Great Lakes Bioneers

Our 7th great Lakes Bioneers Conference in Traverse City! Here are some photos from yesterday–wow, lots of kids running around the conference.

Sarna Salzman welcomes conference goers on Friday morning at the 2008 Great Lakes Bioneers Conference in Traverse City.  Followed by the annual inaugural song and poetry and magical celebration by Claudia Schmidt.

Kristin Rothballer, from Green for All, pushes the audience to remember social equity in the environmental movement. And, performer Joe Reilly held a concert for 200 plus elementary students.

Happy Autumn!

We are thrilled with how things are coming together for this year’s conference.

• We’ll be hosting hundreds of students this year from upper-elementary to college-level.
• Check out our long-awaited film selection below.
• We have more activities all day long, so if sitting in Milliken all afternoon was too much, get out and get in.
• And if you thought last year was family friendly, be sure to bring your neighbor’s children with you this year!

Big Thanks to everyone who has already registered; pre-registrations really help us in so many different ways! That said, we are completely happy to welcome you as a walk-in registrant anytime during the weekend.

Remember, you can attend all or just some of the conference. Half-day participation is $20. Catch a fantastic workshop or some inspirational speakers and then zip back out into your ‘real world’. No problem. Spread the word!

We can’t wait to see you…
Community Media Pre-Conference!

1-6pm Thursday, October 16 Oleson Center at Northwestern Michigan College
$25 - Please Pre-Register as this Conference will be Limited to 100 Participants
Free speech, public access and open networks are critical components of a healthy democratic civil society. Community Media Centers play a central role by providing public access to communication tools. Meet special guest, Lauren-Glenn Davitian from the Center for Media and Democracy. Get inspired here and then create media all weekend with the Bioneers! Or just attend this half-day conference alone.

Announcing Our Film Selection:
Saturday Night of the Conference in Milliken Auditorium
Tickets $5 in advance
What if women around the world decided to rise up and say “enough?” Documentary filmmaker Gini Reticker’s, Pray the Devil Back to Hell tells the story of the thousands of women in Liberia who came together to peacefully end their country’s second bloody civil war. At the fore of their non-violent protest was Leymah Gbowee, a Liberian woman who organized prayer meetings and started the Christian Women’s Peace Initiative, a group that eventually joined forces with a parallel Muslim women’s movement in nonviolent protest. Their collective effort to improve their country resulted in an end to war, the arrest of corrupt president Charles Taylor, and the election of the first female president in Liberian history — a true testament to the power of a collective will to peace. Winner of Tribeca’s Best Documentary prize. Winner of the Traverse City Film Festival Special Jury Prize for Non-Fiction Filmmaking.

Happening Now; Right Now!
Ecological Gardening: Workshops for Beginners and Experts: From Sept. 22 to 27
Locations in Traverse City and Bellaire, MI
ISLAND, Little Artshram, the Eco-Learning Center and The Green Man are proud to welcome back Dave Jacke, permaculture instructor and award winning author of Edible Forest Gardens. And we’re happy to promote a former keynote speaker for Great Lakes Bioneers! This week of talks and workshops will teach the theory and practice of ecological gardening. Beginners are welcome, and even advanced gardeners will find new ideas to use in their home or business. There’s more information at www.ARTmeetsEARTH.org or call 231-480-4515.

Happening Later!
Corporate Leadership and Sustainability Summit, October 23rd and 24th, 2008
Hagerty Center, Traverse City, MI
This summit is an opportunity for business leaders (both for-profit and non-profit), managers and social entrepreneurs to learn practical methods of turning good ideas and intentions into deliverable solutions that support both corporate values and the greater good. This is timely and relevant to business leaders and managers as they assume roles as bridge-builders in the search for solutions to global economic, social and environmental challenges, and gain a deeper understanding of how best business practices impact future generations. Impressive line-up of speakers and moderated by Tim Skubick.

The Conference on Michigan’s Future: Energy, Economy and Environment, November 14-16th
Crystal Mountain, MI

This conference looks at how rising oil and energy prices are crippling Michigan’s economy and proposes solutions to prepare Michigan for the economy of tomorrow. The conference kicks off on with an examination of Michigan’s energy, economy, and environment; a look at how the mortgage/monetary crisis is and will impact Michigan; and a live keynote talk by the world’s leading peak oil educator, Richard Heinberg.

