Our yearly fund raising letter -- November 21, 2011

Current Projects and Future Plans

Great Lakes Bioneers:
Those of you who attended the 10th Great Lakes Bioneers Conference, co-sponored by SEEDS and the Neahtawanta Center, know what an informative, celebratory and comprehensive event it was!

The conference has evolved and expanded over these past 10 years, delving deeper into complex issues and crafting creative solutions to some of our most provocative problems. The conference included workshops with titles such as: Our Kind of Food Fight, (covering how citizens can advocate for a fair food policy; DIY, Open Source and the Commons; (focusing on fostering do-it-yourself skills and building community interdependence); Participatory Media and the Communications Power Shift, (led by Laurie Cirivello, executive director of the Grand Rapids Community Media Center), and many more.

The national speakers, beamed via the Internet and shown on the big screen at the Milliken Auditorium, covered cutting edge topics including: creating a completely renewable energy economy (Amory Lovins), the role that mushrooms and other fungi can play in restoring ecosystems and improving humans’ immune systems (Paul Stamets), the importance of ocean and water ecosystems (Phillipe Cousteau) and other equally educational and engaging presentations. On Sunday, Bob was honored to address the conference as a keynote speaker. You can link to his talk at: <glbconference.org>

In addition to the program, participants enjoyed amazing local food by the Dream Kitchen, an inspiring concert by the Earthwork Music Collective, the film about the On the Ground project in Ethiopia, When We Run and a dance party with the much loved band, Steppn’ In It. Perhaps most important, the conference offers a chance for individuals and organizations to make connections, share ideas and resources, build alliances and figure out new ways to collaborate.

Annual Candlefloat:
For over 20 years, local peace activists have gathered on the banks of the Boardman River to float candles to honor and remember the victims of all wars and to envision a non-violent world based on peace and understanding. The Neahtawanta Center sponsors this event with the help of other local peace groups, held either on August 6th (Hiroshima Day) or on the 9th (Nagasaki Day). This simple ceremony has become a tradition and time to gather as a peace community for support and sharing. This year 50 people attended.

ICR - Investigating Community Resilience:
Investigating Community Resilience is an ongoing project of the Center. The center has been working closely with Dave Barrons over the last year in producing a TV program “Outside In - Investigating Community Resilience”. The show is hosted by Dave and produced in the studio of the UpNorth Media Center. Each show is cablecast on UpNorthTV Charter Cable Channel 97 (Digital 992). They are also streamed from our website ir.nrec.org. Earlier this year the show received the 2011 Environmentalist of the Year Award Recipient for Journalism & Communications for helping the public develop a deeper understanding of environmental issues facing the region.

The Center is investing in media equipment to improve the quality of the program and increase the efficiency in producing the program. Starting early next year we are changing the TV program name to “ICR - Investigating Community Resilience”, using a new logo, and creating a new website with the new address, icr.nrec.org.

The concept of resilience is increasingly being used by organizations working on many issues from peak oil and climate change to local units of government working on disaster preparedness. There is no lack of projects and events to cover through the lens of resilience for the show. Please have a look at the over 60 programs we have produced. They can be viewed from our current website <ir.nrec.org>. The shows are broken in 10 different themes: Food and Farming, Energy, Governance, Transportation, Ecosystem services, Education, Public Health, Arts, Economics, Social Capital.

We hope to continue with some community conversations on resilience at the Inn this winter. Stay tuned.

Ongoing Media Projects:
In addition to producing shows on our local cable access channel, the Center encourages community dialogue by posting relevant information on the Internet, including videotapes of local speakers and events that can be viewed on several different websites. Recently, the Center produced several videos: “Historic Changes in the Lower Food Web of Lake Michigan” at the Freshwater Conference sponsored by the Watershed Center; and Dr. Oran Hesterman, brought here by the Michigan Land Use Institute to speak about creating a fair food policy. Links to the vidoes at <nrec.org>

Collaboration with other groups:
As a small non-profit organization with lofty goals, it has proven useful for us to leverage our energy and resources by teaming up and collaborating with other area groups who share our vision. Those organizations include:

Earthwork Music Collective
On the Ground
Mideast JustPeace
SEEDS
ISLAND (Institute for Sustainable Living, Art and Natural Design)
NMEAC (Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council)
Oryana Food Co-op (a cooperative, as opposed to a non-profit)
Watershed Center
Bay Bucks
CIR (Citizens for Immigrants Rights)
MLUI (Michigan Land Use Institute)
Food and Farming Network
My Wheels Are Turning (blog on local public spaces/transportation by NREC board member, Gary Howe)