Healthy Community Update #161
June 9, 2008MDCH/FSNE project update
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Clean Commute News
- Cathleen Edgerly
Click here for: June Clean Commute News
Food Systems Project meeting
-Katie Olender
Please remember that our next monthly Food Systems Project meeting is next week, Tuesday the 10th at 4:00pm at the Letts Community Center. We’ve got lots of updates like:
- The start of Summer Garden Camp
- Lighting, a neighborhood watch, and surveillance signs at the Riddle Garden
- Upcoming Quality Dairy events, and
- More!
Hope to see you then!
Katie Olender, Food Systems Project Coordinator, NorthWest Initiative
Phone: 517-483-4499
katie@nwlansing.org
This Week at Allen Street Farmers Market
- Joan Nelson and Hollie Hamel
Thanks for forwarding information about Allen Neighborhood Center'sAllen Street Farmers Market
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
2:30 - 7:00pmAt this week's market you will find HerbGirl's Garden, Clark Sugarbush, Green Eagle, Wildflower, Giving Tree, the Vangs, Mooville Dairy, the East Lansing Food Coop, Alice's Kitchen, Green River Cafe, Kathy Kuhn, and Kathleen Parker. Joining us this this week will be Gone Wired, Nodding Thistle Farm, and Felzke Farms. Don't forget that Kimi Danford brings her dessert sauces every other week the entire season. When the Grams and the Tao's arrive later this month, we'll be a very full market! We are so fortunate to have such a diverse and warm-hearted group of vendors who promise to keep us supplied in a wide variety of amazing Michigan produce as the growing season procedes.
A special note to all bread-lovers: ELFCO will bring Zingerman's breads and Great Harvest will join us ASAP.
Our guest organization in the Big Tent this week is The Capital Area Humane Society. This group will offer information regarding pet health and also details about The Eastside Pet Fair to be held in our parking lot on Thursday, June 12th from 4:00 - 7:00pm. Ask them about bringing your dogs and cats (leashed and/or "toted") back on Thursday for free vaccinations, etc.
Answer the breast health question correctly and perhaps win a sample of a non-carcinogenic personal needs item. Also in the Big Tent-- ANC Program info, the Food Chatter Table, Kid's Table, and Cafe.
Hello to the Yard Sign Corps!
Thank you again for all that you do, and let me know if you need more "7:00" stickers throughout the season.See you at the Market!
Warm Regards,
Hollie Hamel
Allen Street Market Manager
Food, Health, Nutrition Outreach
Is Inequality Making Us Sick?
-Doak Bloss
Announcing a series of lunchtime brown-bag screenings open to all Community members....The Capital Area Health Alliance Access to Health Committee is offering a seven-part brown bag lunch series over the next five weeks, with screenings and facilitated dialogues on the episodes of the acclaimed PBS series Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?
The series portrays the way social class shapes opportunities for good health by exploring the options, resources, power, and stress experienced by four people at different places on the socio-economic ladder. It also provides scientific evidence of how the chronic stress endured by those on the bottom of that ladder translates into ill health--one explanation for why the United States, despite spending two trillion dollars per year on medical care, ranks 30th in life expectancy among industrialized nations.
The series is open to anyone in the community with an interest in learning about health inequity and ways we can work to eliminate it in the Capital Area.
LOCATION: The Human Services Building, 5303 South Cedar, Conference Rooms D & E.
Information on the entire series can be found in the attached flyer. Please post in your work place and let others who do not have e-mail know about the series. I hope to see you there. - D.B.
Related...
Build a Better Michigan!
2008 Citizen Planner Advanced Academy
Michigan's economy is changing. The skills and techniques taught at this landmark conference are essential to Michigan's future success.
Sign up to attend now. If YOU miss out, MICHIGAN misses out!Everyone from every background is invited to the Citizen Planner Advanced Academy - citizens, planners and local officials. This premier two-day training event will feature:
- Innovative Development Bus Tour to Genesee and Shiawassee Counties.
- Michigan Enabling Acts (MEA) Workshop.
- 8 different skill building sessions to choose from.
Featuring:
Keynote speaker Charles L. Ballard, Ph.D. speaking on Michigan's Economic Future
June 18-19, 2008
Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center
East Lansing
If you have already registered for this event, please disregard this email.
For more information and to register
Turkish Food Festival: June 15
Gardens Galore Tour June 21 & 22
-Joan NelsonFeaturing Lansing’s Most Beautiful Gardens
The Gardens Galore Tour is a self-guided tour in greater Lansing, featuring exceptional gardens of every size, shape, and character. This event invites everyone from the novice gardener to the seasoned professional, and is sure to inspire your green thumb.
When: Saturday, June 21 and Sunday, June 22,
10AM – 4PM each day (rain or shine).
Where: Eight distinguished gardens in greater Lansing.
Cost: $15 (Tickets available now)
Tickets Available at Lansing Retail Locations
Tickets for the Gardens Galore Tour are $15 and are available at the following retail locations: Arrowhead Alpines, Horrocks Farm Market, Mole Hole, Smith Floral and Greenhouse, Wild Birds Unlimited, and the Coalition office located at 1017 West Lapeer Street in Lansing. Advance information about Gardens Galore Tour is available by calling (517) 372-5980, or by email at glhc@glhc.org or at www.glhc.org. Credit cards accepted, only by calling the Coalition office (517) 372-5980. Vendors will not accept credit cards.The Tour is an annual fundraiser for the Greater Lansing Housing Coalition.