In memory of the fateful day 3 years ago when hurricane Katrina hit shore and the subsequent government disaster began, the Traverse City State Theatre is showing Trouble the Water Aug. 29 thru Sept. 4th.

Tickets are $5 in honor of all those working for positive change–sounds  like a Bioneers shout out!

Trouble the Water is a redemptive tale of self-described street hustlers who become heroes—two unforgettable people who survive the storm and then seize a chance for a new beginning.

If you’re like a lot of people, you’ve had some success with a summer garden, but there remains plenty of opportunity for improvement.  Well, our friend’s at ISLAND, Institute for Sustainable Living, Art & Natural Design, are once again leading the way in Skillswapping. This one is titled: Ecological Gardening: Workshops for Beginners and Experts
Here is the scoop as of today:

Only five days left for early bird registration!

Register today to receive the early bird discount for the upcoming Ecological Gardening Workshop.

There are just 3 VIP spots left! Your VIP pass enables you to attend all the workshops, receive both volumes of Edible Forest Gardens, walk along on the ISLAND consulting tour and have dinner with Dave Jacke! This is a unique educational opportunity.

Dave Jacke is a permaculture instructor and award winning author of the comprehensive two-volume set Edible Forest Gardens. Local organizations–including ISLAND, Little Artshram, the Eco-Learning Center and The GreenMan (aka landscaper Bruce Holland-Moritz)–are partnering to bring you this comprehensive workshop series.

The full week of September 22 to 27 is filled with workshops, talks, field trips and networking opportunities throughout the Traverse City region. Please join us — for a single class or for the full week — if you’re a beginner or an expert there’s something here for you.

Talks and workshops include: Beyond Sustainability, Ecological Design, Urban Permaculture, Home Mushroom Production, Design Guilds and Polycultures, Water in Permaculture, Animals in Permaculture and Forest Gardens I & II.

Register now! Space is limited in the workshops, for which registration is required. Talks are by donation; registration is not required for these lectures.

See www.ARTmeetsEARTH.org for registration and pricing information. Web: www.ARTmeetsEARTH.org
Blog: http://ARTmeetsEARTH.blogspot.com

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And, since you’re registering, don’t forget that registration is now up and running for the 7th annual Great Lakes Bioneers Conference.

Greetings from deep within the annual Cherry Festival!

With the onset of summer, it is time to give away your excess lettuces before they go to seed. It is the time of year to give your neighbor a bouquet of flowers for no reason except they are blooming. It is a time of year to cut your co-workers some slack because they are as busy as you are and probably haven’t had enough beach time yet.

Speaking of giving:

Conference Sponsors: It is an honor and a pleasure to let you all know about a few of the returning friends we want to thank:

• Oryana Natural Foods continues to support the conference in a BIG way.
• Green Island and Higher Grounds Trading Company will once again pair up to feed and water us so so well.
• Fernand Footwear will sponsor the Earthwork Music Concert for the second time.
• Organic Bioneer Brownies are available at the Pleasanton Brick Oven Bakery and proceeds support us.
• Wash that down with the newly released Bioneers Blend: 100% Organic, Biodynamic, Fair Trade tea from Light of Day Organics.

The proprietors and employees of these businesses are some of our favorite people. They walk their talk; they are breaking old business molds to provide new economic models; they give so much and they give creatively! When you support these businesses it means more than just buying organic baby clothes; your business helps them support your community. Round, round, round.

Want to join this illustrious crew? July 18 is the date not to miss. Get the word out about your green business or non-profit. Or just contribute to a life-changing, life-affirming conference. Become a Business Sponsor, a Non-profit Partner, or an Individual Donor by:

• Making a tax-deductible gift,
• Buying advertising,
• Connecting us to your communication network, or
• Donating to our silent auction.

These are four simple ways you can help us while expanding your own exposure. Make a commitment before July 18 and we’ll include you in all the publicity we produce. Email us now at info@glbconference.org or call 231.947.0312 and tell us how you will help!

