Live More Lightly Workshops - Live More Lightly

Home

Welcome to the Live More Lightly Project

Thank you for visiting my site. My name is Victoria and I am deeply concerned about the future of our environment.

The majority of people in the Western world now realize there is a problem — but few feel empowered to take action. I believe that there are many small, easy actions that each individual can do to “Live More Lightly”.

After many years of research and changing my lifestyle to minimize my own impact on planetary resources as much as possible, the idea of writing a song to encourage others to take action resulted in the Live More Lightly Project.

The “Live More Lightly Project” is designed to encourage and assist others in making these small changes that can make such a huge difference in our future survival.

Live More Lightly -workshp-info

Live More Lightly on WOOLOO

I have just entered a competition to present my Live More Lightly Workshop in Copenhagen as part of the cultural activities surrounding the United Nations (UN) Conference for Climate Change in Copenhagen, Denmark from December 9th to 18th, 2009.

Check out my site on WOOLOO

Call for Proposals
Wooloo.org
(Berlin )

Following the great success of Woolo.org’s contemporary art festival in Berlin in 2008, we are proud to present NEW LIFE COPENHAGEN 2099 (yes, 2099).

NEW LIFE COPENHAGEN 2099 will take place as official part of the cultural program for the United Nations (UN) Conference for Climate Change in Copenhagen, Denmark from December 9th to 18th, 2009.

To challenge the discourse surrounding our future co-existence on this planet – while simultaneously questioning the forms of governance being produced by the UN’s nation-based power structure – NEW LIFE COPENHAGEN has adopted the general theme of “2099”.

The festival curators invites artists to submit proposals for products, life styles and everyday interventions, as they could look and function in the year 2099.

GO TO www.wooloo.org to read more and submit a proposal.

Website: http://www.wooloo.org

It would be very exciting to present a workshop in Copenhagen. We really need to adopt a greener lifestyle and I provide simple ways to do that. Many people are afraid environmentally friendly living is expensive, but some of these actions save money. Always good in these difficult times.

I am currently looking at new templates and redesigning the Live More Lightly site to be more user friendly and offer more features than just a blog. WordPress is very powerful and I am just learning how to use some of the more advanced features.

There have been some developments in my artistic practice and I invite you to check out my other site Sound+Light+Motion on www.vix.ca.

Live More Lightly_Green 365@VCC

I had so much fun doing the Live More Lightly Workshop at Vancouver Community College! Many thanks to staff and student assistants who were very supportive. I was able to give away a handout of an excerpt from my upcoming book, the “Live More Lightly Songbook and Workshop Guide”. The book contains a chapter giving helpful suggestions that are easy to integrate into our lives. The “Many Small Things That We Each Can Do” handout was very popular and many were given away. At least two teachers want to use it as resource material for their class.

The photo below is of student helpers, Ting Ting (left, holding poster) and Yushu (right, holding handout).

Both Yushu and Ting Ting Enjoyed the song and helped me to find participants. My Hitachi video camcorder is working flawlessly now and I have the cable to download the video into my computer. It will take a bit of time to edit, but I will post some video very soon. I was lucky enough to buy a really good used tripod so I could set up the camera and use the remote. This is not the best way to do a video, but I hope to have enough good footage to make a short clip for the blog.

The photos of me were taken by a friend of mine with my camera. I will ask him if he wants to be credited, but I thank him for coming down and taking some great images of the event. I took the rest of the photos and I have been learning a lot about photography that I will share in future posts.

This is a photo of me choosing a participant to make their pledge. For more information about the workshop and the multi-media book please click on the links.

To invite Victoria to do a workshop with your organization please e-mail info(at)livemorelightly.com – just put in @ instead of (at)

Enjoy the photo gallery or read more about the event by clicking below. I am using the NExtGen Gallery plug-in and there seems to be some problems with the slideshow not functioning properly. Try clicking on an image and holding the left mouse button down.

The Vancouver Community College Student Union organized a “Water Taste Test” that was very popular. The idea was to find out if people could tell the difference between bottled water and tap water.

The goal was to discourage bottled water use. They attempted to prove that tap water was drinkable and free compared to bottled water, which is not much different and costs money. They cited statistics of a high percentage of water bottles being sent to landfills because they do not require a deposit. This fit in very well with the Live More Lightly pledge to bring a container for your drink – coffee or water.

There were many other activities and exhibits and many of the other exhibitors participated in the song.

Live More Lightly at Vancouver Community College

Vancouver Community College is having a celebration and I have been invited to present my workshop as part of the activities for students.

The theme of the Sustainability Fair, “Green 365 @VCC” fits in perfectly with the idea that we can live more lightly. I will be handing out my sheets with 50 things that “we each can do” on April 28th at the Broadway Campus (aka King Edward Campus) 1155 East Broadway and on April 29th at the Downtown Campus, 250 West Pender Street. Contact info and map here. Song performances will occur at noon and 12:45pm, so participants are welcome to come down and sing!

I am really excited about this opportunity and hope that many of the students will get involved.

