Category Archives: Groups/Events

From Roots to Rooftops!

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Every month a group of folks meets at the Red Stag Supperclub near downtown Minneapolis to hear the latest developments from people working on energy and environmental issues. This month’s “Green Ideas & Ham” meeting looks at innovative water management strategies.

Speakers John Bilotta, an educator with the U of M Extension Service on Water, and Angie Durhman, a National Green Roof Manager with Tecta America, will talk about the benefits of green roofs and landscaping in conserving and protecting clean water. John has years of experience in education and training around soil and water resources, and Annie has worked on more than 200 green roof projects including the Target Center in Minneapolis.

This monthly breakfast forum will take place on Tuesday, March 20, from 8 to 9 am (doors open at 7:30). The Red Stag Supperclub is in near-northeast, at 509 1st Ave NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413.

The cost to attend the talk and for a fabulous farm-fresh breakfast (I can attest that it is really good) is $15 total. Donate $5 online at Environment Minnesota, which reserves you a seat, and come prepared to pay $10 to the Red Stag server at your table. (Note: the Red Stag does not accept checks).

Energy and Environment Conference at William Mitchell

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At the third annual Energy and Environment Conference takes place at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul on March 14, from 11 am to 4:30 pm. Legislators and government officials, environmental advocates and industry leaders will discuss:

  • The impact of recent EPA regulations
  • Climate change and its effects on natural resources
  • Updates on environmental case law

    • The event is organized by the William Mitchell Environmental Law Society.
    Featured speakers include:

  • Robert Kaplan, regional counsel for the EPA Region 5
  • Fresh Energy’s J. Drake Hamilton, speaking about Clean Air Act regulations, and
  • U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum will present the closing address

    • It is free and open to the public but you must pre-register. Lunch is provided. Register here.

    Seward Neighborhood Sustainability Fair

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    Longfellow folks, there’s going to be a sustainability fair just down the street on March 17, from 1 to 5 pm at Faith Mennonite Church (across from Seward Montessori) at 2720 East 22nd St.

    Organizers say the fair will provide opportunities to learn from neighbors about what they are doing to use less of the earth’s resources. Join neighbors and local groups in activities such as:

  • A clothing exchange (bring clothes to swap)
  • Small electronics exchange (bring old cell phones, P4 computer processors, hard drives, DVD drives (no CRTs)
  • Seed swap
  • Bike tune-up
  • Meet a local urban farmer, learn more about Seward Coop is up to.

    • “We want to create an event which is fun and hopeful, while providing opportunities for learning, networking, and increasing the
    sustainability of our daily lives. Please join us!” If you have questions or comments, please contact Phil Stoltzfus at Faith Mennonite Church, at 612-375-9483.

    First Saturday Longfellow Sustainability Group

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    For the past year, the Longfellow Sustainability Group has met on the first Saturday of the month, usually at Peace Coffee. At our first meetings, we decided to do monthly mini-challenges on topics the group itself decided to explore — the following month we would discuss how we did on that challenge.

    For year 2, we’re considering a change. We recently discovered Resilience Circles. While they use slightly different language than we might use — “personal security” where we would use “resilience and self sufficiency” — I think that concept is very much what we were trying to do when we began our group.

    Resilience Circles are intended to help people:

    • Face  economic and ecological challenges, learning together about root causes.
    • Take concrete steps for mutual aid and shared action.
    • Rediscover the abundance we have and recognize the possibility of a better future.
    • See ourselves as part of a larger effort to create a fair and healthy economy that works for everyone, in harmony with the planet.
    • Get to know neighbors, find inspiration, and have fun!

    The website about resilience circles talks about three components:

    Learning – The realities of our economic and ecological challenges may be overwhelming for isolated individuals. The Circle is a supportive community in which to learn about and analyze structural flaws in the systems within which we live — particularly our current economic system, which has created massive insecurity for young, old and everyone in between.

    This is very much in line with the Post Carbon Institute‘s new Community Resilience Initiative. Two books from PCI focus on economic issues: Local Dollars, Local Sense (hot off the presses) and The End of Growth.

