Food and neighborhood DIY (do-it-yourself) projects go hand in hand for Lisa Bralts, who lives in an east Urbana neighborhood with her family and is surrounded by great neighbors and several gardens, including her own. She’s amazed at the possibilities and practices that exist just underneath the surface here in Central Illinois – you just have to poke around a little. Her blog is at majorprogression.wordpress.com.

Get the full poster (PNG graphic)

The Prairie Sugar Collective exists to: bring all people together through the fruits of their labor; provide members and the community with the experience of producing maple syrup; educate people about the sugaring process and transfer skills between members; provide resources for people interested in all things related to sugaring; and share the flavor of genuine maple syrup.

Olympian Drive is important: it’s how the local powers see the future.  At last week’s meeting, at which the Champaign City Council put its imprimatur on the project, City Manager Steve Carter was quoted as saying “this road is probably the most important economic development project in the county that we’ll see in the next 25 years.“

Tarr brings up the ideology of progress that posits farmland as a devalued form of land use – a belief system that leads to planners stating that it’s “just farmland.” He also points out the fact that Urbana’s Common Ground Co-Op has a surprisingly low percentage of local food – surprising given the abundance of fertile soil and water here. Something fairly limited in Southern California, where most of the nation’s organic produce originates.

While Tarr and others seem to conclude that the plan is pretty much a sure-thing, if you’re at all interested in stopping such outdated and shortsighted planning policies, see the list of resources on the Prairie Fruits Farm website.

Block By Blockers worked with other community members to produce “Respect Native Hosts” yard signs, in response to attacks on the public art exhibit “Beyond the Chief” by Edger Heap of Birds. See full press release below.

Respect Native Hosts, a grassroots campaign in support of Native American artist’s public art installation

Student groups, local activists, and concerned citizens join today, Thursday, June 25, 2009, with the Native American House (1206 W. Nevada Street) and the American Indian Studies program (1204 W. Nevada St.) on the University of Illinois campus to confront racism with a creative and heartfelt response. The response takes the form of declarative yard signs that read: “Respect Native Hosts: Peoria, Kaskaskia, Wea, Piankesaw,” explicitly showing support for “Beyond the Chief,” a public art exhibit of twelve signs by the internationally exhibited Cheyenne-Arapaho artist, HOCK E AYE VI Edgar Heap of Birds. The “Respect Native Hosts” solidarity yard signs will be available for free at the Native American House until they are gone. Drop by the yard of Native American House (1206 W. Nevada Street) between 10AM and 11AM and pick up yours today!

“Beyond the Chief” was installed along West Nevada Street in Urbana in February 2009 and asks viewers to reflect on political and social histories of central Illinois, especially those related to indigenous peoples. Since their installation, there have been six separate incidents of vandalism followed by the theft of two of the signs, the latter resulting in the June 18 arrest of a recent University of Illinois graduate. Despite these egregious instances of violence directed toward the artwork, there has been little official response from University administrators.

With “Beyond the Chief,” Heap of Birds adapts his text-based artwork, at least in part, to respond directly to the local campus community and the ongoing conflict surrounding the use of the sports mascot “chief Illiniwek” that promoted University of Illinois intercollegiate athletics for 81 years. Though the “chief” was retired as an official mascot in 2007, music and graphics still appear at Illinois sporting events in an unofficial capacity. On each of the twelve “Beyond the Chief” signs, “Fighting Illini” is printed backwards above the words “Today Your Host Is…” followed by the name of an indigenous group such as the Peoria, Kaskaskia, or the Wea, to inspire reflection on those American Indian communities that formerly lived in this region and the complex histories of this landscape.

“One thing I have thought about the ‘Beyond the Chief’exhibit is that it marks in specific ways previously unmarked and unnamed removals, ” said Robert Warrior, Professor and Director of the Native American House and American Indian Studies, and curator of “Beyond the Chief.” “Perhaps the local signs can do the same sort of naming, remembering and respecting the Peoria, Piankesaw, Wea, and Kaskaskia specifically.” Responding to the continued defacement of the artwork, a group of Champaign-Urbana citizens came together to design a reproducible sign to extend the original message of the Heap of Birds artwork to the community at large.

The design for the “Respect Native Hosts” yard signs was created with the input of Warrior and the artist, Edgar Heap of Birds, who expressed appreciation for all efforts to counter negativity towards the exhibit. It is hoped that the yard signs will open up private spaces for public discussion, and quickly show that homes all over Champaign-Urbana are working to build a community based on inclusivity and justice.

If you cannot make it and would like to obtain a sign to promote an anti-racist message in your own yard please contact Sharon Irish, via email: shrnirish(at)yahoo(dot)com  If you would like to donate to the “Respect Native Hosts” project contact Sharon Irish as well. If we receive enough funds, we will print another run of the signs.

“This change makes it easier to plant flowers and vegetables in the
strip between the sidewalk and the street. For many gardeners, that’s
prime space,” said Nickels. “It’s one of the things that makes
Seattle special, and, with planting season upon us, it’s time to get
those green thumbs going.”

Marty Wingate, Seattle Post Globe’s gardening writer, reported a couple of weeks ago on the sky-high fees for planting peas in the strip between street and sidewalk.

Under the new rules, gardeners no longer will be required to purchase a $225 permit.

The new rules are posted here on the city’s website.

To ensure public safety and protect city infrastructure, there are also guidelines for making planting strip improvements.

The idea of eliminating fees for parking-strip gardens came up during City Council budget discussions last fall. Council President Richard Conlin’s office led the effort.

“I oppose the fees that the Mayor and SDOT want to impose on gardens in the planting strip,” Conlin told the Post Globe last month.   “I have asked SDOT to change their proposal to make all food gardening in planting strips free of charge.”

From Seattle Post Globe

Not whiskey... syrup!

Our family-style (or neighborhood-style) pancake breakfast was a success! Sunday lived up to its name and we had at least 40 neighbors and friends of neighbors sitting at our improvised banquet table. And Sam’s syrup was a hit! Yeah Maple trees!

Pancake Breakfast!

The neighborhood eats pancakes