The Week of February 20th, 2012 Read/Post Comments

Brought to you by Earthworks Urban Farm,
a program of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen

Peace everyone,

It’s time for the weekly reflection:

During Mayor Coleman Young’s administration, the Farm-a-Lot program provided low cost land, tillage, seeds and transplants to community gardens. The Young administration looked at this as a far more political act than many of today's community gardeners do. Coleman Young saw this as a way of insuring control of food systems by those that were often left powerless in the 1970’s economy. Many of Detroit's oldest community gardens can be traced back to this time.

How was the Farm-a-Lot program political? How can Detroit and other urban municipalities continue to support community-based control of its food supply?

Please send your thoughts to earthworks@cskdetroit.org. We want to hear from you!

Remember to also:
1. Follow us on twitter! Our twitter handle is @EarthworksDet.
2. Keep up with us on Facebook found here http://on.fb.me/earthworksurbanfarm

See you soon!

I. Volunteer Opportunities for the week of 2/20//2012:
Wednesdays only, 9am-12:30pm; Regular Volunteer Hours: Please join us after working in the gardens for lunch in the soup kitchen on Wednesdays.

All volunteers, please meet at Capuchin Soup Kitchen at 1264 Meldrum, Detroit, MI unless noted differently. For individual volunteers, feel free to just come on by. No need to RSVP. For groups, please contact us in advance to schedule a day. Please come dressed appropriately for the weather and work. Long pants and closed toe shoes are required.

For info, please contact us at sbernardo@cskdetroit.org or call (313) 579-2100 x 204.

II. Community Announcements:
1. Community Energy Solutions Forum
St. Paul A.M.E. Zion Church, 11359 Dexter Ave., Detroit 48206
February 21, 2012
10am - 5pm

Representatives from DTE Energy, WARM, DHS and other service providers will be available to assist you on the spot:

10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Registration ends at 12 p.m. for morning session and 4 p.m. for the afternoon session. For more information, please call 1.866.554.2653.

2. The Black/Land Project comes to Flint: Beyond Fields and Factories

Tuesday February 21st, 2012 at 6pm
Ebeneezer Ministries 2130 S. Center Road in Burton, Michigan

Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 5:30pm
Flint Public Library, 1026 Kearsley St., in the Flint Cultural Center.

This multimedia presentation and discussion invites people in Flint to get involved in positive conversations about black peoples’ relationship to land and place. Admission to both programs are free and open to the public.

Black/Land is a national project that gathers and analyzes stories about the relationships between black people, land and place, and runs workshops about how to use the traditions of resourcefulness, resilience and regeneration those stories reveal. The presentations in February will describe what Black/Land has learned from other cities, and discuss how Flint compares to them. Storyteller Alfreda Harris of Porch Stories will be the local host in Flint.

3. Workshop: Use Rainwater to Save Money & Protect Water Quality
Sierra Club Office 2727 Second Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201
Tuesday, February 21st, 2012
6:30pm to 7:30pm

Get ready for the spring! At this free workshop, you will see short videos of rainwater harvesting techniques (i.e. rain barrels, rain gardens, green roofs, permeable pavement, etc.) in Detroit and a demonstration that will explain how you can make your own rain barrel. Rain barrel will be raffled off for free at the end of the workshop. Join us and spread the word! Free parking available behind the building. Enter door under blue light.

This workshop is organized by Sierra Club. If you have any questions, please call (313) 965-0055 or email melissa.damaschke@sierraclub.org.

4. Jose Antonio Vargas Speaks on "My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant"
Rackham Amphitheatre, 915 E. Washington St. Ann Arbor, MI
Tuesday, February 21st, 2012
7pm

The U-M Coalition for Tuition Equality presents Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and advocate for undocumented immigrant students Jose Antonio Vargas, who will talk about "My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant." For more information contact Daniel A Morales (damorale@umich.edu). For directions, click HERE.

5. A Call To Action
WSU Community Arts Auditorium 450 Reuther Mall, Detroit, MI 48201
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012
5 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Cost: Free

Join Detroit City Council President Charles Pugh and WDET's Craig Fahle for an unprecedented evening on Wayne State's Campus.

You can join together with leaders who share your passion and dedication for a healthy, stable Detroit. The night will be historic. It is the kick off of a one month sprint to unlock 10,000 new volunteer hours in Detroit. You will meet new people, get new tools and find new ways to make a difference.

6. States Move to Restrict Voting: How Nonprofits Can Defend the Right to Vote
Thursday, February 23rd, 2012
2pm - 3pm

Last year there was an unprecedented nationwide effort to pass legislation that creates voter registration barriers and limits access to the polls. Unfortunately, that effort continues in 2012. Many of these new laws require voters to provide photo ID at the polls, mandate proof of citizenship before registering to vote, and place severe restrictions on third party voter registration drives. Join us for more on these issues and how you can educate your constituents about the changes, as well as ideas for helping to counter them.

