A Gift of Hope

​By Angela Petty, FAN Sustainability Committee

Looking for some hope, a small delight to hold? Try Robin Wall Kimmerer’s latest essay: “The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World.” Turn the book over and pause with the poignant verse: “All Flourishing Is Mutual.” Then open. A bird nibbles berries. A deer forages. Rain falls on serviceberry leaves. Kimmerer introduces us to her human neighbors as well. Sandy puts out a front yard table with flowers and produce to share. Farmers Paulie and Ed invite neighbors to pick their serviceberries for free and in doing so invite relationships with community and land. These are stories of economy, the gift economy, explains Kimmerer, and we find examples in the natural world: “the Serviceberries show us another model, one based upon reciprocity rather than accumulation, where wealth and security come from the quality of our relationships, not from the illusion of self-sufficiency.” While our current economic system is heavy and harmful, Kimmerer offers an adjacent healing path forward. She invites us to participate in the gift economy, to be agents of creative cultural change and citizens of an ecosystem. Close the book, but keep the gift. And then give something in return. 
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Announcing the Hopeful Futures book club! Hosted with help from the Friendly Sustainability Committee, this group will focus on books featuring a positive, hopeful future including climate fiction and non-fiction with themes of restoration and resilience, climate justice, community building, and sustainable living. We hope you’ll join us as we find joy in creating positive change at the small or large scale! Join us Thursday May 1, 6:30 pm to discuss Robin Wall Kimmerer’s The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World. RSVP to [email protected].​

Friendly Area Neighbors (FAN) are invited to recycle their qualifying plastics at the next FAN Plastics Collection event. This event is run by volunteers of the FAN Sustainability Team.

1. Only FAN residents, property owners, or businesses located within our FAN boundaries are invited. You can find another event, or learn how to create your own, on Lane County's Community Plastics Collection page.
2. ​We strongly recommend scheduling an appointment using the form below. Appointments will be honored before walk-ins.
3. When an appointment time block is full, it is removed from the form. Appointments get scheduled quickly due to high demand and our limited capacity. You can still sign up for the wait list to receive updates, and to volunteer. Volunteers must be pre-approved and may recycle their qualifying plastics at the event.
4. Scroll to the bottom of this page for details of how to prepare your qualifying plastics and other relevant information.

Friendly Area Neighborhood Plastics Collection
Tuesday, February 25, 2020, 4:00 to 6:00 PM (before FAN Emergency Preparedness Team Skill Building Session)
Washington Park Community Center, 2025 Washington Street, Eugene

Qualifying plastics

• No "drop-offs". All items must be screened by a Community Collector.
• All items must be clean, dry, and their adhesive labels removed. Items with food residue, rim foil, or other foreign substances will be rejected.
• Presort plastics into these 4 categories. A magnifying glass or loupe is helpful.
  • #2 Tubs and Lids
  • #2 Bottles and Jugs
  • #4 Bottles, Tubs, and Lids
  • #5 Bottles, Tubs, and Lids
• Lane County Plastics #2, #4 & #5 Collection Details and Tips

Welcome to the "new normal" for plastics recycling. You are doing something good for our stressed oceans and the environment.

Tips to prepare plastics and manage yogurt containers

The photo below shows some of our rejects. Note the labels, foil rims, and odd items with no resin code (the number surrounded by three arrows arranged in a triangle). Some single use yogurt containers are oddly shaped, making them hard to clean and dry, especially when the yogurt residue hardens or becomes moldy. Fill them with soapy water and soak to loosen the gunk. Better yet, switch to bulk yogurt and fill a small container with a dollop of yogurt and top with your favorite fruit or granola. Best of all, make your own yogurt and never buy the single use plastics again. It's easy and safe.

Monday, January 20, 2020, 9:00am – 12:00pm
Westmoreland Park sports fields and in the surrounding Friendly neighborhood
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Make a lifelong investment in water quality, carbon reduction, and provide shade: plant a tree! This MLK Day on Monday, January 20, 2020, volunteers will improve the environment, community, and economy by planting trees in Westmoreland Park around the sports fields and in the surrounding Friendly neighborhood.

This is a family-friendly event. Rain or shine. No experience necessary. All volunteers will be entered to win a limited edition sequoia sweatshirt and other Eugene Outdoors swag. Tools and snacks will be provided.

Property owners may request to plant a tree on their property, or in the right-of-way adjacent to their property, through Friends of Trees online.

For more information about Friends of Trees, including how to join a tree planting crew to plant trees around Eugene or Springfield, to support the planting crew with hot soup, food, or beverages, or to donate, visit the Friends of Trees website.

The Eugene Carbon Free Challenge is enabling Eugene residents to learn more about their personal carbon footprint and ways to reduce it. Visit the Eugene Carbon Free Challenge (ECFC) website.

Early Owl Farm- Tessa & Jake McCusker (and their twin boys) are the farmers behind Early Owl Farm, a small family farm specializing in seasonal vegetables and fruits, eggs from pastured hens and beautiful cut flowers.  The McCusker’s utilize an approach called "regenerative farming" which goes beyond the scope of "organic" and results in a thriving soil food web, increased carbon sequestration, nutrient-dense food and an improved farm ecosystem.   They minimize tilling the soil as much as possible, plant diverse cover crops to feed the soil and pollinators, compost intensively, house their hens in a mobile chicken house so they can access fresh pasture every few days, and maintain large areas of native flowers, shrubs and trees to aid the local fauna.  Please stop by to chat, and get to know these wonderful local farmers!

