From soil to soul: check out upcoming Urban Growth Bounty classes.

Posted on by

City of Portland’s Urban Growth Bounty series returns with classes on growing, preparing and preserving food

From cheesemaking to beekeeping to urban gardening to food preservation, Urban Growth Bounty provides all the tools you need to do it yourself.

 

Since its kickoff in 2009, thousands of Portlanders have been able to explore the world of urban homesteading (and to meet others who share their interest) through the Urban Growth Bounty classes. Now entering its fourth year, the 2012 series includes courses on beekeeping, urban livestock, cheesemaking, food preservation, and multiple types of gardening. On-line registration is available at http://www.portlandonline.com/bps/ugb.

“The Urban Growth Bounty classes are a great value and a wonderful way to kickstart your 2012 food growing season,” says Portland Mayor Sam Adams. “There’s always more to learn about how to grow, preserve and eat sustainably on a budget.”
Presented by the City of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, 2012 brings back an exciting lineup of expert instructors and an array of classes for all skill levels. Courses will take place from February to July at locations across the city.

A brand new class, Introduction to Food Preservation, Jams, and Jellies debuts in May. Returning also are the most popular classes from the past two years, Cheesemaking with Claudia Lucero and Edible Landscaping with Jen Aron.

For detailed Urban Growth Bounty 2012 descriptions and registration information, visit http://www.portlandonline.com/bps/ugb or e-mail food@portlandoregon.gov.

‘Interrupting Racism’ workshop at Resolutions NW.

Posted on by

Interrupting Racism for Everyday Living

Saturday, February 11, 2012

8:30am – 12:30pm

Location: Resolutions Northwest, 1827 NE 44th Ave. Suite 300, Portland OR 97213

This interactive actionshop will explore what it means to be an ally and tools for interrupting racism.  Participants will practice-practice-practice!

This workshop is being offered on a sliding scale basis; see our website registration page for more detailed information.  Space is available for 6 – 26 people; 1st come, 1st serve. Please register at www.resolutionsnorthwest.org.

No mediation experience required; no one will be turned away for lack of funds. For accessibility information, please contact us.

Please also note other Resolutions Northwest upcoming trainings:

Lew Frederick on the 1% and Martin Luther King Jr.

Posted on by

Listen carefully and you will hear the 1% taking power

The following is part of a speech made by Rep. Frederick at the 27th Keep Living the Dream Celebration for Dr. King at Highland Church.

Good afternoon, I’m Lew Frederick, State Representative from House District 43, North and Northeast Portland.

I think this holiday is one that many people think they understand very well, after all, it is of relatively recent origin. And Dr. King is a hero of my lifetime, not of the deep past. I grew up with him as the father of my playmates. But the holiday is also poorly understood, because the history of Dr. King’s legacy and that of the Civil Rights movement have been stripped of much of their nuance, sophistication and complication over the years.

Dr. King’s final book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? is not referenced very often when folks are finding meaningful quotes for our annual speeches. In it, we see how his ministry had expanded, how his leadership on civil rights, or let’s say “human” rights, though grounded in the racial struggles of the time, was clear in its purpose of addressing oppression in its many manifestations. He made a compelling argument, in 1967, for a guaranteed income. He wrote:

The contemporary tendency in our society is to base our distribution on scarcity, which has vanished, and to compress our abundance into the overfed mouths of the middle and upper classes until they gag with superfluity. If democracy is to have breadth of meaning, it is necessary to adjust this inequity. It is not only moral, but it is also intelligent. We are wasting and degrading human life by clinging to archaic thinking.

Read the rest at BlueOregon.

Is Your 2012 New Year’s Resolution to Learn Spanish?

Posted on by

From TierraCenter:

Learning a new language is one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions, perhaps because achieving this particular goal makes it possible to meet so many other goals in life. Whether you want to travel abroad with greater ease and understanding, advance your career, or enrich and expand your universe, learning a new language can also be one of the easier goals to attain.

With the increasing need for Spanish in today’s society, there exist many methods and opportunities to help you reach this goal. Popular at-home methods such as online programs can be useful tools to introduce and reinforce vocabulary and basic grammar, but they don’t offer opportunities to practice speaking and to receive feedback or ask questions. The numerous Spanish conversation clubs or language exchanges around town provide speaking practice, but again, do not offer feedback from knowledgeable teachers who are trained to explain why you should use “ser” instead of “estar,” for example.

We have found that the most effective and efficient way to really learn a new language is through professionally guided instruction and practice within a small group of language learners who are near the same level.
This is precisely what makes Tierra Educational Center in NE Portland an excellent choice for your Spanish study goals; Tierra provides a safe and encouraging environment for students to use Spanish to interact with their peers while being thoughtfully corrected by highly skilled teachers.

So if you really want to meet your New Year’s resolution to learn Spanish in 2012, enrolling in one of Tierra’s small group classes is the best way to start the year off on the right track. And, it’s always easier to keep your resolution if you have a resolution-buddy, so consider asking a friend to join you in your pursuit to learn Spanish.
Visit www.tierracenter.com for details, or call 503-213-3677.

Feliz Año Nuevo y buena suerte!

ABC’s of Land Use Workshop Returns

Posted on by

Are you interested in learning more about Portland’s land use and development process?  Neighborhood associations and leaders often are asked to respond to land use notices or to help neighbors who are struggling with a land use issue. Many neighborhoods have a land use chair or other volunteer who is the point person for responding to these requests.  It can really help to learn more about how the land use system works and how to advocate for the community’s interests most effectively. Also, it’s often comforting and helpful to share experiences with other neighborhood activists facing the same challenges. 

The ABCs of Land Use workshops were designed to meet this need. The neighborhood coalitions, the Planning Bureau, and ONI have teamed up to host ABCs of Land Use workshop in different parts of the city a few times each year.  The next ABCs workshop is being hosted by Southeast Uplift Neighborhood Coalition on Sat. January 28, 2012, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Southeast Uplift office.

You can register for the workshop on line at:

http://www.portlandonline.com/oni/index.cfm?&c=57317
Continue reading →