Jefferson County school cafeterias serve local food - WVPubcast.org

Jefferson County school cafeterias serve local food - WVPubcast.org

Sustainable Shepherdstown Initiative and Earth Day Set

See this website for more info....looks exciting www.sustainableshepherdstown.ning.com
Also the date for sheperdstown earth day festival is set for April 24, 2010. Save the date!

EarthCamp & Sustainability Expo - save the date

Save the date for ....EarthCamp...an indoor/outdoor weekend intensive practicing sustainability one day at a time. It will be held on September 5-7th at Claymont Society for Continuous Education's Great Barn Campsite outside of Charles Town, WV. The event will also feature a drop-in local Sustainability Expo on Saturday September 6th from 10am - 12noon that will be free to the public and requires no pre-registration.

The weekend features

• support for environmental stewardship in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle
  
• workshops on how to integrate sustainability into your daily life
  
• wild edible plant walk and scavenger hunt
• Saturday Sustainability Expo featuring a seed swap, a "green" bookstore, and local environmental resources
• harvesting, preparing, and cooking nutritious and delicious meals from the garden
• music inspired by nature
• EcoArt
• home scale permaculture demonstrations
• activities for all ages such as a trash to treasure class, nature's orchestra, and earth poem or skit making
• morning meditation and yoga for centering
• straw bale and bamboo shelter construction
• rainwater collection workshop
  

Join us for a joyful and educational weekend!

For pre-registration and more information contact:

304-876-8614 or 240-527-0065

earthcamp@gmail.com

www.earthcampwv.org

http://earthcampwv.blogspot.com/

Earth Day Events Galore!

We are blessed with many Earth Day happenings in the area this year including...an Earth Day 5K and festival with FLOC, a Wildflower Festival at Yankauer Nature Preserve, and The Common Market's Earth Day Festival and the Audubon Society Race for the Birds at the NCTC. All are posted on the calendar on this blog. If you know of other local celebrations in support of the earth please send them thru the comment below or email them to me at vitalearth@gmail.com
Thanks!

Farmers Markets Open for the Season!

I finally made it to the Shepherdstown farmers market this season. I'm reminded that the season is in full swing and now inspired to start some pepper seeds! This week there were delicious greens, fresh eggs, spring onions, pastries, beautiful plants like watercress plants, fresh herbs, a variety of local cheeses and meats, and even rainwater collection barrels for watering plants. Its so refreshing to see people dedicated to sharing delicious food and creativity in living sustainably. But made my stomach remember more signs of springs treats....fresh strawberries, cherries, rhubarb, ramps, garlic scapes, and wild mushrooms. So, please post or email if you have found any local sources for these!

The Sheperdstown market is open from 9:30 - 1pm.
Find them on the web at:
http://www.localharvest.org/farmers-markets/M868
and
http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/farmman2/farmmrkts.htm#Jefferson

You'll find many others there too.

Also look for the free magazine Edible Cheseapeake which has some excellent articles on local food and resources in the area.

Enjoy the good eats!
Siri

Visions of sustainable food systems..mmmm...

Despite the negative tone of the previous article I recently posted, I was surprised how much it inspired me to reduce plastics in my life. I found myself making concrete changes toward recycling and carrying reusable bags in my car. It also got me thinking about this idea of what motivates us toward making change. Writers and therapists Prochaska and DiClemente talk about motivation as happening in the following stages:

1. Pre-contemplation – when you just hear things here and there but are still pretty resistant to change – ex> noticing how good locally grown food tastes
2. Contemplation – when you are really thinking about the change and possibly discussing it with others – ex>active contemplation about how much you buy local food on a daily basis and how hard it is to come by
3. Preparation – When you are taking steps in your life to prepare such as educating yourself – ex>when you are reading and talking to others about the importance of local food and potential sources for it
4. Action – When you’re making things happen! ex>buying and preparing a delicious meal of cooked greens, local trout, fresh organic tomatoes and cheese, and a raspberry cobbler!
5. Maintenance – When the change you hoped to make is put into action and continues for as long as you had hoped – ex> starting your own kitchen garden

This theory is so fascinating because it teaches about what we go thru in creating change. When I read articles like the one about the ocean, I want change to happen immediately. But the more I understand that there is a process involved and trust the change will come, then it does. When I see the action I want to take, trust it, release it, and watch myself move thru or jump around these stages…my goals for environmental change seem to happen more naturally and less stressful pace.

This week has been abundant with vision and action. Hopefully I can maintain it! I’ve started cilantro, parsley, and brussel sprouts and created a garden plan. Yes, a little early but hard to resist after getting some great varieties and a good antidote to taxes! I also found some great resources that I posted on the web like a local seed starting calendar for the area.

So, that said I’m curious to hear about your vision for a more sustainable food system in Jefferson County. What are some things that you are doing in your life and in the community to nourish people and environments? What resources would you like to share? What are your hopes for environmental change in your life and the community?

We are only limited by our imagination!

SMcD – vitalearth@gmail.com

Floating dump 'bigger than US' (The Courier-Mail Article)

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The Courier-Mail

Sustain Jefferson Co, SMcDonald (vitalearth@gmail.com) thought you might find this article from news.com.au/couriermail/ interesting:

This is a great support for taking plastics out of the waste stream and increasing the use of bio-degradable materials. Scientists are studying a huge waste island and tracing the plastics that have broken down to food systems and animal digestive tracks!

Floating dump 'bigger than US'

From: AAP

February 03, 2008

IT has been described as the world's largest rubbish dump, or the Pacific plastic soup, and it is starting to alarm scientists. It is a vast area of floating plastic debris.

It is a vast area of plastic debris and other flotsam drifting in the northern Pacific Ocean, held there by swirling ocean currents.

Discovered in 1997 by American sailor Charles Moore, what is also called the great Pacific garbage patch is now alarming some with its ever-growing size and possible impact on human health.

Click here to read the full article on the website

Alternatively, you can copy and paste this link into your browser:
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23157068-952,00.html

Welcome to Sustainable Jeffco

This blog is a space for posting environmentally sustainable events and issues happening in and around Jefferson County, West Virginia. This may include postings such as organic gardening information, local extension workshops, sustainable home design courses, community environmental group meetings. It may evolve to include much more as you share your voice, interests, and community needs.