Discussion Courses

The Arkansas Earth institute (AEI) invites you to form or join a small group discussion course. The course topics are Voluntary Simplicity, Choices for Sustainable Living, Discovering a Sense of Place, Deep Ecology, Healthy Children - Healthy Planet, Global Warming: Changing Course and Menu for the Future.  Participants come together for 4 to 8 sessions to discuss each session’s readings.

Our discussion courses were created by Northwest Earth Institute (NWEI) and use the books and materials created by NWEI. Discussion groups meet in workplaces, faith centers, homes, and community rooms. The first session is led by an experienced volunteer, with the successive sessions facilitated by group members. The sessions invoke meaningful discussion and an opportunity to clarify your views and values. Course members gain friendships and insights through the group discussions. The courses are also a great way to move from thought to action. Many times, participants make personal and collective lifestyles changes that improve their quality of life and help the environment. The courses are non-judgmental and offer a supportive means for change.

Below is a list of the courses with a brief summary. Click on the course topics to learn more.

• Voluntary Simplicity - a seven-session course for the workplace, faith center, or home. This course addresses the distractions of modern society that keep us from caring for ourselves, our relationships, and our environment.
• Global Warming: Changing Course - a four-session course exploring the history and science of global warming, personal values and habits as they relate to climate change, and personal actions to curb the effects of global warming.
• Reconnecting with Earth - an eight-session course for the workplace, faith center, or home addressing core values and how they affect the way we view and treat the Earth.
• Discovering a Sense of Place - a seven-session course focused on what it might mean to know and protect our place from a bioregional perspective.
• Choices for Sustainable Living - an seven-session course exploring the meaning of sustainable living and the ties between lifestyle choices and their impact on the earth.
• Healthy Children - Healthy Planet - a seven-session course addressing how the pervasive effects of advertising, media, and our consumer culture can influence a child’s view of the world.
• Menu for the Future - a six session course about the modern food systems and our individual role about the choices we make every day around what to eat.

Contact AEI if you would like to start a discussion course with your friends or organization. Please email info@arkansasearth.org or call 501-213-5388.