Homemade lip balm

Admit it: your lips are so dry you hesitate before smiling because you're afraid they'll crack. Wouldn't your friends and family be impressed if they got homemade lip balm for a gift this time of year?

Here's the basic recipe we use for the lip balm we sell at White Violet Center for Eco-Justice:

20% beeswax
25% coconut oil
15% cocoa butter
40% liquid oil (we use cosmetic grade sweet almond)
A few drops of Vitamin E
A few drops of flavoring/scented oil (we use food safe essential oils)

Candace Minster, who gathers interested volunteers when making the lip balm White Violet Center sells, says we melt everything carefully in a double boiler, or a mug placed into an old saucepan, under low heat. Then use a glass dropper to get the liquid into a tube or pot. Use this recipe whether it's a small batch just for you or if it's a large batch to share.

We get all ingredients from Herbs & Heirlooms in Terre Haute (on 4th Street, just off of Hulman Street). They have online ordering. Sweet!

Finding your center

During the course of my day, I often go to Owens Hall, the main residence for retired Sisters. And somehow, almost without fail, I find myself there at 11:30am, during Mass in Owens Chapel. Today as I walked through, I overheard a bit of Father Hopcus’ homily on using resources, and stayed to listen for a few minutes.

In the homily, Father Hopcus said that if one holds Jesus as one’s center, then they will be lead naturally to use resources appropriately. I thought this was a fascinating point. Usually we think of resource use in terms of “what is cheapest” or “how much we ought to use”. But Father Hopcus was making a different point. Rather than admonishing people for what they ought to do, or what is most economically proper, or anything else, he was suggesting that by keeping a solid center, the right actions would follow naturally from that.

In my experience as someone attempting to live a more sustainable life, I find the choices one must make to be dizzying. And even more difficult than choosing what I ought to do is the ability to just stick with it. To stay true to a sustainable lifestyle, even though Wal-Mart is cheaper than the local farm, and my friends complain about how cold my house is, and that it’s so much easier to just drive instead of bike, and being tired of harping on the children to turn the lights off when you leave a room over and over again.

I believe that a sustainable lifestyle is more satisfying and fulfilling, but that doesn’t mean that it is always easier, and it is certainly swimming against the current in our society. I like the idea that having a solid center can help one to more naturally choose appropriate uses of resources. Keeping Jesus as one’s center is an obvious choice for the Sisters and many people; for others, perhaps keeping one’s family, or one’s children as their center will help lead them to use resources wisely. I can imagine many different “centers”, depending on what will be most helpful for that individual.

So have you found your center? That thing which keeps you on the right track, mindful of how you are using the wealth of the world? Is there anything that keeps you on the straight and narrow? My family and my community are my center. I love our town, and want to instill that love in my children. I worry about how I will feed my family in a town that cannot produce enough food to feed itself, in a world where food costs are increasingly tied to fuel costs. And so I work hard to strengthen our local food resources, support our local small farmers, and find new ways to make our town more self-sufficient. My center calls me to use the resources of Creation to build a strong and resilient community, and it’s my center that gets me to stick with it all. What does your center call you to do?

Join us this Sunday

There are plenty of reasons to spend the day at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods this Sunday and experience the spirit of Christmas. We’ll have our Christmas open house from 1 to 3 p.m. in the center.

Enjoy weaving, spinning and needle felting demonstrations and delicious homemade treats. Handmade items such as alpaca scarves, hats, gloves, socks, ornaments, pins and teddy bears are available for purchase. An alpaca afghan ($300 value) and a teddy bear will be raffled on Dec. 12. Tickets may be purchased at the open house for $2 each or six for $10.

Please ask us about alpaca and bee hive adoption opportunities as Christmas gifts. And, the two youngest alpacas will make an appearance at the open house.

Christmas concert
At 3 p.m. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Chorale and Madrigals will offer their Christmas Concert in the Church of the Immaculate Conception.

Brunch and Gift Shop
Sunday Brunch also is available in O’Shaughnessy Dining Room from 10:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. And just steps from O’Shaughnessy will be the “Light Up for Christmas” sale in The Gift Shop at Providence Center. Pull a Christmas bulb from the bag to see what percentage is taken off your purchase. Sunday’s Gift Shop hours are 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Advent
Some may be interested in Advent Vespers at 4:30 p.m. in St. Joseph Chapel in Owens Hall. The vesper service is the evening prayer of the Church. It is an opportunity to pray the psalms in song in an ecumenical spirit and to reflect on the Advent season’s scripture readings.

