Earthseed Detroit

Calling all Catalogs! Stopping mail order madness!

2012-02-04T12:21:00.001-08:00

This Saturday finds me addressing what has been a serious problem: Mail Clutter!! I have a nice little desk built into the kitchen but it was hidden beneath piles of catalogs, bills, statements, flyers, and magazines. It also housed the microwave and toaster. Because I would pass it as I entered the house each day, it had also become the drop spot for keys, purses and gloves. Ugh. Not a nice way to treat a desk, is it?

Well it's been quite a lengthy process of getting it to a workable state but I am really liking the results. I moved the microwave to the shelf above the recycling station, hoping that the distance will help discourage its use as well. I did splurge on a beautiful stainless steel tea-kettle so I would stop nuking my tea each morning. (Although it is a little aggressive on the whistle, like steam engine rolling through the mountains aggressive...Oh well. I'd never sleep through it!)

A tea kettle seemed to be such a grown and sexy purchase that I promptly ran over to the tea aisle in Target and bought Tazo Zen, Green Ginger, Refresh, China Green Tips, Cucumber White, and Rest. (I know, I know...save to spend, spend to save? But its all for the Kitchen Apothecary...but THAT's another story!)

BTW, if you are a Sleepytime fan, Chamomile groupie, or new to liquid herbal wind downs at the end of stressful days, you have to try Tazo Rest! It gets the job done, good and cozy in 30 min.

"A lulling blend of rose petals, valerian root & citrusy herbs.

Tazo lists ingredients as: Lemon balm, rose petals, honeybush, orange peel, lemon myrtle, lemon verbena, licorice root, lavender, valerian root, natural flavors, ginger, orange essence oil and Chinese geranium oil."

I then put the toaster in the give-away pile, for as much I a make toast, I can use the oven. This cleared so much space and I was giving in to what the desk wanted to be: A DESK! I am still working on the aesthetics of it, but I moved my computer to the desk and its all happy too now that its no longer on the dining room table!! So, I'll post some photos when I really get it together, but the main thing I did today was to call all these catalog folks and stop the mailing of all these catalogs!!

I can run back and forth to the recycling center all I want, but why not reduce the amount of paper coming in???

With about 20 1-800 calls, I have probably single-handedly saved quite a swath of forest somewhere. I have to be content knowing that all of the items can be found on-line and are there whenever I need them. Plus this is a reminder of the clothes buying sabbatical I am on (until I lose about 20-30 lbs...but THAT's another story!!)

In the meantime, I leave you with some loving links to handle your own mail clutter and/or obsession with mail order catalogs, plus overall organizing, simplifying, and most importantly, developing new (good) habits:

Real Simple
Simple Organized Living
Zen Habits: Simple Living Manifesto: 72 Ideas to Simplify Your Life from Zen Habits Blog

Peace~

Reduce food waste - Make Frittatas!!

2012-01-29T11:14:00.000-08:00

One way to be more responsible for the planet is to reduce food waste. As I tried to increase my fruit and veggie intake, I would go get all this marvelous produce and declare everyday salad and smoothie day. Sometimes I would do very well at this (Did I share my green smoothie recipe yet?) and other times I would cringe as I cleaned out the fridge and bag after bag of liquified unidentifiables would go in the trash (I had not started my little compost thing...but THAT's another story!).

I decided to take a tip from our friends in France (or at least the beautiful people that get written about all the time who are from "Frahnce", you know the ones...always biking with a monster baguette and a mini farmers market in their basket, pedaling through the countryside? Sigh. One day.) Anyway, as I understand it, some folks have several trips to the market as part of their weekly routine instead of the weekend grocery shopping "a-thons" that would have me navigating two overflowing carts through Meijer.

But the best Earth-Saving Tip I received was about two years ago from my friend in food, Angela Newsom of People's Kitchen Detroit. We were together at one of the Cook Eat Talk community conversation sessions that the Detroit Food Justice Task Force hosts where community members gather to cook a fresh local healthy meals together, talk about what impacts access to fresh and healthy food in that neighborhood, and break bread together (a revolutionary act in and of itself.) Angela was demonstrating how to boost the nutritional content of breakfast or brunch with an easier-than-an-omelette frittata. As she whipped up this lovely, puffy, cheesy dish for 30 people in 30 minutes, a swirly eco-friendly light bulb went off in my head.

A new use for leftovers which re-purposes them in a very exciting way that doesn't have diners thinking "not this again!" that does not require a lot of skill or time.

Since making this discovery, I have served up frittatas featuring:

Spinach, Rotisserie Chicken, and Parmesan Cheese
Red Skin Potatoes, Asparagus, and Cheddar
Green, red, and yellow peppers and ham
Broccoli, Onions, and Tomatoes
Black Beans, Chicken, Cheddar (served with salsa, avocado, and sour cream)

Really whatever is "left"...(Left over, left from dinner, left from cleaning out the fridge but is not ready for compost)

If you have already discovered this joy, please share your recipe ideas. My only tips are:

Start out as you usually do to make scrambled eggs for however many you are serving. Pour into a heated pan with butter or olive oil and cook on LOW heat. As it cooks, gently push eggs around as they set so as not to burn the bottom.

For this particular frittata, I am using red onion, peppers and tomato which I sauteed in some garlic herb butter. Then added a good size spoonful of organic cream cheese to make a nice filling.

Turn on your oven broiler to LOW. When the eggs seem to be set on the bottom, spoon your filling over the top, evenly distributing it and make it look good! Artfully arranged! Inspired!! Sprinkle with (in this case) parmesan cheese. Pop it in the broiler for about 4 minutes (just keep checking on it, I haven't got this recipe part down yet...) It will puff up and you will just KNOW when its ready!

Sprinkle with fresh herbs (Parsley in this case) and serve. (Note to food stylist, turn plate to feature the frittata and NOT the seemingly gargantuan turkey sausage please.)

And there ya' go.

Since I am a relatively newbie foodie and you may not know the culinary greatness that is in your midst, I added a little Food Network Backup (plus I am trying to make this as interactive as possible and cull all the resources we have at our fingertips!)

Hope you enjoy this form of RRR!
To Reduce food waste recycle leftovers by reusing what's left in tasty, exciting, fun ways.

Peace.

