EXPLORE THE ALTERNATIVES
Those who missed Anna Lappé’s recent
appearance in Springfield have another opportunity to hear the author of
the best-selling Hope’s Edge: The Next
Diet for a Small Planet at an upcoming
conference in Godfrey.
The Sierra Club, Illinois Stewardship Alliance, and
La Vista Community Supported Garden are hosting a “sustainability
conference” titled “Health: Your Earth, Your Life,”
beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 4, on the campus of Lewis and Clark
Community College. Conference speakers examine recent destructive patterns
in food production and consumption and outline healthier alternatives. The
Nature Institute and the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission also will
host two workshops on land preservation and the role of agriculture.
Lappé, the keynote speaker, will discuss
visionaries and ordinary citizens whose work provides examples of
successful agricultural practices.
For additional information, visit
www.illinois.sierraclub.org/piasapalisades. To register for the conference,
call 618-462-6802.
FOR THE BIRDS
The Nature Conservancy invites the public to
celebrate International Migratory Bird Day at its Emiquon Preserve on
Saturday, May 14.
Scheduled activities include an early-morning birding
hike (7 a.m.), woodland-diversity hikes (10 a.m. and 5 p.m.), and a sunset
hike (8 p.m.). The hikes originate at the Nature Conservancy office, 11304
N. Prairie Rd. in Lewistown. Visitors will be able to learn about bird
migration, the region’s history, and restoration plans for the
preserve at an open house at the center (7 a.m.-noon).
Emiquon is a major wetlands-restoration project in
central Illinois. For more information, call 309-547-2730.
“66 ON 66” UPDATE
By Mother’s Day, day 11 of his journey, Doug
Waterman made to Albuquerque, N.M., in time to see his mother. The
66-year-old retired California teacher, who is riding his bike along the
length of the old Route 66 in part to raise money for Habitat for Humanity,
is providing regular updates to his friends and family, including son Ryan,
a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Jeanne Scott in Springfield. He has
more than 1,300 miles left on his quest to reach Chicago by June.
This article appears in May 12-18, 2005.