7. Northern Borders Conference
UAW - Ford National Training Center 151 West Jefferson Detroit, MI 48232
February 23th, 2012, 10am - 6pm, Registration at 8am
February 24th, 2012, 9am - 3pm

Border civil rights issues are no longer limited to the Southwest. Racial and religious profiling, harassment, abusive interrogation, searches without probable cause, road checkpoints and sweeps of public transit have become common along the Northern border, and across the country. Border Patrol and Field Operations continue to act with unaccountable disregard for basic human and civil rights standards.

At the Northern Borders Organizing conference, we’ll discuss the reality on the ground in the North and South, and attempt to build concrete organizing legal, organizing, policy, and political strategies that we can move forward together.

8. Detroit Revealed on Film: Grown in Detroit
Detroit Film Theatre
Thursday, February 23rd, 2012
7pm

(USA/Netherlands, 2010-directed by Mascha & Manfred Poppenk) Grown in Detroit focuses on the urban gardening efforts managed by the Catherine Ferguson Academy, a public school of 300 students, mainly African-American, pregnant, and young parents.

9. “Teach-in”: Israel/Palestine Conflict and the global, nonviolent Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions

Thursday, February 23, 2012 from 12:15pm - 1:15pm
Wayne State University Law School’s Partrich Auditorium 471 W. Palmer, Detroit, MI

Thursday, February 23, 2012 from 6pm - 7:30 pm
Hope United Methodist Church 26275 Northwestern Highway, Southfield, MI 48076

GUEST SPEAKER: Phyllis Bennis
Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies, Washington D.C.; director of the IPS New Internationalism Project; fellow, Transnational Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands; writer, analyst, and activist on Middle East and UN issues; board of directors, U.S. Campaign to End the Occupation, Washington D.C.

The Palestinian BDS movement — inspired by the boycott and divestment activism of both the civil rights movement in the United States and the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa — offers a real path to a just peace.

Light refreshments will be served.

10. DDOT public hearing on proposed bus cuts
Friday, February 24th, 2012
11am - 1pm and 6pm - 8pm
Northwest Activities Center, 18100 Meyers Road
Wayne County Community College 5901 St. Detroit, MI

Detroit Department of Transportation is adjusting a series of bus routes effective march 3rd, 2012. Please attend the public hearing and let your comments be heard by the Administration.

11. Sustainability Film Series
Room 1507, WSU Engineering Building 5050 Anthony Wayne Drive, Detroit, MI
Friday, February 24th, 2012
6pm
FREE

Introduction: Dr. Kami Pthukuchi, Associate Professor of Urban Planning
Film Title: Urban Farming (a local documentary)
Subject: The Urban Gardening Movement in Detroit
Discussion: Earthworks Urban Farm will discuss urban farming and local volunteer opportunities.

Please come enjoy a sustainability film followed by a group discussion of the topic. Local volunteer opportunities will also be available. For more info, please visit: livinggreen.wayne.edu or call (313) 577-5068

12. Black History Month Film Series: “Skin”
East Hall 530 Church Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Wednesday, February 24th, 2012
6pm - 8pm

About this week’s film “Skin”: Ten year-old Sandra is distinctly African looking. Her parents, Abraham and Sannie, are white Afrikaners, unaware of their black ancestry. They are shopkeepers in a remote area of the Eastern Transvaal and, despite Sandra’s mixed-race appearance, have lovingly brought her up as their ‘white’ little girl. Skin tells the story of a brown girl and her white biological parents.

13. Black Health Empowerment Workshop
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History,
315 East Warren Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201
Saturday, Feb 25th, 2012
3pm - 5pm

Henry Ford Health System presents Black Health Empowerment workshops every Saturday in February. HFHS doctors and specialists will be discussing a variety of topics including:

• childhood obesity
• men's health issues
• women's health issues
• heart disease and stroke prevention

These events are FREE and open to the public. For more information please call (313) 494-5800.

14. INITIATE
MOCAD 4454 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48201
Saturday, February 25th, 2012
5pm - 9:30pm

Initiate will explore creative uses of primarily open source technology and open source approaches to creating art and social change. Join us for short presentations and open dialogue featuring local, national and international artists, technologists and community organizers. Featuring members of openFrameworks.

15. Whole Note Healing Collective presents: Good Vibrations Wellness Fair
The Cass Corridor Commons (C3): 4605 Cass Avenue, Detroit, MI
February 25, 2012,
7:00-10:00pm

Join the Cass Corridors newest healing collective for a night of nurturing community care. Pamper yourself with holistic and informative services that will encourage us to initiate our own healing.

Services: Full body massage, Indian Head Massage, Ear Acupuncture, Reiki (energy balancing/stress relief), Manicures, Facials, Yoga, Spiritual and Astrological reading, Nutritional local food and more.

16. DISCOTECH
Mt. Elliot Makerspace/Church of the Messiah 231 E. Grand Boulevard, Detroit, MI
Sunday, February 26th, 2012
1:30pm - 4:30pm

Discotech (Discovering Technology) is a multimedia mobile neighborhood workshop fair. Participants will learn more about the impact and possibilities of technology within our communities and take part in interactive, multimedia workshops. This will include a workshop introduction to openFrameworks, a cross-platform C++ library for creative coding. It will be a chance to experiment with building new systems for interaction that move away from the screen and into physical space.

