•  Sustainable Stockton Gathering.  We will begin the new year with a new meeting venue.  Rather than the typical formal, sit-down, meetings, we will be including informal social "gatherings" in the schedule.  A time to meet your neighbors, welcome new neighbors and create community.  Our first gathering will be held at:  Clancy's Stone Lion, Thursday, January 7, 2010, 6 p.m.   Please join us for this social, and dine with us if you so chose.
  
  
• Help Reform Wisconsin's Groundwater Pumping Laws.  A group is meeting to encourage legislators to reform Wisconsin's groundwater pumping laws to protect our lakes and streams from too much pumping.  Local sponsors include the River Alliance of Wisconsin, Friends of the Little Plover River, Friends of the Tomorrow Waupaca River and the Aldo Leopold Audubon Society.  The meeting will be held at:   Camp Helen Brachman, 9341 Asbury Lane (off Portage County Hwy A), Almond, WI  Thursday, December 10, 2010, 6 p.m.
  
  
• Climate Change Event.  Science Fiction vs. Science Fact – ‘The Great Squeeze’ Film Screening and Discussion
  Have you seen ‘2012’ or ‘The Road’ in theaters yet?? Did the doomsday scenarios scare the bajeesezz out of you? Well you’re invited to take a look at a doomsday scenario that is based on science fact, not science fiction, and is happening right NOW!! “The Great Squeeze’ is a documentary about how our reliance on fossil fuels has created endless consumerism with dramatic social and environmental consequences. Some of these consequences may even be dangerous enough to generate a factual doomsday scenario within our lifetimes. Students for Sustainable Communities, a student organization at UWSP, will be showing this film, followed by a panel discussion talking about the issues presented. The panel members include Eric Olson, professor of land use at UWSP; Samantha Kaplan, professor of geography/geology at UWSP; and Kevin Hite, active student and environmentalist at UWSP. This event is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Join us for this one of a kind event and learn more about the real “doomsday” we may be facing.   6:30 p.m., Thursday, December 10, in the Dreyfus University Center Theater.

•  Advanced rustic furniture - Eco-Building & Forestry, Mosinee
  You can create fun and practical items from branches and waste wood. Construct a simple project or start a larger one to finish at home for yourself or as a holiday gift.  Some supplies and safety equipment are required or are available to purchase. Part of the Better Lifestyles through Sustainability Series. Class is $15 each or $8 with student ID. Class size is limited and reservations are required. To reserve your space email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call the Landscapes For Life Foundation at 715.344.1730  December 12, 8:30-10:30 a.m.
  
  
• New Discussion Group: Voluntary Simplicity
  Join this organizational meeting to begin a discussion group using Voluntary Simplicity, a book of selected readings published by the Northwest Earth Institute. This seven-session series will focus on the concept of "living more with less" and will include readings from work by Wendell Berry, Joe Dominquez and Vicki Robbins (Your Money or Your Life) and many others. Readings will explore ideas such as "precycling" and "living lightly" from diverse perspectives. If you'd like to participate and can't be at the organizational meeting or if you have other questions please call Lynn Markham (346-3879) or Mary Maller (592-4051). The book discussions are co-sponsored by Central Rivers Farmshed and Sustainable Stockton. Copies of the book will be available on loan or participants will be able to purchase a copy for their own use.  January 6, 6:30 pm - Downtown Portage County Library, Prairie Room
  
  
• Winter Film Series.  You’re invited to attend the next FREE movie in our green-themed, winter film series:  Food Inc.  This  documentary will be shown on Thursday, January 14, 2010, at 7:00 pm at the Midwest Renewable Energy Association at 7558 Deer Road in Custer.  This film reveals surprising - and often shocking truths - about what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.  Free popcorn available.  Bring your own beverage.  Questions:  call 592-4051.  
  
  Save the date for these future FREE movie showings in our series:

o    February 11, 2010  Fresh celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people who are reinventing our food system in a healthier, more environmentally friendly direction.
o    March 11, 2010  Mad City Chickens  is a sometimes serious, sometimes whimsical documentary about raising chickens in your backyard. 

• MREA Receives $3.3 Million Award! (As summarized on the MREA website).  The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it had selected the MREA to provide solar energy training and resources to technical and community college instructors across the Midwest. With $3.3 million in funding over five years, MREA will work with training partners in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, and Minnesota to offer instructor training institutes, provide instructional resources, and organize a network of Midwest solar training programs. This effort is part of a national initiative by the DOE, in which eight other organizations have been funded to advance similar efforts in other regions of the country. The trainings and resources will help advance instruction about solar electric and solar heating and cooling technologies, increasing the quality and availability of training programs across the U.S.

• Sustainable Stockton Secretary Position Open.  If anyone out there is a detail-oriented person with good communication skills and a little extra time, please consider volunteering to become our next Sustainable Stockton Secretary.  For more information about the position, contact Sue Anderson at 592-4423.