All Species Parade
Sunday, April 21, 2002, 1:00 PM - Traverse City, MI

Parade participants meet at F&M Park at 12:30 PM
(F&M Park -- Washington St. between RailRoad and Barlow)

Parade begins at 1:00 PM followed by a celebration at the Civic Center picnic area with music, entertainment, speakers, information tables, refreshments

Children and adults are invited to take on the identity of another species and join the parade.

Watch the parade! Line up along Washington Street, between Railroad Avenue and Garfield

For more information contact The Neahtawanta Center at 231 223-7315 or 800 220-1415, center@nrec.org

Calling All Species!
by Sally Van Vleck

Earth Day. Like Christmas, Easter, and the 4th of July, it comes around once a year. It isn't supposed to be the only day that we think about preserving and protecting the Earth, just as Christmas isn't the only day we're supposed to think about being loving and kind. Rather, Earth Day is one day in which we celebrate the diversity of life, and remind ourselves and each other of the interconnectedness of all life. It's one day in which we focus on some of the environmental concerns we share, and talk about solutions. Hopefully, the awareness raised on this one day each year carries over into our thoughts and actions during the rest of the year.

Earth Day is celebrated through-out the Grand Traverse Bay Area with numerous activities. On Sunday, April 21, the Neahtawanta Center is once again sponsoring the All Species Parade, as it has for the past 12 years. The parade is an opportunity for children and adults to take on the identity of another species or land form (such as a river or mountain). The process of making a costume or mask is a creative and fun way to connect with another life form, to learn about its ways, to see the world from its perspective. The parade is a moving manifestation of creatures who inhabit all areas of the Earth, from worms who live in the soil, to eagles who soar through the sky.

This year the "species" will gather at the F & M Park at Washington and Railroad Avenue at 12:30 PM and proceed down Washington Street to the picnic and amphitheater area at the Civic Center. A celebration will be held with music, speakers, and informational tables from area environmental groups. We are inviting some of the young "species" representatives to take the stage and express their hopes and fears from their species' perspective. This event is a chance for our community to gather and honor the diversity of life and share our concerns for protecting the natural systems on which all life depends.

Local artist, Penny Krebiehl, will be conducting large puppet and mask making workshops in various places through-out the region leading up to Earth Day. The Neahtawanta Center received several grants through the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation Youth Advisory Councils to help fund an Artist Apprenticeship Program for teens who want to help with the workshops and learn the art of puppet/mask making.

The All Species Parade addresses our serious concerns for the Earth through art and creativity, its whimsical nature lifting our spirits and bringing us hope.

Everyone is welcome to participate, whether you attend a workshop and spend many hours on your costume, or you decide at the last minute and don a simple mask depicting a favorite animal or plant.

And, don't forget, a parade needs spectators, so if you're not able to be a participant, please come and watch!

Eco-Yoga
by Sally Van Vleck

What does yoga have to do with saving the Earth? As a long-time activist and yoga practioner/teacher, I feel that these two pursuits are connected in several ways.

At a basic level, many of the qualities that yoga cultivates are found in the natural world: balance, harmony, strength, peace and alignment.

When we balance in the Tree Pose, Vrkshasana, we imitate the strength, stability and endurance of the Oaks, White Pines, Maples and other species who bless our land with their presence. We find inner peace in meditation as we visualize a sunset or a calm pool of water. And, what better example of strength and stability than Tadasana, the Mountain Pose? As we work on our alignment in each pose, we can mimic the many examples of symmetry that we find in nature, from the petals in a flower to the feathers in a bird's wing.

When we dig a little deeper, we recognize that we also reflect the imbalances of the Earth within our own bodies. How much of our dis-ease is caused by polluted air and water, by the destruction of ecosystems, by the decrease in open spaces and natural areas? We carry the Earth's pains within our psyche, consciously or not. Our spirits suffer under the weight of knowing that our own lifestyles are contributing to the Earth's destruction.

So, we go back to the mat. We sit and breathe. The air we take in connects us to all living beings who share the Earth with us. We release the tension in our bodies as we salute the sun in Surya Namaskar. The practice of yoga brings us strength and stamina to continue to work for ecological sustainability&emdash;to show up for another hearing; to write another letter to our legislator; to challenge another corporation to adopt environmentally responsible policies.

We sit down to meditate, and as we draw on the Divine energy within ourselves, it connects us to the Earth's energy. The boundaries dissolve. We heal ourselves as we heal the Earth; we heal the Earth as we heal ourselves.

Namasté

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Sally Van Vleck has practiced and taught yoga for 25 years. She and her husband, Bob Russell, are co-directors of the Neahtawanta Center and operate the Neahtawanta Inn Bed and Breakfast on the Old Mission Peninsula, just north of Traverse City.

Eart Day Network
http://www.earthday.org
Earth Day Network is the nonprofit coordinating body of worldwide Earth Day activities. Our goal is to promote a healthy environment and a peaceful, just, sustainable world by spreading environmental awareness through educational materials and publications, and by organizing events, activities, and annual campaigns. Our network includes more than 5,000 organizations in 184 countries.

Earth Charter
http://www.earthcharterusa.org
the Earth Charter USA website. I invite you to become involved in the Earth Charter USA Campaign. Your participation is necessary to build a society where people, animals and Earth can thrive together.