Another way to give: Volunteers needed! We have all kinds of things going on this summer to prepare for the Great Lakes Bioneers Conference in the fall. If you’re interested in helping at information tables, passing our flyers and posters, attending a mailing party, or working on specific events such as a movie at the State Theatre, a salon at your house, or Bill McKibbon’s visit September 7, contact us now at info@glbconference.org.

Coming up:

1. We’ll be at the Cherry Festival, Friday July 11 from noon-6pm (our first time!)
2. Food For Thought’s Green Cuisine Celebration July 16, 5-8pm

Final Tidbits of Good News That’s New:

1. New online publication: Sustainable Farmer, written by none other than our favorite vegetarian cowboy’s (Drew Howard) cowgal (Bonnie Bucqueroux). Check it out!
2. July 7, 2008 the Ecuador Constitutional Assembly – composed of one hundred and thirty (130) delegates elected countrywide to rewrite the country’s Constitution – voted to approve articles for the new constitution recognizing rights for nature and ecosystems. “If adopted in the final constitution by the people, Ecuador would become the first country in the world to codify a new system of environmental protection based on rights,� stated Thomas Linzey, Executive Director of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund and former Bioneers keynote.

Join us NOW to be an underwriter, sponsor, partner, advertiser, donor or volunteer to this year’s conference. There is a July 18 deadline to have your organization or company’s name in 10,000 registration booklets.

Share your support today! Email us for all your giving options–info@glbconference.org

Looking to volunteer? We want to hear what you’re interested in doing and empower you to do so. Download this short form (VOLUNTEER) and email it to info@glbconference.org.

Photo: Peter McCreedy rocked Traverse City’s world with his stories of children learning with dirt, stone tools and chucking homemade spears.

“What’s a Bioneer ?”

Great Lakes Bioneers took to the streets, entering a Street Art contest hosted by the InsideOut Gallery this past weekend. Joining a line up of taggers who primarily used cans of spray paint for their designs, we filled our canvas with layers of old Bioneer propoganda and other interesting images and headlines. Using ancient paper mache technology, we plastered it all up with wheat paste - actually organic whole wheat paste. Delicious!

While there is no doubt that our piece was not “hip and cool”, we did have fun using art as a medium for engaging youth about Bioneers. Turns out, it’s pretty easy to get a person to ask, “What’s a Bioneer?”

Great Lakes Bioneers Volunteers Reception
We really appreciated everything you do, even if it is taking a necessary nap!
Come join us on Thursday, 22 May 2008 From : 5:30pm To : 7:30pm
Stop by to sign up for a BIONEERS sub-committee and/or volunteer for tasks before or during the conference. Refreshments will be provided by Homegrown Organic Eatery and Right Brain Brewery.

Fee?? No way. This is a free event to say thank you for all that you’ve done to make the Great Lakes BIONEERS an year round inspiration.

For more Information, email : info@bioneers.org

TAKE A FAIR TRADE BREAK on WORLD FAIR TRADE DAY
SATURDAY, MAY 10TH all day at Unity, Higher Grounds, and Oryana
TC’S LARGEST FAIR TRADE COFFEE BREAK is at 3PM at Unity

For the official international Web site, go to: World Fair Trade Day
Come join in these local events to celebrate the movement to make trade fair. Learn about the benefits of fair trade (FT), and taste the difference that respect, love and dignity can make in chocolate, coffee, olive oil, fruit preserves, bananas and other fair trade products.

Unity FT Marketplace will be tasting free FT coffee, chocolate, etc all day, as well as holding a drawing for a $25 gift certificate to the store full of FT fashion, toys, books, and beautiful/useful home decor. join us here at 3PM for the official TC’s largest fair trade coffee break Lets get the whole town together to join in this awesome celebration 113 E State St. (in the alley behind the City Opera House) 929-4228 http://unityfairtrade.com/

Higher Grounds and Oryana all day will be tasting free fair trade coffee, local FT fruit preserves and other FT goodies. Come check out their SALES on FT products in honor of WFTD

Oryana: 260 E.10th St. (at Lake st) 947-0191 http://www.oryana.coop/

Higher Grounds: 806 Red Dr., Suite 150 (the old state hospital) 922-9009 http://www.highergroundstrading.com/

What is Fair Trade?
Fair Trade is an alternative way of doing business, one that builds equitable, long-term partnerships between consumers in North America and producers in developing regions. Fair Trade businesses commit to:

• Paying a fair wage in the local context.
• Offering employees opportunities for advancement.
• Providing equal opportunities for all people, particularly the most disadvantaged.
• Engaging in environmentally sustainable practices.
• Being open to public accountability.
• Building long-term trade relationships.
• Providing healthy and safe working conditions within the local context.
• Providing financial and technical assistance to producers whenever possible.
This criteria was established by the Fair Trade Federation.