    Mutual Aid – Resilience Circles provide members with concrete opportunities to stretching their “mutual aid muscles.” For example, in session 5 participants write down things they can offer – such sewing skills, tools, or child care – and things they need — and then take action. This step helps participants gain a new sense of the wealth within the group and the community.

    Social Action – Many of our challenges won’t be solved through personal or local mutual aid efforts alone. They require us to work together to bring about change on the state, national and even global level. While there is no official Resilience Circle social action agenda, many groups choose to take action based on their own values and interests.

    If you would like to participate in a Resilience Circle — or if you do NOT want to see our current sustainability group shift to this model — please show up at Peace Coffee this Saturday morning to weigh in on this decision. We meet from 10:30 to noon.

    Movies, MayDay and More in March

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    Bell Museum Sustainability Series — all movies showing at the Bell Museum (University of Minnesota); $5 donation
    Up the Yangtze – March 1, 7:30 pm: The Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest mega-dam provides the epic and unsettling backdrop for this award-winning film. At the edge of the Yangtze River, not far from the Three Gorges Damn, young men and women take up employment on a cruise ship, where they confront rising waters and a radically changing China. This dramatic and disquieting documentary explores life inside the 21st century Chinese dream and the landscapes and inhabitants it impacts.

    The Greenhorns documentary screenings
    The Greenhorns is a 45-minute documentary telling the stories of the young farmers who are the face of the Agricultural Renaissance. The Greenhorns is also a national non-profit with the mission to recruit, support, and promote young farmers in America.

  • March 8th at Macalester College in St. Paul, 7 PM in the James B.
    Wallace auditorium in the basement of the Campus Center. Sponsored by MPIRG.
  • March 12th at Bryant Lake Bowl, 7-9 PM, with a panel to follow. Sponsored by the Land
    Stewardship Project.
  • March 27th at the Casket Cinema in the Casket Arts Building in NE Minneapolis, 7-10 PM with panel discussion after movie.

    • MayDay 2012 Planning and Activities
    Planning has begun for the 2012 MayDay Parade & Festival and your input is needed. Join a brainstorming meeting on Tuesday, March 27 – 7-9 pm, at the Heart of the Beast Theater building on Lake Street near Bloomington Ave. Bring your ideas, concerns, hopes and dreams about building a sustainable future — and bring your friends and neighbors! This brainstorming will shape the parade and festival. Puppet and float making occur in April.

    A group of folks will be gathering on Friday, March 2, from 12-12 at Heart of the Beast Theater to brainstorm ideas surrounding the food justice and compost component of the parade, which they will then bring forward at the larger planning group. If local food and food justice inspires you, please attend this brainstorming session.

    In the Heart of the Beast has a GREEN TEAM that will be working on energy, food and waste for the festival itself. Volunteers are needed for each of these ventures.

    The Truth Behind the Tar Sands

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    We hear a lot in the media and from politicians about the Keystone pipeline and the Alberta tar sands but most people don’t actually know much about this unique area of the world or the impact that extracting oil would have for that region or the globe.

    The St. Anthony Park Community Council’s Energy Resilience Group is hosting as movie night on Tuesday, Feb. 28 (6:45 refreshments and 7:00 pm film), showing the film WHITE WATER, BLACK GOLD. The movie follows the filmmaker’s three-year journey across Western Canada to understand the issue presented by the tar sands from beginning to end — from the pristine mountain ice fields that are the source of the industry’s water supply to the Tar Sands tailings ponds that remain after oil is pumped out of the ground. Governments and industry spokespeople say there is no cause for concern but is that true? University scientists have made a number of discoveries that challenge that assessment, raising serious concerns for both Canada and the United States.

    The movie is showing at St. Anthony Park United Methodist Church, 2200 Hillside Avenue, St. Paul.

    Excited about Recycling? Become a Master Recycler/Composter

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    We have a friend — Annette — who knows everything there is to know about recycling and waste reduction. It’s so fun to go out with her because waste is everywhere and we learn so much from her. In fact, we’ve gotten quite interested in waste because of her willingness to share what she knows.

