UPCOMING EVENT: Phillips Community Environmental Forum and Feast, May 9th, 5:00-10:00 p.m. Plaza Verde, Minneapolis

Register for Organic Farm School on-line

Brief WEI Research and Community Advocacy Program
Brief WEI Education Program
Brief WEI Farm Program
Brief WEI Eco-Retreat Center
2008 CSA--SOLD OUT  

Friday, May 9, 5:00-10:00 p.m.
Plaza Verde, 1516 East Lake Street, Suite 301, Minneapolis
5:00 p.m. Gathering, music, networking and food
6:00-10:00 Program and discussion begins
Spanish and Somali interpreting will be available.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

The Women's Environmental Institute (WEI) invites you to participate in the Phillips Community Environmental Justice Forum and Feast this Friday evening
Picture: Children of Phillips deserve a safe environment.

This community gathering will bring together neighborhood activists, experts in environmental health concerns, and allies who support the community's right-to-know about the serious environmental health challenges facing our families -- especially our children and elders in Phillips. The community feast begins at 5pm and features Native, Latino, and Somali foods. The program begins at 6 pm with speakers and panels that will present: maps and information on the kinds of toxic exposure residents are already living with; concerns about the proposal to site a wood-burning incinerator in Phillips; other toxic air pollution sources; and an opportunity for the community to respond and to begin to strategize for future actions to promote environmental justice. This event is free and open to the public. The MN Pollution Control Agency and numerous community-based organizations are co-sponsors. The agenda includes, Dr. Ted Schettler from the Science and Environmental Health Network, Bob Shimek from the Indigenous Environmental Network, and neighborhood people who are involved in the Phillips Environmental Steering Committee. Initiative (PESCI), a group that has been working with the Women's Environmental Institute this past year.

We encourage you to come, bring your neighbors, questions, ideas, and passion for environmental justice in our neighborhood!

Co-sponsors: Confederation of Somali Communities of MN, East Phillips Improvement Coalition, Environmental Justice Advocates of Minnesota, Friends of the Cemetery, Healthy Legacy, Hope Community, MN Immigrant Freedom Network, Indigenous People’s Task Force, Little Earth of United Tribes, Midtown Phillips Neighborhood Association Inc., Minneapolis Residents for Clean Air, Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Phillips West, Preventing Harm
MN, Santo Rosario Catholic Church, Seward Neighborhood Group, Surad Interpreting, Ventura Village

Monday evenings from 6:00 p.m.- 8:00 p.m., June 9th through August 18th
(excluding July 7th) at Open Book (1011 Washington Ave S # 301,
Minneapolis, MN 55415). Want to learn more about organic farming in rural and urban settings, how to do organic farming or what "organic" really means? This ten week lecture, discussion, and field course will provide information on organic food and agriculture from environmental, social, and historical perspectives, connecting environmental justice with food and agricultural justice. Participants will also have the opportunity to develop practical skills in organic horticulture through hands on workshops at the WEI alternative farm campus and farm field trips. Tuition $120 includes 10 lectures, workshops and field trips. Work study option available.

More Information on Organic Farm School (OFS)        OFS 2008 Lecture Series       OFS Registration Form         Register on-line 

April 24, Thursday 5:30-7:00. PESCI Meeting (Phillips Environmental Steering Committee Initiative Meeting, MN Indian Women's Resource Center (Minneapolis). A meeting for residents  and allies of Phillips Neighborhood working on local environmental health issues. A light meal will be provided. (part of WEI’s EJEAC project)

April 26, Saturday – WEI will be at the Cambridge Environmental Fair 10:00 – 1:00 at Cambridge Community College.  

Pictured to the right is Will Allen at the Growing Power Community Food Center in Milwaukee. The Center brings farming skills, healthy food and a sense of community connection to urban youth and adults. Allen will be the first speaker at WEI's Organic Farm
School program, which starts on Monday evening, June 9th.

April 27, Sunday Slow Food Conversation Series, 3:00-4:00 (Fireside Room at Peace United Church of Christ,, 1111 East 11th Street, Duluth, MN) WEI Board Member, Becky Lourey, former Minnesota State Senator and farmer, will focus on ways in which politics and technology affect how food is grown.

May 1, Thursday 7:00-8:30 -- WEI North Circle Steering Committee Meeting at the Women’s Environmental Institute in Almelund, Minnesota to discuss ideas for the North Circle processing house and value-added products to pilot in 2008. For more information, contact northcircle@w-e-i.org.

May 3-4, Saturday and Sunday,WEI will be at the Living Green Expo in the CSA section (drop by to buy a last minute CSA membership). Also watch for WEI in the May Day Parade (South Minneapolis)

May 9, Friday Phillips Community Environmental Justice Forum and Feast 5:00-10:00 p.m., Plaza Verde 1516 East Lake Street, Minneapolis, MN. This forum will focus on environmental justice issues in the Phillips Neighborhood and what to do about this.
Dr. Ted Schettler, Science, Environmental and Health Network, and Bob Schemik, Indigenous Environmental Network will be speaking. Schettler has authored two books, Generations at Risk: Reproductive Health and the Environment and In Harm’s Way: Toxic Threats to Child Development. Food will be catered by El Norteno, Hamdi Restaurant, and Monday's Catering.

May 10, Saturday WEI will open a farmer’s market booth at the Mill City Market, shared with Mystic Prairie Farm which sells duck eggs. Drop by to buy a last minute CSA share, potted herbs, some early spring greens and fresh duck eggs.

May 15, Thursday – WEI’s Sustenance Book Club 7:00-8:30, Scout and Morgan Bookstore, 114 Buchanan Street North, Cambridge, Minnesota. Discussion Deep Economy: The Wealth of Community and Durable Future by Bill McKibben. The Sustenance Book Club meets at Scout and Morgan every third Thursday of the month.

May 17, Saturday WEI Spring Open House at the Women’s Environmental Institute- COME AND ENJOY THE DAY AT WEI. Meet WEI’s new Scholar-Under-Fire, Paul Wotzka. Learn more about WEI programs and projects; tour the WEI farm campus. Enjoy a light lunch catered from the Wren Café, located in Luck, Wisconsin. Annual scarf dance across the orchard convenes at 4:30.

May 20 ,Tuesday– WEI/EJAM Climate Justice meeting 6:30-8:30. Location TBD. Climate Justice meetings are every third Tuesday of the month. (This is part of the Climate Justice Project shared by WEI and EJAM supported by the Minneapolis Foundation)

May 31, Saturday – Farm Work Day: Tomato Transplanting. We need volunteers to help us transplant the tomatoes. Come out to WEI. Picnic lunch will be served under the apple trees. Please RSVP 651-583-0705.

May 31, Saturday 1:00-4:00 – Native American Hand Drum Workshop. This hands-on workshop is designed to assist participants with creating a one-sided hand drum typically used when singing social songs. Each participant will be provided with the materials to complete one hand drum. The workshop is limited to 12 participants. The cost of the workshop is $125.00 per person. The class will be led by Sharon Day, Ojibwe.

June 4, Wednesday 5:00-8:00 - Green Housekeeping, Green Schools, Green Neighborhoods: How to Make it Sustainable, Park House 2120 Park Avenue. Meet Ellen Sandbeck, author of Organic Housekeeping, Green Housekeeping and Slug Bread and Beheaded Thistles: Amusing & Useful Techniques for Nontoxic Housekeeping and Gardening. Learn more about WEI’s EcoAware Project, a grass-roots kitchen table activist movement,and WEI’s EJEAC Project focusing environments inside and outside, in our homes, schools and neighborhoods. This event officially launches WEI’s Eco-Aware Home Party Schedule. Meet Emily Moore, project coordinator, for WEI’s EcoAware and Connie Minowa EcoAware advocate. Sign up for an EcoAware Home Party with your friends and neighbors.

June 8, Sunday 1:00-4:00 - Fundraiser for WEI’s Outdoor Bread Oven. Please join us at the home of Marty and Darrold Glanville (bakers) 35624 Grand Ave., North Branch to learn more about how to build an outdoor bread oven and to discuss recent books, such as Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Franquis) and The Bread Builders (by Daniel Wing and Alan Scott). The purpose of the fundraisier is to raise funds for a WEI workshop later this summer where the outdoor bread oven will be built. Enjoy fresh oven fired pizza and taste the bread.

June 9, Monday 6:00-8:00 ORGANIC FARM SCHOOL “Racism and the Food System” with Will Allen from Growing Power in Milwaukee (at The Loft located at Open Book, 1011 Washington Ave S # 301 Minneapolis, MN 55415) This is the “kick off” lecture for the WEI’s Organic Farm School, honored by the presence of Will Allen. Growing Power is a non-profit organization and land trust supporting people from diverse backgrounds and the environment in which they live by helping to provide equal access to healthy, high-quality, safe and affordable food. This mission is implemented by providing hands-on training, on-the-ground demonstration, outreach and technical assistance through the development of Community Food Systems that help people grow, process, market and distribute food in a sustainable manner. www.growingpower.org

WEI survives with the help of all our contributing members and volunteers. Our mission is becoming ever more pressing as environmental justice, agricultural justice, food security, and environmental health issues become the forefront struggles in the coming decades. To continue this vitally important work, we need your investment in the form of an annual membership, and we especially encourage your participation in WEI programs and volunteer opportunities in the coming year.

For Membership Options and Perks, click here. You can apply directly on-line or by check sent to WEI, P.O. Box 128, North Branch, Minnesota 55056. If sending by mail, please download our new membership form. Individual memberships are $48/year or $58/year for you and a friend. Student memberships are $25.