Eco Expressions in Ocean Beach, Calif. news

Finding the right balance between nature and spirit

Article by Patricia M. Walsh
March 27, 2008
When Jan D. Wellik ends her nature writing workshops at the Point Loma Native Plant Reserve, she traditionally invites students to donate a line from their individual observations to create a group poem.
The founder and director of Eco Expressions, a program designed to reach out to local youths, Wellik offers the workshops to underscore a powerful point: Preservation of nature and the written word are a collaborative blend because the gardens and stories will not bloom from a solitary hand, she said.
On a recent afternoon, standing on the sloping hill of the reserve, lush and colorful with foliage from February’s rains, just above the din of traffic on Nimitz Boulevard, Wellik held just such a workshop where participants of the day contributed in the mesh of nature and spirit:
Yellow caps floating in the sea of textured greens
the hues of a verdant rainbow
Sky hazy cream and light pale blue
cirrus clouds bellow by
Inner-city park is a little sanctuary
for humans, birds and insects
Full and thick with wonder
black sage a whirl of buds

Complete article is here:

http://www.sdnews.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2008/03/27/47ebe15ee8f45

Comments

Old post from the Anthropik network

"I noticed, when she delivered the plate of fruit, that my Balian hostess was also balancing a tray containing many little green bowls-small, boatshaped platters, each of them woven neatly from a freshly cut section of palm frond. The platters were two or three inches long, and within each was a small mound of white rice. After handing me my breakfast, the woman and the tray disappeared from view behind the other buildings, and when she came by some minutes later to pick up my empty plate, the tray was empty as well. * On the second morning, when I saw the array of tiny rice platters, I asked my hostess what they were for. Patiently, she explained to me that they were offerings for the household spirits. When I inquired about the Balinese term that she used for "spirit," she repeated the explanation in Indonesian, saying that these were gifts for the spirits of the family compound, and I saw that I had understood her correctly. She handed me a bowl of sliced papaya and

Secret Lives of Meter Readers If you are looking for a long walk every day with not bad pay, maybe meter reading is the ticket. Generally, you get to spend a lot of peaceful time by yourself, plenty of serene reflecting space, unhindered by a bickering work crew. Simply dedicating yourself to reading meters all day can actually lead to a very ascetic lifestyle. When a vault into the earth is uncovered, great mysteries lie inside. Neighborhood kids dash over and want to spy. Newts and frogs, snakes, snails and polliwogs are all revealed from these tiny underground arenas. If the meter reader does not watch carefully, he may uncover a hornet's nest. Thus, most workers carry a medicine pouch within their toolkits. Meter reading routes are hard roads at first; but endurance soon builds up, as the man (or woman) becomes self-reliant. As he walks along, he strengthens his full character, all the way down to his stem cells. Striding along, his breathing becomes natural and he fin

Honor Idaho film sites

http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005119953 With the Senate recently passing a bill, to create a fund to offer incentives to film movies and TV shows within the state, Idaho leaders could further bolster this opportunity by asking that our transportation department revisit Professor Tom Trusky 's innovative "Statewide Movie Signage Proposal." Expanding our already successful Idaho Highway Historical Marker program to include tributes to films made in Idaho could be next logical step in this popular program's evolution. To quote Professor Trusky from last year, "The tourist/publicity value of such signage is apparent—and locals might appreciate such knowledge, too, if they are unaware of their cinematic heritage. As well, given the recent interest in bringing film production to the state, such signage would not only be public acknowledgment of Idaho 's considerable contribution to the film industry but also serve as a reminder to contemporary filmmakers

Idaho Conversation League

Search This Blog