Earth Events December 2008
Many delightful events to share! Six months ago, a very special child was born to my good friends Chris and Paola Hernandez. At that time, Chris asked me to officiate at a blessing ceremony for Julianna Alexandra at some time in the future. That time was November 23, 2008. It was a small gathering of immediate family members and I was honored to be a part of this loving event. Chris and I used to work together for Audubon, and we took many field trips with kids to Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge;we all agreed that the cypress forest was the perfect place for
the ceremony.This is not my usual role in the field, but one with which I am equally at home, as I see the Earth as a sacred vessel that contains Love and Light for all Life, and feel that it is my responsibility to disseminate that knowledge to all who wish to learn. And that is what I hope I give my readers, whether I am speaking of humanity, butterflies,or the Earth.
Following in that thought, I want to tell you about Earth Learning, an enlightening organization that is helping us heal this ravaged planet. It is a magnificent opportunity to re-connect with the people, plants, animals, and ecosystems, and regain spiritual balance through that awareness. Chris sent me the link and we both feel it is important to pass it on to you. There will be an intensive two-day weekend gathering, “Deepening Our Connection to the Earth," and camp out on Key Biscayne, Dec. 13-15, 2008. The $150 fee includes vegetarian meals, camping, and workshops, in Crandon Park. For more information or questions, For any questions, contact: Val Silidker (954 562-4981) Or Mario Yanez (305 323-8858). Check out the website; it's awesome!
Makes me think I ought to do some awakening camping programs at my favorite oak hammock in John Williams Park, where we had another very successful day on November 15, with twenty participants!
Makes me think I ought to do some awakening camping programs at my favorite oak hammock in John Williams Park, where we had another very successful day on November 15, with twenty participants! Seventeen kids from Hollywood Hills High School (HHHS) attended the event and we all worked exceedingly hard for the morning. Illona Morin from Broward NABA volunteered her morning with us, too (Thank you, Illona!) We even got television coverage by the news team at HHHS (www.HHH-STV.com).
A week later, Lisa and Jessica Cook and I spent the morning at the park putting stakes and caution tape around our plant investments to protect them from the lawn mowers and weed-whacking maintenance crew (OK, we know they are only doing what they think they were told to do). The City of Hollywood provided the materials, and we provided the labor. Lisa teaches math at HHHS, and her daughter Jessica is an awesome coordinator who gathers the student volunteers from HHHS for community service in the park. (Way to go, Jessica!)
The next exotic plant removal program at John Williams Park will be on December 13, 2008, 9 AM until noon. We could really use your help with this on-going project! Air Potatoes, Caesar’s Weed and Rosary Pea are winning the battle right now. Donate a few hours of your time and help us maintain this beautiful park. (And remember that community service hours are available for school kids, any age! Air Potato collection contests are fun for the younger kids and help us out a great deal….the current record is 598 potatoes.)
Broward County Butterfly Chapter of NABA will not have a meeting this month, but mark your calendars for the next meeting on January 15, 2009, at the Broward County Extension Office at 3245 College Avenue. I’ll be presenting “Heavenly Hairstreaks and Beautiful Blues,” an opportunity for you to learn about these very small, difficult-to-identify flying acrobats. Anyone who has tried to chase down a blue knows how challenging it can be! Meetings begin at 7 PM, but come early for socializing and looking at the plants for sale on the raffle table. It is a great opportunity to find just what you need for your garden!
Atala colonies have crashed at the moment and seem to have reached the lowest point in the cycle. This month we should see a slow increase in the populations, cresting some time in January (and they will crash again before spring, if past cycles hold to the pattern.)
Mona Johnston sent this perfect Monarch butterfly’s unsolicited endorsement for establishing a National Wildlife Federation Certified yard. Keep sending the great photographs, Mona!
A week later, Lisa and Jessica Cook and I spent the morning at the park putting stakes and caution tape around our plant investments to protect them from the lawn mowers and weed-whacking maintenance crew (OK, we know they are only doing what they think they were told to do). The City of Hollywood provided the materials, and we provided the labor. Lisa teaches math at HHHS, and her daughter Jessica is an awesome coordinator who gathers the student volunteers from HHHS for community service in the park. (Way to go, Jessica!)
The next exotic plant removal program at John Williams Park will be on December 13, 2008, 9 AM until noon. We could really use your help with this on-going project! Air Potatoes, Caesar’s Weed and Rosary Pea are winning the battle right now. Donate a few hours of your time and help us maintain this beautiful park. (And remember that community service hours are available for school kids, any age! Air Potato collection contests are fun for the younger kids and help us out a great deal….the current record is 598 potatoes.)Broward County Butterfly Chapter of NABA will not have a meeting this month, but mark your calendars for the next meeting on January 15, 2009, at the Broward County Extension Office at 3245 College Avenue. I’ll be presenting “Heavenly Hairstreaks and Beautiful Blues,” an opportunity for you to learn about these very small, difficult-to-identify flying acrobats. Anyone who has tried to chase down a blue knows how challenging it can be! Meetings begin at 7 PM, but come early for socializing and looking at the plants for sale on the raffle table. It is a great opportunity to find just what you need for your garden!
Atala colonies have crashed at the moment and seem to have reached the lowest point in the cycle. This month we should see a slow increase in the populations, cresting some time in January (and they will crash again before spring, if past cycles hold to the pattern.)
Mona Johnston sent this perfect Monarch butterfly’s unsolicited endorsement for establishing a National Wildlife Federation Certified yard. Keep sending the great photographs, Mona!Plant NATIVE plants. Love the Earth. Love your community. Love. Just do it :-)
Labels: Blessings, earth, native plants, volunteering
posted by Sandy at 11:26 PM
2 Comments:
Oh...I was so delighted to see the Monarch on your wildlife sanctuary sign...soooo perfect.
My yard is also designated by WWF... so HI!
And thanks for such a lovely focus for your blog...a delight! bravo.
This is the third of three blogspot blogs i have been on today which seem to have no direct contact to the site. Anyway, you have a recip with "the nature teacher" and her link to your blog within the MAIN page link (not the sidebar link, its ok) is "broken", so you might want to inform Christy of that (I cant since you all dont have email address contacts...!)...
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