May102010

Come join us as we learn about and cook local, seasonal, traditional foods!

The idea of the group is to get together once a month to cook food that we love that is local, seasonal and organically produced. The group has met twice and always proves to be a wonderful time. Here is information on our next time. This is an RSVP-only event so that we can plan amount accordingly. Please don't just show up, email Victoria Richter (victoria_richter@cox.net) if you would like to attend.

Our next cooking club event will be Friday, May 14 from 6-8pm.

In honor of May Day, we will focus on cheese and yogurt making for this meeting. As the hills turn green, pasture animals begin producing milk heralding a time of abundance. Below are the items we will be including in the menu. Please RSVP to Victoria at victoria_richter@cox.net. As always, we will accept RSVP's until we reach our cap of 15.

Also, because we will be using a lot of milk (locally produced, of course!), the cost for this one will be $12, but you will each be able to take home some started yogurt. ALSO, please bring a canning jar for your yogurt!

For this session we will be making:

1) Paneer cheese
2) Saag paneer
3)Asparagus frittata
4) Yogurt
4) and for desert....Yogurt cheese peras with Rosewater Syrup

Yum!

Feel free to pass this along to anyone else you think would be interested.

Happy Spring,
Heidi, Christie and Victoria

Off Campus___________

Iron Chef Providence

Launching the Providence Healthy Corner Store Initiative

Friday, May 21st

7pm-9pm

Feinstein High School (544 Elmwood Ave)

The Providence Healthy Corner Store Initiative is working to help small storeowners provide our neighborhoods with greater access to healthy, affordable food.

To launch the initiative we're challenging students from 3 Providence high schools to create the healthiest, tastiest meals they can using items purchased at a local corner store. The teams will be given $10 to spend at the store and then cook the meals right in front of you! The meals will be judged based on nutritional quality, the number of food groups used, taste, and presentation.

Confirmed judges include Dr. David Gifford, Director of the RI Department of Health; Tom Brady, Superintendent of the Providence Public School Department; Sister Ann Keefe, St. Michael's Church; Rafael Nunez, owner of Mi Quisqueya Market; and renowned Providence chef Walter Potenza.

Join in on the fun! Show your support for Providence's local economy and learn how to make tasty dishes with healthy, affordable foods from neighborhood corner stores!

Brought to you by the Environmental Justice League of Rhode Island, Farm Fresh RI, Kids First, the Rhode Island Department of Health, and students from Feinstein, Alvarez, Classical and the Met High Schools

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Summer Course in Environmental Education at RI College

I will be offering a summer course in Environmental Education at Rhode Island College this summer. The class will run for six Fridays, from July 9 to August 13, from 9 to 4. During the class you'll be introduced to many resources available in our state to help in your teaching -- we'll visit the environmental ed. centers at Save The Bay and Audubon, learn about the resources available at URI, explore local farms and farm-to-school projects, and lots more. Each student will complete an individual independent study project to meet a goal of their own choosing, either to develop a lesson plan or investigate a topic in-depth. The class size is small, with a lot of interaction.

You can sign up for either undergraduate or graduate credit, at www.ric.edu. Registration is open now. The course number is G350 (undergrad) or G550 (grad) in the Geography Department.

Here's what students said after last summer's course:

*This class was the perfect course to take in the summer. I learned more about the environment from being outside and experiencing it than I ever would have in a classroom setting.*

*I enjoyed the class, the field trips, and the camaraderie. I gained a contact list that will help me in the future. I will be recommending this class to other teachers.*

Any questions, please contact me at marygrady@cox.net or 941-1246.

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RI Wild Plant Society Summer Events

Visit the RI Wild Plant Society website for a list of upcoming walks, meetings, and plant sales:

http://www.riwps.org/index.htm

Volunteer opportunities are also available: http://www.riwps.org/volunteer.htm

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Northeast Organic Farm Association 36th Annual Summer Conference

August 13-15, 2010

University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Featuring workshops, exhibits, entertainment, country fair, and more!

Keynote Addresses:

Sally Fallon, Alternative nutrition journalist, community activist and bestselling author of Norishing Traditions

Fernando Funes, Secretary of Cuba’s Organic Agriculture Group, author of Farming Like We’re Here to Stay, considered the “father” of the Cuban organic agricultural movement

Get your registration in by July 12 for early-bird rates.

For more information and a registration form, visit http://www.nofasummerconference.org/.

Internships & Opportunities_______

Vote Online to support Healthy Economies in Southern WV coalfields!

Hello friends,

I'm writing to ask you to take a step today that can help develop new and healthier economies in the Southern West Virginia coalfield communities. By a few simple, digital steps, and three votes, you can help jump start the grass roots "Build It Up, West Virginia! Summer Program" which is a Program where young West Virginians are coming together and reclaiming our state ourselves. Heard enough? Great. Go here and vote for the West Virginia Youth Action League's "Build It Up! West Virginia Summer Program".