17. Focus: HOPE's Earn and Learn Program

Focus: HOPE is now offering an "Earn and Learn" program, a subsidized workforce development program that provides workplace readiness training to individuals between 18-24 and assists with securing employment and connecting individuals to continuing education at no cost to the students.

Contact the Focus: HOPE Admissions Department at 313.494.4579 for more info.

III. Jobs in the Community

1. Community Organizing Consultant
Homeless Action Network of Detroit

IV. Update from Patrick

The balmy weather had me seriously considering tilling up some beds outside and planting. While its tempting, everything is too wet, and the soil really is too chilly to get anything to germinate well.

The warmer weather has been making for some really nice conditions to work in the hoop house. I've been stripped down to my t-shirt and opening the peak vents to keep the house from over heating. We have been seeing little sprouts popping up of radishes, spinach and lettuce. We were able to harvest another 15 pounds or so of greens again this week. We pulled up a bed of spinach and a bed of asian greens and replanted them. At this point the only thing left is chard, spinach, lettuce, and some carrots. They soon will be gone too, as we make way for the new.

In the greenhouse we have been pricking out on the collards and kale to go into the hoop house. They actually should have been started earlier, but we didn't have the seed in. They will still end up ready for harvest long before the greens out in the field. The onions and scallions are coming up nicely, and snap dragons are looking about ready to prick out this week. We also started tomatoes for the hoop house this week.

Robbie's compost world has been expanded beyond just our couple of compost locations. Since we are so lacking for space we have started sharing the wealth with friends, this weeks gift made to our super volunteer Onna. He did inform me that he was able to flip an entire pile. If we don't have that much pricking out to do this week we may have time to sift some compost.

Otherwise things have been pretty quite around the farm. I kind of sick though out the week making for a much slower and less productive week for me.

until next week,

onward.

V. Outreach Update from Shane

At this time of year, there tends to be this pensive state in which the possibility of warmer weather and longer days teases at your emotions. Metaphorically, the weather has been a mixture of sunny days and cold winds that hint that things are the verge of developing. Last week, I attended a series of seemingly unrelated events that offer a similar theme of change of many different varieties.
    One of those events were meetings called by Detroit City Council to vote on a set of 4 proposed District maps. The Charter Commission recently revised the Charter of Detroit to elect City Council members by District. This means that citizens of Detroit will be able to hold certain members of City Council accountable for the conditions of the various neighborhoods located within their District. At the two meetings that I attended, citizens and representatives of community organizations turned out to voice their concerns and their wish to keep their neighborhoods intact and to make sure that they had representation on City Council.
    Since then, Detroit City Council members selected a map that may give south west Detroit their first elected member on the Council. South west Detroit is area within Detroit’s 139 square miles that hosts a communities of color and ethnic enclaves that have been largely underrepresented on City Council. As a result, Council by Districts may help galvanize these communities into becoming more civically engaged. As community development corporations and others start marking their territory, I’ll be sure to keep you up to date on these developments as they may have an impact on land use, tax incentive policies and food justice work being done here in Detroit.
     Some of these same issues were recently discussed at Source Book Sellers in the Spiral Collective, a space created by Dell Pryor for creative, female entrepreneurs located in the Cass Corridor community in Detroit. Janet Jones, proprietor of Source Booksellers hosted a discussion on a book called Race, Class and Sustainability. The co-editor, Alison Alkon was present to help facilitate the discussion and talk about the relevance of the book as it relates to Detroit. In a casual discussion afterward, local food justice activist Charity Hicks shared, “I’m not organic...I’m heirloom!” Charity’s comment creatively summed up the discussion that a huge part of food justice work is taking back and re-framing the narrative of local food movements to honor and include the history of others and in particularly that of communities of color, First Nations and indigenous peoples.
    I can’t leave you with out the highlight of the week. Last Saturday, I visited the Eastern Market, one of the oldest and largest farmer’s market in the U.S. As many as 40 thousand people visit the market on Saturdays. These days (during the winter) the market has installed windproof, translucent walls to make the trip to the market more bearable for the thermally challenged.
    There, I visited the Rising Pheasant Farms. Rising Pheasant sells sunflower shoots, a nutrient-dense addition to any salad or sandwich. At their stand, I was greeted by none other than Mr. Howard, a recent Earthworks Agricultural Training alum. He was recently hired by Carolyn Leadley who also interned with Earthworks. Seeing Mr. Howard in a place where not many people that look like him on the other side of the counter made a huge statement and maybe an indication that the face of urban agriculture is righting itself.
    Before I go, I would like to express on behalf of Earthworks Urban Farm and the Capuchin Soup Kitchen our heart felt condolences for our friend and colleague, Dr. Monica White who recently lost her father. Monica is a board member of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network and an Associate professor of Sociology at Wayne State University. Monica credits her passion for her work in the community and in academia to the values instilled in her by her father. Our hearts and arms go out to you Monica in your time of need.

    See you all next week...