Earth Day is coming up

Earth Day is an international celebration of the environmental movement. I am currently seeking a venue to do my Live More Lightly Workshop and will post the info here when it is finalized.

Last year I went with my daughter, Lung and another friend of theirs to the celebration at Jericho Beach. It is the largest one in Vancouver, put on by Evergreen a group that I know because of their wonderful work in renovating school grounds to have more plants and trees. This will be their 9th Annual event in Jericho Park where they plan to plant trees and other plants and host a celebration from 11am – 4pm on Saturday, April 18, 2009.

Live More Lightly Progress Report

It has been hard to get the time to devote to the Live More Lightly Project as I have been doing more music. I also have had to spend more time working on my contract employment as the downturn in the economy really affects the contractors first. Here are some quick notes:

Art Starts in Schools will not showcase the project this year. It is really kind of outside of their main focus. Usually artists come in and do a performance for the assembled school for an hour or so. I want to do a workshop with a smaller group of kids so it becomes more of a challenge to organize and deliver.

The Vancouver School Board does have an Artist-in-residence Program that I was a part of for two years back in the late 1990s. It is a really excellent program that supports the artist to work with the students for a series of sessions. It is a good fit with the Live More Lightly Project, but they may not have any openings in the music area for a while.

The Girl Guides and Boy Scouts of Canada I am currently preparing promotional material to send out to the main office of these organizations. Hopefully, I will be able to do a couple of demo workshops and get some video for promotional purposes. If they are enthusiastic, I might be able to obtain some support.

I have contacted a few church groups, but as the message is not religious, they don’t seem to be too interested.

I will keep trying to reach more groups and appreciate any ideas you may have.

Motivation and Project Management

In the depths of an snow fall that is very unusual for Vancouver, I am continuing to work on the Live More Lightly Project. The blog is more than a year old now and significant progress has been made on developing the project.

The Live More Lightly Workshop has been presented in an elementary school and a demo video has been produced. Unfortunately, due to completely justifiable concerns about putting images of children on the internet, I cannot post the demo. However, I do have a supportive testimonial from the teachers here.

The book project has been refined into three versions:

The Live More Lightly Songbook and Workshop Guide
The Live More Lightly Book of Choral Arrangements
Study Guide for the Live More Lightly Workshop

The Study Guide is a requirement for ArtStarts in Schools Touring Artists and I have used the video (with permission) in my application to become part of their booking program. I will have to produce Book #3 (Study Guide) first because there is a need for it to accompany workshops that I am involved in presenting. Book #1 is intended for use by groups who want to do a workshop without me and Book #2 (the choral guide) contains arrangements for organized choral groups who have some musical training and a conductor.

The book has been taking a substantial amount of work, but even more work has gone into the image capture and documentary part of the project. I have ordered the additional parts I need for the Blu-ray video camera and they should be delivered soon. My two Canon still cameras are functioning, but I really feel I need an upgrade so I can take better quality photos. Shooting in RAW is a requirement and I have found a Ubuntu Linux program that claims to handle RAW formats. I have been studying photography by asking a lot of questions and experimenting with different techniques. Now I am about to begin with video again, not just editing, but shooting. As soon as I get the parts for the video camera I will start recording video from my propane powered van and start to coordinate the streaming concept.

It all keeps me very busy. My next post will contain photos of my Yamaha FJ in storage with the new Renntec crash bars and carry rack installed. Simon worked on my bike before it was parked and it rides like a new machine. Still working on the luggage problem, but now the carry rack should help with the planning. A future post on the MPEG4 always-on low resolution camera system will be next because several new products have been recently introduced. I will not make a decision until spring as I expect that the latest technology will be the best choice.

A summer tour seems so far away on this solstice afternoon, but I know that there is a massive amount of work to do so that I can be ready for the journey. Sometimes it is hard for me to be strongly motivated to continue to work, but evaluating the progress thus far helps me re-group and continue onwards.

All the best of the holiday season to everyone. Drive carefully and Live More Lightly.

Bringing the World Together

I attended a workshop on grant writing yesterday and I realized I have to be able to convey the idea behind my whole project more clearly. So I am going to post some other projects that I have been paying attention to that have had some impact on the world.

Where the Hell is Matt?”

When my daughter told me about Matt, I didn’t get it. She invited me to come down to the beach and dance with this young man who was traveling all over the world dancing with people. No, he is not a great dancer. I didn’t get it — I didn’t go. That’s my daughter in the red skirt, front left, on the beach in Vancouver.

Where the Hell is Matt 2008

Matt brought the world together with his little dance. There is such joy in the act of Matt doing his dance from the heart that it refreshes my belief in humanity. I believe that behind the power struggles and the greed — we are all one people. When I saw the video — I got the message.

Playing for Change

Here is another group that is doing video of pop songs, like “Stand By Me” (Ben E. King) and “One Love” (Bob Marley) performed by musicians all over the world playing together through the wonders of technology. They all appear in their own country playing their instrument on the same song playing with the musicians that have already been recorded.

