Category — GOVERNMENT

Come watch the powerful documentary “Thrive” and participate to a discussion about how to retake control over our lives and our world.

Where: The Goddess Temple – Santos Ranch Road off Highway 32 (6 miles past Bruce Road on the East side of Chico)

When: Sunday January 29, 2012 from 1-6 pm.

FREE PUBLIC EVENT

“THRIVE”  is an unconventional documentary that lifts the veil on what’s really going on in our world by following the money upstream — uncovering the global consolidation of power in nearly every aspect of our lives.

Weaving together breakthroughs in science, consciousness and activism, THRIVE offers real solutions, empowering us with unprecedented and bold strategies for reclaiming our lives and our future.

Watch my interview with the creator of THRIVE, Foster Gamble, and find out the complete details on being part of this amazing and informative day at the Goddess Temple in Chico. There will be many people there to make strong connections with.

This is a Free event (donations are welcome) so help us spread the word by posting this link on your Facebook and emailing it to your friends. DETAILS HERE

January 29th, 1-6pm, Potluck, Movie at 2pm followed by group discussion, music, and food.

Take care,

Rahasya & Dhara

About 4o Chico-area residents showed up for the meeting to discuss about building supportive neighborhood networks.   Here are some of their remarks.  Others organizational meetings will shortly be announced for January and February.

North East Chico

1) What do you like about your neighborhood + preserve?

Trees, share dinners on block, proximity to downtown – can ride or walk, density provides neighborly comfort

Just moved: trees, house type, getting together with neighbors, rural feel but connected to town, bike riding, mix of home owners and renters

Quite and peaceful, absence of “hummers”

Common love of the area

2) What would you like to see grow or develop?

City Repair – Portland Citywide program coordinates projects in neighborhoods 10 year program – skill building, artsy, Maby implement in chico  ripe.
Develop Neighborhood Husbands: mentorship on “how to” appliance repair.
Sharing tools, vehicles, ride share, among neighbors.
Sharing gardens, meals items.
Extra food sharing; purchasing for each other on same trip, communication.
Community board – electronic or physical.
Group consensus to share items

3) How might neighbors connect around these needs that are fun?

Start with commonalities: food, celebrate, block parties.
Release a balloon with ideas and see where it lands.
Ask kids what they would like to see, funner, prettier?
Drop off food packages to neighbors.
Share roses and oranges in tradition of old owner.
Wheel barrel of beer around the neighborhood on St Patricks Day.
Build a neighborhood campout.

Central West Chico

1) What do you like and want to preserve, about your neighborhood?

Trees and small open spaces, would like to keep those and orchard.
Trees (some sick and dying)  Garden space in park strips..
Trees – Keep them.  Likes “funkiness” of the neighborhood.  Can ride bike everywhere.
Trees. Liked the mix they used to have (Families). Neighbors watch out for each other and gardens.
Bike line on Warner.
Trees. Gardens. Easy to walk in neighborhood.  Would like more contact with neighbors.
Lindo Channel – walking. Housing is modest. Not pretential. Likes younger families choosing the more modest houses.
Likes street with little traffic. Likes no sidewalks. Generally quiet neighborhood. Neighbors friendly and respect each others spaces. Likes being close to park.

2) What would you like to see grow or develop in your neighborhood?

More gardens and trees. Would like to be able to know neighbors and get together with the other neighbors.
More people talking to each other. Have dinner? More personal relationships. Plant gardens in public “strips” between yards and street.
More interaction between neighbors. Empty lot – Turn into community garden.
More families with young kids. Neighborhood parties. More community.
Community Center.
Plant in strips in front by streets might encourage people to meet and talk. Gardening – exchange of ideas. Hard with rentals. 2 empty lots in the streets. Permission to use the space.
Building community. Community garden.
More gardening. Sharing ideas about gardening. Neighborhood sharing tools. Sharing compost. Neighborhood cafe. Neighborhood coming together for Emergency Preparedness.

3) How might neighbors connect around these needs and desires in ways that are fun?

