Activist Center
Create an Eden in Your Neighborhood
Eden Builder's Tool Kit
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Create an Eden in Your Neighborhood
Edens Lost & Found, the PBS Series with companion book, is the inspiring story of ordinary citizens in four great American cities—Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Seattle—who have stepped forward to improve the quality of life in their communities. Filmmakers and authors Harry Wiland and Dave Bell highlight practical solutions and models for urban transformation that go beyond pollution prevention to tackle the challenge of improving the quality of life in cities for ourselves and future generations. As they grow rooftop and urban gardens, restore parks, transform vacant lots, and devise new watershed management systems, these urbanites are building strong relationships and healthy living spaces. Edens Lost & Found will inspire you to find ways to get active in your own community. Find out more about the Edens Lost & Found project at chelseagreen.com.
Small Acts of Eden
Edens Lost & Found is a national movement. The book and PBS series focus on four cities, but the spirit of Edens applies to communities across America. Edens Lost & Found has moved you to take action, so help spread the word. Get the ball rolling in your community. Visit www.edenslostandfound.org for Action Guides and much more.
Action Items
- Donate a copy of Edens to your school or community library.
- Share the free Edens Teachers’ Guide with your local schools
- Send a copy to your mayor or city councilperson
- Use a book and a DVD and host a house party with friends to discuss the importance of sustainable community
- Tell your PBS affiliate that you loved Edens Lost & Found!
- Donate a book or DVD to a community nonprofit doing urban restoration work
- Request that your local bookstore stock Edens
- Blog about Edens Lost & Found
- Write a letter to your newspaper about Edens Lost & Found
- Sign up for the Chelsea Green e-newsletter to receive news about all our sustainability-related titles (scroll to bottom of this page to sign up)
Step 1: Have an Edens house party
Gather your core group of supporters for a visioning and brainstorming party. Get 5 Edens Lost & Found books and a DVD at 25% off the retail price (contact Michael Weaver for info). Do you want to build a gathering place? Protect a natural place or resource? Grow food? Create a vision that meets the needs of the community.
Step 2: Solicit broader support as you organize. Plant seeds!
Who are the local networks working to promote sustainability and community restoration? And what can they do to support your efforts? Publicize your efforts—from the bulletin board at the local library or coop, to the city newspaper. Send a copy of Edens to your city councilperson. Request the book at your local library. Team up with your community school by inviting classes to participate in your project. Download the free Teachers’ Guide and share it with teachers at your local school. Become an outreach partner organization of Edens Lost & Found.
Step 3: Screen the Edens DVD
Host a party and screen an Edens DVD. If you need funds for your project, sell the book as a revenue producer. The DVD will inspire people to support creative community-building efforts in your city.
Receive a 50% discount on 25 books and 10 or more DVDs purchased for fundraising—sell them at the event, on your website, or through your newsletter. Every sale is a $20 donation. Or offer the book as a premium gift to inspire bigger contributions from your donors—they give $100 and get a free book. For bulk ordering information contact Michael Weaver at mweaver@chelseagreen.com.
Step 4: Make your dream a reality
Set a date to begin your project. Invite community members and supporters to participate. Make it a festive, celebratory, community-building effort. Set clear goals for the day—"we're going to clear this vacant lot for our community garden today" or "we're going to plant 20 trees in our park today." Most importantly, have fun building relationships with your neighbors.
Step 5: Tell us about it
Share your experience with others who are working on their own Edens project. Let them know what worked and what didn't. Inspire someone else to action, just as you were inspired by Edens Lost & Found. E-mail Minda at Chelsea Green. We'll post your story and pictures at our site.
You can use Edens Lost & Found as the centerpiece of a fundraiser for your organization. Host a screening of Edens and sell the book and DVD afterward. Or sell them through your web site or newsletter. Another option is to offer Edens as a premium to those who donate generously to your organization.
How it works
Receive a 50% discount on 25 books and 10 or more DVDs purchased for fundraising. Sell the books at regular price and each sale is then a $20 donation to your organization. Or offer the book as a premium gift to inspire bigger contributions from your donors—they give $100 and get a free book. For bulk ordering information contact Michael Weaver at mweaver@chelseagreen.com.
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