North Coast rice industry A North Coast bio-dynamic rice grower is proving that there is a rice market in northern NSW. Fairy Hill farmer Brett Slater has built the first rice mill for the region, at a cost of $500,000, giving other rice growers in the region a confidence boost in the emerging industry. (Friday September 3rd, 2010 – ABC Local - Australia)

Boys stay in the loop in knitting class At Honolulu's Waldorf school, they de-emphasize laptop learning for more hands-on lessons. In Mrs. Altwies' third grade, they're spinning a yarn over knitting class, and boys seem to have a knack for it. "Some of the best knitters are the boys. And the most enthusiastic," says Frances Altwies, who's been teaching in the Waldorf school system for 30 years. From first through eighth grades, all the students learn to knit, crochet, sew, and stitch. Knit one, purl two isn't part of art class at the Niu Valley school. The hand work is woven into the school curriculum. (Thursday September 2nd, 2010 – Hawaii News Now - Honolulu, Hawaii USA)

Charter school uses Waldorf color ideas n Waldorf education, the color of the rainbow is a metaphor for the development of a child's mind, and the colors of Waldorf classroom walls follow that progression. Each color of the rainbow affects a child's physiology and psychology, according to Austrian philosopher Rudolph Steiner, who developed the Waldorf concept in 1919. That's why Steiner prescribed certain colors for certain grade levels, a color scheme Waldorf schools, such as Central Point's Madrone Trail Public Charter School, have been following for nearly a century. (Monday August 23rd, 2010 – Mail Tribune - Medford, Oregon USA)

Technology titans unplug their kids Silicon Valley is the world’s tech capital, so you might think technology would be a key part of the curriculum in schools there. But, while savvy high-tech leaders may make a living off of innovations, when it comes to educating their children, some people are choosing to take an alternative route. Journalist Dan Fost has found several technology bigwigs who've chosen tech-free environments like Waldorf schools for their kids' education. Fost's reporting shows that some of the chief individuals promoting technology — even in the classroom — are making the opposite choice in their own life. So what do they know that we don't? (Monday August 23rd, 2010 – Crosscurrents from KALW News - California USA)

The age of anxiety The tomatoes are green but filling out nicely and we might at last be able to think of harvesting some soon. The past four crops have fallen to site blight and I admit the wet weather has me worried (how is it where you are?). Mary has been busy spraying Bordeaux mixture as she is going to be away for a while, but remember biodynamic growers being very wary of this so have again steered clear. (Monday August 23rd, 2010 – The Guardian - UK)

Pure Mendocino comes to Ukiah The sixth annual Pure Mendocino organic dinner will be held Saturday, Aug. 28 at the Dark Horse Vineyard on Old River Road, above the Talmage Bench. The event is a benefit for the Cancer Resource Centers of Mendocino County. It will showcase the Dolan family's biodynamic farm, and honor the work of eight Mendocino County farm projects which are models for organic production. (Sunday August 22nd, 2010 – Ukiah Daily Journal - Ukiah , California USA)

How does your garden grow? The Alabama Waldorf School, currently located in Crestwood, is one example of a local school attempting to cultivate an attention to the earth in its students that runs deep. “What I love about this [kind of education] is that the students are encouraged to have an interconnection to everything they learn,” says Michelle Lucas, third grade teacher at the Waldorf School. “It’s not shallow memorizing. It’s experiencing what they learn and really taking it into themselves and finding out that they can do something with it. I think it will create active, intelligent, involved human beings.” (Saturday August 21st, 2010 – Birmingham Weekly - Birmingham, Alabama USA)

New School Sprouts in Bridgehampton Directed by Lisa Bono, a certified and experienced Waldorf trained early childhood educator and the founding teacher of New Amsterdam Early Childhood Center in New York City, last year Our Sons and Daughters expanded into an early childhood program for parents and children at a private home. This year, after incorporating and applying to the New York State Education Department for a provisional charter, the organization hopes to create a private pre-school with facilities at the Hayground School in Bridgehampton. (Saturday August 21st, 2010 – The Sag Harbor Express - Sag Harbor, New York USA)

The Aquarium Shark When I trained in Anthroposophical Medicine in Germany, they taught that if everything you have done has created this reality of illness/life-dysfunction, then if you want a new and better reality of health/functional-life, then you must change everything you are doing. (Friday August 20th, 2010 – Planet Thrive - Wichita, Kansas USA)

Madrone Trail's building wish answered by donor Even before Medford's Madrone Trail Public Charter School became a reality three years ago, organizer Gesine Abraham envisioned the school's future unfolding in only one setting: the old West Side School. ... An anonymous benefactor recently made Abraham's dream come true. The Waldorf-style school, which is free of charge for pupils in grades K-5, has purchased the old West Side School, 3070 Ross Lane, from the Medford School District for $650,000. (Thursday August 19th, 2010 – Mail Tribune - Medford, Oregon USA)

Spotlight on Local Agriculture Patrick Moser and Elizabeth Elliott, owners of Patrick’s Ha‘ikū Biodynamic Farm, produce biodynamically grown fruits and vegetables on a small farm on Maui’s North Shore. It’s a safe guess that the average consumer may not be familiar with the Biodynamic approach to farming, and Moser is happy to provide an explanation—and if you’re lucky, a sample or two of his harvest. “Essentially, biodynamic farming and gardening looks upon the soil and the farm as living organisms,” said Moser. “It regards maintenance and furtherance of soil life as a basic necessity if the soil is to be preserved for generations, and it regards the farm as being true to its essential nature if it can be conceived of as a kind of individual entity in itself,” he said. (Thursday August 19th, 2010 – Maui Weekly - Hawaii USA)

