Community Land Trusts & Affordable Housing

In this episode, we talk about community land trusts, affordable housing, food access, and energy democracy. A lot in a short amount of time! We hear from Greg Watson, the current Curator of the World Game Workshop and World Grid Project at the Schumacher Center for New Economics, focusing on community food systems and the intersections between local and geo-economic systems. Drawing inspiration from Buckminster Fuller, he has dedicated nearly 40 years to mastering systems thinking, aiming to contribute to a just and sustainable world. His impactful career includes serving as the first Executive Director of the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust and later at the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, where he initiated one of the nation's earliest urban agriculture programs. Watson's expertise extends to national initiatives, including a key role in the U.S. Department of Energy transition team under President-elect Barack Obama in 2008. In 2015, he founded the Cuba-U.S. Agroecology Network (CUSAN) following an enlightening trip to Cuba exploring its agroecology system.
We also hear from Frank Lowenstein, Senior Director at RARE and former COO of the New England Forestry Foundation, spearheading RARE's Climate Culture initiative in Boston. This international conservation organization focuses on social change for the environment, directing individual actions on diet, transportation, energy use, and nature support for collective impact. Lowenstein brings experience and success in climate science and policy, land conservation, non-profit management, communications, and fundraising. The Harvard University graduate previously served as a global climate adaptation leader for The Nature Conservancy and as a senior fellow in the US Dept. of State’s Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas. He also serves as faculty in the Masters of Sustainability program at Harvard University Extension School.

Redefining Conservation is written, edited, and produced by the staff and volunteers of Sierra Club Maine, including Nyalat Biliew, Matthew Cannon, Nasreen Sheikh-Yousef, Anna Siegal, Philip Mathieu, Grace Deng, Minot Weld. It was recorded at WMPG in Portland, ME. Our theme music was composed by Nathan Kroms Davis.

Head to sierraclub.org/maine to learn more about how you can get involved with environmental activism in your community. Questions or comments? Submit them here or email us at [e-mail].