Habitat Restoration!

Help restore a healthy natural environment in Cromwell Valley Park for the benefit of a rich variety of wildlife and the enjoyment of people of all ages and interests.

Help eradicate the non-native invasive plants creeping across Cromwell Valley Park's beautiful meadows, into it's woods, and down it's stream banks.

Help plant native species to re-establish natural habitats for the Park's many birds and animals and to restore the park's natural beauty for all to enjoy.

The Habitat Restoration Team has work sessions on the second Saturday of every month, 9:00am to 12:00 noon. Meet at Sherwood Farm. Refreshments, tools, and training are provided.

2002 Cromwell Bridge Road
Baltimore, MD 21234

For further information, call 410 877 2503

REMEMBER THE WOUNDED KNEE MASSACRE

Hundreds of Lakota men, women, and children were killed or displaced as a result of our "founding fathers" greed.

Impacts of Industrial Farming

In today's society, most people are not aware of the origin of the food they put into there bodies. Yes it is convenient to go to the grocery store and get what you need in five quick minutes, but this "food" has a huge negative impact on our Earth and our bodies. Much of the agriculture practiced today is industrial style. This does not mean enormous operating farms. In fact, they are not farms at all. They are prisons where animals are subjected to disease, standing ankle deep in there own feces, and overall cruel and abusive treatment. It has had complex effects on our environment, our economy, and our urban and rural social fabric. These factories use huge amounts of water, energy, and chemicals, often with little regard to long-term adverse effects. Where are on the verge of having a water crisis and we still pump numerous gallons of water through irrigation canals. Chemicals and herbicides are accumulating in our ground water. Run off of nutrients is creating eutrophication in the Chesapeake bay. Even though industrial farming yields all of these negative impacts, we continue to put the product in our bodies. Whether we are aware of it or not, it is severely unhealthy.

Industrial farms that produce meat and poultry are the largest contributor to climate change and global warming. Greater than cars, greater than CFC's, greater than anything else. This can be changed! Eating meat and poultry is not a necessity, it is a choice or a "privilege' is some people's eyes. One can live in perfect health from eating solely fruits, veggies, grains, and nuts.

KNOW WHERE YOUR FOOD COMES FROM AND HOW IT WAS PRODUCED!

PICK UP AMERICA!

I heard about Pick Up America from my good friend Dylan. The people who started Pick Up America are friends of his. Pick Up America is a local, regional, and nationwide initiative committed to reducing plastic waste in our communities and waterways. The Pick Up Artists will coordinate community trash clean-ups while walking across the country to encourage alternatives to our nation’s throwaway mentality. The year-and-a-half-long trek begins from Assateague Island, MD., on March 20, 2010, and spans 13 states to the San Francisco Bay, Calif., sometime in August 2011. The people involved in this beautiful act of respect, community and love are incredibly ambitious. I admire their heart and determination to make our mother Earth a cleaner happier place.

Support these Pick Up America and support our only home by donating your time, money and blessings!

http://pickupamerica.wordpress.com/

STOP EUTROPHICATION!

HALT THE USE OF INORGANIC FERTILIZERS CONTAINING NITROGEN AND PHOSPHATES! USE ORGANIC COMPOST! STOP FERTILIZER RUN OFF! PREVENT EUTROPHICATION! SAVE OUR BAY!!!!

NEW MOON CEREMONY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When the moon lies between the Earth and the sun, it is not visible from Earth, because the side of the moon that is facing us is not being lit by the sun. Other than this being a magnificent and breath taking phenomenon, it has significant symbolism. The new moon is a spiritual time of new beginnings. You can create new goals, recharge old ones, and set specific intentions.

We will gather at my house ( 2 Hyacinth Rd Baltimore Md 21234) and celebrate this moment of a new beginning.

We will preform a new moon ritual, which entails certain herbs and other supplies, a group of people, a grounding exercise, loving communication, and finally celebration!

Bring your intentions, meaningful thought, and a loving heart!

Come at 9:30pm!

MARCH 20th MARCH AND RALLY!

People from all over the country are organizing to converge on Washington, D.C., to demand the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan and Iraq.

On Saturday, March 20, 2010, there will be a mass National March & Rally in D.C. We will march together to say “No Colonial-type Wars and Occupations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine!" We will march together to say "No War Against Iran!” We will march together to say “No War for Empire Anywhere!” Instead of war, we will demand funds so that every person can have a job, free and universal health care, decent schools, and affordable housing.

A day of action and outreach in Washington, D.C., will take place on Friday, March 19, preceding the Saturday march. There will be coinciding mass marches on March 20 in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Cindy Sheehan and a coalition of groups have announced a new initiative set to begin in March 2010 called Peace of the Action, an integral part of which will be a camp that will be set up beginning March 13. This camp will be a staging area for people coming to DC to take part in anti-war activities.