This was kind of hidden at the end of the last entry…We just wanted to bring your attention to it in case you missed it. After all, we tend not to notice what we aren’t looking for.

Is Your Community Bike Friendly? Take this test; it’s short.

Happy Spring! or is it Late Winter! or Spring!?

Well, it’s Michigan, anyway. As we await more green shoots, here’s what’s cooking up north:

First, Thanks For Your Support!
We had an amazingly great showing of people who came to our Locavore Potluck and the movie, King Corn. We surprised ourselves with the turn out and were really happy to help showcase the new Serenity Tea Bar and Cafe as well as bring many new faces (and farmers) to the State Theater, where Great Lakes Bioneers was in lights on the marquee. How fun!

Last Call For Presenter Proposals
In case you haven’t written it down yet, the Great Lakes Bioneers Conference will be October 17-19, 2008 right here in Traverse City, MI. Are you doing something that you’d like to share with others? Know someone else who is? The Bioneers mission is based on the promotion and application of practical solutions and innovative strategies for restoring Earth and our communties. Presenters are not paid, though we offer complimentary registration, lodging and meals for those selected.

Applicants will be notified by June 1. Fill our our application form online by May 14 if you are interested in being a presenter or would like to recommend someone to us.
Website Redesign: Your Input Requested
We want to incorporate YOUR website wishes as we redesign the GLBioneers website. Let us know what you’d like to see more of, what you’d like to see less of, and ideas to make it better. The website is there for you, so please let us know what works. Send comments to info(at)glbconference.org.

Have Time to Help? Volunteer with Us!
We need volunteers to help us create outreach materials and displays, update our press contact lists, do data entry, and hang posters & deliver brochures across the state. We also have some fun new outreach ideas that we think you’ll enjoy. Including,

• Bioneer Walk-Abouts: canvass for Bioneers! We’ll start knocking on doors later this spring.
• Salons, Brunches, and Ice Cream Socials: Interested in hosting a Bioneer event for your friends and neighbors? We’ll help!

More volunteer needs are coming as we close in on this year’s conference, that’s right, October 17-19. Let us know your skills, talents, and availability and we’ll help you help us! Contact Tara(at)ecoSEEDS.org or call 231.947.0312

Final Note: Is Your Community Bike Friendly? Take this test; it’s short.

Happy Spring! or is it Late Winter! or Spring!?

Well, it’s Michigan, anyway. As we await more green shoots, here’s what’s cooking up north:

First, Thanks For Your Support!
We had an amazingly great showing of people who came to our Locavore Potluck and the movie, King Corn. We surprised ourselves with the turn out and were really happy to help showcase the new Serenity Tea Bar and Cafe as well as bring many new faces (and farmers) to the State Theater, where Great Lakes Bioneers was in lights on the marquee. How fun!

Last Call For Presenter Proposals
In case you haven’t written it down yet, the Great Lakes Bioneers Conference will be October 17-19, 2008 right here in Traverse City, MI. Are you doing something that you’d like to share with others? Know someone else who is? The Bioneers mission is based on the promotion and application of practical solutions and innovative strategies for restoring Earth and our communties. Presenters are not paid, though we offer complimentary registration, lodging and meals for those selected.

Applicants will be notified by June 1. Fill our our application form online by May 14 if you are interested in being a presenter or would like to recommend someone to us.
Website Redesign: Your Input Requested
We want to incorporate YOUR website wishes as we redesign the GLBioneers website. Let us know what you’d like to see more of, what you’d like to see less of, and ideas to make it better. The website is there for you, so please let us know what works. Send comments to info(at)glbconference.org.

