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Zaagkii Project called U.S. Forest Service "Success Story"
The Zaagkii Wings and Seeds Project is helping to save butterflies in northern Michigan thanks to Native American Teens and Marquette youth.
Founded by the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute, the three-year project involves teens building butterfly houses that offer protection and rest and planting over 26,000 native plants that are vital to reproduction of numerous pollinators.
The U.S. Forest Service says the project is a pollinator "success story."
The Zaagkii Wings and Seeds Project is the latest youth environment project founded by the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute in Marquette, Michigan in cooperation with the Marquette County Juvenile Court, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) and the United States Forest Service (USFS).
The Zaagkii Project contributors and sponsors include the Marquette Community Foundation, the Negaunee Community Fund, the Negaunee Community Youth Fund, the M.E. Davenport Foundation, the Kaufman Foundation, the Phyllis and Max Reynolds Foundation, the Upper Peninsula Children's Museum in Marquette, Mich. and the Borealis Seed Company in Big Bay, Mich. The Zaagkii Wings and Seeds Project is helping to save butterflies in northern Michigan thanks to Native American Teens and Marquette ... more -
Keweenaw Bay Indian Community: Zaagkii Wings & Seeds Project Protects Pollinat...
In July 2008, a three-year initiative began called the Zaagkii Wings and Seeds Project that involves Native American youth and Marquette teens building butterfly houses and planting over 26,000 native plants to help pollinators recover due to the shocking death of billions of honeybees across the Midwest and around the world.
Butterfly houses are slimmer than better known birdhouses and are lined with bark offering a place for butterflies to rest, be protected and in some cases lay eggs.
It's important as thousands of Monarchs pass thru the U.P. in the annual migration to Mexico of 3 million Monarchs.
Native plants indigenous to any region of the world are important for local pollinators that can be fooled by imported vegetation resulting in death or eggs not hatching.
The Zaagkii Project was founded by Rev. Jon Magnuson and his non-profit Cedar Tree Institute in Marquette, Michigan.
The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community has long supported initiatives like the Zaagkii Project that were founded by the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute (CTI) including wild rice restoration and Earth Day clean sweeps. The three-year Zaagkii Project is sponsored by the KBIC, CTI, Marquette County Juvenile Court and the United States Forest Service.
The Zaagkii Project would not be possible without contributors that include the Marquette Community Foundation, the Negaunee Community Fund, the Negaunee Community Youth Fund, the M.E. Davenport Foundation, the Kaufman Foundation, the Phyllis and Max Reynolds Foundation, with assistance from the Upper Peninsula Children's Museum in Marquette and the Borealis Seed Company in Big Bay. In July 2008, a three-year initiative began called the Zaagkii Wings and Seeds Project that involves Native American youth and Marque... more -
....Honey Bees & Watermelon.......
I believe we can learn so much from nature............
The different insects sharing this watermelon are living in harmony......
We must stop trying to kill things that we do not like or understand......
The insecticides that have been used pose a tremendous threat to Bees worldwide........
Hope you enjoy watching this.................
Music is Feast of Fools......written and performed by Sheri Lane..............
Guitar by Sam Shepherd...............
Last shot......the great Luke Lane.............
Bees...Butterfly.....ants......flies......miracles of nature.............
Happy Fourth of July...............................................................
As you watch the fireworks....think of all the hungry people in the world.....
and the money being shot up in the air...............................
Want to see explosions.......turn on the news................ I believe we can learn so much from nature............ The different insects sharing this watermelon are living in harmony...... ... more -
'Dreaming of Her Birth' portrays thoughts of mothers-to-be
Mothers-to-be spend 9 months imagining the baby growing inside them. "Dreaming of Her Birth" by American Artist Charleen Touchette is a mixed media mural 108 x 48 inches. The multilayered painting weaves images of the growing fetus with a winding umbilical cord and handmade papers embedded with butterflies, plants, ferns and flowers. "Dreaming of Her Birth" was exhibited in the "O'Keeffe Revisited" show at The Roswell Museum in New Mexico in 1994 which showcased the art of Charleen Touchette as one of the featured artists. Mothers-to-be spend 9 months imagining the baby growing inside them. "Dreaming of Her Birth" by American Artist Charleen Tou... more
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The Manoomin Project: Michigan teens, American Indians restore wild rice
(Marquette, Michigan) - The Manoomin Project is restoring wild rice to northern Michigan after the grain disappeared a century ago due to logging, pesticides and other manmade impact.
