I’m looking out on a blustery March day, waiting for words to flow. I watch the supple cedar branches bowing to the north wind. Held by the earth, firmly rooted oak and hemlock sway and bend as the wind’s invisible breath animates the whole forest in dance. The scene is alive with light and shadow. The winged and four-footed lend their movement and song. And in all this activity, peace is present.

This little patch of earth, now given back to herself, is restoring a natural order, uninterrupted by human intervention. Two decades ago, this land was a forgotten and forlorn site, laid waste and abandoned by former inhabitants. (Click here to read the full blog)

A Little Good News

As Anne Murray sang, "We sure could use a little good news today." Here are good news stories from our region and around the world, evidence of the Great Turning described by Joanna Macy.  They show us that progress—on environmental and sustainability goals as well as social and environmental justice—is possible and is happening now.

"Climate facts are back on EPA's website where they should be," said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. "Considering the urgency of this crisis, it's critical that Americans have access to information and resources so that we can all play a role in protecting our environment, our health, and vulnerable communities. Trustworthy, science-based information is at the foundation of strong, achievable solutions." 

Solar panels in Wayne County are helping families in Rochester stay warm.

Cayuga SHARE Farm Fundraiser surpasses goal, preserving local agriculture and native traditions. In early February of this year, Neighbors Of the Onondaga Nation (NOON) announced an urgent online fundraiser to save the Cayuga SHARE (Strengthening Haudenosaunee-American Relations through Education) Farm, in the interest of the traditional people of Cayuga -- Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ- People of the Pipe -- a sovereign nation of the Haudenosaunee confederacy. With the help of GroundSwell, the group fully surpassed that goal, and is now able to begin to fund equally urgent needs of traditional families of the Cayuga nation, and to continue Cayuga SHARE's important work as a place for education, healing, and Haudenosaunee culture. In the words of Cayuga Chief William Jacobs, “this is a wonderful thing for our people. It gives us a base and a place to call home where we can reestablish ourselves as Cayuga people”.

New app lets Erie County residents know what can and cannot be recycled.

Inclusive Woods and Us, founded in February, 2019 by Lucienne Nicholson, has as its mission is "to amplify the call of nature that lives within each of us by sharing stories, providing programming, organizing expeditions, and supporting outdoors education for underserved communities, particularly young people living in high poverty areas in the city of Rochester." The program envisions "a world where nature’s lessons, beauty, nourishment, love, and strength are accessible to ALL people."

Electric Cars Powered by Tidal Energy Are Driving Scotland Toward Net Zero Emissions.

Transforming urban energy through national and city government collaboration: A new paper, in partnership with Energy Unlocked, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), outlines the critical need to incorporate local governments in national efforts to decarbonise the power sector, underlining the collaboration that is essential for the success of both national and local policies.

Three Cities Switching To Life-Affirming Economies: “Doughnut economics” invites nature and social well-being into urban planning.

Nigeria's Women Are a Powerful Collective. How Are They Changing History? Feminist Coalition’s Laila Johnson-Salami on how women in Nigeria will keep fighting.

• Black Lives Matter: A Peaceful, Silent, Witness. Saturdays, 12:00-1:00 PM
• Get the Scoop on Solar. April 7, 2021 at 7:00 PM
• 540WMain-City Roots Community Land Trust Gentrification Conference 2021 Resisting Gentrification: Then & Now. April 9-10, 2021
• Redlined Neighborhoods & the Environment. April 22, 2021 6:00 - 8:00 PM 
• Climate of Change: 22 Days of Learning and Action for everyone in the Greater Rochester community. April 1-April 22, 2021

Visit our Community Calendar to see all upcoming events.

As the Union was beginning to crumble, Abraham Lincoln ended his first inaugural speech with these words:  “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”

We all know and feel how deeply divided our society is. The causes of this “cold civil war” are many, and the answers are few. Enter Braver Angels (formerly “Better Angels”), an organization of citizens on both sides of the political divide who are devoted to “building a house united” by “moving Americans from hatred or disdain to respect and appreciation.” Beginning with their first workshop, which brought together a diverse group of Ohioans in 2017, the process adapted tools used for healing conflicted relationships and families.  Braver Angels has quickly grown into a national movement. A new chapter for the Finger Lakes Region is being started by Pachamama Alliance of the Rochester Area. 

The April 11th Seeds of Hope gathering will feature the 50-minute documentary Braver Angels: Reuniting America, which brings you right into that first workshop. See with your own eyes and feel with your own heart antagonism opening into understanding, and mistrust being replaced by genuine friendships. After the film, small breakout groups will discuss and distill the lessons and ideas of the film and, it is hoped, apply them to both in-person and virtual relationships and conversations.  

Please arrive before 1:30 pm, as “the doors” will close at 1:35 to protect the integrity of the process. Also, please plan to stay until 3:15 so you can join others in culling take-aways from the film. You are encouraged to print or have handy the questions for your breakout group (they will also be posted in the Zoom chat function).

The event is free, but you will need to register here. You will automatically receive a confirmation and the Zoom link from Pachamama Alliance of the Rochester Area, and a reminder notice will be sent the day before the event.

Project Drawdown has just released Climate Solutions 101, a free online course exploring the last 50 years of change and putting earth's current climate inflection point in context. The six-part video series explains emissions sources and sinks and the critical importance of centering human equality in the race to shift climate solutions to global action. Take a look:

• Unit 1: Setting the Stage
• Unit 2: Stopping Climate Change
• Unit 3: Reducing Sources
• Unit 4: Supporting Sinks and Improving Society
• Unit 5: Putting It All Together
• Unit 6: Making It Happen

The global Pachamama Alliance community recently honored the equinox in a conversation with Arkan Lushwala, Peruvian ceremonialist and healer. Arkan spoke about the equinox as a gift that brings balance to our lives and the importance of interrupting our daily routines to be able to receive gifts from the universe. "What good is a gift if we don’t open it? We have to pay attention. We have to see what’s inside," he shared. The event was part of Resilience and Possibility in These Times, a series of online offerings to support the community in staying connected to one another, to a vision for the future, and to the spirit of life in these challenging times.

Pachamama Alliance's Awakening the Dreamer is a transformative educational program that can be experienced as an in-person symposium, and as an online course. The program explores the challenges facing humanity at this critical moment in time and the opportunities we as a human family have to create a new future. We recommend it highly to anyone who wants to understand the situation at a deeper level - here's a short trailer.

To change the game, what’s needed is for a critical mass of citizens to step up, individually and collectively. The Game Changer Intensive is a powerful 8-week training program that reveals who we need to be and what we need to do in order to make a difference in the world. The next Intensive begins June 1, 2021 and the last day to enroll is May 30, 2021.