The Growl

2012-01-28T12:18:00.000-08:00

When my mom started getting sicker, and was spending more time admitted to the hospital than at home, I noticed I began to have the strongest cravings for red meat. French dip sandwiches to be specific, but I would have gnawed the leg off a cow just as happily had one been within reach. The first time I remember it happening, I was on the couch watching TV and debating if I was going to go to an impromptu artist's gathering I had been invited to. (I rarely go out now, I think I have grown accustomed to being at home and have allowed my inner social-awkwardness to thrive...but THAT's another story!) Anyway, I became aware of a deep snarling hunger spot deep inside by belly, like I had never eaten anything ever in my whole entire life! It felt like a hole that had been created by snatching something up and out of me. I'm serious! And it had to be fed red meat.

Now I haven't been a big red meat eater for decades now, but in the past, presumably when my iron was low, my car would navigate itself through a Wendy's drive through and a voice from Beyond would order a double. I had been doing some of that leading up to what I shall call The Growl, but it seems The Growl had grown, advanced out of a state that could be sated with half a pound of ground round. Now, The Growl needed something solid, something it could really tear into, something medium-rare!

Back on the couch, I had decided to go to the artist's party so I needed an appetizer to bring. While I made a list of things to pick up from Trader Joes (The ultimate "Food To Bring To A Party and Impress The Hell Out Of Everyone There" store), I sat combing my mental file cabinets for places or people who would be able to drop a French Dip sandwich in my mouth in about 30 seconds. Frustrated, I decided I would find something at TJ's to appease The Growl and ventured into the November night.

As I drove down Woodward Ave, a large red and white sign caught my attention. In bold neon words, the "Sign of the Beef Carver" was visual music to my eyes. I remember exclaiming out loud in the car, alone, "Now THEY will have a French Dip!!" Surely my tires squealed as I whipped up in the parking lot and frightened a number of elder diners who were slowly coming and going from their regular dinner haunt.

Sure enough, no special order request required, right there on the everyday menu board: "French Dip". I ordered and leaned over the glass counter to watch it being prepared, hoping not the drool on the pie case. After I paid for it, I devoured it in the parking lot in about 3 minutes.

I'm not proud of this. But I'm very curious as to what is going on with me.

The next time The Growl surfaced, it was in the days leading up to taking my son to college. I kept rooting around for what would fill it, and found that just any old thing wouldn't do. This is not a hunger to be taken lightly. It came on suddenly and strongly and I just felt hollow. I tried drinking water becuase I had read something that said most hunger cravings are really about being thirsty...not in this case. The water dropped into the cavernous reaches of The Growl and puddled pitifully at the bottom.

This time, my beau had been tooling around the internet looking at healthy food videos and came across one that questions pure veganism or vegetarianism (Which I went on and posted below since I know ya'll gonna' ask!)

This video prompted me to do some research as to the red meat craving and what it might stem from. It made me think The Growl was coming from some nutritional deficiency so I decided to try bone broth. That's what I set out to do, and proudly marched up to the meat counter at my local grocer demanding "Bones! I need bones, I am making broth!" The butchress, unimpressed, let me know that Monday's are bone days (it was Thursday)

Not to be thwarted, I ended up making some really good soup. Stay tuned for the next entry about The Growl where I will share my recipe for sorta-homemade chicken soup.

peace.

I remember I used to sew...

2012-01-22T07:47:00.000-08:00

Do people sew anymore? I mean, I know there is sewing of a sort being done somewhere to keep us in cheap goods that tear after the first wash and, probably in that same sweat shop, designer clothes that sport four and five digit price tags. But I'm referring to sewing for the family, as a means of sustainable simple living. Does anyone do that anymore?

My grandmother, Lottie Isabelle Wright Johnson, taught me how to sew when I was really little. She used to make her own clothes and her children's clothes and later, from the worn out parts, she would make beautiful quilts. She always said she wanted me to know how to sew so when I had a little girl I could make her all kinds of nice little dresses. As with all things with me, it was an off and on love affair but I did become a pretty good seamstress. In Home-Ec class (yea!! Remember that???) I made a beautiful 2-piece madras-striped skirt and tank top that I wore off to Florida for spring break in 1984, that double breasted coat-dress pattern however remains unfinished.

The dress above was from my first entrepreneurial endeavor "Chameleon" (Clothes as unique as the people who wear them). This was to be a clothes customizing business but I felt we should move into ready-to-wear clothing design as well. I got a subscription to "W" which was the fashion industry paper, and carried around a sketch pad full of stick women wearing bolero jackets and lean wrap skirts. I was very proud of that dress above. It was my first (and last) Vogue pattern. And although it was marked "easy" there never has and never will be anything easy about a Vogue pattern!! Anyway, I also was expressing my Coco Chanel side by choosing to do the center of the dress in lace instead of a solid fabric. (I was under the heavy influence of Prince and Vanity 6 at the time and had just gotten beyond going to clubs in lingerie and trench coats...but THAT's a story for another day.) I stayed up all night trying to figure out the workings of that lace inset!! But, I got it and "The Dress" had a very healthy social life.

I sewed for my wedding as well, made detachable trains for my bridesmaids dresses, made the flower girl's dress, AND my former mother-in-law's red peau de soie suit (uhm hmm. I did.) After my grandmother died, I inherited her sewing machine and I made matching outfits Cedar Point (how juvenile!) and a cute polka dot maternity outfit for me that made me look more like a clown than anything, but by the time the kids came along, I was too busy to sew...never did make all those little dresses Gramp wanted me to. Her machine ended up somehow "left by mistake" in the basement of one of my old addresses (I think my ex did that on purpose...I never could prove it and never found my sewing machine.) and my fledgling sewing business came to a halt.

I did buy another sewing machine as soon as the divorce was final and had some delightful times recycling blue jean legs into matching skirts for me and the daw-daw. I still have mine, she outgrew hers...but who knows, it might be around here soemwhere.

Unearthing that pattern got me to thinking about sewing and sustainable living for the urban farm girl. I'll have to explore more.The memories sure have me in stitches!!

It's been a while...

2012-01-21T10:11:00.000-08:00

While I've never been "regular", I haven't been writing lately (this time) because my mom, who I had been taking care of for the past 4 years, became increasingly ill with advanced dementia and ultimately made her transition on December 7. My world is upside down now and I rock back and forth between feeling lost, not knowing what to do with myself and not having the ability, motivation, or energy to do anything anyway. My father transitioned 3 1/2 years ago. My son just went to live full time on the college campus and my daughter lives with their Dad on the tail end of the country. My wonderfully supportive partner tries to ride this tide that is me and of course gets hugs and kisses of appreciation, unexplainable outbursts, tearful requests to be checked on during the day and demands that he go away and leave me alone in my "space". And that's on the good days. Bless him.

