OntheWilderSide

On Wednesday, April 2, 2008 at 7pm, the Babylon Green Party Gathering will feature will feature Paul Arfin of Intergenerational Strategies talking about cohousing, ecovillages, and intentional community. www.BabylonGreens.org The Babylon Green Party gathering is held at Pisces Café, 14A Railroad Avenue, Babylon, NY (631-321-1231) Come hungry! www.piscescafe.net (map) For directions to the Babylon Green Gathering, call 631-422-4702 or email ian.wilder@yahoo.com Children are welcome. All gatherings are free of charge, and open to the public.

Though there has been a good deal of media attention given to the need for affordable/workforce housing and senior housing, little attention has been given to authentic ways to create such communities. An intentional community is planned, owned and managed by the residents, groups of people who want more interaction with their neighbors. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political or spiritual vision. They also share responsibilities and resources. Typically, new members of an intentional community are selected by the community’s existing membership, rather than by real-estate agents or outside land owners.

Cohousing and ecovillages are two kinds of intentional community. Cohousing is composed of private homes with full kitchens. They also include a common area which usually has a large kitchen and dining room where residents can take turns cooking for the community. Ecovillages are intended to be socially, economically and ecologically sustainable intentional communities. An ecovillage is often composed of people who have chosen a sustainable alternative to centralized power, water and sewage systems.

Arfin will also discuss“aging-in-place” projects which establish policies and programs that enable older people to remain in their own homes as long as possible. Programs like cohousing and aging-in-place projects, permit a better utilization of land for housing, reduce the need to build in ecologically-sensitive areas, and enable communities to be more intergenerationally civic-minded. Arfin believes there is a Long Island constituency for cohousing/intentional community development but there are substantial obstacles.

Arfin will discuss his recent, informal feasibility study of builders, elected and appointed officials, and community members about cohousing on Long Island. His presentation includes a video describing cohousing communities. His concept paper entitled “Eco Village – Long Island” can be found at http://www.igstrats.org/ecovillage.html Arfin’s goal is to help create Long Island ’s first cohousing community.

Arfin has served as Executive Director, Board Member and Consultant to Long Island not-for-profit organizations since 1970. He founded Suffolk County’s first youth center; established Long Island’s first dispute resolution center; its first corporate-supported intergenerational day care center; and the Island’s only home sharing program. Arfin is President/CEO of Intergenerational Strategies, a not-for-profit organization that he founded in 2002. http://www.igstrats.org Arfin has had numerous articles published including in Newsday, and the New York Times. He has appeared on many local radio and television shows. Arfin’s work has ben widely recognized, including his reception of the New York State Art of Caring Award and induction into the Long Island Volunteer Hall of Fame.

Babylon Green Party Gatherings are held on the first Wednesday of every month. The next gathering will be held on May 7, 2008, and will feature Pat Friedman talking about the proposed Trump on the Ocean Project at Jones Beach. Babylon Green Party Gatherings are held on the first Wednesday of every month. There will be no meeting on Wednesday, May 7, 2008 because the Pisces Cafe will be closed for that night. The next gathering will be held on June 4, 2008 and will feature Pat Friedman talking about the proposed Trump on the Ocean Project at Jones Beach.

The Green Party of Suffolk is now running its “End Global Warming” poster contest; holding an annual membership meeting on Saturday, March 8, 2008; and its annual fundraiser on April 26, 2008. For more information about these activities, please go to www.gpsuffolk.org or call Green Party of Suffolk Chair Roger Snyder at 631-351-5763. You can enroll in the Green Party by checking the box marked “Other” on the voter registration form and writing in the word “Green” on the line next to it. Click here to find a voter registration form. You can send donations to the Green Party of Suffolk,14 Robin Drive, Huntington, NY 11743.

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