Marching bands, walking bald eagles, aliens, children on parade…and Transition Palo Alto! On Saturday, May 2nd, we joined hundreds in Palo Alto as part of the May Fete Fair, which follows the (93rd) annual Children’s Parade. This year’s theme was No Space to Alienate – be Unique, be Free, be yOu (UFO), so of course there were aliens and spaceships everywhere!

After dodging closed streets, I and my kids unloaded boxes of recycled to-go containers and shiny plastic doodads rescued from the landfill, gathered generously by Trina. We marched (and rode a bike) in the parade with their respective schools, and we ended up at a table on the grass at the parade, where William Mutch was staffing a table where children were making UFOs and aliens out of those recyclables. We had a display of aliens and spaceships made at the Craft Night and artfully arranged by Trina. Using those as examples (or ignoring them entirely!), children braided yarn, stuck on tape, stuffed prescription bottles and ice cream containers, stuck stickers and bottle caps, and created amazing worlds of their own imagination. A few of the creatures and vehicles below. We were calling it Junkology (thanks, Elliot!) and having a blast of it.

Thanks to William Mutch, Roy Kornbluh, Peter Ruddock, Vanessa Warheit and Trina Lynn-Wilson for making this happen, and to all the children and parents for making this event out of this world!

Folks jammed the Fireside Room for the West Coast community premiere of Just Eat It, a funny, entertaining, and jaw dropping look at the staggering problem of food waste.  40 percent of produced food is wasted throughout the production and delivery cycle, from the farm and factory to people’s homes. Not only does that mean that food isn’t getting to people in need, but it’s also an obscene waste of energy and water.

What can we do about the problem? After the film, Maybo AuYeung from Zero Waste Palo Alto answered questions about what the city is doing about the waste problem, and attendees shared stories and strategies: changing shopping strategies, pressuring local grocers to change their practices, gleaning excess produce to give to those in need, and even creative dumpster diving.

Submitted by Trina Lynn

April’s Craft Night was ‘out of this world!’

While a few of us assembled Aliens & UFOs from recyclables in  preparation for the city’s ‘No Space to Alienate’ Kid’s Parade & May Fete event, others got serious with the sewing machines & cutting table and made some much needed pant & clothing adjustments. 

Herb provided a lovely soundtrack to a knife sharpener, an embroiderer and a coloring project & some of us talked business (aka as community building in these circles). 

All this was captured in a series of much anticipated ‘Black & White’ pics by our most wonderful Barbara Weinstein who made the coolest UFO of the night and offered these ‘Noir’ photos. 

No one is banned (inside joke*), in fact all are welcome at May’s Craft Night event.  Look out for the invitation early next month for details on the location and where to RSVP (*or just to be let in on the joke).

And Herb’s mood guitar.

Book group 6 continued its look at drought solutions on April 8.

Margaret Okuzumi gave a talk on ideas for saving water around the home. She brought faucet aerators and other handy things that people can install to start saving water in an instant. She also passed out info on unconventional water saving tips. Check it out: Margaret’s Unconventional Water-Saving Tips v2

Winner of numerous awards, including Audience Choice at the 2014 Hot Docs Film Festival.
“Hugely entertaining… will leave audiences gobsmacked.” – Variety

We all love food. As a society, we devour countless cooking shows, culinary magazines and foodie blogs. So how could we possibly be throwing nearly 50% of it in the trash?

Filmmakers and food lovers Jen and Grant (remember them from the Clean Bin Project film?) dive into the issue of waste from farm, through retail, all the way to the back of their own fridge. After catching a glimpse of the billions of dollars of good food that is tossed each year in North America, they pledge to quit grocery shopping and survive only on discarded food – you’ll see what happens.

After the film, join the discussion and hear Maybo Auyeung from Zero Waste Palo Alto share what’s happening locally.

