New Zealand oil spill

Penguins

The staff at White Violet Center for Eco-Justice would like you to be aware of a major oil spill off the coast of New Zealand.

If you're a knitter looking for practical ways to help, you can knit sweaters for penguins.

Read more about these efforts at the Audobon Magazine online.

Wangari Maathai

Wangari Maathai

Those at White Violet Center for Eco-Justice are saddened by the news of the death of Wangari Maathai, who passed away on Sept. 25 in her home country of Kenya surrounded by her three children.

As founder of the Greenbelt Movement and as an Earth Charter commission member, she worked closely with thousands of people around the planet to create a world based on ecological integrity, social and economic justice, democracy, non-violence, and peace.

Her vision, dedication, and courage were recognized when she received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.

May her love of Earth continue in all of us. We hold her family and her life's work in our hearts.

Earth Charter Initiative tribute to Wangari Maathai.

White Violet Center anniversary celebration

White Violet Center's anniversary harvest dinner is Oct. 8.

It was September of 1995 when Sister Ann Sullivan was named the first director of the Sisters of Providence effort to establish Saint Mary-of-the-Woods as an eco-justice center. It was a pivotal moment for the Sisters of Providence. White Violet Center for Eco-Justice was dedicated and blessed on June 16, 1996.

This fall we are planning to celebrate the past 15 years of environmental justice work expressed through Providence Spirituality with a first-ever for us event.

Our 15th Anniversary Harvest Dinner will be Saturday, Oct. 8.

The hors d'oevres, local wine from Oliver Winery, in Bloomington, and beer from Bee Creek Brewery, in Brazil will be served and a silent auction will begin at 5 p.m. in the orchard at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. This will be a time to mingle with the alpacas, bid on fabulous items and visit with friends, staff, and sisters.

We’ll continue the fun with a delicious meal of locally-grown foods prepared by local chef Kris Kraut served in Reilly Auditorium, Owens Hall, at 6:30 p.m.

Attire is casual-nice. Tickets for this dinner fundraiser are $80 for individuals or $500 for a table of seven. Tickets may be purchased by sending donations to: White Violet Center for Eco-Justice, 1 Sisters of Providence, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, IN 47876.

We hope you’ll join us for this special celebration. If you are unable to attend, but would like to give a donation in support of the future of White Violet Center, please use the same address above.

The Universe Story

New Cosmic Walk at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind.

A group of White Violet Center for Eco-Justice (WVC) staff members, volunteers, interns, and guests, and Sisters of Providence gathered for the inaugural Cosmic Walk at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind. this afternoon.


The Cosmic Walk is, “A ritual, a prayer, a time of remembering and being in awe of how the Universe began and how it got to where it is today,” explained Sister Maureen Freeman, director of WVC. “You can go in and out in six minutes or it could take three hours. It depends on the individual.”
Sister Maureen said the project has been in the works for several years. When Sister Kara McKenney was searching for an internship project this summer Sister Maureen recommended completing the Cosmic Walk. Sister Kara and another WVC intern, Matthew Bush, took on the finishing step of creating and putting up the signage and mowing the area.

Ribbon cutting:  S. Kara and Matthew.

Sister Kara and Matthew built the oak frames with the help of Tony Dubois, Sisters of Providence carpenter.

Matthew and Sister Kara cut the yellow ribbon that opened the walk today.

“I’m very happy to see people using it and to know that people will enjoy it for many years,” Sister Kara said.

Sister Maureen looks forward to the same.

Cosmic Walk.

“There are a lot of butterflies here right now, so you really feel that you are united with the Universe when you walk it today,” Sister Maureen said. “Divine grace surrounds us.”

The public is invited to visit the Cosmic Walk. For more information, call  812-535-2932 or email rmorton@spsmw.org.

"It's so hot that ... "

White Violet Farm Alpacas enjoying the water sprinklers.

The temperature at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind., is expected to reach 98 degrees today, with a heat index of 115 degrees.

It’s been like this all week and is to continue throughout the weekend.