And don’t forget the Eucharistic Liturgy for the Second Sunday of Advent will be offered at 11 a.m. in the Church of the Immaculate Conception.

Eco-friendly gift ideas

Looking for some ethical, fair-trade, eco-friendly and stupendous gift ideas? We have a few for you to check out.

Heartbeats, a ministry of the Sisters of Humility of Mary, offers a sizable catalog of fair-trade religious gifts. Many items are handmade in third world countries, though some domestic items are offered as well. Each purchase helps create dignified work that gives a fair wage to women worldwide. Go to www.heartbeatscatalog.org.

Green America’s (formerly Co-op America) Green Pages is a great resource to find dozens of fair-trade and eco-friendly gift ideas. Browse featured vendors or use a search engine to look for a specific item. Go to www.greenpages.org.

Heifer International is dedicated to providing indigenous people with animals that can be used for milk, fiber, meat, eggs or labor. Animal donations help indigent communities become more self-sustaining by meeting their own nutritional needs as well as making a small income. Partial or full shares are available and make wonderful gifts. Go to www.heifer.org.

The following companies have some great coffee and chocolate gift sets if you’re pressed for time and don’t want to assemble your own: www.equalexchange.com, www.dagobachocolate.com, and www.ancoracoffee.com.

Can I cook now?

As the associate director of the White Violet Center, it may not surprise you to find out that I am interested in food issues. WVC is dedicated to food in many ways—its sustainable production, its importance to family and community, its place in our spirituality. So really, I had better be interested in food issues, hadn’t I?

What might surprise you is how very much I am interested in food issues. I suspect that a great deal of my personal, professional, and volunteering life choices stem directly from trying to find more excuses to cook, share and eat good food. So, for my first post on the WVC blog, I thought I would say a quick (ahem) word about teaching cooking classes.

I’ve taught people to make everything from mozzarella to eclairs to lentil soup. Teaching people how to cook food, and seeing their amazement at how easy it really is to do wonderful things with raw ingredients, is so fulfilling. I love that when I show people how to cook, what I am doing is showing them a new way to care for people. When I cook for my family, the food that I prepare is a real, physical manifestation of my love for them. This is work that comes from my heart and my hands, and goes directly into their bodies. It’s work that sustains them, and warms them, and gives them fond memories of times sitting around the dinner table talking to each other. Having the opportunity to help others discover this joy is a blessing.

So you say you can’t cook, or you don’t know how? Let us teach you! Even if you think you don’t like to cook, it can be a lot more fun once you learn a few basic dishes that you can make from scratch. It doesn’t have to be a big deal, and it doesn’t have to be Beef Wellington—spaghetti and meatballs will be just fine. But cook something, and serve it to people you care about.

No recipe you find in glossy food magazines ever comes out the way the professional pictures look. The dish will taste wonderful and make everyone happy, not because it was coiffed by professional food stylists, but because you love your family and friends, and they can taste the love in your food (I swear it’s my favorite ingredient). Sure, maybe my favorite thing to do is something that involves the word “flambé”, but my kids love me most when I make them pancakes or mac n’ cheese. My youngest son’s favorite meal, hands down, is biscuits & gravy. Haute cuisine this ain’t. It’s just good, simple food, made with love. And in my house, at least occasionally, it’s also food made with an 8-year-old giving me constant (somewhat distracting) hugs because he found out he’s getting pancakes for dinner. Would I trade that in for the “convenience” of a restaurant? Not on a bet.

Advisory board member spotlight

Dennis Evers, of Terre Haute, is a member of the White Violet Center for Eco-Justice advisory board. Dennis has 40 years experience as a public health engineer, biochemist in waste water treatment and is a microbiologist with special interest and field experience in optimizing resource recovery from waste.

He invented the Viable Organic Waste (VOW) process, a total recovery and zero waste treatment system, based on bioaugmentation, that yields energy as biogas (methane) and organic fertilizer, single cell protein for aquaculture and animal feed, and recyclable water.

He owns Everstech Consulting and VOW Resources Pty., Ltd.  VOW has current projects in China, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Australia, Greece, Egypt, United Kingdom and United States.

We thank Dennis and all advisory board members for sharing their time and talents with us.