Have Time to Help? Volunteer with Us!
We need volunteers to help us create outreach materials and displays, update our press contact lists, do data entry, and hang posters & deliver brochures across the state. We also have some fun new outreach ideas that we think you’ll enjoy. Including,

• Bioneer Walk-Abouts: canvass for Bioneers! We’ll start knocking on doors later this spring.
• Salons, Brunches, and Ice Cream Socials: Interested in hosting a Bioneer event for your friends and neighbors? We’ll help!

More volunteer needs are coming as we close in on this year’s conference, that’s right, October 17-19. Let us know your skills, talents, and availability and we’ll help you help us! Contact Tara(at)ecoSEEDS.org or call 231.947.0312

Final Note: Is Your Community Bike Friendly? Take this test; it’s short.

This Just In, Corporations are ruling the world! OK, so that’s old news but if your looking for a comprehensive and entertaining look at the creation of the modern corporate machine, visit our friends at the State Theatre (www.statetheatrtc.org) tonight to view the screening of THE CORPORATION (www.thecorporation.com).

Taking the corporation’s legal status as a “person” to its logical conclusion, the film puts the corporation on the psychiatrist’s couch to ask “What kind of person is it?” Provoking, witty, sweepingly informative…and, either depressing as hell or a stimulus package of a different sort.

When: Tonight!!! April 28 at 7:30 at the Traverse City State Theatre… www.statetheatretc.org
This film is part of the on going Monday night Community film series, tonight’s host is the Unitarian/Universalist group

Great Lakes Bioneers’ founders, Bob Russell and Sally VanFleck, were featured in this week’s free weekly The Northern Express. The feature is an interview with writer Anne Stanton discussing the state of the world. Those who know them will appreciate Stanton’s introduction: “Talking with Sally VanFleck and Bob Russell can either be highly motivating or deeply depressing.”

Look for the papers around Northern Michigan, they are literally everywhere, or read the article online after it is archived in a week or two at Northern Express Archive.

Second Annual Skill Swap–registration now open!
Presented by our friends at ISLAND and the Wagbo Peace Center is now taking registrations for the event on May 10, 2008 from 9 to 3 at Wagbo Peace Center in East Jordan. On display with hands on experience are 15 skills that build self-reliance, taught by your friends and neighbors, along with a fresh local and wild foods lunch and a post-workshop contra dance! Skills include bread baking, seed starting, irrigation for water saving, handmade paper making, timber stand improvement and more!

Early registration is $25 per person, kids 14 and under free! Add lunch for just $5.

All the information you need and online registration is at www.artmeetsearth.org/skillswap.htmlSkills Workshops:

Session I (9:30 to 10:55)
Baking Bread: Yeasted & Sourdough
Seed Starting & Transplanting
Irrigation for Water Saving
Handmade Paper Making
Timber Stand Improvement

Session II (11:05 to 12:30)
Chicken Processing
Seed Saving
Earth Floor Construction
Handmade Soap
Cook for a Crowd (& make lunch!)

Session III (1:30 to 2:55)
Friction Fire Starting
Cultured Foods
All About Herbs
Pruning Fruit Trees
Earthwise Cleaning Products

Do you have some spare time? A talent to share? We have lots of needs leading up to the conference, and sometimes we have needs that we don’t even know we have until a talented and giving person suggests something. If you’re interested email our new superstar, Tara at tara@ecoseeds.org

If you want to help, here are a few of our current volunteer needs:

1. Creating a tabletop display for use at conferences and events
2. Doing data entry to our database of interested people and organizations
3. Updating our press list

Northern Michigan just can’t seem to fit Earth Day into a one day. What’s going on?

The building of the Earth Day parade (Building Revolution), Odom’s 10th Anniversary festivities & tour, Oryana’s 35th Party, the annual NMEAC EOY dinner where we will present our 2008 Bioneers Award, the Compost Give-a-way, the EDay Parade, the Empty Bowls Benefit…and that’s not even all of it…

For a complete low down of events, go to the Progressive Calendar at www.traverseareaprogressives.org

See you there, or somewhere in between.

Once again we are honored to be invited as part of the annual NMEAC Environmentalist of the Year Event.