When I was laid up a while back with back surgery, I started this blog and it really helped during that time. I am again turning to my writing as a means of healing, exploration, and hopefully growth, as I attempt the ultimate Reduce, Reuse, Recycle for me...handling the accumulated history in what was my parent's home of 44 years, mine for 21 years and the past 5. I am happy to be here. The memories that surround me are comforting right now. At the same time, my parents were both collectors of all kinds of things and I too have pack rat tendencies, so this should be interesting. Hopefully it will be enjoyable and I'm certain we will learn a lot from Fred and Lottie Stewart along the way.

This is a new twist in the Earthseed blog, but after all we are seeds and will each eventually return to the earth in one way or another.

Peace and Blessings,

Lottie

‘Let the healing begin:’

2011-11-29T09:30:00.000-08:00

‘Let the healing begin:’

Recycling Station set up in the Earthseed Headquarters

2011-05-21T10:42:00.000-07:00

WHO? Me!!

WHAT? So, lately I have been getting a lot of input from the Universe around "Walking the Walk". This is an ongoing struggle to align theoretical babble with purposeful action. I decided to create a recycling station in the house finally so Mom won't keep "discovering" my treasure trove of tissue paper rolls and efficiently move them to the "trash where they belong." I went out and purchased some simple white milk crate type things from the local Ace Hardware and labeled each one accordingly: glass, paper, and plastic. Now I am ready to STARVE THE INCINERATOR!!

Although on second thought, realize I had forgotten the Divine gift left by the dumpster some years ago on my birthday: a bunch of orange milk crates that now house a variety of things I could probably "put away", like books and stuff - darn!! Coulda done this for FREE...oh well, at least the purchase supported the locally owned Ace Hardware instead of big box Depot or Lowes.

"Each Ace store is independently owned and operated by local entrepreneurs – hard-working, passionate business owners who are involved with and, many times, reside in the communities where their stores are."

BUT, it is in Ferndale...not Detroit.

So, another option for home improvement needs is Detroit Hardware. Another family owned and operated business located near the New Center Area. The have "Everything But the Kitchen Sink!"

But back to the lecture at hand:

I found this link to seeWHAT can be recycled. Hmmmm, I'mma need more milk crates!!

WHERE and WHEN to recycle in Detroit? (Because it ain't recycling if it sits in the crib!)

DROP OFF LOCATION & TIMES

MAIN LOCATION
Wednesday: 10AM-6PM
Saturday: 9AM-3PM
1331 Holden Ave
Detroit, MI 48202
313-871-4000
_____________________

EASTERN MARKET
First Saturday 10AM-2PM
Corner of Wilkins & Russell
_____________________

INDIAN VILLAGE
Second Saturday 9AM-1PM
Waldorf School parking lot /
Charlevoix & Burns
_____________________

PALMER PARK
Third Saturday 8AM-12PM
Swimming pool parking lot
_____________________

ROSEDALE PARK
Third Saturday 10AM-2PM
Christ the King Church
_____________________

CREEKSIDE
Fourth Saturday 10AM-2PM
Jefferson & Chalmers
_____________________

CLARK PARK
Fourth Saturday 8AM-12PM
Se Habla Español

Ok, lets see what we can do to STARVE THE INCINERATOR!!

Greed is Not a Virtue | Common Dreams

2011-04-07T17:26:00.000-07:00

REBLOGGED FROM:Greed is Not a Virtue | Common Dreams

Published on Wednesday, April 6, 2011 by YES! Magazine
Greed is Not a Virtue
David Korten: Profit-centered market fundamentalism has become a national religion.

by David Korten
This is the fourteenth of a series of blogs based on excerpts adapted from the 2nd edition of Agenda for a New Economy: From Phantom Wealth to Real Wealth. I wrote Agenda to spur a national conversation on economic policy issues and options that are otherwise largely ignored. This blog series is intended to contribute to that conversation. —DK

***

We humans are living out an epic morality play. For millennia humanity’s most celebrated spiritual teachers have taught that society works best and we all enjoy our greatest joy and fulfillment when we share, cooperate, and are honest in our dealings with one another.

But for the past few decades, this truth has been aggressively challenged by a faith called market fundamentalism—an immoral and counter-factual economic ideology that has assumed the status of a modern state religion. Its believers worship the God of money. Stock exchanges and global banks are their temples. They proclaim that everyone does best when we each seek to maximize our individual financial gain without regard to the consequences for others.

In the eyes of a market fundamentalist, to sacrifice profit for some presumed social or environmental good is immoral. The result is a public culture that proclaims greed is a virtue and sharing is a sin.

Having established control of the institutions of the economy, media, education, government, and even religion, market fundamentalists initiated a global social experiment to test their theory. The results are now in.

The prophets of the older faith traditions were right. Our common future depends on rediscovering their truth and redefining our public culture and governing institutions accordingly.

The following are some of the more visible elements of Wall Street’s global campaign of moral perversion.

It uses control of media outlets, advertising, and politicians to shape and spread a global culture of individualistic greed, material self-indulgence, ruthless competition, and moral irresponsibility.
Through the pursuit and celebration of financial gain at any cost, it provides role models for immoral behavior.
It undermines democracy and the legitimacy of government by buying politicians to do its bidding.
It uses student loan programs to get the best and brightest youth mired in debts they can repay only by selling themselves to jobs that serve Wall Street interests.
It buys up and monopolizes control of the world’s land and water resources in anticipation of extracting monopoly profits by charging what the market will bear as scarcity increases.
It uses its financial power and creative accounting skills to manipulate markets and obscure market signals, as when helping governments hide their debt or helping corporate CEOs hide their insider bets against the future of their own companies.
It buys the deeply discounted debt obligations of hapless underwater homeowners and countries on the open market and then demands full value payment from governments or philanthropists who step in to lend a helping hand to the afflicted.
It puts in place global rules requiring that if a government introduces regulations that prevent a foreign corporation from harming or killing people with its toxic products or discharges, the country’s government must compensate the corporation for the profits it estimates it will lose.
By capitalism’s perverse moral logic, if a person sells toxic assets by knowingly misrepresenting them as sound, the fault lies not with the misrepresentation of the seller, but rather with the lack of due diligence on the part of the overly trusting borrower. When the assets prove worthless and threaten both the solvency of both the seller and the borrower, the logic says the party responsible for the misrepresentation has a moral obligation to demand redress from the government, “Buy my toxic assets at face value and make me whole so that I return to my trade in toxic assets, or I will be forced to stop lending and crash the economy.”

Step back to take in the big picture, and it turns out Wall Street market fundamentalists have proclaimed the seven deadly sins of pride, greed, envy, anger, lust, gluttony, and sloth to be virtues. In turn they have proclaimed the seven life-serving virtues of humility, sharing, love, compassion, self-control, moderation, and passion to be sins against the market.

