Etopia Sustainable Communities

Harvest Party With Our Etopia BESTies!

Posted on 28 November 2020 by Namaara MacMoragh

Posted in Etopia Updates

We know that because of COVID many Americans could not spend the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends as in past years. So, we hosted the BEST Etopia Harvest Celebration in Second Life.

Friends of BEST and Etopia came from across the grid and around the world to celebrate friendship, the bounty of our harvest, and the preciousness of life. Guests from across the US shared how enjoyable it was to spend time with friends because otherwise, they would have been alone and isolated.

Some people in our community who logged in and joined us for the festivities live in Europe, Canada, and Australia. Even though Thanksgiving is an American holiday they loved coming together in appreciation of all that we have and for one another.

The day was filled with fun things to do so everyone had an appetite for dinner. We started the morning with Tai Chi at Serenity Park to relax our minds, limber our muscles, and let the feeling of gratitude fill our bodies and hearts.

There was a carnival with rides, games, food, and souvenirs. We set it next to Ginny’s Arcade because they’ve got the best pinball machines around!

We had a drumming circle with dancing and singing and sharing of things we are grateful for. After that, we gathered at Tsidel’s for a dinner buffet packed with harvest goodies, fine wine, and more than a few desserts.

The event was such a success we’re excited about the upcoming Holiday Dance to celebrate the winter solstice, the holidays, and the new year.

Women In S.T.E.A.M. Weekend

Posted on 9 February 2018 by Namaara MacMoragh

Posted in Etopia Updates

Our friends at Whole Brain Health on Inspiration Island in Second Life is hosting special activities to celebrate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, on Sunday, February 11, 2018. The goal is to address the challenges for females undertaking studies and pursuing careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts/Design, and Mathematics (S.T.E.A.M.), and to present forward-looking and pro-active options.

Etopia is participating in this event with special tours and storytellers. The schedule is full of fun things to do and you’re invited!

Women In S.T.E.A.M Schedule. All Times are Second Life Time (PDT):

8:00am – Self-guided tour of Etopia Island, Main Landing
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Etopia%20Island/194/56/22
Choose from several walking tours or take the Etopia Circle Line. Visit with storytellers to learn more about the contribution of real women to environmentally mindful community building and more. Tours are available for your convenience all day, every day.

9:30am – The Food Lady: Carving My Path in the Science of Nutrition with presenter Carla D’Andreamatteo (SL: LoppiBear) at the Research Pavilion, Healthinfo Island (Virtual Ability).
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/130/196/30

10:30am – Keynote Address – Lyr Lobo
A Journey into the Unknown: Women in STEAM
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Inspiration%20Island/129/33/703
Join us as we reflect on the past, examine the present and gaze into the future of Women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, the Arts, and mathematics (STEAM). What might be possible? Using a trivia game presentation style, Lyr Lobo, aka Dr. Cynthia Calongne, welcomes active participation in the chat log and will blend the speaker notes with trivia questions for everyone to enjoy!

11:00am – Interactive exhibits at the Women in S.T.E.A.M.
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Inspiration%20Island/129/33/703
Thuja Hynes leads a tour of her Women in S.T.E.A.M. center, originally constructed at Science Circle and now hosted by Inspiration Island. Among the attractions are profiles of notable individuals, interactive exhibits such as Rate Your STEAM-ability and Share Your STEAM Heroes, and displays discussing the challenges as well as opportunities for females in education and careers.

11:30am – Tour of Nutrition Resource Center –
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Inspiration%20Island/81/117/701
StarLight will be giving a tour of the Nutrition Resource Center which provide links to healthy nutritional resources for those who seek to improve their health by changing their nutritional eating habits. It serves as a bridge between sl and rl by providing a jumping off point towards educating people about health and nutrition. Receive a gift and learn about our upcoming Nutrition support group.