With that in mind, the staff and interns who work outside every day have come up with ways to complete the following statement:

“It’s so hot that … “

—today is clean-out-the-pond day.
—it’s a three t-shirt day.
—we’re making the alpacas share their water sprinklers with us.
—the garden irrigation is working overtime.
—we pray for a hot breeze to cool us down.
—we’re watering the alpacas three or four times a day.
—even the fans in the barn are getting tired and “crying.”
—we start work earlier to try to avoid the hottest part of the day.
—we watch the sweat line on David’s hat get higher as the temperature rises.
—we fill the bird bath three times a day and the birds are enjoying the fountain.
—the okra plants look beautiful.
—Matthew is wearing a bandana.
—the fly catchers are catching them by the hundreds.
—we take breaks under the shade tree.
—we want to go home.
—Jim isn’t wearing a hat.
—the alpacas are making “lakes” in the barn because they don’t want to go out in the pastures.
—we know it’s summertime in Indiana!

How would you complete the statement?

Medical herbalism

Recently, White Violet Center hosted Matthew Wood as the presenter of a medical herbalism course at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.

Spearmint — excellent for digestion and intestinal complaints.

Matthew has a master's degree from the Scottish School of Herbal Medicine. He has lectured in all parts of the United States and taught in Canada, Scotland, England and Australia. He is also the author of four acclaimed books on herbal medicine. 

Robyn Morton, associate director of White Violet Center, captured the herb walk portion of the course in pictures. She also added useful information in the captions. See the virtual tour of the herbs at White Violet Center in this photo gallery.

The Seasons of the Year

We were all taught the seasons of the year when we were kids—winter, spring, summer, and fall. And we were taught these seasons regardless of where we lived, or if we really experienced those seasons. Whether you lived in Missouri, Alaska, Nevada, or Florida, everyone cut out tulips in May (even if there is still snow on the ground), and drew pictures of snowmen in December (even if your orange tree is still producing).

Most of the time, we don't think much about this, except as a joke. When I lived in northeastern Ohio, we joked that we had four yearly seasons—"not yet winter, winter, still winter, and road repair." Personally, I found that this captured the movement of the year far more accurately, while also reminding you that it didn't matter what time of year it was, you were still going to have problems on the roads.

Gardeners in particular operate on a very different set of seasons. We understand that non-gardeners don't really get this—it's more like a secret gardener-language. We invoke completely different seasons that the Standard Four, like "last frost date," "as soon as ground can be worked," "midsummer," and "mulching". In the Midwest, at least, we have as many different gardening seasons as the Inuit have words for snow.

I've been working on cataloging (as best I can) the various seasons we experience here at WVC, and I thought I'd share my observations with you. I think, when I started this list, I really meant for it to be helpful; I'm no longer sure that's the case, but I do hope it's still entertaining. Enjoy!

The Seasons (starting in calendar month January)

• "Seed catalog" season: technically this season opens in mid-December, for the particularly astute seed purveyors who realize that gardeners are now seriously garden-deprived and increasingly irrational, making the Christmas gift-giving season a potential goldmine for them
• "What do you mean you haven't gotten your first shipment of potting mix in yet?" season: roughly late-January to mid-February in our area. Later in the year we realize that, in general, this is really saving us from ourselves since it is still way to early to start those tomatoes
• "No, really, it's still frozen" season: what the gardener's spouse/significant other says to us when they see us out there, jumping up and down on the spading fork in some desperate attempt to turn the soil. Or, February.
• "Favorite nursery reopens for the season!" season: better than Christmas. The smarter of the gardeners open savings accounts in October to offset the damage done this weekend. Mid-March.
• "*Gasp* It's so beautiful!" season: when you finally do manage to turn that first spading fork of soil. 5-seconds in late March.
• "*Sigh* It's so wet" season: immediately follows "It's beautiful!"
• "Planting" season: runs roughly from late-March until June, and depends on a couple of variables, like rain, dryness, late frosts, rain, swampiness, work interference, rain, slow seedlings, rain, and rain.
• "Weeding" season: from mid-June until the day you die.
• "Canning & preserving" season: runs concurrently with "weeding"
• Midsummer, or "Fall seedling starts"
• "You threw away those old windows?! Those were for the coldframes I was finally going to build!" season: self-explanatory
• "No, I don't rake leaves, they're mulch for the garden" season: October
• "Next year I'll do everything right" season: November.
• "Early seed catalog" season: December.

And then we begin the cycle again....

True Cost of Food

Listed below are 10 significant messages Sister Maureen Freeman, director of White Violet Center for Eco-Justice, shared in her presentation, “The True Cost of Food,” at this year’s Human Rights Day at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Sister Maureen Freeman talks about The True Cost of Food.

1. We make a choice to help or harm the environment with every meal.

2. Be more active about what we buy. Find out where your food comes from. Read labels. (Is your fruit cup from the Philippines?)