WHEN: Friday, 18 April 2008 From: 6:00pm–9:00pm
WHERE: The Waterfront Conference Center, US 31 North at 4 Mile Road.
WHAT: Good food, good company and deserving awards. Keynote speaker will be Dr. Howard Tanner, former head of the MDNR and lifelong conservation advocate. Open to the Public and tickets available at the Door- adults$20.00, seniors $10.00 , kids $5.00

The Great Lakes BIONEERS will also be presenting the annual Bioneers award. And, since we just can’t wait, this year’s BOY goes to acclaimed author and activist, Stephanie Mills.

Check out www.nmeac.org or www.glbconference.org for additional information.

The Great Lakes BIONEERS Award goes to a person whose life-work embodies the bioneer principles of interconnectedness, development of healthy relationships, and respect for the inherent intelligence of all life and ecological systems. This Award is for those who go beyond sustaining their home communities, but heal and regenerate them as well. For being an avenue toward hope.
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Stephanie Mills has been engaged in the ecology movement for more than thirty years, and in 1996 was named by Utne Reader as one of the world’s leading visionaries. Stephanie Mills is an author, editor, lecturer and ecological activist who has concerned herself with the fate of the earth and humanity since 1969, when her commencement address at Mills College in Oakland, Calif., drew the attention of a nation. Her speech, which the New York Times called “perhaps the most anguished statement” of the year’s crop of valedictory speeches, predicted a bleak future.

Stephanie Mills’s account of the simple life reaches deep into classical sources of pleasure - good food, good health, good friends, and particularly the endless delights of the natural world. One of the primary motivations for her pursuit of simplicity is her concern about the impacts of a consumerist lifestyle on the natural world. Mills touches on broad range of topics relating to that issue - social justice, biological extinctions, the global economy, and also more personal aspects such as friendship, the process of country living, the joys of physical exertion, the challenges of a writer’s life, and the natural history and seasonal delights of a life lived close to nature. An overarching theme is the destructiveness of consumerism, and how even a simple life affects a wide range of organisms and adds strain to the earth’s systems. The author uses her own experience as an entry point to the discussion with self humor and lyrical prose that bring big topics to a personal level.

Her book: Epicurean Simplicity is beautifully crafted, fluid, inspiring, and enlightening, examining topics of critical importance that affect us all. It celebrates the pleasures, beauty, and fulfillment of a simple life, a goal being sought by Americans from all walks of life, from harried single parents to corporate CEOs. For fans of natural history or personal narrative, for those concerned about social justice and the environment, and for those who have come to know and love Stephanie Mills through her speaking and writing, Epicurean Simplicity is a rare treasure. So many people who have read this book, have genuinely been touched by it, and wish that they could - yes - live that life. Her new book, published and released in 2007 is called Tough Little Beauties and examines issues that remain timely: overpopulation, ecological degradation, and the Peak Oil crisis as well as a lived spirituality.

The Award will presented on April the 18th at the Annual NMEAC Environmentalist of the Year Award from 6 – 9 pm at the Waterfront Conference Center in Traverse Cit. For more information about the event and NMEAC, visit their Web site at www.nmeac.org

Wow. Thank you to all of those who made last night one of the most exciting Monday nights the Traverse City State Theatre has seen- in March no-less. We had a strong turn out of over 450 view King Corn, which, according to co-producer and c0-star Ian Cheney might just be the most who have seen the film at one time since its release. Ian was in attendance and led an intriguing conversation about food and food culture after the film. If you missed it, try to catch IPR’s Bob Allen’s piece this afternoon or online after today for a little taste.

We started off the night with a grand potluck across the street at the Serenity Tea Bar and Café. Over 150 came to participate in the Locavore Hors d’Oeuvres Challenge, watch the premier of Talkin’ Bout Making Culture, and check out Traverse City’s new downtown hangout.

The Great Lakes Bioneers says thank you to our co-sponsor Oryana, our reception host Serenity Tea Bar and Café and Edible Grande Traverse & Michigan Land Use Institute for additional contribution.

Hope to see you soon!

Great Lakes Bioneers presents King Corn, from Mosaic Films Inc., at the State Theatre in downtown Traverse City, March 31, 7:30pm. This is a feature documentary film about two friends, one acre of corn, and the subsidized crop that drives our fast-food nation. Follow the journey as they purchase, grow and sell an acre of commodity corn in Iowa. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll definitely read your ingredient labels differently.

