Active Neighboring News

Included in this bulletin:

1) Fenner Nature Center Fall Opportunities (Bats, bugs, apple butter, etc.)

2) Mobile Food Pantry this Saturday

3) Funders Perspective on Granting and on Grant Opportunities – September 25

4) Pilgrim Church Fundraiser on September 27

5) ENO Candidates Night – October 7

6) Michigan Avenue Thinkers and Doers Fall Schedule

7) Sign up now for the Urban Gardener Certification Course beginning September 29

8) Quote of the Week

1) FENNER NATURE CENTER Fall Opportunities

Bats of the World, Sun., November 1, $5/person or $15/family, 1:30-2:30pm for families with young children, 3:00-4:00pm for adults, and families with older children. Cranbrook Institute of Science Bat Conservation will bring big and little bats from all over the world! Wear your Halloween costume and receive a coupon towards a purchase in the Fenner Gift Shop!

Bugs of the World, Sunday, December 6, at 1:00pm. The MSU Bug House will be bringing both live and pinned specimens.

Halloween Event for Kids: Candy Land Trail, Sat., Oct. 24, 1-4:00pm at Fenner, $5.00/child

Meet characters from the game-CandyLand! This trail is designed for our young ghouls. The characters will talk with our little visitors and hand out sweet treats!

Apple Butter Festival, Sat. and Sun., Oct 17 and 18, 11am-4:00pm, Free Admission

Stir the huge kettle, buy some apple butter to take home, enjoy live music, refreshments, crafters, log-sawing, face-painting, baked goods, heritage apple tasting and more at this Lansing traditional event!

Norris Ingells Walk for Nature, Sat., Oct.17, 10am, pre-registration $15.00 /child, $20.00/ adult, $25.00 day of walk, includes a tee shirt imprinted with a nature photo by Norris Ingells. Support nature education at Fenner while enjoying exercise on a colorful fall morning!

Call 517- 483-4224 or visit www.fofnc.org for registration and other information.

2) MOBILE FOOD PANTRY

Sponsored by the  City of Lansing HUMAN RELATIONS AND COMMUNITY

SERVICES DEPARTMENT and the Mid-Michigan Food Bank

Distribution of FREE, fresh, non-perishable food items

When: Saturday, September 19, 2009, 9am to 11 am

Where: Friendship Baptist Church, 2912 Pleasant Grove, Lansing 48911
Who can participate?

• The disadvantaged and vulnerable.

• Senior citizens on fixed incomes.

• Families/individuals with limited or low income jobs

ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST BRING A VALID STATE IDENTIFICATION CARD OR DRIVER’S LICENSE

If you or someone you know must choose between buying food and filling prescriptions, please tell them about this important program.  Participants should bring a box or bag to carry food.

For more information, call the City of Lansing Human Relations and Community Services Department at (517) 483-4477

3) A Funders Perspective on Granting and Grant Resources

Free Workshop offered by Power of We to Community, Neighborhood, and Faith-based groups.

Friday, September 25, 2009, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm, at the Human Services Building, 5303 S Cedar St in Lansing, Entrance Door #3 – 2nd Fl., Room A

Have you ever wondered how a foundation functions, makes decisions, sets priorities?

A panel of three local funders will explain their grantmaking and what makes a good application from a funder’s perspective. In addition to our panelists, MSU’s Funding Center will explain its resources to help nonprofits search for and write grant applications. Participants will then get a chance to talk directly with panelists and network with other participants. While direct solicitations from participants to panelists is prohibited, participants are encouraged to bring any potential funding ideas and grant applications they are working on to this workshop to receive technical advice.

Current panelists are:

• Claudia Deschaine, DART Foundation
• Jon Harrison, MSU’s Funding Center
• Rita Stoskopf, Joe D. Pentecost Foundation

Registration:  Open to all community, neighborhood, and faith based groups.

Advance registration is requested. Please e-mail separate registrations for each participant to Wendy Duke-Littlejohn at wduke@ingham.org by completing, cutting and pasting the form below.

4) Pilgrim Church Fundraiser

During the coming year Pilgrim will be having various “fund raisers” at local restaurants.

Our first will be at OLGA’S in Frandor,
Sunday – September 27
10:30a – 10p.

Call Judy Hackett to get a flyer that needs to be presented in order for Pilgrim to get credit.  Please print or email to your families and friends to help make this a successful event.  If you have any questions, please contact Judy Hackett at 303-1243 or the church office, 484-7434.
Thanks for spreading the word.

5) ENO Candidates Night, October 7

Invitation from Nancy Mahlow, ENO President

Please join me and the rest of our organization in a “meet and greet” and Q/A session with our candidates for office.  This is an opportunity to speak with the candidates and ask those important questions to see just how they plan to build our city and schools.  We are trying to obtain City TV to tape this event for future airing.

If you would like to submit a question or two because you might be “shy” or simply can’t make the event, feel free to send them to me and I will compile them for the moderator. I look forward to seeing you and please share with others.  Remember it is your right to vote!

Nancy Mahlow, mahlown@michigan.gov., 373-8448

6) The Michigan Avenue Thinkers and Doers

Fall Program Schedule

Tuesday, September 22

City of Lansing Master Planning Process

Featuring Rick Kibbey and Kate Koskinen

Long-time Community Organizers, working with the City on Master Planning

Thursday, October 15

Is That a Farmers Market Over There?

Featuring Hollie Hamel , Market Manager and Health Programs

Allen Neighborhood Center

Wednesday, November 18

Local Filmmakers – Speakers to be announced.

All programs start @ 6:00pm with light refreshments. Speaker starts @ 6:30pm

At the MSU Center for Community and Economic Development at 1615 E. Michigan Ave.,

517-353-9555, www.ced.msu.edu

7) The Urban Gardener Certification Course

Offered by Allen Neighborhood Center and the Hunter Park Community GardenHouse

The Urban Gardener Certification course features 9 sessions of instruction in basic yard & greenhouse gardening skills appropriate for high density, small lot neighborhoods such as those on Lansing’s Eastside and the raised beds in the GardenHouse. The course involves six classes in the GardenHouse and a minimum of three “continuing ed.” garden skills workshops.  Topics to be covered include greenhouse vs outdoor gardening, basic plant and soil science, seeding, potting up, watering skill development, vegetables basics, organic growing and production tips, small group garden design, composting (hot piles, worms, etc.), urban native plant gardens, rain gardens, and sustainable lawns.

Dates               : Tuesdays, 6:30-9:00 pm; September 29th through November 3rd.

Location         : Hunter Park Community GardenHouse (just off the Clifford Street parking lot, one block south of Kalamazoo) OR at the Allen Neighborhood Center.

Instructors     : Primary instructors are GardenHouse staff K’Anna Burton and Linda Anderson; Gary Heilig, MSU Extension Master Gardener Coordinator and Matt Smar, DEQ             & local native plants gardener.

Applicants to the Urban Gardening Certification Program agree to:

• Commit to attending at least 5 of the 6 classes AND at least 3 workshops (certification is contingent on attending at least 5 classes and the 3 workshops)

• Commit to 40 hours of volunteer staffing at the Hunter Park Community GardenHouse or working with eastside community gardening projects following this course.

• Commit to assist, as time and energy allow, other gardeners on one’s block.

• Pay materials costs of $20 – $40, due no later than at first class meeting.

*Enrollment space is limited.  For further information or an enrollment form, contact K’Anna Burton at 999-3910 or email her at kannab@allenneighborhoodcenter.org.

8) Quote of the Week

Reminder

Join ANC staff every Friday at noon in Hunter Park & walk with us!