Chesapeake Education, Arts and Research Society
Restoring and promoting the health of all life in the Chesapeake Watershed
through education and action projects organized by volunteers
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Dear Folks,
This week I was saddened to learn of the passing on September 24 of Bill Mollison (1926-2016), the Australian environmentalist who along with David Holmgren founded what is known as Permaculture. As noted in an article written in his memory, by Samuel Alexander http://theconversation.com/a-revolution-disguised-as-organic-gardening-in-memory-of-bill-mollison-66137 -Biill Mollison is one of the "true pioneers of the modern environmental movement, not just in Australia but globally." In explaining a bit of the history of Permaculture, Alexander notes:
Permaculture defies simple definition and understanding. The term began as a fusion of "permanent" and "agriculture". Even back in the 1970s, Mollison and Holmgren could see how destructive industrial agriculture was to natural habitats and topsoils, and how dependent it was on finite fossil fuels. It was clear that these systems were unsustainable, a position ratified by scientific reports today which expose the alarming effects industrial agriculture has on biodiversity and climate stability. The two pioneering ecologists began to wonder what a "permanent agriculture" would look like. Thus permaculture was born. In the broadest terms, permaculture is a design system that seeks to work with the laws of nature rather than against them. It aims to efficiently meet human needs without degrading the ecosystems we all rely on to flourish.( Samuel Alexander Research fellow, Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, University of Melbourne).
As a person who has spent a long work life inside at a desk in front of a computer working with education statistics, this movement and the principles of permaculture (summarized below) have had a major impact on my life. The biggest thing that "permaculture" did for me was empower me to believe that I too could learn how to think about the design of earth friendly systems, get outdoors in touch with the land, and even grow a very small bit of the food I eat everyday. I was first introduced to permaculture by my children and the non-profit CHEARS grew out of a permaculture design certificate course that Joan Clement and I took in 2005. My project was to prepare a design for transitioning Wild Meadows Farm (whose future is now in serious doubt) to organic and permaculture inspired land care http://www.slideshare.net/chearsdotorg/permaculturedesignwildmeadowsfarm. As part of that design we proposed a non-profit ---CHEARS that would help support the organic transition of the farm and focus on rural-urban linkages. Since then I've taken the permaculture certificate course two more times and each time I learn a lot more. Pictured at the end of the newsletter are students at a permaculture design course held at Wild Meadows Farm in Spring of 2011 and planting a polyculture around fruit trees.
So this issue of the e-news is dedicated to the memory of Bill Mollison and to Permaculture and the "cause for hope" that it inspires worldwide.
Maggie Cahalan, CHEARS Newsletter Editor,
and from the entire CHEARS Volunteer Board of Stewards.
The Chears Board of Stewards ( Convener, Carolyn Lambright-Davis, lambrightdavis@yahoo.com; Vice Convener, Bob Cahalan, Bob@chears.org; Treasurer, Kate Prager, kateprager@earthlink.net; Secretary, Joan Clement, joan@chears.org; Maggie Cahalan, Maggie@chears.org; Bill Davis, williamdavis52@hotmail.com; Mary Ellsworth,Marysellsworth@gmail.com; Marcia Freeman, marciaff@aol.com; Eugenia Kalnay, ekalnay@gmail.com; Bennie Smith, benniejdmba@hotmail.com; Chandra Taylor Smith, drctsmith@aol.com)
If you have questions about CHEARS or would like to volunteer, contact any of our board members!
To make a contribution, click the link http://chears.org/ to go to the CHEARS website and then Click on the Donate button in the lower left corner to make an online donation or send a Check to:
CHEARS
PO Box 1841
Greenbelt, MD 20768
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Visit the calendar for a full listing of our events.
Did you know...you can update your contact information and CHEARS eNews preferences? Click here!
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...or text CHEARS to 22828
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Sunday October 2 The Greenbelt Fall Harvest of Music and Arts
The Greenbelt Fall Harvest of Music and Arts will be held this Sunday from 11am to 5 pm on the Roosevelt Center Plaza.
Musical Guests include Roots Folk Sing songwriter, Mike Elosh, the traditional stompin hill country sounds of Raincrow, the Alt-country duo the Scrub Pines, and local favorite, the Gliders.
Home spun goods including a variety of handmade crafts and some vegan treats will be on offer.
Three Sisters Gardens will have native and edible landscape plants for sale to benefit the gardens and Earth Squad
If you are rooting around in your backyard garden or in the frig and find some good vegges for a soup, bring them down to add to the stone soup. It will be a collaboration that contributors can share later in the day. It will be a pleasant fall day to just take it easy, visit with friends and take stock in the harvest of all our gardens and creative efforts.
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UMD CKI Volunteering with CHEARS Earth Squad celebrate completion of a hugelkultur bed in the Greenbelt Food Forest Sept 24, 2016
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Thanks for all you do and Will Do!
Upcoming Volunteer and Fun Opportunities for You!
Saturday Oct 8th -9am - 2pm Volunteer Celebration and Day to Serve
Springhill Lake Recreation Center Garden
6101 Cherrywood Lane, Greenbelt, MD 20770
Work Party followed by Lite Lunch and Volunteer thank you celebration !
12 PM - 2 PM: Fun Time to Say Thank You with Grilling in the Garden,
Enjoy music and grilled vegetables---FREE educational games and water quality workshops -
Monday October 10th-- 10am - 12pm Columbus Day of Service at Buddy Attick Park--- invasive ivy removal
Saturday November 19th- 9am - 12pm -- Indian Creek cleanup for America Recycles Day at Springhill Lake Recreation Center
Thanks for ALL You Have Done and Will Do
For all of the events above remember to: - Wear long pants and closed-toe shoes.