Friday April 24
7:30pm (come at 7:15 for social time)
Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto Fireside Room
505 E Charleston Rd, Palo Alto, CA 

All ages welcome
$5 recommended donation – no one turned away for lack of funds

Films of Vision and Hope focuses on positive solutions to  environmental and social problems affecting our world. Provocative films, great discussion, and opportunities to connect with others who want to make a difference. Sponsored by Transition Silicon Valley, Transition Palo Alto, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, and Zero Waste Palo Alto.

Submitted by Trina Lynn
A report on last month’s TPA Craft Night and invitation to the next (April 14 Tuesday evening)

Last month’s Craft Night was a pretty low-key event, but whenever we heard Herb testing out the beautiful wind chime he was constructing from old or miss-cut keys, I swear he hit a high note (For more on this check out Scrapophony.net).

Emily tried out a cool project: re-purpose an old sock for a sling/sleeve bottle cozy.  William darned again (I need to ask him to show me how to do this someday) while Diana and I cut die-cuts for collage from old magazines.

Marie & Jose crafted too but mostly I think they came for the conversation. But then again we all did. And it was a lovely evening. 🙂

Join us again on Tuesday, April 14th.
Trina & Emily will host craft night
From 6PM to 9:30 PM
Kids are always welcome

Look for our invitation or e-mail pltredux@gmail.com for further details
Bring your own projects or find something here to work on
We’re not sure if we have a theme or a demo yet this month but Spring is here.

Whatever we do let’s be colourful!

What’s involved in setting up gray water systems and what are the options? At the Book Group 6 meeting April 1, Sharif Rosales-Webb of Greywater greenlandscapes gave an introduction to grey water systems. He explained the differences between branching systems, which take gray water from the kitchen and bathroom and distribute it in multiple places around a garden, versus laundry-to-landscape systems, which take water from a washing machine and distribute it with the help of the washing machine pump. Whatever the option, gray water systems give new life to water that would otherwise head directly to the waste treatment plant.

With the dire drought situation in California and the statewide call for reductions of 25% in water usage in mind, book group members brainstormed about other actions to take.  At an upcoming meeting, the group will make flyers to give neighbors who are wasting water in landscaping a gentle reminder to plug their leaks and cut back on irrigation.

Other ideas are welcome! To learn more about Book Group 6 meetings and activities, send email to barbara@ontrk.com.

An overflow crowd came to March Fourth Friday to see A Fierce Green Fire, a historical look at the modern environment movement from the early 20th century to today. Gathering in small groups after the film, people expressed conflicting emotions: awe and appreciation of the accomplishments of dedicated and passionate activists, despair at the current magnitude of the climate (and other) problems, and optimism that so many people are now involved in fighting for change. To paraphrase a quote from the film, “We’re not a movement, it’s larger than that. It’s the planet’s immune response to the disease that has infected it.”

What a fabulous Share Faire March 15 at Lucie Stern Community Center. Beautiful day in the courtyard, with kids corner, knife skills, shoe making, bike repair, gardening, biochar, conversation circle, and more – plus oodles of stuff to share.

As many people and organizations explore how to “step things up” – to get more active in working for climate and environmental justice – March Fourth Friday will take a look at where we’ve come from.

A FIERCE GREEN FIRE: The Battle for a Living Planet explores fifty years of grassroots and global environmental activism – from conservation to climate change. The film premiered at Sundance in 2012 and has won acclaim at festivals around the world. Narrated by Robert Redford, Ashley Judd, Van Jones, Isabel Allende and Meryl Streep, the film explores major fights and accomplishments of the environmental movement, and offers a deeper view of environmentalism as civilizational change, working to bring our industrial society into sustainable balance with nature.

Inspired by the book of the same name, A Fierce Green Fire brings together all the major parts of environmentalism and connects them. It focuses on activism, people fighting to save their homes, their lives, the future – and succeeding against all odds.

Friday March 27
7:15 for social time – Film starts promptly at 7:30 – discussion to follow
Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto Fireside Room
505 E Charleston Rd, Palo Alto, CA
All ages welcome
$5 recommended donation – no one turned away for lack of funds