Alpaca show ring

White Violet Farm Alpacas (WVFA), along with more than 100 other alpaca farms representing 13 states, attended the 9th Annual Northern Illinois Alpaca Extravaganza at Libertyville, Ill., Oct. 23-24.
Sister Ruth Johnson, left, talks with Jubilee while working on her felted art projects at our booth as Sister PB Bounk prepares to show him in the medium fawn class. Sister Ruth sold 4 or 5 of her wall hangings and several packs of her alpaca notecards during the show.

Sister PB Bounk leads Pere Michel into the show ring as the judge takes his first look.

Sister PB Bounk listens to the judge give his remarks at the end of the showing of Pere's class. Tracy Wilson and her alpaca, Deringer, are at left. Pere received 6th-place and Deringer got 4th-place. Deringer is the son of Providence Chelsea and Providence Velvet.

Sister PB Bounk and Jubilee, center, in the show ring after placing 4th in the medium fawn class. Jubilee received 4th-place.

New events calendar

We're excited this week to announce our new calendar of events. We've been meeting and talking with presenters and instructors for months and now we're rolling out the dates.

Everything from cooking classes, basic alpaca ownership and fiber workshops to a Christmas open house, retreats, a medical herbalism course and more.

The cooking classes will be at Clabber Girl in Terre Haute. The first one is Nov. 13 on ratio cooking with our own Robyn Morton. Then Sister Ann Sullivan, founding director of White Violet Center for Eco-Justice, will present a class on Christmas Delicacies on Dec. 11 you won't want to miss.

We'll have Michael Morwood back Jan. 7-8 for a Shaping Christian Imagination in the 21st Century retreat and Jan Novotka presenting a Wilderness Fast June 2-5.

We have a chance of a lifetime event for those with interests in herbs. A medical herbalism course with author, lecturer and practicing herbalist Matthew Wood is June 17-19.

In addition to our annual favorite Fiber Frolic Jan. 28-20 and beginning and advanced spinning and weaving workshops, we're offering a new felted slippers workshop Feb. 19 and others later in 2011.

Please take a moment to look at our online events calendar at www.WhiteViolet.org to see what interests you and note the registration deadlines. We look forward to sharing our events and programs and hearing any ideas you have for new offerings.

Check back to our online calendar occasionally to see what new events we've added.

Show ring bound

We’re headed to the big city this weekend. White Violet Farm Alpacas staff members will be attending the 3rd Annual Heartland Classic alpaca show at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis Oct. 2-3. It’s sponsored by the Indiana Alpaca Association.

We won’t be showing alpacas at this one, but we’ll have a booth where we’ll be sharing information about our farm and selling our handmade alpaca items such as yarn, hats and scarves. We’ve been participating in alpaca shows for many years and it’s always a good time to catch up with old friends and make new ones. Stop in and see us this weekend if you’re in that area.

The competition begins at 8 a.m. both days and ends at 5 p.m. on Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday. There will be two show rings (one for females and one for males), a silent auction, short seminars and lots of alpacas to admire. The photo is of Linden when he brought home a blue ribbon from this show a couple years ago.

Then on Oct. 23-24 we’ll be in Grayslake, Ill., for the 9th Annual Northern Illinois Alpaca Extravaganza at the Lake County Fairgrounds. We’ll be showing three alpacas at that show.

The staff always looks forward to opportunities like these to learn, share our workshop and alpaca sales opportunities and spread the word about this ministry of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.

Alpacas looking forward to your visit

The weather forecast is good and we’re all geared up for our National Alpaca Farm Days open house this Sunday afternoon. It’s 1-3 p.m. at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind.

You won’t want to miss seeing our newest cria, Providence Vincennes, or “Vinnie,” running around the pasture.

We’ll have fiber demonstrations and alpaca items for sale. Look for the small tent set up near the female alpaca pasture/barn, which is close to Owens Hall.

If it’s been awhile since you’ve visited Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind., or you’ve never visited and need directions click here. Plugging this address into your GPS will get you to the north entrance: 3850 U.S. 150, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, IN 47876. Here are the GPS coordinates for near the alpaca barn: N 39º 27’ 58.5” W087º 27’ 09.5”

White Violet Farm Alpacas has 63 alpacas at this time with Samantha due to give birth around Oct. 12.

Attend our open house AND two other local alpaca farms, Aris Farm Alpacas (4 miles south of Clinton) and Lookout Farm Alpacas (just north of Terre Haute) this weekend and get your name entered in a drawing for a basket of alpaca socks, gloves, yarn and alpaca manure (Alpaca Gold).

