Sustainability has been a hot topic in Harrisonburg in recent years. Many groups and causes have developed to raise awareness about issues, ranging in focus from JMU’s Institute for Stewardship of the Natural World to the Voluntary Gas Tax to EMU’s planned solar power project and much more.

Each of these projects are championed by individuals or small groups that provide the vision and drive to create new opportunities to learn about and implement ways to live that decrease environmental impact and, many times, increase quality of life.

Cyndi Gusler is featured in Pathways to Whole.

This Saturday, four such leaders will be profiled in the premiere of the 2010 Documentary Production Class film entitled, “Pathways to Whole – Stories from the Journey.”  Admission to Court Square Theater is free, and donations are accepted.  Paulette Moore, EMU professor, was a lead producer in the film.  From the press release:

This documentary focuses on the lives of 4 main characters and how each one has found a way to address the smaller and larger issues within the systems they live in through biking, gardening, art and peace building, among other things.

Tom Benevento is from Harrisonburg, Virginia and an active member of Our Community Place (OCP) and New Community Project. He loves to garden and bike and is involved in a bike movement project that is starting up. Recently Tom traveled to Davis, California with others from Harrisonburg, including Mayor Kai Degner, to learn about how they’ve made biking a sustainable system in their town. Tom and the others hope to make Harrisonburg more bike-friendly and incorporate a similar system here.

Skip Bracelin, member of Our Community Farm in Harrisonburg, Va, has done and seen a lot of things in his lifetime. Skip spent over half a year traveling the Appalachian Trail with his wife and two dogs. He currently lives and works on Our Community Farm and is an active participant in the daily activities there. He is a talented gardener and loves taking care of plants and animals, as they are all connected to us and each other in some way.

Cyndi Gusler is chair of the Visual and Communication Arts department at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU). Cyndi has been studying and creating art since her undergraduate studies at EMU. She considers using found materials her main art form. Cyndi recently went on a trip to Guatemala to learn about and study permaculture and how it relates to art. She currently works and lives in Harrisonburg, Virginia with her husband Chad and two kids Aaron and Lily.

Titus Peachey currently works for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) as the director of Peace Education. An EMU alum, Titus has spent time living and serving overseas in Laos with MCC after serving in Vietnam as a conscientious objector during the war there. In Laos he became interested in working at removing cluster bombs that were left in the ground from the silent air war over 40 years ago. He currently lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania but continues to work at peace building and speaking out against the dangers and harm of cluster bombs in Laos and other countries. He is also a member of the board for the group Legacies of War, based in D.C. and works closely with the director, Channapha Khamvongsa.

Date: Saturday April 24, 2010 (tomorrow)

Time: 7:30 pm

Location: Court Square Theater, Downtown Harrisonburg

Duration: 2 hours

Intended audience: general public