There is a widespread sense that with Wall Street’s apparent recovery, the window of opportunity for serious structural change has passed. Such a judgment, however, is premature. Far from closing, the window of opportunity for serious change continues to widen as public awareness of Wall Street corruption grows and true and appropriate moral outrage builds.

Most psychologically healthy adults recognize in their heart of hearts the moral perversion of the old economy, but may fear to speak up because so many experts—including even some religious leaders—continuously assure us in so many words that greed is good, even that God wants us to be financially rich and financial wealth is a mark of God’s favor.

If all who share a mature moral consciousness find the courage to speak the simple truth that greed is driving us to collective self-destruction and cooperation is essential to our common salvation, we can put the perversion behind us and secure the future of our children.

This Agenda for a New Economy blog series is co-sponsored by CSRwire.com and YesMagazine.org based on excerpts from Agenda for a New Economy, 2nd edition.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License

David Korten is co-founder and board chair of YES! Magazine, co-chair of the New Economy Working Group, president of the People-Centered Development Forum, and a founding board member of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE). His books include Agenda for a New Economy: From Phantom Wealth to Real Wealth, The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community, and the international best seller When Corporations Rule the World.

In the Company of My Sisters

2011-03-29T12:21:00.000-07:00

Woman Creating Caring Communities

LIVING FOR CHANGE
Women Creating Caring Communities
By Grace Lee Boggs

Saturday, March 19, I participated in an awesome celebration of the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day.

Over the years I have participated in many IWD celebrations. But this celebration, hosted by the UAW, was historic because it was organized to connect women who are active in the union with women who are active in the community.

UAW International Rep Connie Leak headed the Planning committee and chaired the event. Adrienne Brown, who facilitated last year’s 2nd USSF in Detroit, co-chaired. Veteran organizer and UAW vice-president Cindy Estrada began the program with a feisty speech. She spoke about her mother and grandmother and how her parents had taught her never to forget where you came from. The time has come, she said, to empower women in the UAW, re-establish the sacredness of community relationships, ask questions of and listen to each other, and thus to grow our souls.

I then described how the women’s movement has changed over my lifetime. My mother, who was born in a Chinese village in 1890, never learned to read or write because there were no schools for females in her village. But it wasn’t only China. When I was born in 1915 in this country, American women still did not have the right to vote, even though they had been struggling for it since the middle of the 19th century. Sojourner Truth’s famous “Ain’t I a woman?” speech was made at a women’s rights convention in 1853.

That’s why we struggled for equal rights in the first half of the 20th century. It wasn’t until the civil rights movement in the 1950-60s raised fundamental questions about what it means to be a human being that we began to recognize and emphasize that women’s ways of knowing and relating (through the heart) and of working (not always counting the hours) are urgently needed to humanize our entire society.

Grassroots participants then told stories of how women are creating caring communities and individuals.

Gloria Moya from the UAW Ford Department said she was thankful for the energy and spirit of the ancestral mothers who endowed her with the strength and courage to be resilient and continue to move forward in struggle.

Ann Heler entertained and challenged us with her lively story of creating FernCare, a free health clinic in Ferndale. “Don’t think you are void of the power to create much needed services in your communities. A small group of dedicated people can make it happen. You can do it!”

Kim Sherobbi, who recently retired after teaching for 25 years in Detroit Public Schools, reminded us that everyone in the community is an educator.

Lottie Spady talked about the Digital Information program that the East Michigan Environmental Action Council has launched because we all have the human right to be connected to one another in our communities and all over the world.

Joan Moss and Kim Hodges described how Time Banking provides us with ways to share our time and our skills, and thus redefine our humanity as interdependent and at the same time better the whole community.

Myrtle Thompson-Curtis told us how she and her husband started Feedom Freedom Growers on Manistique St. to reconnect their families and at the same time extend themselves to the greater family of the whole community. She brought copies of their newsletter with stories of how their community garden re-educates, re-defines and challenges everyone, from little children to elders, to re-examine our humanity in order to create a more sustainable world.

Gloria House and Janice Fialka-Feldman shared their poems.

As we listened to these stories and poems, we realized that, together, we had discovered the power within ourselves to create the world anew.

It’s raining men, hallelujah!! (or women or children, so what!?)

2011-03-18T07:27:00.000-07:00

A recent blog post about the thousands of blackbirds that fell dead from the sky on New Year’s Eve 2010about the thousands of blackbirds that fell dead from the sky on New Year’s Eve 2010 deconstructed the media’s uncanny knack for not asking the right questions when it come to getting to the root of a particular issue. I too see that as problem, but one on the laundry list of problems with what has come to be coined “the mainstream media”. I imagine a large potato shaped head with an eye at either end, dotted with mouths that all speak at the same time, spewing the snatches of info that they got from one of the two eyes. Of course, the farther away from the eye, the more blurry the story, and even at best, they only are getting half anyway. Then, in a blink, its gone and off to the next peep show. The “media” has attention deficit dollar disorder and we, the citizens have forgotten right along with them the concept of “accountability”. We don’t continue to ask the question until we get an answer and they chase and chew on the fat corporate and political worms, hook, line, and sinker. In the aftermath, while the next celebrity’s life is drawn and quartered, issues such as the mass deaths of thousands of members of our eco-fam fade away like so many sunsets. We forget to keep asking, “Hey, what ever turned up in those toxicology reports that were done on those blackbirds, er, drum fish, or was it starfish, doves, or manatee?”

This example is brought to bear in an effort to illustrate the deficiency in our media diet. There is an interesting component to human nature that allows a thing to seemingly cease to exist if it is not named, and, if it is called out, we take all kinds of liberties with its definition depending on who benefits from it.

Did you know?

What would you think of an event that took over the entire Cobo Hall, Hart Plaza and the buildings in between, for 20,000 people to come in from the city proper, surrounding suburbs, and across the nation to work on behalf of our city on issues such as:

Housing
“Right” Sizing
Water Shutoffs and Privatization
Education
Environment
Food/Urban Agriculture
Poverty and Homelessness
Differently

Any of this sound familiar?

Would you want to know about it? Would you wanna go? Would you want to participate?

Last year, in June, the United States Social Forum landed in Detroit to the tune of 20,000 activists, concerned citizens, and grassroots organizations to discuss issues of utmost importance to Detroiters and the national community as well. However, at the Social Forum, when I struck up a conversation with the peppy little guy and guy running the coffee kiosk, they had no idea why they were brewing endless cups of organic fair-trade coffee with soy milkand turbinado sugar.