Aris Farm Alpacas is down the road from us at 129 West 1800 South, Clinton, Ind., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 25-26.

Lookout Farm Alpacas is at 5665 E. Rosehill Ave., Terre Haute, Ind. Their open house is 1-5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 26.

U.N. International Day of Peace Sept. 21

A Million Minutes for Peace
At noon on Tuesday, Sept. 21 there will be a multi-faith movement...mobilizing the power of prayer.

People of different faiths from all over the world will stop at noon and pray for peace for one minute — each in their own way — the U.N. International Day of Peace.

Sign the pledge:
"On Sept. 21, I will pause at noon and, in my own way, pray for peace.
May my one minute, magnified a million times, begin to change our future."

A Million Minutes for Peace is an initiative of Odyssey Networks, a service of the National Interfaith Cable Coalition, Inc., established in 1987.

Wabash Valley Going Local Food Fair 2010

If you were unable to attend the Going Local Food Fair at the Vigo County Fairgrounds on Sept. 9 (or didn’t know about it) hopefully you’ll find this post full of useful info.

White Violet Center for Eco-Justice participated by having a table and talking with folks about our CSA, participation in the Terre Haute farmers market, and answering questions about organic gardening, our farm, and such. We also had our handmade alpaca fiber items for sale. (Pictured: Candace Minster, left, talks about our ministry with two women.)

L&A Family Farms and CSA of Paris, Ill., had a table and was promoting their pasture raised meats, eggs and produce. Learn more about them at www.lafamilyfarms.com

Marta Shelton’s and Amelia Vallely-Compton’s Harvest Bakery, llc, of South 34th Street, Terre Haute, sold their homemade goods. They offer artisan breads, specialty pastries, special occasion cakes and delicious cookies. Give them a call at 812-235-7515.

Life of Riley Honey Farm had a corner full of soaps, lotions, candles, and honey. Perry and Beverly Riley are at 13239 S. Sullivan Place in Terre Haute. Email them at riley.honey.farm@gmail.com and check out their blog at rileyhoneyfarm.blogspot.com.

Swiss Connection’s cooler truck of meat and dairy was popular. The Yegerlehner’s family farm is in Clay City. Their cows are 100 percent grass-fed…absolutely no grain supplementation. All the milk cows are moved to fresh grass twice a day. Find them at www.swissconnectioncheese.com or give them a call at 812-939-2813.

Terre Foods Cooperative Market had a table and spoke with people about the progress of what will be the first food cooperative in Terre Haute and becoming a member. Terre Foods needs 800 members to secure a store location. Membership is at 354 now. See their website for more info at www.terrefoods.org.

Appleseed Farm, of Fairbanks, Ind., participated in the Food Fair by selling their jars of Pour-A-Pie and other yummy things. They can be found at the Terre Haute Downtown Farmers Market (as can many of the others who participated in this event) every Saturday 8 a.m. to noon, in the Clabber Girl parking lot at Ninth and Cherry Streets. Call Charlotte and Jennifer at 812-382-9189 or find them on Facebook at appleseed farm.

Deanna Franklin and Jim Luzar of the Vigo County Purdue Extension office were there with information about planting, growing and cooking autumn produce. They had a big pile of pumpkins and were giving tastes of pumpkin soup and pumpkin bars. Click here for extension office info.

Thank you to Jim Luzar for pulling the event together. Hopefully it will become an annual gathering of sharing information and products.

It's a boy!

A new alpaca cria was born at White Violet Farm Alpacas today. Providence Vincennes, "Vinnie," was born this morning to Providence Providentia, "Tia." He was up walking and nursing by noon.

Vinnie is light fawn in color and was 13 1/2 pounds at birth.

The Sisters of Providence have had a ministerial connection with Vincennes since the Congregation's founding years dating back to 1840 and the time of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, the Congregation's foundress.

More than 60 alpacas have been born at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods since the herd was introduced in 1998.

He sure is a cutie!

14th & Chestnut Community Center volunteers

Some volunteers from 14th & Chestnut Community Center in Terre Haute spent a couple of hours with us this morning. The 6th-grade and up girls group weeded around tomato plants in the garden, assisted with pruning trees in the John Delahaye Antique Apple orchard and assisted with the daily care of the alpacas. Thank you to the girls and their leaders, Courtney and Lovey, for spending time working and learning with us today!