Before the film, join our special guests at a Locavore Hors d’Oeuvres Challenge hosted by Serenity Tea Bar and Café, located across Front St. from the theater from 5:30-7:00PM. Please bring finger-food that features ingredients grown and produced within our local foodshed! A dish is not required and the pre-film reception is free.

Also showing, Talkin’ Bout Making Culture, a documentary about Michigan Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, produced and starring 2007 keynote speaker, Marty Heller, will be shown at the pre-film reception.

For more information, visit www.glbconference.org or email: info@glbconference.org.
Tickets for the film can be bought online at: www.Statetheatretc.org

Thanks to Oryana Natural Foods for sponsoring our special guest speaker, King Corn producer and star Ian Cheney! Also thanks to Serenity Tea Bar & Café, MLUI and Edible Grande Traverse for support.

Saturday, MARCH 15, 2008 Earth Day Parade Fundraiser….

The annual “Bring in the Spring” kick-off event to mark the beginning of the Earth Day parade-building workshops is set. Join the community to CELEBRATE the arrival of Spring!

It will be a marvelous evening of family fun, with a Puppet Fashion Show, featuring fantastic Garbage Art Creations- Light refreshments will be served, followed with a dance-dance-to the Earth Day Revolution-Party!

This is a “Swanky” event—so haul out your fancy duds and let’s have some high-class, crazy puppet fun!

$10 each/ $25 per family

6-9 PM at the ArtCenter of Traverse City corner of Elmwood and 11th St.

for more information: www.littleartshram.org
Dede 231-276-2328 or, 231-510-3491

Institute for Sustainable Living, Art & Natural Design (ISLAND) is brewing up a lot of action in Antrim county. Visit their Web site for more details for these events:

• Your Green Home: The Design and Construction of Environmentally Sound Homes for Everyone
  Thursday, March 6, from 9:30am to 3:30pm, at Helena Township Community Center
  in Alden.
• Calling all Teachers! The Second Annual Skill Swap call for teachers is now open! The Skill Swap will
  be held Saturday, May 10 at Wagbo Peace Center in East Jordan.
• Art, Film, Philosophy with author Stephanie Mills: Tuesday, March 11, from 6 to 8 pm at Moka in Bellaire.

And, another event that Antrim County Bioneeros may be interested in: MSU Cooperative Extension and the Antrim County Farmers Market are showing Sioux City Sue, a documentary by Chris Bedford, on Thursday, March 6th at 7pm at the Bellaire Senior Center. The film will be followed by a short discussion about the local food system.

Full Press Release & Film Description: King Corn (PDF)

This March 31st, follow the journey of two college friends as they purchase, grow and sell an acre of commodity corn in Iowa. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll definitely read your ingredient labels differently.

Mon., March 31 > Pre-Film Reception 5:30-7 > Film 7:30

Great Lakes BIONEERS presents the documentary film, King Corn from Mosaic Films Inc., at the Traverse City State Theatre on Monday, March 31 at 7:30 PM. Before the film, join our special guests at a Locavore Hors d’Oeuvres Challenge hosted by Serenity Tea Bar and Café, located across Front St. from the theater from 5:30-7:00PM. The community is welcome to participate in the Locavore Hors d’Oeuvres Challenge by bringing a finger-food that features ingredients grown and produced within our local foodshed. A dish is not required and the pre-film reception is free.

King Corn is a feature documentary about two friends, one acre of corn, and the subsidized crop that drives our fast-food nation. In King Corn, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, best friends from college on the East coast, move to the heartland to learn where their food comes from. With the help of friendly neighbors, genetically modified seeds, and powerful herbicides, they plant and grow a bumper crop of America’s most-productive, most-subsidized grain on one acre of Iowa soil. But when they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, what they find raises troubling questions about how we eat—and how we farm.

