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The previous theme of our conference, “Mother Nature and the Next Generation” dealt with concerns that our young people are not exposed enough to the natural world. They are cooped up in the safety of our homes with every electronic gadget to entertain and teach them, but they lack contact with the real world around them. We have taken that concept a step further with our new theme; “Farm to Fork…Sink Your Teeth into Finding Health, Community and Sustainability through Food”. We believe that this disconnection from nature is also responsible for the disconnection with understanding our own natural bodies and how to feed them…right down to misconceptions about the very nature of food production. Many of us (especially today’s youth) live in a “plastic” world, eating processed “plastic” foods. Our original theme dealt with a concern that our children are starving for communion with nature…our new theme will address this from a totally new angle. And in keeping with our new theme, We’ll “feed” you a bit of writing from one of our guest speakers, Lora Roberts:

“Food. It’s a word that conjures many thoughts, feelings and physical reactions. Think of your favorite food. Think of it long enough and your mouth might start watering, or it may bring to mind a wonderful event with family or friends. So much of what we do every day, who we are, where we’re from, revolves around food. But many people rarely think of how their food winds up at the end of their fork: how it was grown, where it was processed, how far it has traveled, and of course, what does the face of the farmer, farm worker or producer look like? Many children today assume food is ‘grown’ in supermarkets, never having been exposed to the simple reality that roots are pulled from the ground, cucumbers grow on vines, or apples grow on trees. During this conference we will discuss how to become better connected with our food, understand the system in which it is embedded, and learn what we can do to contribute to a more sustainable, environmentally-friendly, and socially-just food democracy. “

Would you like to nibble on some information about our two guest speakers? Well let us see what we can serve up:

Jim Verrill joins us this year as part of our Speaker Team. Jim was born on the Family Farm in Concord, Massachusetts. While life has taken him to many places and in many directions, he has always maintained a connection to the soil/land. He will say it is in his blood! In 2003, (7 years before he could be there full time) Jim and his husband Tom Lyczko,purchased a home in Vermont. With just .6 (notice the point) of an open acre on the edge of a picturesque Vermont village they began preparing for the time when this would be their full-time home that would be as self sustaining as possible. Jim’s food philosophy is “If we don’t raise it, we know the person who does.”Jim’s Star Island connection goes back to 1959 when he and his family came every summer for 2 weeks (All Star I & All Star II). In 1988 he switched to NHC and over the years has played a very active role, chairing in 1992 and 1997. Jim presently serves on the committee overseeing the Shops on Star. He Chairs the Bookstore Committee and plays a very active role on the Gift Shop committee.

Lora Roberts is a Master’s Candidate at the University of New Mexico in the Community and Regional Planning Program,with an emphasis in Environmental Planning. During her time at UNM she has worked as a Graduate Assistant Teacher in a course titled Sustainable Food sheds, served as a Teaching Assistant in a Lobo Gardens course(focused on implementing food gardens on the UNM campus and in surrounding communities) and served as a Student Representative to the New Mexico Chapter of the American Planning Association (a prominent planning organization). She currently works for the Mid-Region Council of Governments Agriculture (Ag) Collaborative, a program that supports local growers, food projects and food-related initiatives in the central New Mexico region. Her recent work at the Ag Collaborative includes the development of a Farm-to-Restaurant program, expansion of the Central New Mexico Land Link program, marketing and outreach programs, newsletter and blog development, and planning of the annual Local Food Festival. Her academic and professional interests include food systems planning, community food networks, sustainable development,natural resources planning, perceptions of nature, and the nexus of art and ecology. Her personal interests include gardening, food preservation, traveling, volunteering, camping and learning new things.

The third portion of the week is our minister. Here’s the scoop:Leon Dunkley is the Director of Congregational Life at Unity Church—Unitarian and has been living in St. Paul, Minnesota since the summer of 2008. He is a graduate of the Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley,CA and holds a Ph.D. in Musicology/Ethnomusicology from the University of Pittsburgh. Leon was born in New York City and grew up in Englishtown, New Jersey where he was a member of the Unitarian church in Lincroft. He grew up listening to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, Jimmy Heath and Bruce Springsteen and is an avid Star Trek fan. He is also an Old Shoaler. He attended YRUU conferences, young adult conferences and later, became an adviser for both conferences. He was a Pelican in 1995 and 1996. During and after seminary, he has served the minister of the week for the Young Adults Conference and LOAS I(Life on a Star). He is a poet and a professor, a writer and a dog-lover. His deepest spiritual concerns are the experiences of compassion, loyalty and the power of radical forgiveness. He has an unending faith in the power of human insight and integrity, the gritty love that is graceful enough to make a flower grow.

We hope you’ll agree with us that we have a very exciting conference planned. We momentarily hit a bump in the road but now we’re back on track…and we do believe we’ve managed to make lemonade out of lemons!

Registering for this conference

How to register

1. Download the 2011 Registration Form.
2. Fill out both sides of the registration form.
3. Send to the Conference Registrar as directed below, along with one check for the Room and Board Deposit and Conference Programming Fee (both specified above).
4. The Conference Registrar will be in touch with you after your registration is received.

Make the check out to: Natural History Conference
Registrar: Ellen Campbell, email hidden; JavaScript is required, (207) 843-5858, 280 Lower Dedham Road, Holden, ME 04429
Financial Aid: Scholarships available by application with the registrar with recommended deadline of March 10.