Going Green with Artwork

White Violet Center participated in "Going Green with Artwork," presented by Art Totality and the Swope Art Museum, on June 26. About 70 people were pre-registered for this family event.

Upon arrival, the families participated in a self-guided inspiration tour. Then everyone participated in the activities at Halcyon Contemporary Art, next door to the Swope.

The Swope provided boxes and boxes of recycled materials where children and their parents could make sculptures. What creativity!

White Violet Center provided the opportunity to make alpaca masks by gluing real alpaca fiber to a printed alpaca face that could be cut out. "You mean I'm touching alpaca?!," said 6-year-old Avery.

Keaton, age 2, is shown in the photo at the right having fun with the mask he and his mother made.

It was fun spending time with these families who also made button bracelets with Emily Brown; sanded wooden bowls with Jeff Wilkinson and Bob Tidd; made newspaper pots for seedlings and decorative boxes from used holiday cards with the ISU Recycling Center; made banana paper note cards and newspaper hats with Art Totality; and made Origami cranes and cubes with Yoshimi Fuqua, a River City Art Association artist.

Reflection Garden is glowing!

The Reflection Garden looks awesome thanks to volunteers like Sister Teresina Grasso, who will celebrate her Golden Jubilee as a Sister of Providence this Saturday. She was found pulling weeds in the Reflection Garden near the greenhouse this morning. Did we mention there was a 101 degrees heat index? Yikes!

Seton Hill University group visits

A group from Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pa., is visiting White Violet Center for Eco-Justice and White Violet Farm Alpacas today.

They tell us they're trying to set up a sustainability program and eco-conference center, so they came out to learn more about this ministry of the Sisters of Providence.

Part of their visit here today also included speaking with Jim Speer of Indiana State University, Mark Minster of Rose-Hulman School of Technology and Sister Mary Lou Dolan of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College to learn about sustainability efforts at those institutions.

Pictured above, from left are, Sister Maureen Freeman, director of White Violet Center for Eco-Justice, Frank Klapak, of Seton Hill, and his wife, Sharon Klapak, Sister Mary Elizabeth Lawrence, Sister of Charity, Michael Cary, of Seton Hill, and his wife, Eloise Cary.

A cleaner energy direction

The Environmental Defense Fund has a page on their Web site with a letter to Senators about leading us in a new direction with cleaner energy choices. Click here to go to the page that allows you to fill out your information and send the letter.

Also on that page, the EDF has provided a video that sends a powerful message about the BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf. See video below. If you have trouble viewing below, click here.

Farmers' market

The June 5 opening day of the Terre Haute Downtown Farmers' Market at Ninth and Cherry streets was a big success. We sold out of strawberries by about 10:30 a.m. and pretty well sold out of everything else by noon.

We certainly enjoyed meeting new people and answering questions about growing this and that.
Our participation in this farmers' market is very important to us. We’ve been a part of it since its inception in 2005 and we’re proud of what it has become.

Last year we were only able to have a presence once a month. But this year we’re back in FULL SWING and LOVIN’ IT! We’ll be there 8 a.m. to noon every Saturday through October sharing our pesticide- and herbicide-free vegetables and fruit and value-added products.

With such a small staff we always welcome volunteers who can help us out on Saturday mornings. Even an hour or two is appreciated. Interested? Contact Candace Minster at cminster@spsmw.org or 812-535-2935.

Hope to see you often this season!

Our alpacas helping animals in Gulf of Mexico

This week, about 50 pounds of alpaca fiber from White Violet Farm Alpacas of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, IN is being shipped to Florida to help with the devastating oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico and beyond.

Our alpacas are sheared annually in May. That fiber is used in our fiber program to make hats, scarves and other items to be sold at our center and on the Internet.

As we watch footage and read the updates of the BP oil spill disaster we try to think of ways we can help. One way is to donate some of our fiber to clean up efforts through A Matter of Trust, a hair for oil spills program.

“We want to do whatever we can to help the eco-system down there,” said Sister Maureen Freeman, CSJ, director of White Violet Center for Eco-Justice. “This is a step we can take to help stop the oil from ruining precious marshland and destroying native species.”