Tacoma’s Waldorf School settles into a fresh location After close to 20 years of operation, Tacoma’s Waldorf School is making room for expansion. The small, independent school with classes taught in the expressive, art and relationship-centric Waldorf style, has moved to a new location in time for the 2010-11 school year. (Thursday August 19th, 2010 – Tacoma Weekly - Tacoma, Washington USA)

Candlenut Steiner School Steps Up To World Green Stage Candlenut Steiner School will host the 10th Australasian Permaculture Convergence next month, attracting speakers from around the world including actress and prominent environmental activist Daryl Hannah. From September 24 to 27, Candlenut School's tranquil rainforest setting in Kuranda will become a hive of activity as leading environmentalists and enthusiasts from around the world discuss sustainability and general regional solutions to the challenges presented by climate change, depleted energy stores and other pressing environmental issues. (Wednesday August 18th, 2010 – e-Travel Blackboard - Australia)

Sculptures in the house There are also “small pieces” made from a combination of wood and marble that could easily be placed on display on a tabletop. It’s collectively known as the Saturn Series and shows Pilapil’s current interest in cosmology and Anthroposophy (a philosophy that seeks to guide man’s spiritual element to the spiritual in the universe). “All the pieces show strength and fluidity and are very timeless,” says Rosales, noting that these very qualities are commendable for Filipinos who are searching for quality pieces that could grace both the indoor and outdoor spaces of their homes. (Wednesday August 18th, 2010 – Manila Bulletin - Philippines)

Farming by the rhythms of nature Exploring the world of biodynamic farming. (Sunday August 15th, 2010 – Helsinki Times - Helsinkii Finaland)

Waldorf-inspired school to open doors The story of the founding of Birchtree Charter School seems destined for a happy ending... The teachers just wrapped up their three-week training with Waldorf instructors, some of whom came up from Outside. In a nutshell, Waldorf seeks to meet kids where they’re at developmentally, delaying certain subjects until children can better understand and master them. It also incorporates topics like ancient myths, music, handicrafts and art into the curriculum. Teachers stay with their students through multiple grade levels. (Sunday August 15th, 2010 – Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman - Alaska)

Judge Revokes Approval of Modified Sugar Beets A federal district court judge revoked the government’s approval of genetically engineered sugar beets Friday, saying that the Agriculture Department had not adequately assessed the environmental consequences before approving them for commercial cultivation. The decision, by Judge Jeffrey S. White of Federal District Court in San Francisco, appears to effectively ban the planting of the genetically modified sugar beets, which make up about 95 percent of the crop, until the Agriculture Department prepares an environmental impact statement and approves the crop again, a process that might take a couple of years. (Saturday August 14th, 2010 – The New York Times - New York, New York USA)

BWW Reviews: Driver and Greene's TWILIGHT OF THE GODS from Blackbird Theater Read more: http://nashville.broadwayworld.com/arti Blackbird Theater, the newest member of Nashville's burgeoning community of theater companies, makes an auspicious debut with the premiere of Wes Driver and Greg Greene's smartly written new script - Twilight of the Gods ............ Set in a Victorian-era manor in the present, Twilight of the Gods focuses on a group of 13 people brought together by their shared dream of Utopia (or perhaps it's a far more nefarious vision that binds them so closely together). The group is made up of such noteworthy historical figures as Edgar Allan Poe, Rasputin, Annie Oakley, Mary Baker Eddy, H.G. Wells, Florence Nightingale, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Friderich Nietzshe and Mark Twain. Emily Dickinson, Jack the Ripper and Houdini also figure in the play's action, along with the group's leader Rudolf Steiner, a leading member of Austria's intelligentsia, who at the beginning of the 20th century founded a new spiritual movement called "anthroposophy," that grew from European transcendentalism. It's that historical reality that provides the basis for the murder mystery that grows and grows (not unlike Topsy - speaking of which, where are Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Ward Beecher or Bronson Alcott in this group of high-minded, worldly thinkers - in the sequel, perhaps?) throughout Twilight of the Gods. (Friday August 13th, 2010 – Broadway World - )

Northeast Portland Waldorf school Shining Star believes there is education in play time, lessons in nature Shining Star, a Waldorf school in the heart of Northeast Portland for preschoolers through fourth grade, is taking steps to counteract the trend. As school officials see it, play is not only important, but it is how children learn in many different ways. (Friday August 13th, 2010 – OregonLive.com - Portland, Oregon USA)

Cream of the crop enjoy new garden It was a huge piece of forgotten land that had not been used for decades. Now, just a few months after work started, it has been transformed into a community garden and is set to appear on national TV... Volunteers have included the Columcille Centre in Morningside - a voluntary sector organisation for people with learning disabilities; pupils at Edinburgh Rudolf Steiner School and Craiglockhart Primary; and the Edinburgh Cyrenians Trust, which is managing the project. (Thursday August 12th, 2010 – Scotsman - UK)