Not to mention its lack of coverage in the mainstream, “Lack of Coverage” being the key phrase. The one article I did see in the Detroit News and Free Press had a headline that something like “The Commies Are Coming”. Hmmmm.

Can you say CENSORSHIP?

#KeepAsking

6:00 AM and Its Snowing

2011-03-02T06:55:00.001-08:00

6:00 AM and Its Snowing

Hand over your importance
demand tiny crystalline soldiers
floating to earth on a mission
to humble the streets

feel the warmth in a cold embrace,
refined as a lightly powdered nose,
refreshing as talc on a baby's bottom,
reassuring as a handful of flour

tossed across the butcher block
patience could birth delicious
in the swish of snow pants under
red cheeks and laughter,

a trail of solitary cat tracks and
the flick of a tongue
but we slog about in moist mittens and mufflers
angry back of the neck trickles and

the sizzle in your boots
rhythmic scoops and scrapes of a shovel
gritty rock salt eats away crusty flesh
snow blowers plunder the last remnants

of this helplessness efficiently.
gray puddles on the kitchen floor.
And we imagine ourselves powerful
once again.

LVS/Draft#1/030111

Detroit Food Justice Update

2011-03-01T19:39:00.000-08:00

REPOSTED from DetroitFoodJustice.org

Feb 24th, 2011 by Adrienne Marie Brown

Just Feed Detroit!

This is a beautiful time to be alive and alert in Detroit. There is so much happening, and it all intersects. The mayor continues to prioritize outside proposals and plans for how to address the real disparity and resource gaps in the city over those that come from lifelong Detroiters, and while he says he wants to hear from communities, his actions thus far leave community organizations in the dark. But movements are like mushrooms – we grow well in the shadows, underground, making sustenance out of refuse.

So what’s growing?
A vision for a future in Detroit that has as it’s foundation a commitment to relationships, shared principles, and justice. Whether it looks like a new media economy, seniors and young people planting gardens together or teaching each other about the internet, or a radically different approach to how we feed Detroit healthy food, folks are not sitting around waiting for someone to save them, or ask their opinion in an impersonal survey.

As just one example, I am honored to be a part of the Detroit Food Justice Task Force, where we are walking our talk of approaching Detroit as a vibrant city with tons of resources and skills and proposals, rather than a blank canvas to paint our dreams on. Right now we are in the process of documenting the ‘invisible capital‘ [footnote: Chris Rabb, Invisible Capital, 2010] of four neighborhoods in Detroit (48217, 48207, 48215, 48202/48209), each of which has been written off in the rightsizing conversations, and each of which has tons of food heroes – gardeners, farmers, soup kitchen and food pantry workers, and individual citizens feeding their neighbors. Our goal is to help all these folks come together to celebrate the ways they are already caring for their communities, and uplift ways to increase their collective capacity.

Our big strategy? Just feed Detroit.
We are certain that if the majority of people in this city could count on healthy regular food, the impact would be a healthier, more vibrant, creative city. Just think of your own life, and the difference in how you feel, how creative you are, and what you can accomplish when you are eating well and not stressed about food, versus when you are hungry and don’t know where the next meal is coming from. Imagine the solutions and energy this city could have if everyone who lived here had access to good healthy food regularly, knew why it was the best option, and knew that when they invested in that good healthy food they were investing right back into Detroit.

That’s right, we’re thinking about cooperative economics for food systems in Detroit. We don’t have major grocery stores, but we do have plenty of junk food, fast food and processed food in the city to waste our money on, curbing hunger but not really sustaining us. We know how to detoxify soil, grow food, cook food – and we sure know how to eat it! In a city that doesn’t have nearly enough jobs for all the people here, why do we keep spending our money on food shipped in from elsewhere, pouring our money out of the city? We want to redirect those funds into our local economy, while making ourselves healthier. Grow local, eat local, buy local, be local.

In the coming weeks, we will be engaging folks across the city in a series of events called Cook, Eat, Talk, where we do just that. Get together and make food, break bread and talk about food in Detroit. We are excited to strengthen the connections of people who care about feeding Detroit, and we hope to lay the foundation for a different way of thinking about Detroit’s future – the oldest way, as a village raising it’s children. We hope you’ll join us.

Green Stars in My Eyes

2011-02-13T11:03:00.000-08:00

My wonderful partner and I have just begun setting up house in a lovely, spacious, apartment on the Northwest side. Now is the chance right? This clean slate of sorts to approach this with a gloriously green eye toward sustainable and responsible eco-chicdom!! Recycling bins over here, compost container over there...Right.

This blending of lifestyles has proven challenging from day one when I found myself engaged in an energetic conversation on the flat-screen isle at the not-so-local big-box Best Buy about the merits of an energy-star qualified television. Now, let it be noted that, if I had my way, there would probably be NO television, energy-star qualified or otherwise in the home. But, having found my self in love with a self-professed sports addict, I am learning the art of "compromise".

Learn more about Energy Star Qualified products!

Now, if I could just figure out how to get around Comcast and this Playstation. {sigh.}

Part of the Process

2011-02-13T09:17:00.000-08:00

I haven't written in a while, seems the New Year took off with a blast and I am just now beginning reentry! I'll try not to burn up in the process! Speaking of processes, let's visit (or should I say re-visit) the process of change. Why is it so hard! I seem to be hardwired to be this certain way and hardwired to wish I was different! Different in that "if only I was this...", or "if only I did that..." kind of way. Disguised as the desire for self-improvement, this line of thought keeps me in daily conflict with myself and, while I know there are many ways of being and doing that I could do "better", I just have to stop and question the difficulty of incorporating these seemingly healthy and smarter habits into my day-to-day. Of course, this is the February, post New Year's, reflecting on the fact that I have not made any headway with any of my resolutions blog entry. {Sigh.}

NEVER FEAR - THE SELF CHECK IS HERE!!

So, today I will post the pictures from my vision book and revisit these goals and reflect on how I'm doing and not doing as I go on trying to live life like its golden!

These two (one above, one below) relate to work and how I am working this year on polishing and refining that which has been put in motion. Take on nothing NEW. Increasing capacity and fine tuning methods.

Keeping focused, eyes on the prize: Holistic activist retreat center, youth organizing multi-media farm!! Yes to All Of That!!

Write everyday! Well...check that off for today! YES!!

Lifestyle: Eat to Live.