- Bring a reusable water bottle.
- Bring a form for service-learning hours if you need them.
Sponsored by Greenbelt Department of Public Works; CHEARS; State of Maryland Day to Serve & America Recycles 
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CHEARS Flows Project and the Foundations For Education Non-Profit in Guatemala
The Chears Flows project continues to partner with the Foundations for Education (FFE)project in Guatemala.
The Flows project is currently working to digitize a set of 13 tapes in the native Mayan languages and Spanish. The tapes are stories told by survivors of the Civil War. A copy of a bi-lingual book featuring artwork telling the stories of the women can be found on the CHEARS website at http://chears.org/publications/fulltext/ThreadsBreakingTheSilence.pdf
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Wild Meadows Farm in June of 2015 following massive GMO corn planting
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 Update: Can Wild Meadows Farm in Bedford County PA be Saved from endless applications of carcinogenic Round Up pesticides, & synthetic fertilizers made with fossil fuels, followed by planting of Neonicotinoid treated GMO corn seeds?As I write this newsletter, it appears that we will have to try to purchase the whole 200 acre farm or be forced to sell our 1/3 share. The Plaintiffs who together own 2/3 of the farm have rejected the Court Masters recommendation for a division into 3 parts (which we as Defendants representing 1/3 interest are seeking) and the Bedford Judge has now made a definite order for private sale among parties of the Farm. This follows his view of the PA code. We were able to get his order for an August 26 sale postponed or "continued" pending our appeal to the PA superior court, but we are not hopeful.
The Judge did order our hard fought injunction blocking any leasing of the farm and GMO planting (as shown above in 2015) to remain in force until the case is settled and the farm was not planted for 2016. I (maggie@chears.org) welcome any suggestions and help that the CHEARS community might have. I'm inspired by the work of the Agrarian Trust
that has pulled together examples of case studies and models used by other folks who have saved farmland for sustainable and organic land care access.
I am hopeful that in the end a way will open as the Quakers would say.
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Greenbelt Climate Action Network
"Climate Change: We need to mobilize like WWII"
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
7:00-9:00 pm
Greenbelt Community Center, Room 114
15 Crescent Rd, Greenbelt, MD
Based on our September GCAN meeting, we all decided to read Bill McKibben's recent article in New Republic, entitled "A World at War: We're under attack from climate change-and our only hope is to mobilize like we did in WWII". Participants are encouraged to read the six-page article before they come. Copies will be available at the meeting.
SPECIAL PROJECTS
The Greenbelt Time Bank is up and running with 130 members and 925 hours exchanged by mid-May. For more info, email Greenbelt.Timebank@gmail.com.
CHEARS.org is back to sponsoring occasional "Salon Nights". If you have suggestions for an evening, email maggie@chears.org 
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Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake is launching Trees for Sacred Places in Prince George's County and we invite you to participate in planting trees on your congregation grounds to help restore God's sacred waters.
We call trees "Creation's Cure-all" because they do so much to heal the earth and waters of the Chesapeake Bay watershed:
- Filter pollution from water
- Prevent soil erosion
- Reduce stormwater runoff (#1 source of water pollution from urban and suburban areas)
- Restore habitat for birds and other wildlife
- Absorb carbon dioxide (that contributes to climate change)
We are looking for diverse communities with room for planting a minimum of 30 trees. Here's what you get for FREE:
- Native Trees
- Site assessment and planting plan
- Crew leaders to train your volunteers how to properly plant trees
- Spiritual and Environmental Workshop (or class, or bible study, or speaking engagement)
Kolya Braun-Greiner, M.Div.
Program Manager
Trees are Earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven. -
Rabindranath Tagore
Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake
501 6th Street, Annapolis, MD 21403
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SAVE-THE-DATE--November 18 !!!
Pesticides & The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Project - annual conference
Friday November 18th, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Pearlstone Conference Center, Reisterstown, MD
Please plan to join us for our Tenth Annual Meeting on November 18th, when we will bring together project participants & people committed to protecting the Chesapeake watershed and restoring the Bay. Our meeting will focus on recent research regarding pesticide impacts on the Bay, bees and human health - as well as our future efforts on all three fronts. Confirmed speakers include:
- Dr Robert Lawrence - keynote speaker - Director-Emeritus of the Center for a Livable Future at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. A co-founder of this project. he will look ahead to the challenges of the next decade while drawing upon the successes and lessons over the last 10 years of our Project.
- Dr Vicki Blazer is a world renowned fish pathologist with the US Geological Survey and a regular speaker at our annual gathering. She will discuss new research on pesticides found in select Bay tributaries and potential biological effects of exposure.
- Dr Hartmut Doebel an insect ecologist, is Assistant Professor of Biology at The George Washington University, he heads its Research & Beekeeping Team. He will discuss his new research on neonicotinoid impacts on bees.
- Dr Greg Allen is an Environmental Scientist for the EPA's Chesapeake Bay Program. He will update us on the work of the CPB and also will serve as our moderator for the day
We will share cutting-edge research, monitoring date and policy trends on pesticides, discuss initiatives of the Project's working groups, and collaborate on the Project's director. Registration is free and an organic lunch & snacks will be served. Please look for our e-invitation coming soon. Thanks!
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Robert SanGeorge, Project Director
Pesticides & The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Project
Co-sponsors: Maryland Pesticide Education Network &
Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future
SAVE-THE-DATE !!!
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Chesapeake Education, Arts and Research Society
P.O. Box 1841 | Greenbelt, MD 20768
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