Neighborhood watch get to know neighbors. Big BBQ for neighbors. People timit, but wants to bring neighbors.
Annual block party. 4th of july party – close street off.
Movie nights. Neighborhood Watch. Sharing tools and other things that not everyone needs. Talents to help other people with, such as pet care.
Potlucks, BBQs, Community gardens. Being ready for emergency Prep.
Community center and community gardens.
Walks. Going to yard sales. Tea. Asking neighbors about growing a garden.
Block party. Each person took charis to the front yards. One person appetizers, desserts, etc. Maybe have at school?
Seconds everything. More front yard gardens. Emergency Preparedness committee. Planning block party, neighborhood tea.

Chico

What we like and want to preserve.

Eaton – Likes openness doesn’t want too much congestion, likes that people have lived there a long time.
Barber – loves trees, neighbors, would like more sidewalks.
Renting on road.  Not so familiar with neighborhood. Likes spaciousness, would like more connection among neighbors.
Hooker Oak Park – lots of big old valley oak trees, neear big Chico creek, beautiful greenery, lot of foot paths. Likes openness, parkland nearby.
E 1st Ave. Likes that neighbors are calm and quiet and near activity.

What would you like to see grow or develop in your neighborhood?

We’d like a park.
More sense of community – common gardens, fruit trees, better integration. Less pavement – more dirt.
More natural space. Benches, where people can stop and enjoy. Common gardens.
Community Center, tea shop, gathering place. More things to slow down traffic and facilitate bikes. Houses re-oriented to face each other.
Free campground, where homeless people can sleep without danger. Bathrooms and showers.
See people accept each other. Sense of community.

How might neighbors connect in ways that are fun?

Community garden that is also a meet and greet. Outdoor park/ garden/ kitchen. where old and young people can teach each other.
Has thought about block party. But neighbors pretty spread out. About a year ago, people had objections to a proposed development. Got together in meeting format. Some self sufficiency planning and emergency preparedness. What neighbors need help in emergency, etc.
Less connected than 100 years ago. Urbanization has replaced our community connection. Would be good to have email or phone list.
Christmas parties – get better acquainted.
How clear barriers to connection I want space. But also connection.

- ADDITIONAL NOTES -

General reasons to call neighbors together:

Getting to know the neighbors, neighborhood needs, and mutual support when needed.

Neighborhood or house parties.

Discussing interest in a common vision or activities for the neighborhood.

 Ways to reach neighbors.

Leaflet all homes with an invitation to come to an event to meet and start connecting.

Leaflet to ask people to share emails with the organizer for neighbood announcements.

Create a neighborhood website with and set up a webmaster.

Phone tree.

Common interests and needs to share or announce at a gathering, with flyers, and/or by email.

Neighborhood parties, house concerts, video nights or watching sport events with beer and popcorn.

Sharing skills like gardening, sewing, or home repairs.

Swapping skills as in time banking.

Clothes or tools swaps or giveaways.

Garden “club” or talks about gardening, fruit trees, pests, soil tests, plant lists, seed and plant sharing.

Sharing land for a community garden.

Helping each other create gardens or plant trees

Garden produce, fruit and plant swaps, giveaways, or gleaning invitations.

Picking up and sharing a load of compost, straw, trees, etc.

Sharing, borrowing, or commonly owning tools, equipment, crutches, wheelchair, etc.

Lawnmower or equipment repairs.

Jumping a car battery.

Helping find lost pets.

Help needed for moving, illness, or after a new baby, surgery, etc.

Ride sharing in town or out.

Emergency ride to the hospital.

Health and safety notices, no burn days, emergency notices and responses.

Street improvements.

Christmas caroling together.

Investment or book club.

Tutoring or child care.

Great meeting today, very encouraging.   Here’s a summary and a to-do list combining notes by Jon Luvaas and Gerard Ungerman.

Community-wide meetings at the Grange:
Conversation Café -type meetings should be encouraged to take place at the Grange.   The Grange is a perfect meeting place for all the many groups from Chico involved in various aspect of sustainable living.   It is also a perfect hub to connect these different groups and encourage inter-group communication.

A first conversation cafe will take place at the Grange on Dec. 6.   The topic of the discussion will be “How to reach out to our neighbors and how to find common ground concerns and solutions ?”   The evening will start with a Potluck Dinner at 6 followed by a public discussion at 7:30.

