Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Included in this bulletin:
1) Bugs of the World at Fenner this Sunday
2) Conversation about Urban Chickens, also this Sunday
3) Winter Market- Allen Street Farmers Market in GardenHouse on Dec. 9, 16
4) Our Michigan Avenue Website presentation on Dec. 10
5) Mobile Food Pantry on Dec. 19
6) GardenHouse Book Club tackles Pollen’s Omnivore’s Dilemma
7) Plan Your Gardening Year on Jan. 16, repeated on Jan. 26
1) LIVE AT FENNER NATURE CENTER: Bugs of the WorldSunday, December 6, 1:00pm
Did you know that a cricket’s ears are on its knees? Or that a fly has taste buds on its feet? Come visit Fenner Nature Center on Sunday, December 6, from 1:00-3:00 p.m. to learn all about bugs. The MSU Bug House will be bringing both live and pinned specimens.
Register at the door, which will open a half-hour before the show. Seating is limited.
Fees $5.00 per person/$15.00 per family
For FOFNC members: Fees $4.00 per person/$12.00 per family
Call 483-4224 – Fenner Nature Center for information.
2) Join the Conversation about Urban Chickens
This coming Sunday, December 6th from 2-3:30P, in the Hunter Park GardenHouse, ANC will be hosting a discussion with neighbors about the logistics of raising chickens, current city regulations, and strategies for lobbying for urban chickens. Please come join the conversation, led by Corie and Matt Jason; get to know your “egg-loving” neighbors; and let your opinions and needs be heard.
3) Winter Farmers Market at Hunter Park Gardenhouse
The 2009 Allen Street Farmers Market Season is not over yet! On Wednesday (of course), December 9th and again on the 16th, come to the Hunter Park GardenHouse in the 1400 block of E. Kalamazoo St. between 3:30 6:30 pm for two small yet wonderful winter mini-markets! We will have fresh greens, delicious holiday breads, potatoes, squash, apples, syrups, homemade egg noodles, birdhouses, holiday crafts and so much more. As always, we are EBT and debit/credit friendly. If you haven’t seen the GardenHouse yet, this is a great opportunity to check it out. Tell your neighbors and friends and see you at the market
4) Our Michigan Avenue Website
Message from John Momberg, who is overseeing the development of the Our Michigan Ave website (www.ourmichiganave.org), a space for Lansing, East Lansing, and Lansing Township community to think about the future of Michigan Avenue, sharing ideas for better transportation, economic development, urban design, and environmental improvements.
A week from today, a team of digital rhetoric students will present ideas for a new design for the site. Using formal research methods, students talked with dozens of individuals along the corridor to learn about their attitudes, goals, and desires. Using these insights, we’ve developed many ideas for improving the current site.
Join us on Thursday, December 10 at 7:00 pm at the MSU center for Community and Economic Development, 1615 E. Michigan Avenue, Lansing for the presentation. Please forward information about the Community Design Presentation to anyone you know who has an interest in the Michigan Avenue corridor.
John Monberg, jmonberg@msu.edu, MSU Dept. of Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures
5) MOBILE FOOD PANTRY
Distribution of FREE, fresh, non-perishable food items sponsored by City of Lansing HUMAN RELATIONS AND COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT & the Mid-Michigan Food Bank.
When: Saturday, December 19, 2009, 9 am to 11 am
Where: Life Changers Christian Center, 3000 W. Miller Road, Lansing
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
6) The GardenHouse Book Club- Next meets on Dec. 15 at the GardenHouse
Message from Allison Burkeholder, Facilitator of the Hunter Park GardenHouse Book Club
The votes have been tallied and we finally have a decision! The December book choice is Omnivores Dilemma by Michael Pollan. This announcement is coming with just two weeks until the date of the next book club meeting and this particular choice is quite big, so by the 15th, please read Part One (including the first seven chapters) for discussion. I will be heading down to Everybody Reads today to let them know of our book choice, and there should be some copies there within the next few days for purchase at a 20% discount. If you plan to attend, please email me at allisonb@allenneighborhoodcenter.org with a note that you will be attending and let me know whether or not you will be purchasing from Everybody Reads.
For those who haven’t heard of Michael Pollan, he is a significant contributor to the political discussion surrounding food systems in America today and a contributing writer for the New York Times. The Omnivore’s Dilemma is a detailed analysis of the American food system. It includes descriptions of the industrial, organic, local, and personal production cycles from which most food that is consumed by Americans is derived. With this information, Pollan not only leaves readers in a much better position to choose the foods that are best for our bodies and environment, but he encourages them to prioritize the maintenance of ecological connections with their food.
Upcoming Dates for the Book Club:
December 15th, 6:30-8P: The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Part I
January 19th, 6:30-8P: The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Parts II and III
February 23rd, 6:30-8P: Food Not Lawns: How to Turn Your Yard Into a Garden and Your Neighborhood Into a Community by Heather C. Flores (the entire book)
7) Planning Your Gardening Year
Offered January 16, 2-3:30 pm, and repeated on Jan. 26th, 6:30 8 pm, at the GardenHouse.
Did you know that an important part of vegetable gardening happens in the dead of winter? Its the very necessary planning and perusing, designing and drawing, dreaming and scheming, all done indoors where its warm and snug! At this workshop, led by Linda Anderson, you will learn when different garden tasks should be done throughout the year, how to decide what to plant, and how to lay out your vegetable garden. There will be time at the workshop for you to dig in and get started on your plans, with access to lots of garden catalogs and books as well as experienced gardeners to answer your questions. Come get a jump on the 2010 gardening year!