Detroit Food Justice Taskforce Kickoff! ( September 2010)

2010-11-23T10:30:00.000-08:00

The Detroit Food Justice Taskforce kicked off Saturday, September 25th, at the D’ Town Farm Harvest Festival. Guests enjoyed a healthy cooking demonstration and lunch while learning about this food justice initiative in the city. A twenty-six (26) foot geodesic dome housed a live-media kitchen and interactive displays illustrating the connection between food, environment, and media. This lively exhibit showcased some of the most innovative practices in collaboration, environmentally sound design and social justice.

The Detroit Food Justice Task Force is working toward building a food justice movement for a food secure Detroit which not only enhances alliances, collaborations, and cross-education, but deals honestly with the issues of racism and classism that exists within the movement.

The Detroit Food Justice Taskforce received a year long planning grant from Kresge Foundation to help promote its role in supporting the Detroit Food Policy and Detroit Food Policy Council. The purpose of the Detroit Food Justice Taskforce is to work directly with community members around improving food access and security and contributing to community sustainability through the expansion of urban agriculture production and job creation. The Detroit Food Justice Taskforce is a collaborative, community based, justice focused, & action oriented group based in Detroit. The group has adopted the Environmental Justice Principles of Working Together as guiding values and invites all residents and organizations to be engaged in its work, planning and community development.

The taskforce includes: East Michigan Environmental Action Council, City of Detroit Planning Commission, Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, Creative Community Pathways, Corktown Community Kitchen/ Detroit Evolution Lab, Earthworks Urban Farm, Great Lakes Bioneers - Detroit, Sierra Club - Environmental Justice, People’s Water Board Coalition Detroit, Building Movement Project, Rosa & Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development, and Mt. Elliott Maker space.

The Detroit Food Justice Task Force kickoff was part of an exciting day full of activities celebrating community sustainability.

Themed “Food Is Life – Promoting the Health and Wellbeing of Detroiters”, the 4th Annual D’ Town Farm Harvest Festival took place on the model 2 acre organic urban farm of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network (DBCFSN). The DBCFSN annual harvest festival featured something for everyone. Adults and children participated in valuable and timely learn shops on food and healthy lifestyles. Families enjoyed touring D-Town Farm’s operation which includes organic vegetable plots, mushroom beds, two bee hives, a hoop house for year round food production, and a composting operation.

This year’s keynote address, “Promoting Healthy Communities via Food Access”, was given by Andrea King Collier. She is an award-winning writer on issues of education, health, wellness, and food access. Collier has also worked on media campaigns and initiatives on health issues, social determinants of health and health disparities, as well as communications programs around school-based health centers, social justice in health, and community asset building. She is also a W.K. Kellogg Food and Society Policy fellow with a focus on food access for underserved communities.

The Story of Stuff

2010-09-21T07:22:00.000-07:00

Working on my next post, but wanted to share this resource and reminder. Goes good with the project.

Baring it All - How to Not Make a Statement!

2010-09-13T18:23:00.000-07:00

So, one of the main impact areas under deconstruction is consumerism or materialism: the acquisition of things and stuff, stuff and things. And while lot of these habits or behaviors barely conceal the value system at work underneath, I know I also have some more deeply rooted issues around this. These will hopefully be excavated and revealed as necessary for deeper reflection throughout this experiment, but in the meantime I think one of the most important questions is around clothes. 'What I do want/need from my clothing?' and how does that answer fit with the goal of no-impact living, saving money, treading lightly on the earth and making responsible choices with my resources and power.

What I do want/need from my clothing?

1. First of all, I want to empower myself by making the decision as to how my clothing choices work for me instead of having it dictated by events, social circumstances, or trends.

2. It must be functional, fun, and funky. I wore uniforms for middle and high school and am really not trying to relive that polyester experience, although I will admit to an uncanny fondness for plaid. I attribute that, however, to my Scottish lineage instead of Sister Mary Ellen of the Pennies on her Toes or Sister Cirene who's red bangs changed shades under her habit each week. (A clothes line and a few sew ins figured prominently in my humorous mind's eye theory to explain this.)

3. My functional, fun, and funky wardrobe must be of high quality, timeless styles, and of flattering fit, color, and cut. I have often said I would rather have 5 fabulous outfits than 50 mediocre "throw ons". My grandmother taught me to sew, but my mother taught me fabric. The "hand" of a fabric can be ascertained by trained fingertips at the lightest grazing. Round the rack of $5 pants, like a seasoned roulette player, I stop automatically at fully lined wool, linen, raw silk, etc. I want my clothing choices to reflect this knowledge. (Hmmmm, may have a ways to go on this goal...)

4. Must meet the minimum need for physical and psychological comfort. (See, I told you there's some deeply rooted issues here...what is my psychological relationship to clothes and will this challenge, strengthen or threaten?)

5. Buy only what you need by knowing what you've got. I know I've got a lot of stuff around here but what it is? That's another question. My guess is that its all unmatched socks...but I digress.

6. It must be organized! Meaning, corralled in its appropriate habitat, i.e. closet and/or dresser. NOT roaming freely throughout the house, setting up breeding zones in the laundry room, on backs of chairs and the wide end of the ironing board, or in plaid dollar-store bags!

Frida Kahlo Style Self Portrait as an Angel (or Tree Topper)

Over the years, because I never had the budget or patience to support regular trips to the mall, I attempted to deal with the need for protection from the elements by thrift shopping, resale, yard sales, second-hand, whatever you want to call it. With a few new on-line, mall, or boutique purchases seasonally. It works for me but I know that's not everyone's cup of tea. Right now, 'To thrift or not to thrift?' is NOT the question. I know "anti-thrifters" who think the idea of wearing something someone else has already worn qualifies as an act of germ warfare, I know and have been the "assimilation thrifter" who disguises herself in large sunglasses and a trench coat to comb racks for hidden designer gear but would never admit it, and there's the "excess thrifter", who justifies having 25 black tee shirts because they only cost $1.00 each. I am now an "excess thrifter".

See, I thrift shop for clothes the same way I do for used books...with the discount price logic model firmly blocking all reason. I shop for that red carpet, once in a lifetime, red letter, star colliding, interplanetary alignment known as "One Day!" On this day,"One Day", all the knowledge I have ever needed from all of my stockpiled books will assemble itself in my head and I will wear layer upon layer of perfect outfits that have patiently awaited this moment and then, I tell you, then something will happen! Or, will have happened! Or, be about to happen!

Really? Right.

Right now, I need to deal with what I have. (We can go over place of purchase pros, cons, and other fun issues later in the game) I know I have some great stuff and I know plenty can probably be donated. But, I have to eliminate the excess in order to enjoy the treasures! I will be trying the "Wear Everything You Have"challenge (below). This appeals to me because I have often used the excuse of "needing" to get the value out of a thing before being able to release it. Therefore I want to read every magazine and book before giving them away, try everything on before it goes to Goodwill, watch every VHS tape, etc. This type of mind trickery compliments pack-ratitis very well!