3. Know your local farmers/farms. (Resource: www.localharvest.org)

4. Eat according to the season. (It’s strawberry season in Indiana. Woot!)

5. Learn to cook.

6. Buying local food saves 17 times the fuel costs as opposed to buying food in the supermarkets that have traveled an average of 2,000 miles from farm to table.

7. If you keep buying the food in the supermarkets (that have traveled 2,000 miles) they will keep supplying it. We vote three times a day.

Showing The True Cost of Food video on Human Rights Day.

8. We shouldn’t be against high fructose corn syrup, but we should be against the quantity of it currently in our food. It’s in “everything” today.

9. What it really costs to grow, ship and sell food is staggering. Buying locally keeps more of that money in your community.

10. 80-90 percent of our food depends on our pollinators, the bees. They are at risk because of Colony collapse disorder.

To watch “The True Cost of Food” video (15 minutes), presented by The Sierra Club Sustainable Consumption Committee, go to http://www.sierraclub.org/truecostoffood/.

Happy Earth Day!

A sincere "thank you" to everyone who attended the 13th Annual Earth Day Celebration at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods last Saturday. We appreciate everyone braving the cold, windy and wet weather conditions.

On a beautiful spring day we expect between 2,000 and 3,000 visitors for this event, but the weather forecast of 50 degrees and scattered showers had us a little worried this year. Surprisingly, we estimate about 800 people supported the event and we couldn't have been more pleased. We appreciate the visitors, vendors, educators, sponsors, and volunteers. It was great celebrating with you all!

We look forward to seeing everyone next year on April 21. But hopefully you won't wait that long to visit us again. Hope to see you soon!

Thank you to the Dobbs Park crew.

 The Women of Erin entertained us with their beautiful Irish music.

 Zann Carter was weaving and sharing her beautiful works.

 Families enjoyed time together laughing and learning.

 Awesome newspaper hats were created in the children's area.

 Silly Safari was a big hit with their animals and wildlife education!

 Plants for sale!

 Sister Karen Van De Walle, CSJ, traveled from Indianapolis to sell her gorgeous pottery.

 Sister Jeanne Knoerle spins alpaca fiber in the warm lodge during the celebration.

 Sister Joann Quinkert lets David try his hand at weaving.

 Thank you to the vendors who offered quality handmade products.

Healthy lunch items were enjoyed by all!

The alpacas welcomed hundreds of visitors. (Thanks to Julie O'Neil there in the background!)

 Sister Jean Fuqua explains the spinning of fiber to this little bundled one.

Mark Booth and his raptors were a big hit again this year.

Cardinal encounter

So I’m walking along the fence of the female alpaca pasture with the camera trying to get a few good close-up shots of the alpacas for Sister Ruth Johnson’s felted art wall hangings. (She creates each of her wall hangings from a snapshot of alpacas at White Violet Farm Alpacas.)

It’s at the end of the work day in order to get the “good” sun for what I think are going to be workable photos. It ended up being cloudy. I have driven my car from the parking lot to the barn because when this photo session is over I’m heading out the back gate to start my evening.

I’m making silly noises trying to get the girls to stop chomping on grass and look my way. Some do, some try to get as far away from me as possible (that’s why the long lens comes in handy) and a few walk right over to me.

During this picture pursuit I’ve noticed intense chirping sounds, but really didn’t decide to check it out until I had some photos I thought Sister Ruth would appreciate.

Feeling comfortable about my shots, I look over to where the clatter is coming and notice a female cardinal jumping from atop the passenger side mirror of my car to the door. She does this over and over while being quite vocal.

I snap a few pictures of her. I try to get closer knowing she’ll probably fly away if I do. She lets me, so I snap more pictures. She continued entertaining me for several minutes and allowed me to capture this fun memory on camera. Three favorites are below.

Does anyone else have any neat birding stories from this spring? Please share.

Earth Day celebration at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods April 16

We’re booking the local entertainment, registering vendors, ordering the outdoor tents, and organizing the volunteers and sponsors. There must be something big brewing.

The 13th Annual Earth Day Celebration at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind. is 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 16.

Live animals? We’ve got ’em. Enjoy the fun and educational presentation of Silly Safaris. This show includes a variety of reptiles, mammals, birds and bugs. And that’s not all. We’ll also have Mark Booth’s Take Flight! Wildlife Program featuring owls, hawks and falcons.

