Road Scholar Program in Portland, Oregon – Sustainability issues

March 13, 2012 by 4 Comments
Portland, a great place for a Road Scholar program on sustainability

Portland, a great place for a Road Scholar program on sustainability

Road Scholar Portland

March 16, 2012

Road Scholar
11 Avenue de Lafayette
Boston, MA 02111

Attention: Domestic Program Development

Hello!

My parents have been enjoying Road Scholar programs for many years. When planning to visit me in Portland, Oregon recently they were interested in combining their visit with one of your programs. It occurred to me that Road Scholar could offer a program around what this city is really excelling at – sustainable development, urban planning, mass transit and other related topics. I imagine participants might be interested in exploring these topics and taking some of what Portland has learned back to their own communities.

Portland has attracted some of the brightest minds in the sustainability movement. Their exciting work is creating a stir worldwide. I find living here fascinating (watch an episode of the new IFC show, Portlandia, and you’ll quickly see what I mean). I imagine some of your participants would enjoy visiting the “real” Portlandia and learning what all of the buzz is about.

Portland’s excellent food and natural attractions such as the Columbia Gorge would help make such a program quite popular.

Here are a few of the courses/topics I propose for a Portland Road Scholar program:

  • Community Gardens/Orchards
  • City Repair – a local group that works to make the city more livable cityrepair.org
  • Mass Transit – light rail/streetcars/buses = Livability – streetcars? – we make them here!
  • Depaving – removing pavement and adding in community gardens – depave.org
  • Neighborhood Councils – Portland has more than any other city and they are effective at creating change
  • Neighborhood Art Walks: Last Thursday on Alberta St., 1st Thursday in the Pearl, and more
  • Reviving main street – small businesses thrive in Portland – Buy Local Movement
  • Bike Culture – seeing Portland by bike
  • Tree planting (Friends of Trees) and other eco-conscious ways that the City’s infrastructure is being improved – stormwater, bioswales…
  • Hi-tech: Portland is a center for technical innovation. Participants could take part in social networking classes, learning how to document their Portland experience and share it with friends. I’ve been teaching classes in this since 2009 and I would love to offer my services.
  • Portlandia behind the scenes – why is Portlandia funny? A Portlandia screening in an old movie theater and then visits to some of the places shown in the series
  • McMenamins– This thriving local empire restores local movie theaters, chapels, and lodges into thriving brewpubs, restaurants, and hotels. Their success speaks to Portland’s appreciation of history and culture of creative reuse.
  • The Re-Building Center – the reuse of building materials
  • Portland’s quality-of-life values: getting rid of the freeway separating downtown from the river led to many other improvements and helps make Portland one of the most livable cities in the United States. See also: our amazing urban growth boundary
  • Farmers Markets, food carts, local restaurants
  • Ecstatic and Tango dance – both are experiencing steady growth in Portland (we are also the center for NIA and other body movement therapies)
  • Alternative medicine –Portland’s alternative healthcare scene is thriving (acupuncture, massage, watsu, etc.)

These are some sample topics. I can imagine many more which could contribute to an evolving program for those who visit Portland.

As a 10-year Portland resident (17 in 2018) and an avid networker, I have contacts with many experts on the above topics who would serve as excellent teachers. I would be glad to coordinate any and all aspects of this project and am also excited to collaborate on another Portland skill! I have long had an interest in teaching retired people life skills and this course could include tracks in financial management, alternative healthcare choices, and other later in life skills.

Portland is a special place. It’s repeatedly listed as one of the most desirable places to live in the United States. If this idea interests Road Scholar let’s discuss the idea further. I hope we can make a Road Scholar Portland Sustainable City program happen. And, I’m sure my parents; Rich and Hannah Kaufman will be the first to sign up!

Sincerely,

Albert Kaufman

2020 Update: I resubmitted this idea to the organization which has a local office in the Portland area. Still, no dice.

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Tree Planting Success 2012

March 12, 2012 by 1 Comment

Tree Planting Success!Albert's Tree with color

We had a great tree planting in Irvington, Sabin, Grant Park, and Alameda neighborhoods last weekend (March 10, 2012). thanks are in order! Here are some of the folks we want to thank!

  1. Friends of Trees Staff – esp. Jesse Batty and Erica Timm – for leading the charge and making the event go so smoothly.
  2. Eric McClelland and Marai Boamod – who drove the rental truck to Molalla and back and picked up our trees!
  3. To our fabulous local businesses who donated food and drink for the breakfast and lunches: Whole Foods, Helen Bernhard Bakery, Costello’s Travel Caffe, Caffe D’arte, Peet’s Coffee on NE Broadway, Kettleman’s Bagels
  4. To the Holladay Park Church of God which has housed the event 2 years in a row. thank you!
  5. To our 150 volunteers who gather early on a Saturday morning and head out into the day and planted the trees – thanks for your labor and generous spirit!
  6. To neighbors who made food and donated food – the soups and chilis and stews were delicious, thank you!
  7. To Holli Talkington who photographed our day!
  8. The members of the band: Ten Spiders – we loved your music! Ten Spiders is available for hire – a great addition to just about any occasion.
  9. To Alan Rahi and his partner Mira Eng-Goetz for designing and printing over 150 shirts for us! If you didn’t pick yours up it is probably waiting for you at the Friends of Trees office.
  10. To my fellow neighborhood coordinators: Lisa, Malcha, and Neil, who do a lot of behind the scenes work to make the planting go well – esp. including picking up the food donations and calling in utility locations.