March 20 is the seventh anniversary of the criminal war of aggression launched by Bush and Cheney against Iraq. One million or more Iraqis have died. Tens of thousands of U.S. troops have lost their lives or been maimed, and continue to suffer a whole host of enduring problems from this terrible war.

This is the time for united action. The slogans on banners may differ, but all those who carry them should be marching shoulder to shoulder.


To learn more on how you can get involved in the March on Washington, visit http://www.March20.org or http://www.AnswerCoalition.org

Operation Defus

A forum to help the public better understand the police/surveillance state by educating them about Fusion Centers and the role they play in both militarizing and federalizing our police forces. Speakers will include Catherine Bleish - Executive Director of the Liberty Restoration Project, John Bush - Executive Director of the Texans for Accountable Government, Max Obuszewski - Baltimore Nonviolence Center (listed as a terrorist on a fusion center database), Harvey Eisenberg - Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center (Maryland's fusion center), US Attorney and coordinator of MD Anti-Terrorist Advisory Council. The event will be held March 11th, 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Pikesville Branch of the Baltimore County Public Libraries.


Pikesville Branch, Baltimore County Public Library
1301 Reisterstown Road
Baltimore, MD 21208
410.887.1234

My good friend Mallory is working for a non profit organization called Falling Whistles. Please read these beautiful words and help the Congolese children

http://www.fallingwhistles.com/splash/index.php




I want to share it with you.



A couple years ago a man named Sean Carasso was in Africa doing a shoe drop for TOMS shoes. When the mission was over, he and a couple buddies decided to explore Africa. They ended up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Here Sean stumbled along an illegal prison where he met five young boys. After talking with the boys. The boys were escaped child soldiers—whistleblowers.

Boys too small to hold a gun were given a whistle. Their sole objective was to blow the whistle to make enough noise to distract the enemy and absorb the first round of bullets with their bodies. In falling, they acted as a human shield for the other boys.



Through madness and tears, Sean wrote in his journal, “With falling whistles, their only choice is to feign death, or face it.” He sent out a blog entry with extreme urgency to his family and friends, who forwarded the story with the same urgency. Kids were dying. Read closely: children were dying. I can’t convey this properly, it’s something you kind of just have to think about I guess.

Returning to America, Sean didn’t have a fucking clue of what to do. All he knew were these kids were defenseless, women were being brutally, brutally raped, and that this was now the largest war in the world since WWII. And no one knew any of this.

Sean’s friend Marcus came to him with a whistle: a simple whistle, providing the unique opportunity to speak up for the whistleblowers in Congo. We now knew that their weapon could be our voice.

It has. We are working with 270 war-affected Congolese children in a Congolese founded, owned, and operated rehabilitation program.

That’s what we’re working for, slowly but surely. We are also educating ourselves. Here are some of the atrocities purposefully swept under the rug:

-Women are being raped. Not once, but multiple times. Many of the soldiers in the rebel groups, the extremists, the terrorists, ‘re-rape’ in order to prevent a woman from being able to reproduce, leading to the extinction of her lineage.

-Children are forced to the front lines with a whistle.

-Children are forced to the front lines with AK-47s.

-If they run, they are tortured. Brutally tortured.

-The ‘civilized world’ as we like to call ourselves, is the cause of the problem. The war exists largely due to ‘conflict minerals’ which are found in our electronics. Our -consumerism=their war.

-Children are cut open and injected with drugs to smuggle across borders.

I am at a loss for words. I just keep thinking. We said “Never Again” after the Holocaust. In the past 10 years, an documented 5.4 million Congolese have died, while countless other deaths go unreported. Many more will live, suffering from the affects of the war.



Never again?



I cannot justify the death of one child. I cannot defend those who turn a blind eye for their inaction. Frankly, I think it’s ridiculous.

What is the difference between a 5-year-old here and a Congolese 5-year-old? Is there not a common moral fiber running through the veins of every human being? My life is NOT more valuable. Neither is yours. These are humans dying. For me, this is not an Africa problem. It’s not an America problem. The blame game is over. It is childish and it is time for everyone to set aside their vendettas and look at the bigger picture.



If you can give me a reason about why these human-on-human atrocities are permissible, I welcome it.



For now, this is what we are up against. I would rather think you will not dismiss this letter, it has taken many drafts and many hours. I don’t like telling these stories. I don’t like telling them because they are not stories, they are truths. It’s so sick.

My request is simple. I want you to buy a whistle. It costs about $22 to feed one kid for the whole year in the program. To put one child through the rehabilitation for the year, it’s only $90. 100% of whistle sales goes to these programs in Congo.

Buying a whistle gives you the opportunity to share this story and use their weapon of war as a weapon of peace, and a tool to elevate common conversation. It shows your protest for whatever injustice you stand for.

Please buy a whistle and help me tell others what’s going on.