The Tour raises important revenue that enables the Coalition to renovate dilapidated homes and provide affordable housing to people of modest means and revitalize neighborhoods.
City Residents have Smaller Carbon Footprints
Residents of large metropolitan areas have significantly smaller carbon footprints than the typical American, according to new research from the Brookings Institution. In comparing metro regions to one another, Brookings found that those that are dense, have rail transit and lower vehicle miles being driven generally have smaller carbon footprints on a per capita basis.The report, "Shrinking the Carbon Footprint of Metropolitan America", is the first to quantify the global-warming emissions of the 100 largest U.S. metros. Researchers tallied emissions from transportation and household energy use, the two areas most under the control of individual residents. (A later report will include commercial and industrial emissions.)
"Metros are responsible for a large amount of the nation's emissions but also offer the best prospects for large savings," said Brookings' Mark Muro, who directs the Metropolitan Policy Program. The report offers some clear policy recommendations for metro areas to lower their emissions; such as moving away from coal, investing in transit, building around transit, and embracing walkable density.
But metro areas can't "go it alone," they need the federal government to become an ally in helping them drive down their carbon footprint. To take a more constructive role in helping metro areas curb their emissions, step one for the federal government would be to enact bona fide climate legislation with some teeth that will lead to hard and fast reductions in overall emissions. The Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act (S. 3031) introduced in the Senate just this week would be good start. This bill would enact a hard cap on the total amount of acceptable emissions, and then auction off permits to industry for the right to emit carbon. The money raised by the auction would go into researching alternative fuels, helping energy industries make a transition, subsidizing clean energy, and investing in transit or other forms of transportation that could help us reduce our emissions.
If you want to stay plugged in on the latest with the Lieberman-Warner bill and federal climate action, sign up for our Action Alerts which will give you the opportunity to weigh in with your elected leadership, or the Washington Update, our federal policy roundup. You can find the summary and the full report from Brookings.
http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2008/05_carbon_footprint_sarzynski.aspx
Rewards of Gardening with Children
http://www.naeyc.org/
Help children plant a garden, and harvest their appreciation for the wonders of our natural world. From the first stage of seed selection, on through planting and tending to the garden, children develop a sense of pride and responsibility. They may also learn about math, writing, reading and science -- with your help!
Whether you're a parent or early childhood professional, take children to libraries and local greenhouses to find out what to plant and how to take care of it. Or have children ask family friends and neighbors about their gardening experiences. One discovery will lead to another. You don't necessarily need a green thumb to reap the rewards.
Gardening is a great activity for learning, whether you're in an urban or rural area. It's also a good way to involve parents and the whole school or community. You may put out a flyer or newsletter, and hold a meeting to discuss sharing responsibilities.
Parents or local organizations may even contribute soil or fertilizer to the project.
Decide whether you want to plant a square-foot garden, raised garden, or a conventional garden with rows, or a container garden made from empty milk cartons or flower pots. A garden need not be extensive or have dozens of kinds of plants. A barrel, a window box, or cut-in-half gallon jug will do nicely for a planter.
Whichever type of garden you choose, consider the climate and growing season before planting. Use sturdy, well-made tools and equipment. Shovels and hoes with short handles are easier for children to use than full-size tools. Adapt projects to adults' level of experience and children's ages.
Science and Nature
1) Begin by finding out which plants and flowers will grow best in your geographic location. Work together to set up the garden so that the particular varieties of plants and flowers you've chosen will grow best.
2) Plant a vegetable garden, and children can eat what they grow.
3) Talk with children about patterns and cycles they observe; ask them to make guesses about future changes.
4) Find out the names of insects that appear in your garden. Which ones are beneficial -- and which ones harmful to your plants?
5) Consider a companion project, like a compost pile. If you work together with your community, families may contribute grass clippings and kitchen waste. Children learn the value of recycling.
Reading and Writing
1) Build children's vocabularies by describing what you see happening in the garden.
2) Ask children to draw or paint pictures of plants as they grow, and write down what they observe.
3) Read stories to children about gardening, such as The Little Red Hen by P. Galdone (Clarion 1973), and The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss (Harper & Row 1945).
Math
1) Count seeds with children, and measure the correct distance between plants.
2) Mark the calendar for the anticipated date of seedling appearance.
3) Keep track of the height of your plants as they grow.
Gardening is one way for children to learn through meaningful activities. The lessons children learn by "digging into" gardening will make for cherished memories of learning with adults. You'll watch children's sense of pride and accomplishment -- along with your garden -- grow!
ABOUT THE ARTICLE SOURCE: "Early Years Are Learning Years: Make Them Count!" is an ongoing effort to focus attention on the importance of the early years for children's learning and all aspects of development. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is online at: http://naeyc.org ________________________________
Quote of the Week
- Jennifer Bradley, ANC
'Every time people can contribute successfully to the cause of serving the community, they become even more committed to it.'- Robert H. Waterman, Jr.
Community CalendarIn about 15 minutes, you can create a calendar like the one at the link above or add to this one!
Click here or call LeRoy at 517-505-2809.
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Ingham County Parks...click here
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