December 2011

Happy Holidays!

Upcoming Events:


Next Slow Money Webinar
December 6, noon
Room 110 UW-SP Trainer Natural Resources Bldg.

The topic for the next Slow Money webinar will be: Move your Money, Then Make it Work for Your Community: Partnering with Local Banks and Credit Unions.  The Move Your Money initiative, which encourages people to move their assets from big, national banks to local financial institutions, has been gaining momentum across the United States.  In this webinar, representatives from a band and a credit union describe possible ways our local investments can be organized for maximum impact on the local economy.  These institutions are using their money to build stronger, more equitable and sustainable local economies.  We’ll explore a range of their replicable initiatives.  The Slow Money initiative looks at ways community investments can help build the local, sustainable food system.  The discussion will examine ways these two initiatives can be combined.  The webinar is scheduled for noon on Tuesday, December 6 in room 110 at the Trainer Natural Resources building, aka CNR, at the UW-SP campus and is sponsored by the local Slow Money initiative.   Call 715-592-4051 with questions.


Next Film Presentation
The 11th Hour
7:00 pm, Thursday January 12, MREA in Custer

The 11th Hour is a documentary film created, produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio describing the status of global eco-systems, including climate change.  With contributions from over 50 politicians, scientists, thought leaders and environmental activists including former Soviet leader, Mikkail Gorbachev, physicist Stephen Hawking, Nobel prize winner Wnagan Maathai and journalist Paul Hawken, the film documents the grave problems facing the planet’s life systems.  It also proposes potential solutions to these problems by calling for restorative action through the reshaping and rethinking of global human activity in technology, social responsibility and conservation.  The film emphasizes that everyone must become involved to reverse the environmental destruction before the window of opportunity is too small to accomplish the scale of change needed. The film will be shown on Thursday, January 12 at 7:00 pm at the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) in Custer.  The event is co-sponsored by Sustainable Stockton and the MREA.  Call 715-592-4051 with questions.

Greenhouse Project Update:

Marcus Decker has circulated this notice to those people in our community who are interested in donating time, talent or resources to the Greenhouse Project.

Things are really coming along at the site.  This week’s volunteer work days are November 29, 30 and December 1 from 11:00 until 4:30. Work to be done:
•    Finishing gutting the front building’s ceiling
•    Sorting the pile of lumber out back
•    Tarping leaks in the back building
•    Loading and hauling rubble on the outside of the site
•    Completing simple carpentry jobs

In addition, an upcoming holiday party is scheduled for sometime in mid-December at what was previously known as Sorenson's Greenhouses, located across the street from the downtown shopping mall.

Consider donating any of the following items to the Greenhouse Project, coordinated by Layne Cozzolino:
•    greenhouse supplies
•    office supplies and equipment
•    small kitchen utensils

This will be a gift exchange party for the project.  Please wrap your gift, and we will all open them when we get together.  For more information, contact Marcus Decker at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .


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Hungry for Change Discussion Group
The Greenhouse Project coordinated by Central Rivers Farmshed at the site of the former Sorenson’s Greenhouse is stirring up interest in sustainably grown food.  A new discussion group exploring issues related to the food we eat will be starting up using the book, Hungry for Change.  Discussions will look at how the availability of food and its production affects all of us very deeply.   We’ll talk about ideas related to the interconnections among politics, health, social justice, ethics and the health of the local ecosystems and how our personal value systems are built into what we choose to eat each day.
Discussions will take place over six sessions and will meet mid-day at a convenient location such as the library or a home.  The readings, which take about an hour and a half to read each week, are taken from the writing of thought-leaders and poets such as Wendell Berry, Michael Pollan and Lester Brown.  The goal is to have fun while exploring how our values and choices in selecting the food we eat affects the quality of the food we have available in our community and also how the food that is available affects our health and the health of the ecosystem around us.  Let us know your preference for a start-up date.  The most likely start-date will be after the winter holidays.  For more information call 715-592-4051 or 715-346-3879.

Upcoming events sponsored by the Aldo Leopold Audubon Society:
Saturday, Dec. 17 Annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count Contact Nancy Stevenson, 715-341-0084  
Saturday, Jan. 28 Snowshoe Hike, Dells of the Eau Claire County    Park Contact Stan Skutek, 715-544-0572   


Annual Meeting: Central Wisconsin Chapter of Wild Ones Thursday December 1, 7:00 pm                                                                                   Pinery Room, Portage County Library

The annual meeting for Wild Ones, a local chapter of a national organization that encourages native plantings, will take place December 1 at 7:00 pm in the Pinery Room at the Portage County Library.  Members are invited to participate in a seed exchange focused on seeds for native plants.  In addition, members will share their experiences fostering native landscapes and plan events for the coming year.  The public is invited to join.
News from Central Wisconsin Sustainability Newsletter:


Custer Couple's Heirloom Turkeys Not Your Typical Thanksgiving Bird
Adapted from the Stevens Point Journal

Chris Holman, 34, and Maria Davis, 25, are raising turkeys, along with other animals and produce, at Nami Moon Farms in Custer. On a 41-acre property, owned by Davis' family, they began raising chickens n 2009 and selling them to restaurants, primarily around Madison. The business quickly picked up, and they raised about 3,600 chickens in their first year in business. In 2011 they raised heirloom turkeys, which have the characteristics of the birds originally grown in this country. The animals roam more than10 acres, Holman said, and there are distinct advantages to the heirloom bird despite some additional effort. "Our other turkeys were ready to be sold at about 18 weeks. These ones we raised over 8 1/2 months," said Holman, who said they sold 60 turkeys this year. "They aren't as big, but the health of the animal is better because they are more active and not as prone to things like heart attacks or liver damage." With the success of their sales of chicken and turkeys, as well as ducks on a limited level, both Holman and Davis say they are looking forward to expanding their operations next year.

Book Offers How-To Guide for Locally Grown Food
Adapted from the Stevens Point Journal
Eating fresh, locally grown food isn't hard, and it doesn't take a long time, said Jasia Steinmetz. In fact, the prep time can be about the same as a frozen meal or fast food. In her new book, Eat Local: Simple Steps to Enjoy Real, Healthy & Affordable Food, Steinmetz, a professor of dietetics and nutritional science at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, offers a how-to guide for buying and preparing local food easily. If people realize how easy and rewarding preparing local food can be, Steinmetz said, they will be more likely to seek it out instead of settling for processed food. They forget that half of the fruits and vegetables you eat can be eaten raw.

Farmers markets are back in vogue, with new ones springing up around central Wisconsin. More than 1,000 new farmers markets were recorded this year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Wisconsin had the ninth most of any state in the country with 231. Steinmetz is trying to encourage and grow that new population of local farmer’s market shopper.


Students Sell $15,000 Worth of Local Food in School Fundraiser
During the "Local Food Tastes Great!" school fundraiser that wrapped up last week, students at four local schools sold locally-grown fresh vegetables, cheese and sausage, popcorn and more. Farmers and other local business owners delivered the products they grew and made to the schools. Parents, students and other volunteers at Jefferson, Roosevelt, St. Peter’s and Port Edwards schools sorted and delivered over $15,000 worth of local goods. Buying local food helps our community's economy, rather than sending our money elsewhere. Local businesses including Beltie Beef in Milladore, Malek Family Stewardship Farm in Rosholt, Dennis Kitowski’s Orchard in Custer, Bice’s Quality Critter Ranch in Vesper, Sankey Farms in Plover, Okray Family Farms in Plover, plus Earthcrust Bakery, Café 27 and Emy J's/Cafe Espresso in Stevens Point sold their products through the fundraiser.