I came across the following sights during one of many internet dot-to-dots which started with Flickr's Wardrobe Remix, one of my favorite sights. I like it because it features beautiful "everyday" folk in their "everyday" finest. And by finest I mean that which makes them feel just fine! Sure some are designer label head to toe, but most are a thrift-store, handed down, off the sale rack, home-made, mix and match lot who have an eye for putting themselves together and looking lovely, confident, and radiant in choices of their own making (or maybe because of that). Now, true, I don't know the stories behind the women who post to Wardrobe Remix or the other handful of fashion photo blogs I follow (until yesterday I did not even know "fashion-blogging" was a genre unto itself), but I have found it fun, free, and inspiring!

It appeals to my interest in photography and somewhat sporadic interest in fashion. Sporadic in that, although I want to "look nice", sometimes it seems to require too much time, effort, and money. At least more than I'm willing to designate toward the endeavor. Even still, I flip through glossy pages or click through stylized photo shoots and I tell you, certain items will make my mouth water! Seriously! And, although I'm impressed with the range and scope of unique creative flair represented, I'm leery of defining any of this with what my mother always referred to as "good taste". Something about some Who's in Whoville determining what is "proper, acceptable, beautiful, lady-like, nice", etc. leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

So, here is my first no-impact clothing research:

Wear Everything!! or Nothing at all!! (Well, 6 items or less which might as well be NOTHING right?) Or ONE Little Brown Dress. There was one site that has a 30 f0r 30 challenge, but
30 for 30 doesn't seem like a challenge at all, it actually seems a bit extravagant.

10 Ways to Become a Locavore

2010-09-05T17:49:00.001-07:00

10 Ways to Become a Locavore (Source)

1) Visit a farmers' market. Farmers' markets keep small farms in business through direct sales. Rather than going through a middleman, the farmer takes home nearly all of the money that you hand him or her for a delectable apple or a wonderful bunch of grapes. Need to find a market in your area? Try the USDA's farmers' market guide.

2) Lobby your supermarket. Ask your supermarket manager where your meat, produce and dairy is coming from. Remember that market managers are trained to realize that for each person actually asking the question, several others want to know the same answer. Let the market managers know what's important to you! Your show of interest is crucial to help the supermarket change its purchasing practices.

3) Choose 5 foods in your house that you can buy locally. Rather than trying to source everything locally all at once, try swapping out just 5 local foods. Fruits and vegetables that can be grown throughout the continental U.S. include apples, root vegetables, lettuce, herbs and greens. In most areas, it's also possible to find meat, poultry, eggs, milk, and cheese—all grown, harvested and produced close to your home.

4) Find a local CSA and sign-up! Through a CSA—Community Supported Agriculture—program you invest in a local farm in exchange for a weekly box of assorted vegetables and other farm products. Most CSA programs provide a discount if you pre-pay for your share on a quarterly or yearly basis because a pre-payment allows the farm to use the cash in the springtime when money is needed for farm equipment or investment in the farm. CSA programs take the work out of buying local food, as the farmer does the worrying for you.

5) Preserve a local food for the winter. There's still time! Though we are headed into winter, many areas still have preservable fruits and vegetables available. Try your hand at making applesauce, apple butter and quince paste. To learn about safe preserving techniques, go to the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

6) Find out what restaurants in your area support local farmers. You can do this by asking the restaurants about their ingredients directly, or by asking your favorite farmers what restaurant accounts they have. Frequent the businesses that support your farmers.

7) Host a local Thanksgiving. Participate in the 100-mile Thanksgiving project by making a dish or an entire meal from local foods.

8) Buy from local vendors. Can't find locally grown? How about locally produced? Many areas have locally produced jams, jellies and breads as well as locally roasted coffee and locally created confections. While these businesses may not always use strictly local ingredients in their products, by purchasing them you are supporting the local economy.

9) Ask about origins. Not locally grown? Then where is it from? Call the producer of your favorite foods to see where the ingredients are from. You'll be amazed how many large processed food companies are unable to tell you where your food came from. By continuing to ask the questions we are sending a message to the companies that consumers want to know the origin of ingredients.

10) Visit a farm. Find a farm in your area and call to make an appointment to see the farm. When time allows, the farmers are usually happy to show a family or a group around the farm. When you visit, ask the farmers what challenges they have had and why they choose to grow what they are growing. Be sure to take the kids along on this journey! Children need to know where their food is coming from in order to feel a sense of connection to their dinner.

Want to know more about why locavores choose to eat local? Check out our 10 Reasons to Eat Local Food.

I'm Baaaaaaack with No Impact!

2010-09-05T15:13:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been quite a while since I have posted anything. But I have been quite busy. The next several entries will be to catch you up on what has been (and has not been) happening with Earthseed Detroit. For today, however, I am going to jump right into my thought stream and flow because a) obviously SOMETHING has me motivated, b) I've recommitted to writing, c) Mercury is in retrograde. (The last one may seem unrelated, but, as a Mercury ruled Gemini, retrogrades are an important "go with the flow" time. Not to side bar too much, but if you just can't resist a "WTF?" right now, here: What is Mercury Retrograde and should I be afraid?)

So, as I mentioned at the onset of this blog (a mere two entries ago, oh well.) It's about my personal awakenings and steps taken toward aligning myself and my life with my values and goals. And, if others are inspired to follow in my footsteps or blaze trails of their own, that's cool too.

Anyway, on to today. I am off work for a bit due to a herniated cervical disk. As a result, between ridiculously long drug-induced naps, I have been working on my visions boards, collages, journaling and reading, keeping my mind positively occupied until the days of bike riding, dancing and walking are back in the mix. I've also been indulging in television, lots of bullshit CSI, Cold Case and Letterman, but yesterday, in a fit of boredom, I clicked to ON DEMAND, confident that I would be imbued with the power to divert this mental energy into chick-flickdom and spend a nice 2 hours flatlining frustration. Well, I had just about given up on being able to "demand" anything of worth on the free movies, (Zombie Strippers? really?), I spotted "No Impact Man". I had subscribed to his blog a while back, but as you'll soon find out, I tend to be more a collector of infomation than a "doer", but we're working on that!!) So, the blog, No Impact Man sat, nestled among "Cupcakes Take The Cake" and the other 50 or so blogs I "follow", LOL. I decided to kick back and see what I could gather from this couple's year long adventure in living in such a way so as not to negatively impact the environment. I will say that the whole thing was put in perspective by the comments of one of the gentlemen in the movie, a local urban farmer I think, "If you think that your actions outweigh the fact that your wife leaves out every morning to write for Business Week, then you're delusional at best." Ouch. But true...maybe he can say it balances it out? or does it just underscore the paradox? The contradictions that are inherent in a society built on and based on inequities?