The deadline for voting is May 15 and we have to have the most votes in order to win the grant - we need you to vote & spread the word now!

Here's how you can help:

1) VOTE 3x

2) FORWARD THIS EMAIL

3) RSVP & INVITE YOUR FRIENDS TO THIS FACEBOOK FRIENDS

For years, communities in Central Appalachia, in parts of Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, have been standing up to defend their quality of life, the quality of their environment and the prospects for a brighter and better tomorrow for their children and grandchildren. For over a century, the coal industry has maintained a mono-economic stranglehold on many places in Appalachia, a stranglehold that has held the coalfields captive to the destructive whims of King Coal.

Today, coalfield communities are fighting harder than ever to stop the destruction of their mountains. They are also opening a new front in the struggle against King Coal's destruction. From West Virginia to Tennessee, grassroots groups are coming together to promote a new kind of sustainable, and diverse economic development that keeps wealth at home, rebuilds our environment and supports our communities for the long haul. The WV Youth Action League's Summer Program is one of these efforts, and it sure could use your votes

You can read more about some of these coalfield visions of sustainable development, among many other places, at Appalachian Transition Initiative, Appalachian Community Economics, Central Appalachian Prosperity Project. Below is a little bit more about the effort in West Virginia. Haven't voted yet? What are you waiting for?

See our project description below for more details about the amazing work coming out of West Virginia youth leaders. Thanks to everyone who has worked so hard to make this happen!

Thank you,

Daniel, Danny, Gary, Julia, Matt, Zoe

Build It Up! West Virginia Summer Program Planning Team

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Paid Internship at Russell Cave Park, AL

National Council for Science and the Environment’s Campus to Careers (C2C) Program provides meaningful, paid environmental internships to expose college students and recent graduates to real world experience as well as mentoring and career networking opportunities.

C2C is hiring an intern for its National Park Service Climate Change Internship Program (CCIP) at the Russell Cave National Monument, AL. In this unique internship, the intern will work with nationally recognized Archaeologist, Dr. Sarah Sherwood, assessing prehistoric climate conditions from soil samples.

The internship will be based in Bridgeport, AL (between Chattanooga and Huntsville) for 10-12 weeks in duration, beginning in May or June, and pays $12.00 per hour. The intern will work 40 hours per week (no overtime or holiday work).

Housing is provided, but intern will be responsible for his/her own food and transportation.

Intern duties:

Create interpretive presentations on analysis results comparing prehistoric climate change scenarios to current climate change conditions.
Outline and create curriculum-based materials for presentation of findings and theories.
Field support will involve participating in soil sample collection, photography, and detailed documentation.

Skills and Experience:

Coursework in Earth Sciences (geology, soil science, botany would be most relevant)
Education and/or previous volunteer or internship experience in some combination of:

- Education

- Archaeology

- Anthropology

- History

Microsoft Office skills:

- Essential: Word and PowerPoint

- Valuable: Excel

- Useful but not necessary: Access

To apply, students and recent graduates should see the guidelines on our website.

For more information about this internship, please contact Paul Dion at pdion@ncseonline.org.

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Outdoor Nation Youth Summit Invitation

On June 19 and 20, Outdoor Nation and Mobilize.org will convene 500 young people from all over the country in New York's Central Park for the Outdoor Nation Youth Summit. There, participants between the ages of 18 and 26 (14 if you are from NYC) will champion the outdoors as athletes, artists, advocates and ambassadors. They will set the agenda, lead the conversation, and develop action plans to encourage their peers to become stewards of the environment and to promote healthy lifestyles by engaging in outdoor activities. Outdoor Nation will be providing financial assistance to participants traveling to New York.

Held in the world’s media capital and country's most popular urban park, the Outdoor Nation Youth Summit will harness the passion, energy and ideas of a new generation eager to influence the future and to stand up for change. Summit delegates will not only craft and deliver a message of change to the country, but will strengthen the outdoor youth movement by infusing new ideas, skills and connections in a solution-driven environment. Our goal is to motivate and mobilize hundreds of thousands of young people nationwide to reclaim the outdoors for themselves and for future generations and we need your help to spread the word.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED: If you're interested in attending, please complete the application here: http://www.outdoornation.org/summit. Then, share it with your friends and family and encourage them to apply by forwarding this email and posting the information on your social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

You must be between the ages of 18 and 26 to apply (14 if you are from NYC) We’ll also be recruiting facilitators and volunteers for this historic event, so email Summit@mobilize.org and let us know if you are interested.

Thank you for your commitment to the next generation of outdoor leaders and we'll see you in New York!