I’m sure there are more people to thank, please feel free to add them into the comment section.  And, I’ll add more pictures here as they come in!  Thanks, everyone for your help in adding to Portland’s canopy.

This year’s planting featured the volunteer effort of many young people.  I’ve never seen that many young people volunteering together before – it was impressive. Someday I hope that these young people will come back and visit the trees they planted and smile.

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Albert on TV – 2011

December 12, 2011 by 1 Comment

Albert Kaufman, Jim Lockhart and Richard Carpenter on today’s issues – Portland Cable Access TV – Fall, 2011

I took part in a show with Jim Lockhart and Richard Carpenter recently to discuss population growth and other environmental issues.  I got to be the star and so thought I’d put this out into cyberspace for my own record of my current thinking and hopefully to entertain and enlighten others.  Let me know what you think.

TV

https://youtu.be/bfA44l5R6Xw

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Portland Chiropractic Recommendations

July 31, 2011 by Leave a Comment
I’m looking for a chiropractor recommendation for today in PDX. Do you have one? The two I’d choose are either busy or out of town. Thanks!

Friday at 9:15am · Privacy: · Like · 

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My birthday is May 11th – garden celebration on May 14th, too!

April 27, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Turning 50! birthdayMy 50th birthday is on May 11th! I am organizing some times and places to celebrate – join me in person in Portlandia if you can!

Wednesday, May 11th – Albert turns 50! No big plans for the day yet, but in the evening… Ecstatic dance at the Village Ballroom’s Mindful Meltdown Dance at Dekum and 7th NE at 6:30-8:30pm ($8-$12 I believe) – DJ Chris Browne will be spinning the tunes and I’m doing the “intention” – living a bigger, bolder life! Also, I’ve invited those who are also turning 50 this year to come and join in the fun – so if that’s you, please get in touch!

Afterwards, join us for dinner at Queen of Sheba Ethiopian Restaurant @ 2413 NE Martin Luther King Blvd. (note restaurant change).  We’ll gather from 8:30-10pm. Also, you can just come and join us and not eat, that’s fine, too. Yay!

Then, on Saturday, May 14th, come to the new Birthday Garden, 3rd and Hancock NE. From 9am to 4pm we’ll use shovels and other implements of farming to build up some garden beds, shovel compost and turn a big lot into a community garden. I could use some help organizing the day – need someone to fetch a bbq from SE and perhaps others to help create a rain protection system (big tent? Tarp?) in case it rains. From 4-6pm we’ve reserved the Common Grounds Wellness Center on 33rd and Alberta, NE, so 40+ lucky people will get to soak together which should be a blast. I’m still working out the details of food and drink and live music for the day, but things are coming together.

7pm, Saturday, May 14th, healthy potluck dinner and party at The Happy Clam – 1823 NE 13th Ave.

Albert Kaufman
1823 NE 13th Ave.
Portland, OR 97212
albertkaufman@gmail.com

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

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Friends of Trees March 12th Planting in Irvington – update!

January 13, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Planting Trees in IrvingtonTree Woman - Oxygen

Hi there,

Here’s an update I sent to my Irvington neighbors about our upcoming tree planting. I invite you to come to our planting on Saturday, March 12th and plant some trees with us!

1. I’d like to have t-shirts made for our tree planting. I’m going to talk to the board of the Irvington N’hood Association tonight (1/13) at their meeting at the Irvington School at 7pm about this and give them an update on the tree planting – come join me if you’d like to speak in favor of this idea or just to meet your neighbors.

2. if you haven’t picked out your tree yet, or just love to learn about trees, there will be a presentation by the fantastic (really) Jim Gersbach on 1.20. Info here

3. If you’re interested in planting a tree in your yard or planting strip, time to order is now. Please click here and order your trees – times running out to be a part of this year’s planting – click here

4. If you’d like to help me canvas NE Broadway businesses for food/drink donations for the day of planting, please email me back.

5. Next Tuesday (1/18), @ 5:30, I’ll be meeting with the other FOT n’hood coordinators from Sabin, Grant and Alameda and Jesse from FOT to talk about our planting and things we need to do before then. If you’d like to come and join us, you’re welcome.

6. Got a pick up truck we can use on the day of the planting? Great, let me know!

7. I hope you had a great New years and are enjoying 2011. If you’re curious who I am and what I’m about in the world, please have a peek at my newsletter, the Eleven, which comes out every month. If you want to receive the newsletter, just let me know. https://tinyurl.com/oneeleveneleven

Thanks for helping to make our corner of the world a little greener and possibly a little sweeter (think about planting fruit trees 🙂

Sincerely,

Albert Kaufman
Irvington Friends of Trees
Neighborhood Coordinator

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