Online Meeting: Saturday 6th August 2025, 10:30am online bit.ly/climate-network.
Fully online meeting at https://bit.ly/climate-network. It will be chilly on Saturday morning, so to avoid any last minute meeting changes lets have it online!
Notes:
- Community Check-ins
- @syd has been absorbing so much content in books, podcasts, and conversations about relational care. She has been thinking lots about ideas of anarchy, boundaries, and resilient community building. She is interested in talking about these ideas with people as a mechanism to tend to relationships via thinking together. She is extending an invitation to friends (you included!) to listen to a podcast (one you suggest, or one Syd suggests) and then go on a friend date with snacks to discuss it, let Syd know if this sounds interesting to you!
- Podcast: Love In A F*cked Up World - Dean Spade - “It’s based on the idea that our resistance movements are made of our relationships and are only as strong as they are. Things are so hard right now and we have to stick together and cultivate radical solidarity, care, and courage. Love in a Fcked Up World offers tools that can help us align our everyday actions with our liberation values.”
- Book: Loving Corrections - adrienne maree brown
- Joel has had a chaotic couple of months, he is excited to be here. The UMN strike might impact Joel very heavily, the container farming project is coming up, working on precision agriculture and gets to buy a new drone. He is thinking about transition and what he wants to do before winter hits.
- Talitha (she/her) is the new Sustainability Coordinator for the city, she is happy to be here also! Her brain has been very full of clean energy projects and excitement. She is also thinking about the Plastic People screening, “there are microplastics on my brain, and there are microplastics in your brain too.”
- Vern is adjusting to the cold weather but is excited to continue his walking before it gets cold. Vern is doing tai chi and spending time thinking about how much mis/dis-information is on facebook and online in general. There is conversation going on between Vern and son about the genocide in Gaza. Vern is curious about meeting with a programmer to discuss a project about teaching children to read.
- @Susan_Gilbert (she/they) gave her the title of WCMNCN doomscroller. She is a big podcast listener (Best Pic Pod or Letter From an American). Sue likes to use these joys to disconnect and also connect with the world. They have always been interested in the American History as someone from another country.
- @Nic_McPhee (he/him) is starting phased retirement and is not teaching this fall. He has been doing lots of hiking, he suggested Vern talk to KK Lamberty at UMN about the reading/programming project. Nic has enjoyed a couple of videos recently. Apparently there are a couple problems with E-Bikes recently, and specifically their power. The more power (and speed) e-bikes have, the more dangerous they become. Another video he saw shared about balcony solar panels, and how in Berlin folks have panels that hang on their balcony and plug it into their apartment. He was interested in the fact that the electrical system was set up this way, and that individuals can have control over their power.
- @cberthiaume (they/them) there is always so much to think about and so little time to think. Working 40 hours is a modifier of awfulness on top of all the other awful things that are happening. How do they find a balance between being aware, safe, educated, and with capacity to support resilience? “I like petting the neighbors cat even though I don’t like that the neighbors cat is outside.” I am trying to find balance in this world.
- Hunter (he/him) has had a lot of head empty time, which can be good and bad. He is coming up on his one month left in his current job, but is struggling to find things. He might end up moving back to Kansas, he might move to SD.
- Anna (she/her) is trying to find presence and balance. She is reading more. She was excited about the Monarch tagging event that happened at the USFWS on Labor Day. She is amazed by the birds and the bugs and how they find their way. She reminded us to wish the Monarchs good luck on their journey!
- Barbara shared about their CHAOTIC cat. She shared about how in the 90s she would complain with guilt about going to conferences, she thought it was a horrible idea to spend all that time, money, and fuel to do that. She recently spent two very long days at a hybrid/mixed-platform conference, which she did not love. It felt disappointing to be the “loser” in the situation and miss out on things because of how she chose to participate. She was also thinking about how dependent she is on electricity and her experience in the HFA basement during the power outage.
- Nuzhat just moved to Morris a week ago! She has been in the Twin Cities the past few years studying energy policy. She is now working with Troy on the battery project. She has never lived in a non-urban place in her life, so the process of getting here has been a bit intimidating. Nuzhat is from Bangladesh, has worked with the UN on Climate Change, and found herself desiring to have perspective from other places on climate change.
- Upcoming Events (add your own!)
- Determine Next Meeting/Other Fall Plans
- Re-schedule SWELL Picnic!
- WCMNCN Movie Event this winter!
- Container Farming Project
- Joel shared about the 8’x40’ container that has fairly solid insulation, vertical racks for hydroponics, and hanging lighting. This system is set up mostly for leafy greens.These systems need adequate ventilation/heating/cooling, and the project is looking at how we adapt solar to cover the energy load. It also looks at how to generate off season money for farmers.
- Nic asked if there would be interest in doing photography during the process of the project. Syd will connect him to Eric Buchanan.