Last minute Mother's Day giving ideas

It’s now two days before Mother’s Day and simple is the best way to go. Here are some last minute giving ideas if mom is nearby:
1. Fair Trade chocolates, coffee or tea
2. Give mom a hand in her flower or vegetable garden with or without her—her choice!
3. Go to church with her (if you normally don’t).
4. Take her to a local museum or gallery. (Some are free.) It’s the time together that counts.
5. Visit her on Mother’s Day and take a photo of the two of you together. Mail or e-mail it to her within a week.
6. Swing by the local used bookstore and see how many books she would love. Tie it or them with a pretty bow.
7. Recycle one of your own flower containers or repurpose something as a flower container and fill it with something beautiful for her.
8. Pull 10 or 15 of your favorite recipes (or of the entire family) together and give them to her tied with a ribbon or pulled together in some unique way.

Some ideas if mom is at a distance:
1. Don’t have a card yet? Take 30 minutes to sit down and write her a note. Even if it doesn’t make it to her by Mother’s Day, she will cherish it.
2. If you know of a locally-owned restaurant in her town that would take your order and credit card payment over the phone or online you could have lunch or dinner delivered to her this weekend.
3. Call her on Mother’s Day.
4. If you know what radio station she listens to call them and see if they’ll put you on the air wishing her a Happy Mother’s Day! Even if she doesn’t hear it others might and tell her about it.
5. If your mom is into online social networking send her a special message that way. Dig up an old family snapshot to add to it that her friends can't resist commenting on.

Happy Mother's Day!

Alpaca shearing 2010

We’ve had a busy week of shearing more than 60 alpacas at White Violet Farm Alpacas.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were long days as the shearing crew began early in the morning and worked well into the evenings. At our place, this happens once a year in May and usually takes three days to complete.

As each alpaca is sheared, the fiber is gathered and labeled with the name of the alpaca and the level of the fiber, such as “blanket,” “seconds” and “thirds.”

The shearing takes place at the barn, but the fiber room back at White Violet Center for Eco-Justice was also busy with staff members and volunteers skirting the raw fiber.

Skirting is a process that involves picking out all the bits of straw, hay and other materials from nature from the fleece before the fiber is sent off to be cleaned and carded. After it is cleaned and carded the fiber is ready for the fiber artists to spin into yarn and make fabulous hats, scarves and shawls.

A big thank you to all the volunteers who came out to help! The staff is ready for a weekend!

Click here to see lots of shearing photos from this week.

Green Festival Chicago or bust!

White Violet Center for Eco-Justice is excited about exhibiting at the 4th Annual Green Festival in Chicago at Navy Pier May 22-23. We’re looking forward to making new friends and spreading the word about our opportunities.

If you aren’t familiar with this Green America and Global Exchange event it really is worth looking into. (Chicago isn’t the only location. It also takes place at San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Seattle.)

This year in Chicago there will be 350 local and national green businesses and more than 150 renowned speakers. There are how-to workshops, a Fair Trade pavilion, a Green Home pavilion, an Organic Food and Gardening pavilion, a Community Action and Green Careers pavilion, a Sweet Spot Café, a Green Kid's activities and organic beer, wine and cuisine.

Read more about it at www.greenfestivals.org/chicago/

We’ve been asked to share a link to a free pass to the event ($10 savings!), so get that here.

Hope to see you there!

May 15 invasive plants workshop

If you’re interested in Indiana invasive species identification and their impacts; management strategies; and control options for private owners then don’t miss “Invasive Plants and Our Forests: What’s the Big Deal?” 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, May 15 at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind.

Purdue foresters Don Carlson and Ron Rathfon team up with Vigo County Parks Superintendent Keith Ruble and Purdue’s Habitat Specialist Matt Kraushar to provide important information on exotic invasive plants in Indiana. There will be an opportunity for hands-on experience after lunch.

The cost is $15 per person by May 7 and $20 per person after May 7.

To register, send name, address, e-mail and phone number(s) with check made out to Sycamore Trails RC&D to Sycamore Trails RC&D, 1007 Mill Pond Lane, Suite B, Greencastle, IN 46135-1887.

Workshop cooperators are Sycamore Trails RC&D, White Violet Center for Eco-Justice, Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources Dept., The Nature Conservancy, Vigo County Soil & Water District, and Purdue Extension.

Thank you!

White Violet Center for Eco-Justice staff members would like to thank everyone who had anything to do with the 12th Annual Earth Day Celebration at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods last Saturday. No contribution is too small. It takes many hands to make a major event like this come together and it came together beautifully.

About 2,000 people attended this year’s event that focused on “Going local.” We appreciate everyone who attended.

We hope you won’t wait another 12 months to visit us again. Keep an eye our monthly events and activities. We hope to see you again soon!