Enjoy Irish music by the Women of Erin and other live entertainment. There will be plenty of activities for children of all ages, including a presentation by Carissa Lovett, naturalist at Dobbs Park in Terre Haute.

Local artisans will be selling their wares; fiber artists will demonstrate spinning, weaving and felting; woodworkers and blacksmiths will be working; kettle corn will be popping; and so more.

We’re still in need of volunteers and sponsors. We are accepting sponsorships until March 15. Please contact Robyn Morton at 812-535-2932 or rmorton@spsmw.org if you are interested in this opportunity.

A big THANK YOU to our sponsors so far. They are Sony DADC, Goodwill Industries of Terre Haute, and the Center for Public Service and Community Engagement at Indiana State University. Thank you so much!

See photos from the 2010 celebration.

The Urban Homesteading Controversy

Baby chicks at the home of Robyn Morton, associate director

Do you have a small “homestead” in the city, or maybe have friends who live a rural-style sustainable life inside the city limits? These have been called “urban homesteads” in the past, and were popularized by such magazines as Mother Earth News and Natural Living. Urban homesteading is a lifestyle which incorporates as much of the rural “homestead” values as possible into an urban setting. Urban homesteaders endeavor to use their land in productive ways, typically through extensive gardening and small-scale animal husbandry. Efforts are often made to minimize the amount of energy used in the home, or by creating systems which will generate their own energy rather than drawing off of the grid. But unlike rural homesteading, urban homesteading takes advantage of the community aspects of urban life. Minimizing driving and oil use are common cornerstones of an urban homestead, as well as building strong connections with neighbors, often including sharing homestead activities in order to maximize the productivity of the available land. The goal of urban homesteading is never full self-sufficiency, but a revaluing of the home as the foundation of living a sustainable life.

In the past few years, urban homesteading has taken off, with more and more people exploring new ways of increasing their home’s and neighborhood’s self-reliance within city limits, and creating self-described “urban homesteads”. But if the Dervaes family, and their incorporated entity “The Dervaes Institute” has their way, we’ll all need to find a new term for it, because in 2010 the family registered a trademark for the terms “urban homestead” and “urban homesteading”. Recently, the family has sent out 16 “cease and desist” letters to various people and organizations, including KCRW-FM 89.9, the Denver Urban Homestead association, the Institute of Urban Homesteading, and Google, to name a few. Some of these organizations had their Facebook pages removed without notice, leaving them with no way to contact their participants. Two letter recipients, Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen, are authors of the book “The Urban Homestead: your guide to self-sufficient living in the heart of the city.” This book was published in 2008, two years before the trademark was granted, but that did not stop the Dervaes family from requesting that they cease their use of this term.

The story was originally broken by Gustavo Arellano from OCWeekly, and has spawned a Facebook page “Take Back Urban Home-steading(s)” which has over 5,000 fans (and counting). Adam Parfrey, from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is preparing a legal challenge to the trademark. Said Corynne McSherry, the EFF intellectual property director: "The Dervaes Institute should recognize that this is one community that will not be intimidated, cease its heavy-handed tactics, and take steps to repair the damage it has caused." To read the full legal challenge, click HERE, and watch our Facebook site for updates on this continuing story.

UPDATE 2/28/2011: The Dervaes family has not backed down, and continues to send out cease and desist letters to people who use the phrase ‘urban homesteading’.

Alpacas have cabin fever

So the alpacas got out of the barn this afternoon, but with the grass covered with ice and snow it was almost like you could see them thinking, "now what?"

They enjoy nibbling on the grass, but with all these Midwest snow and ice storms lately the days when they could find the grass have been few and far between.

Hang in there! The weekend weather forecast calls for warmer temps.

Community Supported Agriculture shares now available

With all this snow and ice it might be fun to think about garden fresh produce for a moment.

We are now accepting registrations for our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. Forty shares are available for the 2011 growing season.

Enjoy a variety of seasonal fruits, vegetables, and herbs each week — enough to feed a small family, or a couple of veggie-loving adults.

The cost for a full share is on a sliding scale of $450-$650 for 20 weeks. (This is the equivalent of $22 each week.) Half shares are on a sliding scale of $225-$425. Payment options are available

The program will begin in late May and run through September 2011.

Shareholders can pick up their produce on Wednesday afternoons at White Violet Center for Eco-Justice or at our centrally-located pick-up site at 113 S. 19th St., Terre Haute. Half shares are picked up every other week.

