we hope you enjoy reading CURE's December RiverVoice.
December RIVERVOICE
     
Upcoming Events

When: Saturday, January 9, from 2 PM to 3:15 PM
Where: Montevideo-Chippewa County Public Library

When: Saturday, January 30, from 12:30 PM to 3 PM
Where: meet at the Yellow Medicine County Museum parking lot and will carpool to SNA as a group

Climate Program
  
Do you have an opinion of the Paris climate agreement?

The Paris agreement to address climate change was adopted on Saturday, Dec. 12th, by 196 countries. They pledged to work together to limit global warming to no more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels with a goal of keeping the increase below 1.5 Celsius. It calls for stopping the rise of greenhouse gas emissions.

Do you have an opinion of the Paris climate agreement? If so, we'd like to hear it! We are asking you to share your opinion on the Paris climate agreement with us. Send your written opinion piece to Sarina at [email protected]. We plan to post your opinion to CURE's Blog and share it with CURE's members and supporters. The length of the piece may range from a couple of sentences to a paragraph to a full page. We look forward to hearing from you!
  
Athena Kildegaard, CURE Board Member, in Paris for the Climate Conference.

Hanging along one side of the nave in Notre Dame, in Paris, are five tapestries of cartoons, or illustrations, by the Benedictine artist Dom Robert. Each tapestry depicts the natural world in riotous exuberance-a tender exhibition to coincide with the Paris Climate Conference (COP21).

Dom Robert was born Guy de Chaunac-Lanzac in 1907 and took orders in 1930. Early in his artistic career he moved from painting religious scenes to m�langes of the natural world-butterflies, flowers, birds, and animals. "I am used to wandering aimlessly with my notepad, to catching whatever I happen to meet in the course of my walks," Dom Robert said.

Water Program
  

In August, CURE received a call from a landowner in Sacred Heart South Township, Renville County. He was one of four residents notified by the Renville County Board of Adjustment and Appeals that a public hearing had been scheduled to consider a variance request to re-open a Duininck Inc. gravel mine. The proposed site is adjacent to the residents' properties. The parcel of land under consideration is less than 20 acres, is surrounded by Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) land, and is located in the Minnesota River floodplain. It is located just north of the Minnesota River.


Blog post and photos by Peg Furshong, Director of Operations & Constituent Relations and Events & Adventures Program Coordinator. 
Events and Adventures

Transform your hobbies into important scientific data! Whether you are a birder, like nature photography or simply watching lightening bugs flicker during warm summer nights you are ready to be a scientist! Citizen Science is the act of everyday citizens collecting simple data and reporting it to professional scientists who then use it for studies. Discover how you can help during this interactive presentation by Kelsey Olson. To learn more and to register for this event, click here.

On Saturday, January 30th, 2016, snowshoe through the Gneiss Outcrops, formed approximately 3.6 billion years ago, are among the oldest known rock on the earth's surface. This SNA's significance steadily increases as other outcrops along the Minnesota River are exploited for granite mining, housing, and recreational use. These pyramidal outcrops along the Glacial River Warren Valley rise to about 50 feet above the general level of the land, revealing parallel bands of gneisses. This afternoon snowshoeing trip is lead by CURE member Don Robertson. Robertson has lived most of his life in the Minnesota River Valley and is a certified Master Naturalist. To learn more and to register for this event, click here. 
Stay Connected to CURE