HYBRID MEETING!
If you would like to meet in person, join us in Syd’s yard (11 Elm Street Morris, MN) at 10:30AM on August 3rd. Syd will have drinks and chairs, but you are always welcome to bring your own of either.
If you would prefer to meet online, we will have a laptop and a solid internet connection as well! Join Online Meeting: bit.ly/climate-network
AFTER the meeting we will be taking a field trip to the Morris Community Garden. If the garden VISTA coordinator, Emilee, and current garden worker interns are available, we will invite them to share with us about the garden!
MN Climate Adaptation Partnership folks will be attending this meeting as well. They are creating a short video about different climate leadership efforts across MN to help launch a climate leadership program they will be running online. Our group will absolutely be able to participate in this program if we wish! If you have questions about the MCAP team being here, reach out!
Agenda:
- Community Check In
- Announcements
- Climate Catalyst Kickoff (August 15th) - https://wcif.org/event/climate-catalysts/
- Sub-Committee Sharing
- Morris Model Newsletter
- Newsletter 2 draft sharing
- Resilient Lawns
- Food Systems
- Community garden discussion & field trip
- Morris Model Newsletter
- Determine Next Meetings
- COMMUNITY GARDEN FIELD TRIP!
Notes:
Community Check In
- Syd - @syd just finished reading Total Garbage by Ed Humes. She found it interesting and motivating to learn about the different types of wastefulness embedded into our culture. She lent the book to Dan to read next!
- Nic - @Nic_McPhee is slowly making his way through The Swamp by Michael Grunwald. He is enjoying the ways it asks the questions “Why are we conserving land? Is it for use? Is it for money? Is it for intrinsic value?”
- Louie - @lovelouie is reading a book called The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton. They appreciate the ways it uses science fiction and magic to showcase the ways working people (electrical linemen) are living in the future climate crisis-ed Florida.
- Dan is reading The Spell of the Sensuous by David Abram. He shared about how the author describes the importance and necessity of place in storytelling pre-written language. He described how the author attributes some of the perspective change in our current society regarding the importance of place to when people started documenting via books and writing. We felt this was a full circle moment from talking about the various books we are reading and coming back to centering ourselves in this place and time.
- Mary - @mgm was excited because this morning she saw a hummingbird at her milkweed! She is excited to learn more about native plants that are good for birds through the resources Syd shared from our friend @mornsky at Morning Sky Greenery.
- Susan - @Susan_Gilbert is excited about the Kalliroe Orchard CSA (info below)! They are excited to get apples this fall to turn into cider!
- Wenkai - @wenkaiguan is continuously thinking about how data centers are growing to be larger and larger consumers of energy. He shared how Microsoft recently announced that data storage is using the most energy in their data centers. Syd commented that this might be one of the reasons that the UMN is deciding to close alumni accounts, because Google might be charging them a lot of money to store all of this data because of its cost to the company.
- Vern - @Vern is reading a book called The Nordic Theory of Everything by Anu Partanen. He appreciates and feels hopeful about the multi-cultural approach from Fins and Swedes of how to live a good life as a juxtaposition to Project 2025.
- Matthew shared about his appreciation for things that are currently and still growing. He has been picking raspberries, harvesting potatoes, and preparing his projects for the fair. He views entering things into the fair as a celebration of this summer and what he has achieved.
- Martin was our visitor from the Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership here to make a video about Syd and the climate efforts she is involved in. He shared about his history living across the country and being a video storyteller for over 10 years. He is excited to have just started his position within MCAP engaging more deeply in communities within the state doing environmental work. He is currently reading Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, a book about storytelling and writing. He listened to it via audiobook on his travels to Morris and plans to listen more on his way home.
- PZ was brave enough to mention that UMM classes start in about three weeks (no! said the crowd! hush!). He spoke it anyway! He also mentioned that he has been thinking about the rapid decline in insects and spiders. He put up a sheet in his yard recently to collect data on how many buggy creatures were around, and the results were deeper than disapointing. Nic then shared a picture of a spider with PZ and spider stories followed.
