GrassRoots Convening 13

On May 5-6, 2009, more than 125 Resourceful Communities Program (RCP) partners from across North Carolina gathered for the thirteenth annual Grassroots Convening (GRC).  Set at the Summit at Haw River in Browns Summit, NC, this annual gathering provides opportunities for peer-to-peer networking, education, leadership and organizational development.
 
Our opening plenary speaker, Leah Wise, Executive Director of the Southeast Regional Economic Justice Network used a popular education approach to help participants understand how global economic trends have significantly affected the southern economy, and in turn, the communities in which our partners work.  

Over two days we convened three partner-led, concurrent workshops:

• Community Gardening:  Workshop leaders represented Anathoth Community Garden in Cedar Grove, NC, Pisgah View Community Garden in Asheville, NC and SEEDS, based in Durham, NC.
• Green Jobs Development and Training:  Staff and interns from Asheville Green Opportunities, a green jobs youth training program, and the founder and owner of Eco Maintenance, a janitorial service that sells green cleaning products, co-presented.
• Youth Training:  This workshop was led by representatives of Public Allies (based in Durham, NC), Durham Together for a Resilient Youth (TRY) and McIntosh SEED (Darien, GA). 

Majora Carter, the founder of Sustainable South Bronx and a MacArthur Fellow, closed out our 13th Grassroots Convening.  Sustainable South Bronx addresses land-use, energy, transportation, water & waste policy, and education to advance the environmental and economic rebirth of the South Bronx.