At the EcoEnco retreat in Western Australia in July, I participated in a songwriting workshop. What a treat! Joseph Pul© (https://soundcloud.com/joepule) and Steve Andrews (https://steveandrews.bandcamp.com/ and https://earthoceanphoto.com), both talented musicians, songwriters and guitarists, led us into the Karri forest. They helped us write our songs and set them to music. I’m waiting for… Continue reading Two Trees I Loved: An Anthem
Category: Wendy’s Blog
Wendy Sarkissian’s blog in sarkissian.com.au website.
Reflecting on EcoEnco, Environmental Ethics and Deep Ecology
EcoEnco Recently I spent a wonderful week at the EcoEnco retreat in south-western Western Australia with an intergenerational group of passionate, green, committed, like-minded people. See: https://ecoenco.com The focus of our work for that week was Deep Ecology. As our work deepened and our friendships strengthened, I realised that not all… Continue reading Reflecting on EcoEnco, Environmental Ethics and Deep Ecology
The Better Planning Network Community Forum on NSW Planning Reforms
Community Planning Forum, NSW Parliament Theatrette, Monday 20 May 2013, 10am-3pm On 20 May 2013, the Better Planning Network hosted a forum on the NSW planning reforms attended by 150 people at NSW Parliament House. It was co-hosted by the Hon. Brad Hazzard, Minister for Planning and Infrastructure, the Hon. Luke… Continue reading The Better Planning Network Community Forum on NSW Planning Reforms
Banging on about Bang the Table
A couple of times recently, I’ve heard Australians complain about the Australian online engagement firm, Bang the Table (BTT) (see https://bangthetable.com/). I’ve done their training and greatly admire their work, which I see as directly complementary to my more “hands-on” approaches. I decided it was time to sort things out in my own… Continue reading Banging on about Bang the Table
A most hopeful light
Nimbin light We designed our bedroom to handle the light of the Australian sub-tropics. We used hundreds of CAD shade diagrams and tried to honour some basic feng shui principles. So a narrow window admits morning sun along the eastern wall. Just a glimpse, a shard of light. But in the winter (almost intentionally) the… Continue reading A most hopeful light
“Yale Wife” No More
In February of this year, I flew to Boston to teach for a month, mainly in the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD). Teaching in the GSD was a lot more intensive than Australian postgraduate planning education; the students were also an international and multicultural bunch. The privileged Harvard student body I had witnessed in… Continue reading “Yale Wife” No More
An Expert Blind Spot: Fear of Falling
Back in the 1980s… Back in the mid-1980s, my social planning firm did a roaring trade in ageing. Every Sydney developer fantasized about making a fortune in retirement housing. We were a small firm of social planners – trying variously to dissuade them or help them. Most were beyond help: so gripped by greed… Continue reading An Expert Blind Spot: Fear of Falling
Blogs for the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, Adelaide, June 2013
Why Not Vancouver’s CityPlan as a Model for Community Engagement? Source: https://thehawkecentre.wordpress.com/2013/06/03/why-not-vancouvers-cityplan-as-a-model-for-community-engagement/ Nimbin, Monday morning June 3 The CityPlan as a Model for Community Engagement in South Australia? I don’t think so! During my week in Adelaide, I was dismayed to hear people talking in adulatory tones about the Vancouver CityPlan community… Continue reading Blogs for the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, Adelaide, June 2013
Please Spare Manitoba!
Manitoba in the early days What now? I never thought I’d see the day! One of the best examples of medium-density housing in Australia is up for redevelopment! How can this be? Where is our memory? Is new always better? Don’t we know what’s good when we see it?… Continue reading Please Spare Manitoba!
Root Shock: Grieving for a Lost Home
Several years ago, I was managing the community engagement processes for the first stages of a large community renewal project in an Australian capital city. The State Minister wanted something to announce before Christmas and he wanted to tell this community of about 3000 public tenants (half of whom did not speak English… Continue reading Root Shock: Grieving for a Lost Home