“If you take a McDonald’s meal, you don’t realize it when you eat it, but you’re eating corn. Beef has been corn-fed. Soda is corn. Even the French fries. Half the calories in the French fries come from the fat they’re fried in, which is liable to be either corn oil or soy oil. So when you’re at McDonald’s, you’re eating Iowa food. Everything on your plate is corn,â€? says author and UC Berkeley professor, Michael Pollan.
How did the tyranny of corn come to be? Is it possible Americans eat nearly 75 pounds of high fructose corn syrup annually? Why do we spend billions per year subsidizing a single crop?

Great Lakes BIONEERS and Oryana Natural Foods Market have teamed up to bring co-Producer, Ian Cheney, to Traverse City for the event. Meet Ian before the film at the Serenity Tea Bar and Café and stay after the film for a quick Q&A. Talkin’ Bout Making Culture, a locally produced documentary about Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, in Michigan will also be shown at the pre-film reception. .

Great Lakes BIONEERS would also like to thank Edible Grande Traverse and the Michigan Land Use Institute for additional contributions.

For ticket information: www.statetheatretc.org

Have you noticed that “green” has gone corporate? Does it leave a funny feeling in your stomach? It seems like a great thing, but then, can we trust it? Do you have a little time on your hands? Well, join the citizenry led rating board at the Greenwashing Index. The index is “home of the world’s first online interactive forum that allows consumers to evaluate real advertisements making environmental claims“. After that, swing over to CorpWatch and nominate your choices for the bimonthly Greenwash Awards.

From the Farm and Food Policy Project >

Help Restore the Balance: Tell Congress We Need a Better Deal

We need your help. The House and Senate are nearing a final compromise on the Farm Bill. As competing proposals emerge, we need to ensure that the final legislation has our priorities for a healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable farm and food system. You can help deliver this message to your Representative and two Senators today:

Dear [Your Member of Congress]:

As the Farm Bill enters the final stages of conference between the House and Senate versions, I am writing as a constituent to urge you to champion a final bill that:

1. Increases funding for nutrition assistance programs by at least $9 billion to ensure that more Americans are able to afford food.
2. Increases conservation funding by at least $5 billion to help farmers and ranchers protect water quality, support wildlife habitat, and transition to more sustainable practices.
3. Maintains the funding levels in the House bill and incorporates the best policy provisions from both bills to support beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.
4. Includes the highest funding levels and best policy provisions from the two bills for farmers’ markets, organic farming research and financial assistance, value-added and micro-enterprise grants, fair competition and market access, community food programs, and local food systems.
5. Does not shortchange these national priorities for a costly permanent disaster program.

These provisions are vital to ensure the integrity, health, and quality of our farm and food system. I urge you to help restore balance to our farm and food system by working for these priorities.Sincerely,

[Your name]
[Your address]

Send this letter now!

Forward this letter to your friends.

In February the Traverse City Record Eagle published a green edition supplement that featured one of our favorite Northern Michigan Bioneers, Jayne Leatherman Walker, from the Eco-Learning Center.

The article by Darcy Bluhm can be read here: A Growing Legacy: Jayne Leatherman Walker teaches sustainable living at The Farm. We couldn’t agree more with the author’s first sentiments that, “few people have made the commitment to overhaul a good portion of their lives to actually live the lifestyle” of living green like Jayne.

Image from 2004 by Gary Howe for a Bioneer Profile written by Jayson Spaulding when Jayne won the Great Lakes BIONEERS award.

“Babies staying clean and dry without diapers?” No? Really? Want to learn more? DIAPER FREE! The Gentle Wisdom of Natural Infant Hygiene by Ingrid Bauer is dedicated to the practice.

It is being done by default all over the world, but now the more complicated and economically developed world is reconnecting with their children and getting rid of the stinky diaper as well (More parents opting to go diaper-free). By no means would we suggest that everyone must stop using the convenience of the diaper, but perhaps the moms and dads of the bioregion might be interested in some diaperless success stories.

It might also save on some of the use of cosmetics needed to keep that baby’s butt smooth. A recent report found high levels of chemicals in infants’ urine that were exposed to baby cosmetics. Story here: Baby Cosmetics

It is that time of year again. Are you doing something innovative? Do you want to share with others? We are now taking proposals for the 2008 Bioneers Conference. Click through to our Proposal Form.

Also, drop us a line as a comment on this BLOG. What kind of traffic are we getting here???