonville, FL. She works with all age groups to inspire health, harmony and happiness within, between and among all people.

gala Erlandson

Gaya Erlandson, Ph.D. is a psychologist, teacher and writer who is passionate about community and collaborative living – as contexts for bringing forth our human potential. For over 30 years Dr. Erlandson has coached, counseled and educated people on ways to get along better and on how to live more purposeful and rewarding lives - particularly through caring collaboration, and she has lived in community for about 15 years. Based this, Dr. Erlandson’s will discuss some of the fundamental conclusions she has made as to what’s needed today to live more collaborative, sustainable lives. While addressing some of our most pressing problems, she remains optimistic, inspired and inspiring. “It’s establishing new structures that gives me my optimism. Within new and appropriate community structures, everyone can thrive. Change the rules and people behave differently. Working together effectively and in joy, we can co-create a positive future for all.” In 2004 she cofounded Lotus Lodge, a unique Community, Inn & Learning Center in the mountains of Asheville, NC where she lives today with about 10 others

kare farrington

Kate is from Portland Oregon and began spinning fire in college, 7 years ago. Since then she has continued to explore this fun and exciting art form, attending various fire spinning festivals, performing at west coast electronic music festivals, and practicing spinning fire with friends around LA, Portland, and Austin TX, where she now live. Kate enjoys teaching fire dance, performing, and just sharing it with new people.

zev friedman

Zev is a leading permaculture designer, researcher, teacher and writer in western North Carolina. He grew up in Sylva, NC and received his B.S. in Human Ecology from UNCA. Zev’s specialty is forest agriculture; he now runs the Forest Cuisine Project, which helps land owners to start forest farms and to market their products. He is particularly passionate about assisting landowners in setting up mushroom farming operations and in using fungi as remediators for damaged environments. Zev also specializes in urban permaculture design and installation, including many private residences, as well as consulting on the design of the Mars Hill town hall and grounds; he is an active member and teacher in Transition Asheville, helping to plan for Asheville’s future as an abundant, self-reliant city in the age of petroleum decline.

charles kouns

Charles Kouns is an educator, businessman and visionary with over 20 years of secondary and tertiary school experience guiding and empowering young people to discover their wisdom and believe in themselves. His passion for giving young people voice, led him to found Imagining Learning, an intergenerational organization whose purpose is to create a national collective voice of young people. He now leads Imagining Learning's Listening Sessions, asking teens across America for their vision of how education could be reinvented.

chuck marsh

Chuck is a pioneer in ecological landscape design and consulting practices, and founder of Useful Plants Nursery, an edible landscape plant nursery located south of Black Mountain, NC. Chuck has over thirty five years of experience working with the plants, soil, water, climate and people of North Carolina to design and install place appropriate, productive, and sustainable home and commercial landscapes. His career has spanned the wholesale and retail nursery business as well as landscape gardening and landscape contracting businesses. His current focus is on teaching people about edible landscaping, biological economics, and Permaculture Design, which he does locally, nationally and internationally; growing edible and medicinal plants for present and future abundance; and consulting with homeowners and landowners to design and create beautiful, productive, resource conserving landscapes that celebrate and deepen our connection to the natural world.

tracey schmidt

At the age of 19, Tracey Schmidt moved to Japan to live in a Buddhist monastery. Her experiences there awakened a passion for combining spirituality and the arts- Her first book of poetry, I Have Fallen in Love with the World, was published in 2011 by Logosophia Books. Inspired by Maya Angelou, she performs her work by memory and with music. Her first poetry/music CD: Returning Home features the poetry of Rumi, Hafiz, Yeats, and her own work. World-class musicians River Guerguerian, Chris Rosser, Matthew Cox and Mariam Matossian accompany her. She teaches creativity, poetry and photography in this area, and was a featured teacher at Julia Cameron's (author: The Artist's Way) Creativity Camp in Taos NM