The registration deadline is March 28, but don't wait until then to ensure your spot.

For more information, contact Candace Minster at cminster@spsmw.org or 812-535-2933.

To register, share your name, address, phone number and e-mail address with Candace by phone or e-mail.

Please join us for an information meeting in Room A in the lower level of the Vigo County Public Library 6-7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 15.

Websites for locating locally grown and produced food

Mixed greens harvested from our hoop house Wednesday!

A new year brings opportunity for a new understanding of food. If you begin to view food as the essential element in life you realize the greatest gift we have from creation is our food source.

Consider the importance of eating food grown locally. Some of the benefits are:
— not having food travel by truck or train hundreds of miles, wasting energy and fuel;
— knowing where your food comes from and how it is grown;
— and money from your food budget goes to your local growers as opposed to a major food corporation.

Do what you can do
Thinking only one person has no impact can be an excuse to ignore the issues. Even if you only make one or two changes in the way you look at food in 2011, that is what you can do.

Helpful websites
Don't know where to start or how to take it up a notch? To locate farmers’ markets, family farms and other sustainably grown food in your area go to www.localharvest.org.

Find sustainable meat, dairy and egg products at www.eatwellguide.org.

Marine says thank you for alpaca socks in letter

Below is a letter received by Sister Maureen Freeman, director of White Violet Center for Eco-Justice, on Jan. 13 in response to more than 30 pairs of alpaca socks sent by White Violet Center to a unit of Marines stationed in Afghanistan.

Sgt. Fromme is the nephew of Sister of Providence Betty Hopf. The socks and monetary donations were collected during December at White Violet Center and The Gift Shop at Providence Center. Many thanks to those who donated. The photo here shows Sister Maureen, right, and Robyn Morton, associate director, preparing the socks for mailing. Here’s the soldier’s letter:

Hello there,

My name is Sgt. Logan Fromme. I’m in charge of 12 other Marines here in Afghanistan. We have been through some rough times together, but nothing that the Lord couldn’t or can’t pull us through in future scenarios.

My great aunt Betty gave me your e-mail and told me to be on the look out for some awesome alpaca socks coming our way. I’m thankful to inform you that I have received your package and that my Marines were ecstatic when I handed them the socks.

It’s been really cold here in our area lately but no snow yet. The weather is usually dry but the rainy season is coming around the corner. Their rainy season is basically like our winter.

There are a lot of creeks that we have to cross all the time, and we always pick the least traveled route that usually takes us waist deep in the water. The water is not very clean either, the locals drink it but also use it to bathe and as a place to, well, you know, something that takes place in a bathroom…

I can’t even explain how excited they were when I gave them the socks, 2 guys even said that they were gonna throw them on before we have to stand post tonight (its kinda like a guard where you make sure that bad guys don’t get too close). Believe me those socks are going to be used many, many times again.

Well, once again, thank you for your support and thanks for the gift of warmth. God Bless

Sgt. Logan Fromme, USMC

P.S. I will send a picture of me and my guys when I get a chance to upload it to this computer.

Bees in Vigo County, Ind.

We've learned through the grapevine that plans are in place to propose an animal control ordinance for Vigo County, Ind. that would restrict beekeeping to parcels of land that are more than two acres and would limit one hive for every 10 acres of land owned unless the land is zoned agricultural.

This means that countless backyard and hobby beekeepers would no longer be able to keep their hives legally. White Violet Center for Eco-Justice is urging county officials not to include these restrictions in the ordinance for they would be a detriment to our local bee populations.

As many people are well aware, honeybee populations have been in extreme stress over the past six years or more and have been in rapid decline due to pressures from pesticides, parasites and Colony Collapse Disorder.

Honeybees are a crucial link in our food system and without them to pollinate our crops, much of our agriculture would suffer greatly or collapse altogether. Bees are essential pollinators for many crops, including a few that are of economic importance in Indiana; melons, squash, cucumbers, pumpkins, apples, and more.

Now is not the time to limit the number of backyard and hobby beekeepers. In fact, it's quite the opposite! Now we need beekeepers more than ever, to help keep bee populations from collapsing, and that means that every hive counts.

In a time when the popularity of hobby beekeeping is finally on an upswing, it would be a shame to see Vigo County set back this exciting trend. We would like to see Vigo County at the forefront of this trend, allowing it to become an example of beekeeping for neighboring counties.

We hope county officials will reconsider including these restrictions on beekeeping.