Visit our website www.outdoornation.org

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Hands-on Sustainability Experience and Training at Aprovecho

Sustainable Living Skills Intensive

Summer session: July 26-Aug 27

Fall session: Sept 27-Oct 29

Developed from Aprovecho’s world renowned Internship program, this 5-week intensive brings together permaculture, natural building, sustainable forestry, organic agriculture, & appropriate technology to give you a broad set of skills and knowledge that will inspire you and enable you to live more sustainably.

Forest Gardening Workshop

April 18, 2010 and October 24, 2010

Rainwater Harvesting Workshop

May 29-30, & October 16-17

Permaculture Book Camp

June 19-25, 2010

Human-Powered Machines

July 8-11, 2010

Earthen Bread Ovens

July 19-22, 2010

Earthen Floor Installation Training w/Sukita Crimmel

July 28-30, 2010

All courses include:

Food: Three organic, locally inspired meals per day.
Lodging: A shared room or camping with access to showers, kitchen, lounge, and wi-fi.
Instruction and Class Materials: Everything you will need to know, all materials that you will be using to learn, and things to take home as well.

For more information and registration, visit www.Aprovecho.net.

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Environment Council of RI (ECRI) Green Report Card Internship

Description: The Green Report Card Intern will work with ECRI staff and board members to develop the Green Report Card, a document in which ECRI grades the RI General Assembly on its environmental voting record. The Green Report Card Intern will research RI General Assembly votes on 20 key environmental bills from 2009-2010, create a spreadsheet for recording votes and calculating the grades for the legislators, and assist in layout and production of the final document.

Time commitment: 10 hours a week for 6 weeks during the summer. Exact beginning and end date and daily schedule is flexible.

Qualifications: The ideal candidate will have strong skills in MS Excel, experience with document layout, web page design/formatting and familiarity with the legislative process and environmental policy. Applicants should be organized, responsible, self-motivated and able to work with others.

To apply: Please send a resume and cover letter to Greg Gerritt at environmentcouncil@earthlink.net.

Website: www.environmentcouncilri.org

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Summer Internship in Illinois: Watershed and Mining Issues

The Coal Country Watershed Team, an organization that works with AmeriCorps*VISTA and the Office of Surface Mining (OSM), helps non-profit organizations in tackling local environmental and poverty issues. They are currently accepting applications from Illinois communities. Prairie Rivers Network (PRN) and the Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club (SC) have partnered together and have applied for an OSM-sponsored internship program for the Summer of 2010. The internship will be based out of PRN's Champaign, Illinois office. In addition to a $2000 living stipend, the intern will also receive an education award and the possibility of earning college credit.

Intern will generally be working in two areas: assembling organizing tools and developing a volunteer-based stream monitoring program. These materials and program will be developed by the intern for use by his/her successor, a 3-year OSM/VISTA participant.

1) Intern will develop an organizing "toolbox" for an OSM/VISTA volunteer to use in helping build and strengthen organizational capacity in communities impacted by mining activities. (We are currently applying to host an OSM/VISTA volunteer.) The intern will most likely not be developing these materials, rather reviewing and collect existing resources from other watershed protectors such as River Network, state clean water advocate organizations and watershed based citizen groups, and tailoring them for use in mining communities in Southern Illinois. Materials such as sample press releases, letters to the editor, fact sheets, tips on effective messaging, how to recruit volunteers, etc. should be included. By having these materials gathered and organized, the OSM/VISTA volunteer will be ready to start engaging the public and developing relationships for meaningful, effective watershed protection.

2) The Intern will research various models of volunteer stream monitoring programs to both establish baseline conditions in streams located in mine-free watersheds and detect impacts in basins containing active mining. Possibilities could include partnering with Illinois RiverWatch, an established biological stream monitoring program, developing habitat surveys for instream and riparian areas and/or establishing our own chemical water monitoring programs modeled after existing programs such as Sierra Club Water Sentinels (SC) and other Coal County Watershed Teams. Intern will, with support from PRN and SC staff, put together the training materials and equipment necessary for volunteer water monitors to get started with the VISTA volunteer.

Applications are due May 14, 2010. Please visit this link for an application: https://www.sendthisfile.com/slnKImfhCxZ8igJtiOS0tyxH

Please submit to:

Traci Barkley
Water Resource Scientist

Prairie Rivers Network
1902 Fox Drive, Suite G
Champaign, Illinois 61820
tbarkley@prairierivers.org
217-344-2371

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Please send questions, comments and stories to:

CES Newsletter Editor, Kelly Nichols

kelly.maree.nichols@gmail.com

Thanks!

Center for Environmental Studies Box 1943 135 Angell Street Providence, RI 02912 Telephone: (401) 863-3449 Fax: (401) 863-3503

Library Resource Guide for ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Student Initiatives

Center for Environmental Studies
Box 1943
135 Angell Street
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: (401) 863-3449
Fax: (401) 863-3503

Library Resource Guide for
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES