Sunday, August, 3

6:30PM - Phil Caroom and Barbara Thomas will be talking about the Annapolis Friends Meeting's (AFM) involvement with the newly-formed Peace and Justice Center to assist former Israeli and Palestinian negotiators (the "Geneva Initiative") with a peacemaking workshop for one of the crucial unfinished issues between Israelis and Palestinians.  Phil has attended AFM for over 20 years, and is a local trial judge.  Barbara is the current clerk of AFM, and is recently retired from the World Bank where she worked with the international community on writing, presentation and interpersonal skills.

 

 

In addition to our own backyard raingarden, the Anacostia Watershed Society is holding "raingarden week" from July 21-25 to bring in people to help us excavate two raingardens. This entails moving 20 cubic yards of soil, plus digging the trenches to lay pipe
leading from the downspout ends, underground, to the two raingardens.  This is a great way to learn more about what you can do in your community as well as support this great organization.

 

Please contact us for more information, or contact steve@anacostiaws.org to get more specifics.  Please note that Steve will be away until July 7, but we are sure he would be glad to hear from you. 

 

In addition to this event, AWS is having its annual Port Towns Paddlesport Regatta at Bladensburg Waterfront Park on July 19 from 8:30AM to 2PM.  Visit their website for more information.

 

 

From June 30 to July 6, we were thrilled and pleased to welcome people fom as far away as Saskatchawan, Canada to as close as our own neighborhood, and people from ages 5 to 85 to be a part of our first Eco-Workcamp.  Some people came for a day, others for the week.  Below is a mini-journal of the activities and reflections of the participants: 

 

Monday - we started the morning with the Anacostia Watershed Society (AWS) doing trash pick-up along the northwest branch of the Anacostia River. As we learned from Kamweti Mutu of AWS,  the Anacostia, which flows through the eastern part of DC, is the second-most polluted river in the country (the Los Angeles River is #!), and is a river ripe with culture and history.  In a 3 hour period, we picked up about 10 full bags of garbage plus big metal signs and manhole covers.  One thought that occurred to us: Most of the time when we see people picking up trash on roadsides, they have been court-ordered.  What can we do encourage people to see this work not as a punishment, but as a community-health responsiblity?

 

Tuesday - we again joined AWS, this time for invasive plant removal in Little Paint Branch Park (which feeds into the Anacostia River), led by Michael Breen.  We learned about the origins and harms to the eco-system of invasive plants.  After lunch, Heather Simons from AWS came to William Penn House for an outstanding presentation about the entire Anacostia watershed region (that is home to about 1.3 million people), the myriad of environmental problems and, most importantly, things we can all do to make a difference not just here but everywhere we go.  The rest of the afternoon was spent working on our own backyard.

 

Wednesday through the weekend was spent mainly at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival volunteering our time with the developing recycling efforts.  Many of us spent our time "trash-diving", making sure that the right waste materials were in the right receptacles.  Once we overcame our brief thoughts of what people might think about people going through the garbage, we became obsessed with and proud of our skills as "trash experts".  An added perk, of course, was to really get immersed in the cultures of Bhutan, Texas, and NASA that included food, dance, music, and interactive displays and exhibits.   On Sunday, we were joined by First Unitarian Universalist of Delaware's youth group (who stayed on for a few more days and did some amazing work in turning the backyard into an urban rainscape, as well as volunteered with AWS).  

One break from the Folklife Festival on Thursday was a boat tour of the Anacostia River, once again led by Kamweti .  This tour was a great way to see the bigger picture of the beauty, history and challenges of alive but very ill river. 

 

In addition to these activities, we also did environmentally conscious activities like cook with a solar oven, make natural shampoos, watch videos about environmental issues, and visit the Botanical Garden's display of global renewable energy.  A real community feeling emerged as we shared meals and stories. 

 

Of all the learning experiences we had, perhaps the biggest is that after this week, our world-views have changed.  Many of us can no longer look at a flower and plant bed without wondering about the long-term consequences of non-native plants; many of us also felt more empowered to speak up to others in our community as well as to policy makers about the problems we face, as we can now speak to the experience and need for "grunt work" of bending over and picking up garbage, going through garbage bins,  pulling plants one by one, why all these things matter and how they are connected. 

 

We will plan for a similar program for next year at this time, as well as perhaps mini-workcamps throughout the year for people of all ages and to learn and do more for the environment.  We welcome and encourage all of you to participate.  It is definitely an experience that has deepened and broadened our understanding of the state of our earth, and empowered us to do more and to speak more clearly about what we can all do to make a difference everywhere.

 

From June 15 - 21, Greg Woods, Washington Quaker Workcamps Coordinator, and Morgan Tipton, one of our staff interns, along with two teachers and a parent, led a group of 18 Sidwell Friends School students to Caretta, West Virginia. During their time there, they worked with Big Creek People In Action and Buchanan Helping Hands, another youth group from Buchanan County, WV, on fixing up houses in the communities around Caretta and painting the library annex in War, WV. During the evenings they enjoyed visiting a mine, a cookout hosted by a local family, live bluegrass music,
and a trip to get ice cream. Everyone had a great time!

We are currently planning for a special evening presentation in September with participants from this trip, as well as youth participants from the New Orleans Trip and the recent eco-workcamps, to share about their experiences.  Parents, teachers, and all people from the WQW community will be invited.  Details will be announced in August.  Until then, we thank all who participated in this trip, and welcome donations to support WPH's ability to offer these opportunities to provide services and growing experiences that impact those who serve as well as those who provide the services.

Kate Smith recently returned from a year of teaching in Spain, and is interning with us again for the summer, so if you are making your way to see us she may be the Friendly one to greet you at the door.