Contact:  Website- www.earlyowlfarm.com/, Facebook and Instagram pages will keep you in the loop of farm happenings. You can find their market stand at the following spots:  Early Owl Farm Stand (Sundays 10am-2pm starting in early May), Spencer Creek Growers Market (Saturdays 10am-2pm starting mid-May) and Amazon Farmers Market (Thursdays, 11am-4pm starting in June).

Friendly Fruit Tree Project-Matt Lutter (Friendly neighbor and former FAN Board Member) spearheads The Friendly Fruit Tree Project, an all-volunteer effort to build relationships between fruit-loving Friendly neighbors and fruit tree owners (or stewards) who might have more fruit than they can handle.

When a fruit owner offers to share their fruit with the Friendly Fruit Tree Project, a volunteer Harvest Leader "adopts" the site and coordinates the event for the steward and harvesters.  Harvested fruit is split roughly into thirds between volunteers, the steward, and those in need.
Contact: FB The Friendly Fruit Tree Project   phone: (541) 632-3260

(S)Beyond Toxics (BT) - Lisa Arkin (Executive Director BT, Friendly neighbor and former FAN Board Member) will be sharing information from studies recently published by the Center for Food Safety which found high levels of pesticide residues in the kinds of fruits and vegetables we may grow in our gardens. Foods like apples and spinach can absorb chemicals that cannot be washed off. Beyond Toxics challenges environmental pollution by taking on its root causes and working for lasting change. BT activates and organizes the people most affected by overburdens of pollution and harm. Their goal is to build a statewide environmental justice movement to advance the power of Oregonians on the frontlines of disparities in health, wealth and work.
Contact: email- [email protected]  phone- 541-465-8860

(S)Walama Restoration Project- Walama Restoration will give a short presentation on “The Walama Restoration Project (WRP), a community organized non-profit, founded in 2001, dedicated to environmental stewardship and biological diversity through education and habitat restoration."  Kris will be focusing on "sustainable yards".

Contact: web- www.walamarestoration.org   email: [email protected]  phone: 541-484-3939

350 Eugene- The local Eugene Chapter of 350.org will be present to talk about their series of local workshops designed to educate on ways we can all improve sustainability and answer your questions on how you can get involved in the Drawdown Eugene campaign that advocates for the successful planning, completion and adoption of the City of Eugene’s Climate Action Plan 2 (CAP 2).

(S)Urban Bees- Honey Bee Jen (bee keeper, Friendly neighbor) - Jen Hornaday, the owner of Healthy Bees = Healthy Gardens, will be speaking on ways we can protect our precious pollinators. Jen’s comments will focus on creating healthy spaces for honey bees and how to invite pollinators into your yards to increase your fruit, flower, and vegetable production. After her presentation, stop by Honey Bee Jen’s booth for a healthy honey tasting and to learn more about Honey Bee preservation efforts in the Eugene area. Jen will also have honey, pollinator seeds, propolis, and bee gifts for sale.

(S)Common Ground Garden (CGG)- Teresa Siemanowski (Friendly Neighbor) will give a short presentation on how a group of FAN neighbors worked together to form a community garden that benefits all.   Common Ground Garden, which today is a beautiful and productive neighborhood food sharing garden located at 21st and Van Buren Street, began in 2009 with a City of Eugene neighborhood matching grant and a team of dedicated volunteers committed to transforming gravel into an oasis of organic, bee friendly, sustainable, collaborative food production. 

CGG meets every Saturday from 10-12 for a family friendly work party to garden and connect with neighbors and friends. Garden tools and gloves are provided, and everyone is welcome!
Contact: FB Common Ground Garden  email: [email protected]

ToolBox Project- The ToolBox Project is a volunteer-driven tool-lending library open to residents of Lane County, Oregon. They share home and garden tools with our community so we can all build and grow together.  Come find out how you can become a member, how you can donate tools, and/or become a sponsor.

Contact: web www.eugenetoolboxproject   phone: 541-838-0125 
email: [email protected]

Lane County Master Gardeners (LCMG) - Jan Gano (President LCMG) will be present to answer questions about Oregon State University’s Master Gardner Program. The Oregon State University Extension Service provides Oregon volunteers with research-based knowledge and education that strengthens communities and economies, helps sustain natural resources, and promotes healthy families and individuals.

Trained Master Gardener volunteers help educate and advise other home gardeners in our community. Many people new to Lane County as well as inexperienced gardeners are interested in obtaining local gardening advice. The Master Gardeners program focuses on topics such as diagnosing plant and insect problems, preparing soil for planting, identifying plants, and selecting ornamentals and varieties.

Contact: web: extension.oregonstate.edu/mg/lane   phone: 541-344-0265  
email: [email protected]

FAN Team Tables- Please go to FAN website www.friendlyareaneighbors.org Get Involved, to get contact information

• Equity Action Team- Get your All Are Welcome Here yard signs and find out about the murals and other activities of EAT
  
• Emergency Preparedness Team- Find out about Mapping Your Neighborhood
  
• Transportation Team- Get your Every Intersection is a Crosswalk yard signs and find out about other activities of this team
  
• Friendly Park needs your help to stay Pesticide Free- Come find out how you can help keep this neighborhood park free of pesticides.