Per Jon’s notes: “our experience at the Grange could help us assess how to insert this conversation broadly into the community fabric.  I’ve found my stack of little “agreements” cards  to put on each table for the conversations.  Also found the conversation café website with all the info each of us will need to facilitate a group – principles, process, ground rules, how to promote it, etc. http://www.conversationcafe.org/hostCorePrinciples.htm

Each group needs a facilitator to monitor the process, a timekeeper to keep everyone “in line”, and a notekeeper who’ll report back to the larger group afterward. One person could probably hold a couple of roles. Let’s all take a look there to better understand how to facilitate small groups at the Dec. 6 Grange meeting. I heard phrases like resilience circles, affinity groups, common security, connecting neighborhoods for a Transition through unstable times, strategies to find common ground.”

Stephanie from GRUB will write up and send us the promotional material for the meeting for newspapers – KZFR maybe? – and an announcement to Grangers – telling everyone to “bring a neighbor”.  We’ll add ideas and she’ll send it out, as usual.  Cass needs it by the 28th or so in order to get it out to Grangers.

The intent has also been expressed to tie Transition action with Occupy Chico activism.   Julie from Occupy Chico will invite core people from their General Assembly to join our conversation on the 6th.  This will be the first opportunity by many of them to join in a broader, longer term community action discussion.

A New “Transition” class at Chico State:
CSU, Chico professor Mark Stemen presented his project for a new class on post carbon transition to begin in January 2012.   Elaborated in collaboration with fellow professor and head of the Institute for Sustainable Development at CSU, Chico, Jim Pushnik,  this project will benefit from special funding granted by the Jack Rawlins Foundation.   This class will include conferences that will be open to the public.   Speakers will be invited including Rob Hopkins, author of the “Transition Handbook” and co-author of the “Post-Carbon Reader”.  Other possible presenters are encouraged to contact Jim Pushnik by phone  -   530-898-6362   – or by e-mail at  jpushnik@csuchico.edu .  Mark Stemen can be reached at mstemen@csuchico.edu and 530-898-5428.

Per Jon’s notes again: “We might want to help tie this class and the ISD into City implementation of the Climate Action Plan (CAP), which they may adopt by late spring.  The CAP will call for a citywide Transition Plan to a post-carbon future, and a subcommittee of the STF that I’m on will start working that plan after adoption of the CAP.  I can imagine student projects, research, and input contributing to that plan, as well as considerable community input to that, organized by us.  City staff cannot be relied upon to carry the load. The transition plan will no doubt be community-based, without much city action, but we could push for city policies to support community action.  Another useful person to contact about this might be Fletcher Alexander, who did most of the work on the CAP as a grad student intern. He was recently hired as the CSUC Sustainability Coordinator. falexander@csuchico.edu 530-898-333 Institute for Sustainable Development.

The CAP should go to the City Sustainability Task Force (STF) (Pushnik is also a member) at its next regular meeting on December 4, if their bureaucracy is through kicking it around, and amended and approved by them by late winter.  It will then go to the City Council for hearings and adoption.  It must not be allowed to be just another feel good City document with no funds or commitment to act on it.  But it’s likely to be a weak draft when first presented in the next month or so, since that’s City staff’s typical cautious approach.  So a lot of community input is needed to the STF and Council to build support to make it meaningful and as aggressive as we know it must be.”

Creating video vignettes on examples of sustainable living:
Gerard is planning to film a series of short vignettes about inspiring acts of “respectful living” already happening in Chico, more often than not in total anonymity.   This project carried out in collaboration with local students will aim at both enhancing the visibility of great local projects, big and small,  and at starting a much broader, nation-wide endeavor meant to shine a spotlight on as many Americans as possible who contribute everyday at making the world a better place.

Re-learning basic forgotten skills:
The idea was also raised to promote reskilling classes at GRUB, the Grange, and elsewhere.  Older retirees in particular, with a lot of old time skills to share, would be helped and encouraged to set up classes.

Next planning meeting will be on December 14, 8:30 a.m. at David’s home.

The PAGEANT Theater
351 East Avenue, Chico, CA

presents the Academy Award nominee doc that everyone should watch:

“GASLAND”

Saturday May 14 at 12:00 pm

Sierra Club is sponsoring the screening of GASLAND.  The amazing story of people lighting their tap water on fire.  Discover how FRACKING became exempt from our federal environmental laws.  California FRACKING maybe coming to a well near you.  There will be cool t-shirt and water bottle prizes.