They have a great site and the passion to show that music can cross borders that have been created by the power structure to connect us.

Live More Lightly

The completed Live More Lightly song 6 minute video will show me singing, joined by one person, then by another, then by all the workshop participants that want to be in the video. As each workshop will be different, it probably won’t be as smooth in transition as the Playing for Change videos, but if I get some funding I can make better video. The first one will be a do-it -yourself demo, but I hope to have it ready for the start of the tour in 2009.

The documentary movie will be about the journey across the continent in 2009 to bring the diverse age groups, cultures, ethnic backgrounds and others (basically everybody I can get) together to Live More Lightly on the land one small action at a time. I want to show lots of great environmental footage of natural scenes so everyone will know why we should save the planet. I anticipate that 90 minutes of singing, workshop events, beautiful scenery and on-bike motorcycle riding should be about right.

The motorcycle tour is a small portion of this project, but it has been taking a lot to coordinate. I could just go in my van to do the workshops, but the motorcycle is much more environmentally friendly.

I also hope to be able to be the first person to stream live video from a moving motorcycle to a satellite without a truck. The Grand Prix racers have on-bike cameras that stream to a nearby truck that carries a satellite dish, like the one pictured below. This huge dish with signal amplification allows them to send a broadcast quality signal to the satellite. From the satellite the signal can be received at the television station for editing or routed into the broadcast signal as live coverage. A higher quality signal (broadcast television) takes more power, so a larger amplifier and more microwaves, than a low quality signal (webcam).

Due to microwave radiation from this type of dish, it is against Canadian law to mount it lower than 4ft off the ground. This dish, when fully extended is well above the heads of any concert goers and is considered safe. I don’t even like to carry my cell phone in my pocket, but for the sale of art, I plan to innundate myself with microwaves from a portable modem. Basic outline of streaming requirements here.

Many motorcyclists have mounted cameras on their bike and there are a lot of videos on the internet of intense riding. Depending on your area of interest there are many to choose from. One other Vancouver rider, Jeff has captured a lot of scenic footage from his Harley on VRide TV. I love the smoothness of his ride as it makes for great video as I already described here. I am on a more limited budget with my old Yamaha FJ1200, but I hope to be able to get some great nature footage for the documetary. Still working on the streaming aspect. I will keep you posted.

Knight News Challenge 2008

It is time again for the Knight News Challenge, a contest that funds ideas for using open source internet tools.

Funded by the Knight Foundation, the contest seeks to assist the development of internet news that serves a constituency of readers.

There are only four rules. Winning entries must:

   1. Use or create digital, open-source technology;
   2. Use news and information to serve the public interest;
   3. Benefit at least one specific geographic community;
   4. Be innovative.

The Live More Lightly Project entered an application last year, but was unsuccessful. This year, I will try to make the case that I [Victoria] am an internet griot or troubador who is delivering the message of personal responsibility for the environment. Changing the world, one personal action at a time.

The project has evolved since last year, but because I have received no funding, my progress has been slower than I hoped. I will post my application here for comment.

Live More Lightly Knight News Challenge Application — You still have time to vote for me.

I only asked for $5,000. because that would be enough to do the tour and really investigate the on-line streaming video concept. Unfortunately, I have been turned down again. I will keep on trying to get the needed funding to complete my project.

School Workshop in Powell River

It rained on the Sunshine coast, then it poured. My trusty motorcycle held the road and responded to my needs. I remembered the good advice I had received long ago from a trucker. “Never out run your lights”. I kept the throttle to a point where I could follow the cat’s eyes shining yellow/orange on the centre line.

The amazing thing is that I didn’t get really wet. I am wearing my summer mesh jacket over a fleecy, but if I lean on my tank bag the windshield and my full-face helmet keep a lot of the rain off my upper body. The rain brought warmer temperatures too. I thought I would get really cold in the clear night after I missed the earlier late-afternoon ferry while sitting in rush-hour traffic. When did the traffic get this bad going to the North Shore? I never want to have a job where I have to drive in rush hour everyday, but with an air-cooled bike it was not going to work.

I used every back road trick I know and still ended up in a line-up that really worried me, especially when the bike started to smoke a bit. Yipes! I was really glad to get over the 2nd Narrows Ironworkers Memorial Bridge and cool off my distressed engine.

I caught the last possible ferry out of Horseshoe Bay to Langdale and when I got off that ferry, it was dark and misting heavily. I knew my bike would be cool at least, so I rode that twisty highway at an unhurried pace. I arrived at the north end of the coast and met a friendly ferry worker who rides a collector-plated Bonneville. He let me go in the office and gave me tea. Bless his heart, he told me stories of riding before I was even born.

Now I am in Powell River, surprised at how warm and dry I remained. I hope my computer didn’t get too wet. It will be wrapped in plastic in future until I get my hard bags. So far, this is The Live More Lightly Tour ’08!

Here is a brief excerpt of the teacher’s opinion of the Live More Lightly Workshop. I am delivering the DVD of the two sessions I did to try to arrange more workshops, so wish me luck.

lml_teachers