LIBRARY (EM)POWERED: Earth Month 2011 at Alden Library

The Alden Library Sustainability Group will host Library (Em)powered on Friday, April 15th, 2011 at Alden Library. Library staff and guests will host events throughout the day on (em)powering themes and DIY projects in support of the Ohio University Office of Sustainability’s Earth Month 2011 activities.

Beyond Origami: Repurposing Bookcovers into Beautiful, Useful Objects

10-11 AM    

Alden Library Rm. 319

Fine Arts Library staff will demonstrate how to make decorative and useful envelopes from beautiful art bookcovers

Window Farming: Indoor Vertical Gardening in a Window

10–4:30 (on display)  Alden Library 4^th fl.

View a window farm display with demonstration video of how a vertical garden can be created in any window from recycled plastic bottles  see related website

Dirt! The Movie

12:00-1:30 PM  &  3:00-4:30 PM (2 screenings)   

Alden Library Rm. 319

Soil is the “living skin of the Earth” – find out how humans can act to preserve this vital resource  see film website

DIY Bookbinding

1-2 PM   

Alden Library 4^th fl

Learn the Japanese stab-binding technique for making beautiful handmade notebooks from found materials

Green Computing Q&A

2-3 PM   

Alden Library 3^rd fl

Ask questions & learn about energy efficient computer use

 

Alden Library is also co-sponsoring a FREE screening of the film, Carbon Nation on Wednesday, April 13 from 7-9 PM at the Athena Cinema, 20 Court St. (co-sponsored with ArtsforOhio and the OU Office of Sustainability)

Food & Community: Come to Eat, Come to Listen, Come to Share!

Alden Library's last Earth Month 2010 event will be BIG so don't miss it!  Ronda Clark, executive director of Community Food Initiatives will join us to talk about CFI's work with food security in Appalachia including:

• gardening programs
• workshops
• seed saving & composting
• food donations

Our session will be accompanied by fresh local refreshments, so come join us around the table!

Wednesday April 28th   
12-1 pm
Alden Library 319  

Image:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinkrejci/ / CC BY 2.0

Heart & Soil Film Screening Next Wednesday w/ Guest Art Trese

The film Heart & Soil, a documentary on sustainable agriculture, will be shown at Alden Library's next Earth Month event.  Please join us!
Wed. April 21
12 - 1 pm
Alden Library Rm 319

We are also very much looking forward to our guest for the session, Prof of Plant Biology Art Trese, who will lead a discussion about his work with community gardening & sustainable agriculture. Here's a video of Prof Trese and OU students at work in the gardens:

Worm Circus Roundup

A big Thank You to all who made our worm composting workshop on Wednesday a great success -- Thanks to all who helped with the planning, the publicity and the setting up. And Thanks to Will Dewees, our worm expert extraordinaire. Most of all, Thank You to all who attended -- we had our largest audience yet with nearly 40 people!

Will showed the audience that worms need the following to stay healthy and transform food waste into compost:

air  ~~  moisture (but not too much!)  ~~  darkness  ~~  food scraps (no protein)

Read more about the worm composting tips Will presented in today's Post article

Will at the Athens Farmer's Market


Worm composting book recommended by Will:

Appelhof, M. (1982). Worms eat my garbage (1st ed.). Kalamazoo, Mich., USA: Flower Press.

Photos by Sherry DiBari

Worms & Dirt Workshop (Getting Your Hands Dirty Optional)

Worms & Dirt: Managing Food Waste in a Very Small Space
Wed. April 14
12-1 pm
Alden Library 4th fl patio

Learn about producing food & managing food waste in a very small space. Guest Will DeWees (whom many of you may know from his worms & daffodil sales at the Athens Farmers Market) will demonstrate how easy it is to construct a small-scale worm composting box, and if time permits we will also learn a little bit about gardening in small containers that you can place anywhere there is sun.  We will also have a "worm-knowledge" contest and some free giveaways (taking worms home is optional!)

Follow up to Grain Food Workshop

Thanks to everyone who attended our first Earth Month event, "Grain Food: Building a Regional Staple Food System," and a special Thank You to our guest, Michelle Ajamian, for leading a really interesting discussion about growing staple food crops such as amaranth & black beans locally.

Here are some links we found later about work of the Appalachian Staple Foods Collaborative:

• Michelle & Brandon were recently featured in Utne Reader complete w/video interview
• Keep current with the activities of the Appalachian Staple Foods Collaborative on Facebook, including lots of photos
• Recent Athens Messenger story
• ASFC blog that includes info about the Shagbark Seed & Mill Co.  

Also, here is the website address for OEFFA (Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association)

Photo by flora.cyclam on Flickr

Short Films on Food

As promised, here are links to the free online short films we showed on food  -- check out these sources for many more short films on environmental topics:

Media that Matters Film Festival
Good Food: A Collection of Short Films on Food & Sustainability
featuring
"The Meatrix"
Louis Fox / Sustainable Table, Free Range Graphics

Prelinger Archives -- historic ephemeral films produced from 1927-1987. Many topics are represented, but here are some on food:
Miracles in Agriculture (12:49) / Seed for Tomorrow (19:55) / It Takes Everybody to Build This Land (20:00)

Live Earth Film Festival
Award-winning filmmakers were commissioned to create awareness-raising short films.

First Alden Library Earth Month Event This Week!

Please join us on Wednesday to hear about a very interesting local sustainable food project -- growing grains in Athens -- yes, right here in Ohio!  We will also be showing some classic food film shorts to get the discussion going.  Open to all Athens students, faculty, staff & community.  Refreshments provided.

Building a Regional Staple Food System
Michelle Ajamian & Brandon Jaeger
Appalachian Staple Foods Collaborative 
Wed Apr 7
12:00 - 1:00 pm
Alden Library Rm 319 (Friends Rm)

See FRESH tonight at Baker Center!

The new documentary film FRESH will be shown tonight at Baker Center Theater at 7pm. This is a late addition to the Office of Sustainability's Earth Month Calendar so spread the word!

Celebrate Earth Month at Alden Library

Ohio University Libraries will continue its Sustainability Film/Workshop Series by sponsoring four events in conjunction with the OU Office of Sustainability's Earth Month 2010 activities.  

We have planned a great lineup of workshops, films and speakers on food-related issues each Wednesday in April from 12-1pm at Alden Library. Come join us!

Wed April 7 --   Grain Food: we will kick off our Earth Month series with some film shorts about food, and speakers Michelle Ajamian & Brandon Jaeger of the Appalachian Staple Foods Collaborative will share about their experiences with growing staple grains in Athens.

Wed April 14 -- Worms & Dirt : learn about producing food and managing food waste in a very small space! Guest Will Dewees will demonstrate how easy it is to construct a worm composting box. Participants  will also learn about growing a garden in a container. There will be free giveaways & prizes!

Wed April 21 -- Heart & Soil: a short documentary film about community gardening with a post-film discussion led by Art Trese, Associate Professor, OU Department of Environmental and Plant Biology.

Wed April 28 -- Food & Community: guests from Community Food Initiatives will talk about CFI's programs & ways the community can become involved. With refreshments from local sources.

For questions or information, contact:

Alden Library Sustainability Group

  

This series is part of Earth Month 2010: Roots of Sustainability, sponsored by the OU Office of Sustainability  http://www.ohio.edu/sustainability/EarthMonth2010.htm