NELA Transition | November 2012 Newsletter

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Northeast Los Angeles Transition November 2012 Newsletter NELA Transition Endorses Proposition 37 Genetically-engineered (GE) ingredients have been in our food supply since 1996, and are now in about 70% of all processed foods. Currently, unless you buy organic food, you cannot know whether the food contains GE. Proposition 37 is a simple labeling law that would require any raw or processed food sold in California grocery stores (not restaurants) that contains GE ingredients to be labeled. Most European countries, and Mexico and China already label GE foods; in fact, 61 countries do. NELA Transition encourages every Californian to vote YES ON 37 on November 6th, because we support everyone's right to know if their food contains genetically-engineered ingredients. NELA Transition, with information provided by Jim Montgomery and South Bay for Prop 37. Muir Ranch Your Plate, Our Farm Dinner Friday, November 2, 2012 5:00pm John Muir High School 1905 Lincoln Ave., Pasadena Cost: $40.00 per person + service fee Info and RSVP: eventbrite.com Bring your plate and kickstart the Culinary Innovation Center at Pasadena's John Muir High School. A field-to-table dinner benefiting the students of Muir Ranch and the Yes on Prop 37 Campaign. Muir Ranch, a project of the Pasadena Educational Foundation, is a teen jobs program that looks like a school farm, CSA and culinary education program, located at John Muir High School in Northwest Pasadena. Citizens Climate Lobby Saturday, November 3, 2012 All Saints Church, Regas House, Seminar Room 132 No. Euclid Ave., Pasadena The Citizens Climate Lobby's (CCL) goal is to build the public and the political will to pass effective national climate legislation. In 2011, they introduced The Save Our Climate Act, which calls for a gradually rising tax on carbon-based fuels, with most revenues being returned to citizens by a rebate. The CCL works to instruct citizens how to contact their government officials, how to submit articles and editorials to publications in support of the climate bill, and to have an impact on future climate legislation. The local chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby meets on the first Saturday of each month. For more information, contact Robert Haw at roberthaw2008@gmail.com. CCL also holds a national conference call monthly, details on their website: citizensclimatelobby.org Information provided by Robert Haw and Citizens Climate Lobby. Conscientious Projector Genetic Roulette: The Gamble of Our Lives Thursday, November 8, 2012 7:00pm Armory Center for the Arts 145 North Raymond Avenue, Pasadena Consumer advocate Jeffrey M. Smith’s documentary of how the biotech industry has come to dominate global food production, and how rising disease rates may be linked to Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). The film also points to efforts worldwide to restore dietary health and reclaim natural food systems. Mark Rice, co-host of KPFK radio's Focus on Food and founder of Pasadena Learning Gardens, will be joined by other local food activists for a discussion following the film. Admission is free and the facility is accessible to disabled persons. Conscientious Projector is committed to bringing films on social justice and sustainability to the public. 2nd Thursday of every month. Free. RIPE Altadena Sunday, November 25, 2012 5:00pm–6:00pm Farnsworth Park, Altadena (near the top of No. Lake Ave.) If you grow fruits and/or vegetables in your garden organically and grow more than you can use, bring your surplus produce to RIPE’s free monthly meetings, and exchange it for someone else‘s. At RIPE (Residential In-season Produce Exchange) participants bring anything from a few sprigs, seedlings, heirloom seeds, to crates of organic produce, as long as you grow it. Almost anything homemade also qualifies: canned foods, jams, breads, baked goods -- as long as it's made from organic ingredients. RIPE Altadena meets for an hour on the last Sunday of each month at Farnsworth Park at the top of Lake Avenue in Altadena. Folks start gathering about one hour before sunset. Another RIPE is starting in Eagle Rock this month. Their inaugural produce exchange will occur on Sunday, November 3rd from 5:00pm–6:00pm at a private garden on the NE corner of Townsend Ave and Grandola Ave in Eagle Rock. RIPE Altadena, active for 3 years with over 200 members, is part of an effort to build an organic community, stretching from Arcadia to Eagle Rock. Forces of Nature: Art from Fallen Trees November 30–December 2, 2012 9:00am–4:30pm LA County Arboretum 301 No. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia Artists will display sculptures, furniture, bowls, jewelry and other artwork specially created from salvaged wood from the hundreds of trees downed by last December's windstorm. The exhibition is curated by Leigh Adams. The artists are donating their work, which will be auctioned to raise funds for the Arboretum Tree Fund. The December windstorm toppled 235 trees at the Arboretum. More info at arboretum.org Throop Learning Garden Dedication Ceremony Sunday, November 11, 2012 9:00am–11:00am Throop U.U. Church 300 So. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard and Councilman Terry Tornek will address church members and community volunteers in dedication of this unique urban agriculture demonstration on the grounds of Pasadena’s historic Throop Unitarian Universalist Church. The ceremony will honor the community spirit of the over 130 local volunteer gardeners who labored to make it a reality. The Throop Learning Garden, a year in the making, converted a large swath of water-greedy lawn into a beautiful, bountiful, water-conserving vegetable, fruit tree, and native plant gardens. Groundbreaking began on Oct 8, 2011 as a collaboration between Throop Church and Northeast LA Transition. The garden was created with volunteer labor, and many plants, seeds and supplies were donated and most locally-sourced. The garden has already become a visible demonstration of community cooperation and resilience, and has itself created a new community of neighbors, gardeners, church members, and sustainability activists, giving rise to new collaborations, which participants hope will spread to other sites throughout Pasadena. See more information on the Throop Learning Garden webpage and sign up on the NELA Transition Garden Group email list for more updates. Presented by Throop U.U. Church and NELA Transition. Photo by Qrys Cunningham Repair Café Saturday, November 17, 2012 10:00am–1:00pm Hen's Teeth Square 2057 No. Los Robles Ave, Pasadena Our November Repair Café will be the last one in 2012. You are invited to bring one item for repair, pay in Time Dollars, cash donations also accepted. Bring items you no longer use that could still be useful to someone else to give to the Really Really Free Market. You are welcome to take anything you want from the Really Really Free Market tables. We're looking for volunteers, so if you can mend, sew or tinker, and would like to be a part of the resilience community and earn a few Time Dollars, and have a terrific time doing it, contact Therese Brummel at theresegbrum@yahoo.com. Last Month's Event The October Repair Café was not only a rousing success, but a barrel of fun, as new friendships were forged! The repairs included appliances, a sewing machine, knives sharpened, jewelry repairs and polishing, and some basic sewing. We had visitors from Transition groups in Culver City and San Fernando who were amazed by the vibrancy of this event! The three Really Really Free Market tables overflowed with items! Many people went home extremely happy with new clothing, new reading material, office supplies, speakers, etc. — but the happiest was the recipient of a microwave oven! Many enjoyed some of the harvest of the Arroyo Time Bank's Fruit Picking Project: fresh oranges! Some were gifted to Throop Church members, and the still leftover oranges made their way to the Union Station Homeless Shelter. Abundance is palpable! The potluck food was so delicious and mostly vegan. Ryan's raw-cashew cream strawberry pie won my award! About eight folks attended a Time Bank intro class, and the grand finale was Don Warriner's presentation on How To Make a Solar Oven. The oven was made from cardboard boxes, aluminum foil, tiles, a cookie cooling rack, and bubble wrap, and less than $10 to make! – Therese Brummel, October 25, 2012 Repair Café is a movement that is bringing connection of neighbors, revealing resources in our community, creating a sense of abundance, and supporting zero waste and less consumption of goods. Presented by Arroyo Time Bank and NELA Transition Photo montage by Ginko Ching Lee NELA Transition Steering Committee Sunday, November 18, 2012 5:00pm–7:00pm Join us for our next Steering Committee meeting. These meetings are our best opportunities to get together, plan upcoming events, and promote sustainability projects. The location changes monthly. The gathering is potluck. Email people@nelatransition.org for more details. Artwork by Qrys Cunningham/Wordle.net Art As Entree to Inner Transition On Sept 25th, nineteen Transitioners gathered at the home of Greg Marquez in Altadena, a lovely property on the edge of a canyon overlooking the Angeles National Forest. The intention was that all people, whether artists or not, can be creative; furthermore, that creation is spiritual in nature. Might we be able to use art as a way to reach people spiritually? We engaged in several visual art activities, including stamp making, collage, and photo interpretation, while listening to live classical music. As the shadows lengthened, the music shifted to jazz and the participants shifted to conversation. A potluck dinner was served on the patio overlooking the canyon with the San Gabriel Mountains as a backdrop. The sunset was spectacular on the mountains. From sunset to darkness we shared readings to focus our intent, recited poetry, and we had spontaneous storytelling about the unexpected kindness of a stranger and how it changed the storyteller. The conclusion of the collected group was that, yes, art is a fabulous way to engage with people spiritually and let's do it again. Stay tuned. – David Cutter, October 27, 2012 Photo by Therese Brummel Throop Learning Garden Is Transition In Action As we mark our first anniversary of the lawn conversion, we can count the milestones: covering the lawn with lasagna mulch, constructing the patio and terrace-walls, planting fruit trees in the food forest, planting the Cal Tech-donated Olive Tree, putting in the herb garden, and installing the raised-bed vegetable garden. Beyond these milestones we constructed something far more precious: community. We forged new friendships and alliances, brought new skills and awareness to many people, built a habitat for birds, bees, and earthworms, and produced countless bushels of nourishing produce that we could share with a wide variety of folks. While the garden alone will not ensure us food security, it is part of a path to more interdependent, healthy future. Heartfelt thanks to all who participated. – January Nordman, October 29, 2012 Photo by Qrys Cunningham NELA Transition is a community group working on positive changes in our community as we face global climate change, peak oil, and economic crisis. We share our skills working on projects which increase our local resilience and strengthen community connections. Our members are located in the Los Angeles neighborhoods bordering the Arroyo Seco, including Pasadena, Altadena, Highland Park and Eagle Rock. nelatransition.org