    Well, Hennepin County is now giving everyone a chance to become an “expert” in recycling and waste reduction through a Maser Recycler/Composter program. The six-class program covers waste prevention, recycling, home composting, alternatives to hazardous household products, “de-construction” and construction sites, and the ever-so-important topic of psychology of sustainable behavior change.

    The cost of the program is $30 and graduates need to volunteer to share their knowledge for 30 hours. The next session begins April 4 and runs every Wednesday evening through May 9. The program is limited so register soon if you are interested. Register at www.hennepin.us/masterrecyclers.

    2012 Sustainable Film Series

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    The Minneapolis College of Art & Design and reDesign are sponsoring a series of sustainability movies this spring. Free and open to the public.

    Be the Change Explores the motivations for, and the challenges and rewards of, trying to live more lightly.
    Wed., Feb. 15, 7:00 p.m.

    Living Lightly A 21st century family lives with the land and the season in a corner of New Brunswick, Canada.
    Wednesday, March 21, 7:00 p.m.

    Permaculture:     A Quiet Revolution A documentary featuring leading permaculturists.
    No date published yet

    Urban Roots Follows the urban farming phenomenon in Detroit, a community forging a sustainable and prosperous future.
    Wednesday, April 18th, 7:00 p.m.

    Mark Your Calendar, Opportunities Galore

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    I’m sorry so much time has gone by but a life change took all my attention for six months. Now I’m back on track and ready to o help you get on track for 2012. Here are some classes/events/talks you may want to get on your calendar.

    ENERGY
    Solar Hot Water 103
    Saturday, February 25, 2012
    Century College, 3300 Century Avenue N., White Bear Lake, MN 55110
    $90.00 for members of MRES, $100.00 for non-members
    A one-day introductory course for homeowners interested in learning how to design a solar hot water heating system. You will learn to evaluate solar site resource, when solar hot water is the right solution, the economics and incentives for solar hot water, and system design principles. Topics covered include system components, system sizing, solar thermal panels, storage tanks, heat exchangers and plumbing connections.

    Build a Personal Solar Station
    Thursday, March 22, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
    At the Seward Co-op, brought to you by GoSolar!
    $50/$45 members
    The class will teach you how to build a Personal Solar Station that can be used in your home, cabin, or RV to run 12V kitchen appliances for cooking or lights for a shed. Learn the basics of solar energy and electricity. Solar kits will be offered during class.

    Your Longfellow sustainability group (called Transition Longfellow) will be hosting a workshop to make a solar cooker in April of this year. Watch for more info.

    CLIMATE CHANGE
    HOLY TRINITY READING PROJECT
    Holy Trinity Lutheran Church is doing a congregation book read of “Earth: Making Life on a Tough New Planet,” by Bill McKibben. Learn how climate change is/will affect both people and the planet and how we can begin to respond to and prepare for it. Book discussion is held in the Holy Trinity library at 9:55 am on Sunday, March 11. Books are available for sale at the church.

    GARDENS/LOCAL FOOD
    Community Garden Spring Resource Fair, organized by Gardening Matters
    Saturday March 31st
    Neighborhood House, 179 Robie Street, St. Paul, MN 55107
    Donation
    Connecting gardeners with resources, information and people for a successful 2012 growing season. Workshops on topics such as backyard chickens and beekeeping, food swaps and coops, addressing food justice at a local level, and composting options for community gardens. Keynote speaker is Karen Washington, an urban farmer and president of the New York City Community Garden Coalition and founding member of Black Urban Growers (BUGs). Karen has developed abandoned lots into successful community gardens and food initiatives. She will be sharing her work advocating for land permanence for community gardens and the power of working in a coalition to achieve common goals.

    Urban Chicken 101 Lecture
    Wednesday, April 4, 6:30-8:30
    Seward Co-op
    $12/$10 members
    This class will cover everything you need to know to start up a small flock of chickens in your back yard, with an emphasis on coop design.