Parenting for Peace
Parenting for Peace is a speaker series intended to bring issues of interest to parents in the Greater Portland community. Initiated by Kim Simmons, a parent and member of the Board of Directors, the series started in May of 2009 and is offered free to the public.
The next in the series is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, October 19, 2010. The topic will be "place-based education." Details will be posted by September.
The Ecology of Hope with Sandra Steingraber, took place on Tuesday, May 11 7pm at USM with over 150 people attending. Sandra Steingraber, is an award winning ecologist, Cornell University professor, mother, cancer survivor, and former Ms. Magazine Woman of the year. Dr. Steingraber's newest book, Living Downstream, 2nd edition, was published in April 2010. The book is also being produced as a documentary.
This event was made possible in part by a grant from the Ceres Foundation and is co-sponsored by the USM Women and Gender Studies Program, The Environmental Health Strategy Center, Physicians for Social Responsibility and the Natural Resource Council of Maine.
This event included ASL interpreting. 
Past Events
The first in the series featured author and psychologist Susan Linn, Ed.D. speaking on "The Case for Make Believe: Why Children Need to Play, Who's Stopping Them and What We Can Do About It." Susan Linn is a psychologist at Judge Baker Children's Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston. She is the co-founder/director of A Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood. She is also an award-winning ventriloquist, internationally recognized for her pioneering use of puppets as a tool in play therapy with children.
The second in the series was a panel presentation on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 and was presented in partnership with Physicians for Social Responsibility. Taking a proactive approach, "Detox Your Toy Box" explored current research linking environmental toxins to children's health and opportunities for personal and collective action. The panel also shared strategies for engaging children in making healthy choices for themselves and their planet. Experts from diverse, yet connected fields came together as a panel and include:
- David Bellinger, PhD, Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School.
- Nicole Borrasso, Friends School Teacher and Outdoor Educator, FSP
- Kristine Jenkins, Environmental Health Organizer, Environmental Health Strategy Center
The panel was moderated by local pediatrician, parent and FSP Board member, Jeff Peterson.