Announcements
- Climate Catalyst Kickoff (August 15th) - https://wcif.org/event/climate-catalysts/ - Folks who are interested in hearing REGIONALLY what communities are thinking about and doing for climate action should absolutely attend. Syd joked that they seem to be kind of copying us
by spending time connecting people to others, resources, and projects to promote and support the good work going on in our region.
- Springboard for the Arts is putting out a call to West Central MN artists who are interested in creating “Mobile Artist Tools” surrounding the topics of environmental stewardship and sustainability. You can read the full RFQ here: RFQ for Mobile Artist Tools in West Central Minnesota! Due September 16, 2024
- Recently the Morris Model was featured in a Wall Street Journal article by Ed Humes. You should absolutely check it out and share it with your friends!
- Recycling will happen differently at the Stevens County Fair this year, there will be a recycling station by Gate 3 near the Dairy Barn and folks are encouraged to share this with their neighbors and utilize it appropriately so we can increase recycling rates at the fair! Waste at the Fair.pdf (3.0 MB)
Sub-Committee Sharing
- Morris Model Newsletter
- We have a few draft stories for the Issue 2 of the Morris Model Newsletter. We have story ideas about the Morris Model winning the Energizing Rural Communities prize, the electric car chargers installed by Ottertail Power Company, and the Farm to Energy conference held at WCROC this summer. Sue offered to write a story about Syd winning the MCAP award as well. Once these stories are written and submitted Syd will put them into the newsletter and we can get them printed and shared!
- Food Systems
- Syd shared what she learned from Annabelle S, the previous VISTA garden coordinator, and Emilee D, the current VISTA garden coordinator, about the new Morris Community Garden. Then the crew took a trip over to visit! Miriam - @MiriamG currently serves as the faculty coordinator for the space.
- The Morris Community Garden is a result of Ed Brands’ Community Food Assesment research project. Some of the findings from the survey included the desire and need for local, healthy foods that community members could access: a garden!
- The 60 ft by 40 ft garden is located behind the Horizon Public Health building off of HWY 28, between Max’s Landscaping and the Stevens County Soil Water Conservation District Office. Student workers through the Center for Small Towns on the UMN Morris campus have planted and tended to various types of tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, tomatillos, potatoes, onions, melons, herbs, and cover crops (sedan grass, cowpea) this year. The produce is available at anytime for anyone in the community to harvest and use!
- The types of plants chosen to be grown this year were also done through surveys via the Latina Women’s Support Group and the Morris Community Meals. The garden model is based on autonomy and privacy so that anyone can harvest and be in the space as they feel comfortable. All produce not harvested by community will be distributed via the Stevens County Food Shelf.
- There is currently funding through SHIP/Horizon Public Health, and other grant opportunities to fund student workers, VISTA interns, tools, and a shed at the garden. They have plans to install a Little Free Library, and hope that the garden becomes a “park” of sorts, somewhere that the community wants to be at, host events in, and spend time with the crops and each other.
Determine Next Meetings
- Our next meeting will be on Saturday, September 7th at 10:30AM. We will once again partake in the hybrid method where folks are welcome to join us in Syd’s yard at 11 Elm St. or online at bit.ly/climate-network
Kalliroe Orchard CSA Information
Like last year we have two options for organic apple shares. We offer half and full shares. A full share of Kalliroe Apples includes 3 deliveries of 20 lbs of seasonal varieties of organic apples. Each delivery consists of 10 lbs of first quality table apples and 10 lbs of second quality apples. A full share of Kalliroe Apple shares cost $110.A half share of Kalliroe Apples includes 3 deliveries of 10 lbs of seasonal varieties of organic apples. Each delivery consists of 5 lbs of first quality table apples and 5 lbs of second quality apples. A half share of Kalliroe Apples costs $65.
In addition, all share members are invited to our apple cider pressing events where we clear our coolers in anticipation of the next round of apples. The events are free as is the cider that we press as a community.
The first apple share delivery will likely be the first week of September. We plan to deliver to Montevideo, Marshall, Morris and Madison.
To ensure your apple share, send us an email at kalliroe.farm@gmail.com and let us know which pick up site you want. Please send your checks to our mailing address: Kalliroe Orchard 3825 220th Street, Montevideo, MN 56265. Or use our Venmo account:
Thanks,
Paul and Amy
Kalliroe Orchard