I am investigating my own paradox. And it takes a lot to share this because I think people may have an idea of me that's not accurate, an idea of me that I like them to have. The me I want to be. I want to be that me.

Takeaways from No Impact Man, adjusted somewhat to reflect my own variables:

Work on your trash, where does your trash come from?
Compost
Recycle

Food should come from no more than a 250 Mile radius
Bulk Food
Farmers Market
Garden
Organics
Eating good and Eating Local
Make the food chain visible
Go see how the animals are treated on the farms where you get your meat.

Buy no new clothes
inventory reduction
thrift store

No TV

Borrow, barter, share, or buy used

Walk, Bike, Bus

NO Fast Food, take out containers, Starbucks or Biggby

Buy from companies that are socially and environmentally responsible (same with restaurants)

Self-sufficiency

Cleaning products
Cosmetics/Toiletries (They also explored going without toilet paper, and switched to cloth diapers....hmmmm.)
what are alternatives?

No electricity: sunlight, candles, solar panels

Nigerian Pot in the Pot "fridge"

Did I tell you I was watching this movie with my Mom? She's 78, with active dementia, and a strong B. Smith gene that goes long back before it was the Food Network money maker that it is today. A while back, I tried to get things together for recycling (magazines, newspapers, boxes from packaged foodstuffs, etc.), she would roll around the house in her wheelchair exclaiming "Where is all this trash coming from?!" and would promptly throw it in the garbage despite my repeated attempts to mark it for "Recycling". She watched Colin fighting flies in the kitchen worm compost bin with a look of concern and disgust. I explained that he must have gotten some meat in the worm bin. She repiled, "uhhh, ok." I took that as an opportunity to explain to the best of my limited ability, what a worm bin is and how it works. I added, "we're going to be making some changes around here." She gave me her famous, "Yeah? Right!" look. So, I went on to explain all that we were already doing. That made me feel better because after watching Colin and Co. I was beginning to feel a bit sucky. She'll be ok, but I don't know if I'll be able to pry the Clorox Clean Up from her hands...

Things I/we already do:

Give experiential gifts
drink tap water, no bottled
use reusable grocery bags
buy local ground beef
shop at the thrift store
don't microwave in plastic or styrofoam
have swirly lightbulbs throughout the house

Things I/we do sometimes but not nearly enough of:

Buying local products
Eastern Market or other farmer's market

So, I'll end here. My focus for the first phase it becoming a locavore. Seeing just how local my kitchen can be. Since I will be out of commission for about a month, this will mainly consist of research, but I'll keep you posted!!

Peace!

Broken Hearted

2009-10-09T08:04:00.001-07:00

My heart hurts to see so many invisible systems at work. We keep working to change the visible systems, but until we address the underlying invisible systems that inform our decision making, we will never see the improved visible systems put to use by the community.

EMEAC on Twitter

2009-09-16T07:30:00.000-07:00

After attending the Children & Nature Network's grassroots gathering last week, I came away even more convinced of the necessity of striking a balance between what is tradionally known as "nature" and what we call "technology" (because I am beginning to see a spark of nature AS technology and the other way around...just a thought.)

Yesterday I established East Michigan Environmental Action Council's presence on Twitter. I already can see how enjoyable this can be, for me anyway as a self-professed multi-media addict! After setting up the account, @EMEAC, I set out to become a follower. Starting with some trusted sources, I chose to follow some Tweeps that have related interests to the work that we are doing. I was so excited by the sheer numbers of environmentally realated Twitizens there are. As of today EMEAC is following about 146 Tweeters and have 78 following us as well. I was pleased to be able to share links about Catherine Ferguson Academy being featured in a PBS documentary, as well as information on the upcoming USSF Detroit.

I have added the Twitter stream to our website www.emeac.org and figured out how to connect to my Facebook account.

This is where lo and high tech intersect. It is making this learning process more enjoyable for me because this is my "plug-in" point. The dept. I know a little sum-sum about and don't have to feel like I am completely in the dark.

Welome to Earthseed Detroit

2009-09-14T16:29:00.000-07:00

Detroit: pathways, rocks, thorny patches, and fertile soil.

I am Lottie and this is my parable.

The inspiration for this blog is made up of a combination of events: attending the Children & Nature Networks's Grassroots Gathering last week, finishing Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower, learning the environmental ropes as I transition from media activist to enviromentalist, and having the impossibly huge task of trying to help my community within the confines of a somewhat balanced work week for a small environmental justice non-profit here in Detroit. (Somewhat balanced work week at a small non-profit? How oxymoronic is that?)

The C&NN Conference was well attendend by almost 200 attendees, all intent on getting kids outside and convinced that nature experiences can transform kiddie couch potatoes into caring stewards of the earth. In one of the plenary sessions on using social media tools to expand and enhance your work, the tech savvy Grass Stain Guru pointed out that a work blog is, not only a great way to market and publicize the work of your organization, but a great way to provide documentation to funders, the boss, or even yourself about what you have been up to. I see this as the yellow brick road to the new and improved, organized super activist that I will be!!

The name and theme honor Octavia E. Butler and her Hugo and Nubula award winning book "Parable of the Sower". I understand the work that I do is part of a much greater tag team race. I will not see the finish line, but I must run my part of the race as swiftly and skillfully as possible for the hand that reaches to take the baton. I am trying to package up a baton, rolling all these tears and experiences into a tight cylinder. I also have a huge concern about the lack of hands awaiting this gift, so my mission and passions are two-fold.

My road has twisted and turned many times over the course of this trip. My background in multi-media design has served me well in creating workshops that I hope have been interesting for youth and adults, designed to promote consciousness, media-literacy, and cultural awareness. Now I am taking all that I thought I knew and draping it with a green overlay. And this green business is hard! Most of my co-workers have extensive alphabet soups of environmentally related degrees and have zipped all over the world seeing well, "the environment". This destination or place always seemed to be exist elsewhere in my urban mind. I was of the mindset that is shared by many who are unfamiliar with the environmental justice movement, that environmentalists are a leafy bunch of folks, concerned mainly with trees, polar bears, and the rain forest. You know, over there...wherever "there" is, but not on my block. Have I learned a lot! But I still have a long way to go and I hope to chronicle my evolution out of the narrow confines of my mind into the urban farmgirl that I am becoming, here in my heartland: Detroit.