12:00pm – Exploration of Brodmann’s Brain with OsanGar
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Inspiration%20Island/209/173/34
OsanGar will review the cortical cytoarchitecture based on Brodmann Areas, followed by immersion into the brain and explanation of the region localization based on coordinates in the cortex planetarium. An interactive pose stand gives local chat about the resulting activations and what they mean. Q&A and special gift!

1:00pm – TOUR new Library Land location for CVL http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Cookie/197/201/21

2:00pm – Dance Off Some STEAM with DJ Urban King – Celebrate SciTechEnginArtyMath Geeks AfterParty http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Rockcliffe%20I/215/27/23
Sponsored by VAI, RUC, & NPC.
You can learn about the worldwide events on this website:
http://www.un.org/en/events/women-and-girls-in-science-day/index.shtml

Everything Etopia – Podcast #2

Posted on 6 March 2017 by Namaara MacMoragh

Posted in Broadcasts & Podcasts

Welcome to our second installment of Everything Etopia a weekly podcast of news and updates.

This week our podcast is all updates. Wow! What a busy week ahead.

Are you a resident of Etopia? Do you have a business, product, or project you’d like us to promote? Drop a notecard to Namaara next time you’re in world with the details or email me at namaara at etopia island dot org.

Podcast Transcript:

Happy Sunday! Welcome to another week and another update of Everything Etopia.

If you haven’t had a chance to take one of the new walking tours or a wagon ride around Etopia Island now is the time to do it. Spring is here. Flowers are blooming. Snow is melting. Besides, it’s just plain fun.

Coming up this month in Second Life is the Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education Conference. Lots of great presenters, exhibits, and activities. It’s scheduled for the last weekend of the month and you can learn more at http://vwbpe.org.

Etopia is sending out a warm welcome to Zinnia Zauber and her real world students from Penninsula College, Washington State, USA. Zinnia is a real world professor in Multimedia Communications and a passionate supporter of Etopia. If you happen to meet her wandering around Etopia make sure you give her a warm hello.

This week’s schedule includes our New Resident Forum, tomorrow, Monday March 6th, at 5pm SLT. We’ll meet at the old Train Station, formerly known as the Poetry Corner. Want to know what happened there? Well, join us tomorrow evening at 5pm SLT for the New Resident Forum.

Wednesday, the 8th, our friends from the Brain Energy Support Team will be sharing information about “How To Navigate Cognitive Challenges & Brain Injury.” That will happen at the Amphitheater at 11am and again at 5pm SLT.

Thursday is the Weakly Bored Meating. It’s an Etopia staple. We invite you to stop by Tsidel’s Cafe at 7pm SLT and enjoy a fun-filled hour with friends. As an added incentive the hot dogs are free.

Friday’s Happy Hour is at noon SLT for the convenience of our European residents. We’ll be at the piano bar on Etopia Prime, which is just upstairs from Tsidel’s Cafe.

Saturday is Second Saturday Live Music is at Katja’s this Saturday beginning at 11am SLT.

And on Sunday BEST will be hosting their monthly caregivers meeting.

Be sure to visit Etopia Island dot org for a full calendar of events and more info about Etopia’s 1oth Anniversary and Earth Day Celebration coming up in April.

Finally, we have a Partner Update! Visit Whole Brain Health and Inspiration Island for their all new Meet-Up and for Dani’s Sunday morning meditation class. You can find out more from their calendar at their landing area on Inspiration Island.

That’s it for tonight. Tune in next week for more Everything Etopia.

Aye Me Hearties, there be Pirates

Posted on 11 September 2016 by Namaara MacMoragh

Posted in Etopia Updates

She sings yo ho swab de deck
and give me cheek a lil peck
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me…

The idea of being a pirate is a romantic vision of stories we’ve read as kids. Maybe even with a touch of Robin Hood mixed in. We don’t really have the salt air in our hair and the wind in our sails.

Unless you live at Etopia. Thanks to Dani (our game master and battle ref for the evening) we were once again able to live the carefree, adventurous, and even a bit reckless life of storied, fearsome, battle-worn pirates as we sailed the high seas of Etopia.