I love you, thank you.



Mallory

stumbled upon this...

"We have to get beyond the artificial division we've created between human community and the rest of the planet. There is only one community, and it lives and dies as a unit. Any harm done to the natural world diminishes the human world, because the human world depends on the natural world not only for it's physical supplies but for its psychic development and fulfillment. This is most important, because people talk about the need to destroy the natural world in order to advance in the human world. Well, anything that diminishes the wonder and fulfillment we receive from the natural world spoils the human enterprise."

"That is the tragedy of our children. They don't see the stars because of light pollution, they play on grass poisoned with pesticides, the experience the world as circumscribed by so much human made material. Our children have been taken away from any kind of normal human/earth relationship."

"Imagine a drink of water when you are thirsty. It is as a spiritual experience as it is a physical one. You see a river. You drink from it. The river takes care of you physically and spiritually. That is everything right there."

- Thomas Berry

SATURDAY MARCH 6TH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope that all of you want to be part of this!

Eastern Family Resource Center is a homeless shelter for mostly women and children located in Essex. On March 6th, we will be volunteering at this shelter for most of the day. Anyone who would like to be part of this has options! You can choose to cook
food, serve the food, play music with children, or make art with
children.

There will be anywhere from 120 - 170 hungry mouths to feed.
We need a lot of help with cooking and serving. I have been talking
with the Marketing Manager about getting healthy food into the bellies
of these people. No one should be deprived of healthy nutritious food.
If she can not manage, it would be wonderful if everyone spared $5. We
could then buy organic produce and much more for people who need it.

If you would like to make music or art with the children, please bring
your own supplies! Bring crayons, paper, paint, brushes, chalk,
guitars, drums, tambourines, shakers, bongos or anything you would like!!!

If you would like to make music and art come at 2pm!
If you would like to cook and or serve food come at 4:30pm!

If you have any more questions please ask me!
sadnessgardens@gmail.com

TELL YOUR FRIENDS!!!!

March 6th 2:00pm - 8:00pm
Eastern Family Resource Center
9100 Franklin Square Drive
Baltimore, MD 21237-3903
(410) 887-0400

SAVE THE ORANGUTANS IN SUMATRA!!!!!!

http://abcnews.go.com/video/video?id=9262226

While Sumatra's Bukit Tigapuluh rainforest is prized as one of the biologically richest habitats on Earth, it is also one of the most threatened.
Endangered orangutans in Sumatra are taught to survive in shrinking habitat.

Nestled deep inside what is the last remaining lowland forest on the Indonesian island of Sumatra are thousands of plants and animals. Until recently, the green foliage was a safe haven for these species, including the critically endangered orangutan.

In May 2009, the Indonesian government granted new logging concessions to one of the world's largest paper companies, Asia Pulp & Paper. As a result, a massive logging operation is underway and deforestation has devastated what was once a flourishing habitat.

"If you look at the island of Sumatra, as much as 70 percent of the forest has been lost," Annette Cotter of Greenpeace told ABC News.

Cotter, the non-governmental organization's forest campaign manager in Indonesia, is certain that the loss of forest is pushing the Sumatran orangutan to the verge of extinction.

"As you get further deforestation, you decrease the size of the habitat for your orangutan and they actually need a very large area to live in," Cotter said.

As a result, the number of orangutans is decreasing rapidly. "Fifty years ago, we must have had 100,000 orangutans in Sumatra, and now we are down to 6,000," Peter-Hinrich Pratje, the Frankfurt Zoological Society project leader in Indonesia, said.

Pratje's organization has found a way to fight back. The Frankfurt Zoological Society established an orangutan rehabilitation camp to try to save the red apes.

Sanctuaries for Orangutans

To get to this camp tucked in the middle of the jungle, ABC News' Bob Woodruff and his news team waded through knee-high mud and waist-deep, leech infested, river water.

At the sanctuary, the apes being held for rehabilitation were playful and gentle, although one managed to grab a handful of Woodruff's hair.

Their curiosity and intelligence can be a lot to handle, so they must be kept occupied at all times.

In between the playful interaction, Woodruff was able to teach the apes, with help from the trainers, a few of the core tactics they must learn to survive on their own in the rainforest.

Written by By CHRISTINE ROMO and STEPHANIE WASH

AYURVEDA!

Ayurveda is the oldest form of medicine(5,000 years old), but it is mainly a lifestyle. The word Ayur means life and the word Veda means knowledge. It is the science of life! These are both ancient Sanskrit words. Ayurveda began in India and had not been introduced to western medicine and culture until current times.

Ayurveda recognizes that all life, whether it be human, plant or animal, must live in harmony with nature in order to survive.

Body type, eating locally, seasonally, and organic, yoga, breathing exercises, and maintenance of the body are all incorporated into Ayurveda.

