Greetings all!      May 2011
 
Our next Meeting/Gathering.  Our next meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, May 5 at the Stockton Municipal Building. 

MREA Film Series Presents:  Who Killed The Electric Car?

MREA will be showing “Who Killed the Electric Car?” at its headquarters in Custer on Thursday, May 12 at 7:00 p.m. A murder mystery, a call to arms and an effective inducement to rage, “Who Killed the Electric Car?” is the latest and one of the more successful additions to the growing ranks of issue-oriented documentaries.- The New York Times

Of note – This film was created by Chris Paine who will be the featured speaker at the Energy Fair this summer.

For any questions, please contact Ellie Jackson This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 715-592-6595 or watch the trailer here: http://www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com/trailer
.

Upcoming Area Events:

? May 3, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m., “La Montañita Fund: Cooperative Grassroots Investing – TNR 110, Wis. Center for Environmental Education Conference Room
Speaker: Robin Seydel, Membership and Community Development Coordinator, La Montañita Co-op in Albuquerque, New Mexico

About the La Montañita Fund: The La Montanita Fund has several services. First, their pre-payment loan program has loaned $40,000 over the past few years to farmers, ranchers, and other local food producers who sell their products at four Co-op stores or through the Co-op Trade Initiative’s Co-op Distribution Center (CDC). With the expansion of interest in the local food system, requests for these loans increased beyond what the Co-op can do on its own. In order to raise the funds to increase the number of loans, the Co-op has launched a new local investing program approved by the New Mexico State Securities Division.

This is the first in a webinar series on Accelerating Community Capital put on by Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) and the national Slow Money Alliance. This webinar series is being offered the first Tuesday of the month through December of 2011. You’re welcome to participate and learn more about building a sustainable food system. Feel free to bring your lunch along!

You will learn about innovative strategies to:
• Connect local farmers and food-related businesses with local lenders, investors and donors,
• Earn a "living rate of return" on investments while supporting the local food economy, and
• Create jobs by strengthening family farms,  expanding the local market for healthy food grown within a community and grow independent businesses interested in working with local production of healthy food.

? May 9, 6:30 p.m., “Subtle Biological Effects of Pesticides and Other Environmental Chemicals” -with Prof. Warren Porter, Zoology Department, UW Madison.
Laird Room in the Dreyfus University Center at UWSP
How do very low level concentrations of pesticides and other environmental chemicals affect the development, learning and immune systems in our children and wildlife? Learn how chemicals can induce chronic long-term diseases, such as obesity, type II diabetes, atherosclerosis and neurodegenerative diseases. Discover a simple solution to the problem and numerous alternative methods for controlling such pests as bedbugs in mattresses, fleas on dogs, lice on children's hair and weeds in lawns.

Sponsored by the Central Wisconsin Chapter of Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes
Co-sponsors include the Interfaith Community for the Earth (ICE), UWSP’s Sustainable Agriculture in Communities Society, The Holistic Moms: Central Wisconsin Chapter and others..

? May 14, 8-11 a.m., Master Gardeners’ Plant Sale
At the Rettler Corp. grounds in the Portage County Business Park
The annual plant sale offers many herbs, shrubs and vegetable seedlings along with various flowers.  Extension Master Gardener Volunteers will be on hand to answer questions.  Plants typically sell for $2 to $5.  Money raised supports Extension horticulture education programs, resource books for local libraries, scholarships and area school projects.

Compost bins and pails will also be available for sale. 

? May 16, 6:30 p.m., “Ferns and Fern Allies”
Pinery Room, Charles M. White Public Library
Dr. Robert Freckmann, professor emeritus of biology, will present this lecture sponsored by Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes and open to the public.

? May 26, 1:00 p.m., Enlisting Others: Bringing about Participation In Sustainable Community Planning. – Prairie Room, Charles M. White Public Library

Sarah James will introduce this exciting 6-part series of webinars that will teach people in your organization how to enlist wide-spread participation, from all walks of life and with diverse perspectives, in the development and planning for community-wide sustainability initiatives. 

There is an individual registration fee of $16.29 that covers all six sessions in this webinar series and can be paid through PayPal at www.naturalsteps.org/storage/pdfs-training/change-series-22011.pdf

When registering, list your job title as: volunteer and your organization as Central Rivers Farmshed.  Three more webinars are being scheduled for July 21, September 15 and November 17 at 1 p.m.  Depending on participant input, we may schedule the remaining two sessions for evening hours.  For more information about other sessions in the series go to the website listed above or call Mary at 715-592-4051 with questions.  The series is co-sponsored by Central Rivers Farmshed and the Center for Land use Education.

Other topics in the webinar series:
**John Ikerd: Respecting the Principles for Sustainability.  Ikerd will explore the basic ecological, social and economic principles of sustainability. (July 21st)
**Bob Pavlik: Hidden Assets in Plain Sight for Sustainability.  The seminar opens with an invitation to identify assets within individuals, associations, organizations, institutions and communities to select strategies for making connections that led to results of significance. (September 15th)
**Jeff Leinaweaver: Why Story Telling is the X Factor in Harnessing Your Sustainability Efforts.  This is about story telling as a key component in the tool kit for change. (November 17th)
**Bob Doppelt: Change We Can’t Live Without is based on Doppelt’s book The Power of Sustainable Thinking: How to Create a Positive Future for the Climate, the Planet Your Organization and Your Life. (Time to be determined)
**Anna Faley: Going for the Gut: Sustainability Framing and Messaging Strategies.  This session describes effective messaging tools to make the case for policy solutions and community action. (Time to be determined)

? May Meetings Continue Re: Portage County Lakes.
Linda Stoll has notified us of the May Lakes Planning Meetings.  The remaining discussions do not include Stockton lakes but anyone is welcome to attend any of the meetings.  I’m attaching Linda’s notice to this e-mail if you are interested in attending.