•  Sustainable Stockton Gathering.  We will begin the new year with a new meeting venue.  Rather than the typical formal, sit-down, meetings, we will be including informal social "gatherings" in the schedule.  A time to meet your neighbors, welcome new neighbors and create community.  Our first gathering will be held at:  Clancy's Stone Lion, Thursday, January 7, 2010, 6 p.m.   Please join us for this social, and dine with us if you so chose.
  
  

• New Discussion Group: Voluntary Simplicity
  Join this organizational meeting to begin a discussion group using Voluntary Simplicity, a book of selected readings published by the Northwest Earth Institute. This seven-session series will focus on the concept of "living more with less" and will include readings from work by Wendell Berry, Joe Dominquez and Vicki Robbins (Your Money or Your Life) and many others. Readings will explore ideas such as "precycling" and "living lightly" from diverse perspectives. If you'd like to participate and can't be at the organizational meeting or if you have other questions please call Lynn Markham (346-3879) or Mary Maller (592-4051). The book discussions are co-sponsored by Central Rivers Farmshed and Sustainable Stockton. Copies of the book will be available on loan or participants will be able to purchase a copy for their own use.  January 6, 6:30 pm - Downtown Portage County Library, Prairie Room
  
  
• Winter Film Series.  You’re invited to attend the next FREE movie in our green-themed, winter film series:  Food Inc.  This  documentary will be shown on Thursday, January 14, 2010, at 7:00 pm at the Midwest Renewable Energy Association at 7558 Deer Road in Custer.  This film reveals surprising - and often shocking truths - about what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.  Free popcorn available.  Bring your own beverage.  Questions:  call 592-4051.  
  
  Save the date for these future FREE movie showings in our series:

o    February 11, 2010  Fresh celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people who are reinventing our food system in a healthier, more environmentally friendly direction.
o    March 11, 2010  Mad City Chickens  is a sometimes serious, sometimes whimsical documentary about raising chickens in your backyard. 

• Garden Vision 2010 with a Focus on Green Lawns.  January 22-23, 2010
  Friday night will feature the movie A Chemical Reaction at 6:30 pm. This will be a premier film screening for the Midwest, telling the story of one of the most powerful and effective community initiatives in the history of North America. It started with one lone voice in 1984. Dr. June Irwin, a dermatologist, noticed a connection between her patients’ health conditions and their exposure to chemical pesticides and herbicides. With relentless persistence she brought her concerns to town meetings to warn her fellow citizens that the chemicals they were putting on their lawns posed severe health risks and had unknown side effects on the environment. Dr. Irwin’s persuasive arguments and data to back her findings eventually led the town of Hudson to enact a by-law that banned the use of all chemical pesticides and herbicides. The most mighty chemical companies in North America put their full legal weight on the tiny town and eventually the case made it to the Supreme Court. See more about the film at www.pfzmedia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=53.  Pre-registration is requested. This featured film will be $4.00.
  
  Other presentations on Friday and Saturday at Garden Visions 2010 include:

• Paul Tukey, author of The Organic Lawn Care Manual, will present Safe Lawns: How To Create Beautiful Landscapes Naturally
• Kat Becker & Tony Schultz: Organic Gardening 101 & Vegetable Gardens Northern Style: Season Extension & Variety Selection
• Arlen Albrecht: Square Foot Gardening
• Sam Thayer: Weeds as Volunteer Vegetables
• Kate Heiber-Cobb: Introduction to Permaculture Design
• Dave Zlesak: Plant Propagation
• Mike Veihl: Building Grow Lights
• Learn more and register for the conference at gardenvisions.org/
  
  

• Sustainable Stockton Secretary Position Open.  If anyone out there is a detail-oriented person with good communication skills and a little extra time, please consider volunteering to become our next Sustainable Stockton Secretary.  For more information about the position, contact Sue Anderson at 592-4423.