To learn more about Ayurveda please visit www.lifespa.com or www.ayurveda.com for more information.

Take control of your health and wellness!!!!!!

TALMAR GARDENS NEEDS HELP!

TALMAR is a nonprofit organization established to provide a therapeutic and recreational environment offering horticulture and other complementary modalities to the community.
TALMAR is located right in Loch Raven,MD, a beautiful, lush, green environment.

During the second blizzard of 2010 TALMAR has lost three cold frames that house greens for the Maryland Food Bank. TALMAR grows several vegetables and gives them away free of charge to the Maryland Food Bank and other businesses and individuals in need.

Cold frames are large semi-circle, transparent structures used for agriculture and gardening to protect plants from the cold weather. Cold frames allow farmers to extend their growing season in the winter. At this time they are not able to replace these cold frames due to the cost. They are looking for support from our community. They need to raise $4,347.00 for three new cold frames. To donate,

please visit TALMAR online at
http://www.networkforgood.org/Partner/NFG/SearchLanding.aspx,
view their website cause page at http://apps.facebook.com/causes/causes/445742/ or call 410-825-2020.
Thank you so much for your continued support!

Nepal's Maoists Start Discharging Child Soldiers!!!!!!

SINDHULI, Jan 12 (IRIN) - Looking angry and emotional, 20-year-old former Maoist child soldier Suman Karki shook hands with fellow comrades as he bade farewell to life in one of Nepal's Maoist army camps.

"I don't know what I will do now. My future seems uncertain," Karki told IRIN in the main Maoist army cantonment in Sindhuli, nearly 150km southeast of Kathmandu, after being discharged from the UN-monitored camp.

Marking a milestone in Nepal's shaky peace process, around 200 former Maoist child soldiers from the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the Maoists' military wing, were discharged on 7 January after spending the last three years in the camp.

They are the first of around 3,000 young disqualified Maoist ex-combatants, a third of whom are female, to be released by mid-February from seven Maoist cantonments across the country.

The Maoists reportedly recruited thousands of children during their decade-long conflict with the Nepalese state.

The conflict ended in 2006 when a ceasefire and peace process were ushered in.

The 3,000 young ex-combatants being released were minors - under the age of 18 - at the time of the ceasefire. Their discharge was agreed under a December 2009 plan signed by the government, the Maoists and the UN.

At present, around 500 of them are still under 18, while about a dozen are under 16, according to the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), which is facilitating their discharge.

Rehabilitation options

The release of the child soldiers was repeatedly put off due to political turbulence, with welfare groups and NGOs expressing concerns the delays would hamper the integration of the young people back into society.

The government, with UN support, is offering a number of rehabilitation options for the former child soldiers.

Four main rehabilitation packages which provide vocational training, sponsor school education, health education training and support small business initiatives have been developed by UN agencies, including the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).

"We don't expect these young people to necessarily sign up next week," Robert Piper, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Nepal, told IRIN.

"They will go home, spend some time thinking, looking at options and reconsider our rehabilitation packages, and we hope they… talk to counsellors and think through what is the best option for them," he said.

The released soldiers have up to 12 months to enroll in the rehabilitation programme, after which the application process will be closed.

Experts say the young ex-combatants are vulnerable to recruitment by paramiliatary or criminal groups, a development the UN is hoping to avoid by using a team of monitors to keep track of the former soldiers' return to civilian life.

"We won't be tailing them but of course we will be staying in touch with them," said Piper, who also urged the Maoists, who are in dispute with the government, to maintain a break in the chain of command.

Free, but uneasy

Despite the rehabilitation packages on offer, a number of ex-combatants IRIN spoke to expressed frustration at their options.

"I joined the Maoist army for the sake of liberating my country from repression but now I am suddenly not qualified any more to be in the army," fumed Karki, who was only 15 when he joined the PLA and has been on the battlefield.

Many soldiers have been humiliated by the discharge process and will never accept rehabilitation assistance, he said.

"I always wanted to get into politics to liberate our repressed people. I'm not interested in making candles or baskets," said another teenager and former combatant, Sunita.

However, UNICEF expressed confidence about the take-up of rehabilitation programmes, citing its experience since 2006 working with children formerly associated with armed forces and armed groups in Nepal.

With implementing partners, UNICEF has provided community-based reintegration support to some 7,500 formerly associated children.

"This has worked incredibly well. About 80 percent have gone back to school," UNICEF Nepal representative Gillian Mellsop told IRIN.

"We hope these young people who have been discharged will be able to use the existing system so that they can access vocational training, and they can consider going back to school," she said.

The agency already has a network of communities and trained psychosocial counsellors throughout the country involved in the rehabilitation of ex-Maoist child soldiers outside of the camps.

"We found a lot of these young people have actually done very well once they've gone back to school. They've caught up on their years they've missed during the conflict," said Mellsop.

Article from Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)