See photos from the day here.

Welcoming the community

It’s such an honor to be a part of an organization that works so hard for what they believe in.

Our annual Earth Day celebration is tomorrow. It’s hard to believe it’s finally here.

This time of year is when some of what White Violet Center for Eco-Justice believes in is so obvious — supporting community businesses and organizations, education and living as sustainably as possible.

The list of event activities, exhibitors, vendors and volunteers is very impressive. The details are endless. The creativity and planning that goes into this special day is amazing. We thank God the weather is expected to be 64 degrees and sunny. Everyone works just as hard for an event that has bad weather as one that has good … so when it’s good weather it’s extra wonderful!

Thousands of visitors have attended in past years and we hope this is no exception. We look forward to seeing the individuals and families roaming this beautiful home of the Sisters of Providence, while making new friends, learning and having fun.

Happy Earth Day to all!

Quiet Directed Retreat May 6-10

This personally directed retreat provides the opportunity for time away from the usual activity of life to be quiet, to pray, to reflect and to experience the beauty of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.

We have walking trails, gardens to enjoy or work in, and alpacas and bees.

The cost of $400 includes room, meals and daily spiritual direction. Check-in is 3-5 p.m. on May 6 and the retreat concludes with lunch at noon on May 10.

The registration deadline is April 22, so please register today. Contact Sister Maureen Freeman, CSJ, at 812-535-2930 or mfreeman@spsmw.org to register or for more information.

Earth Day celebration Saturday

This Saturday is the 12th Annual Earth Day Celebration at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods!
11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Live entertainment, fun activities for children, alpaca meet and greets, alpaca shearing demo, spinning and weaving demos, straw bale house and garden tours, food from local restaurants, plant sales, a bake sale, and more.

The theme this year is "Going local." A full list of educational booths and vendors and the event schedule are at www.WhiteViolet.org.

The event is free, but there is an opportunity to give a free-will donation at the gates.

We hope you bring your friends and family and have a wonderful time enjoying Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in all its spring glory this Saturday for this family-friendly event.

Earth Hour countdown

Want to participate in a global phenomenon and work together for a future with cleaner air? In three days and 4 hours, at 8:30 p.m. local time on March 27 we encourage you to participate in Earth Hour 2010.
Call for action on Climate Change by turning off your lights for one hour.
The Empire State Building and 54 states and territories will do it this year.
Earth Hour began in Sydney, Australia, and during the past three years the World Wildlife Federation has taken this idea to a global level.
Learn more here: https://www.myearthhour.org/about

Every drop counts

Did you know that an American home can waste, on average, more than 10,000 gallons of water every year due to running toilets, dripping faucets and other household leaks?

Nationwide, more than 1 trillion gallons of water leak from U.S. homes each year. That's why WaterSense is promoting Fix a Leak Week March 15-21, to remind people in the United States to check their plumbing fixtures and irrigation systems for leaks.

Learn more about kits for checking leaks at http://www.amwater.com/customer-service/detecting-leaks.html

Our Green Valley Alliance of Sustainability

Our Green Valley Alliance for Sustainability had their first public event last night at Indiana State University.

Pat Martin, Terre Haute chief planner, presented “Sustainable Planning, Design and Redevelopment: Terre Haute’s Commitment” as the first in a speaker series.

Thank you to those who braved the winter weather to attend — about 80 people.

Please mark your calendars for these future presentations:

April 21 — Sister Jeanne Knoerle, SP, “Cosmology and Sustainability,” at Rose-Hulman’s Myers Presentation Room

June 5 — Ivy Tech Professor John Rosene, “Sustainable Crop Production,” at the Downtown Terre Haute Farmer’s Market near Clabber Girl

Sept. 8 — Indiana State University Professor Don Richards, “What Economics Gets Right About Sustainability, What Economics Gets Wrong About Sustainability,” at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College

Dec. 1 — Rose-Hulman Professor Michael Moorhead, “Human Powered Vehicles,” at Ivy Tech Community College, Terre Haute

Our Green Valley is a new group seeking to increase awareness about sustainability in the Wabash Valley, Terre Haute, IN area. It is a collaborative effort among Indiana State University, Ivy Tech Community College, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, the Sisters of Providence/White Violet Center for Eco-Justice, Union Hospital, the City of Terre Haute, Trees Inc., Downtown Terre Haute, Wabash Valley Community Foundation, and the Vigo County School Corporation.