Over 100 at-risk teens are learning to respect themselves, nature and American Indian culture by planting more than one ton of wild rice during the past four summers. The teens also learn about social issues like racism against Native Americans.
The 2007 planting was delayed six weeks until November due to low water levels.
The teens first participate as part of juvenile court probation for minor crimes but many enjoy the project so much they return the next year.
Guides from several tribes volunteer to teach the teens how to take water samples, and about the historical and cultural importance of the grain that is used in many American Indian ceremonies.
The project was founded by the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC).
Guides belong to KBIC, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa (Ottawa) Indians based in downstate Harbor Springs, Michigan, and the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa located close to International Falls, Minnesota near the Canadian border.
Rev. Jon Magnuson, project founder, praised the tribes for working with the teens, most of whom are white. The project includes classroom time, stress reduction exercises, and learning about social issues like prejudice against Native Americans.
In July 2007, the teens heard from Ojibwa elder and Vietnam War veteran Glen Bressette who explained he was the target of racism while their age and overcame problems familiar to the youth like substance abuse and scrapes with the law that included being shot at by police while stealing gas.
The teens witnessed Bressette have a dramatic flashback when a helicopter flew low and close to their meeting site along Lake Superior. He had been a gunner aboard a chopper in Vietnam.
American Indian guide Don Chosa said the teens carry hundreds of pounds of wild rice seeds for miles through thick forests and over mountains to get to seven secret remote planting sites along rivers and lakes. During the hikes, the teens have come upon bears, eagles and other wildlife.
An annual "Blessing of the Wild Rice" ceremony is held that includes American Indian food, songs, language, and prayers. If they want, the teens have the opportunity to learn about God and the environment but they are not forced to be be involved in any religious activities.
Manoomin Project volunteer media advisor Greg Peterson looks at the 2007 planting and four years of success. (Marquette, Michigan) - The Manoomin Project is restoring wild rice to northern Michigan after the grain disappeared a century ago due... more -
Proposed Ban on Genetically Modified Corn in Europe
European Union environmental officials have determined that two kinds of genetically modified corn could harm butterflies, affect food chains and disturb life in rivers and streams, and they have proposed a ban on the sale of the seeds, which are made by DuPont Pioneer, Dow Agrosciences and Syngenta.
Banning the applications for corn crops also would mark a bold new step for European environmental authorities, who are already aggressively pursuing regulations on emissions from cars and aircraft, setting it at odds with the United States and angering industries.
These products have been grown in the U.S. and other countries for years, said Stephen Norton, a spokesman for the United States trade representative. We are not aware of any other case when a product has been rejected after having been reviewed and determined safe by European food safety authorities, he said.
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Go EU, here in the US we're idiots right now. We basically can't be trusted at this point in time. On anything, anywhere. Sad to say it's true. Please ignore our politicians and corporations telling of the safety of GMOs.
It doesn't have to be this way folks. Vote.
I gave Dennis Kucinich $100 tooday (Nov. 23 2007), even though I had to charge it. I think he is our best hope. https://services.myngp.com/ngponlineservices/contributi...
I'm going to donate $100 to John Edwards too, he is a solid choice.
(I will get back with link later for Edwards, after I donate!)
Won't you consider doing the same?
If not now, then when?
One World. One People. We Are One. European Union environmental officials have determined that two kinds of genetically modified corn could harm butterflies, affect food... more -
The Butterfly Effect In Action
by Nicole
In a beautiful illustration of the butterfly effect, Florida researchers George Austin and Andrew Warren are auctioning the naming rights of a new species of owl butterfly they discovered earlier this year. The proceeds will go to the McGuire Center at Floridas Museum of Natural History to fund research into Lepidoptera, the species class that includes butterflies and moths.
This is a rare opportunity to buy this unique and eternal gift, since its been more than 100 years since a new owl butterfly has been named. It is extraordinarily uncommon for such a large, showy butterfly to have escaped detection until now, said Warren. This likely will be one of the last times such a large and beautiful butterfly is named.
The soon-to-be-named butterfly is native to the Mexican Sonoran Desert, which is just south of the Mojave, though Austin and Warren actually discovered the previously misidentified butterfly in a collection at Floridas Museum of Natural History. The male has a bright orange hue, with the female having more distinct marking on its browner wings. Both have a wingspan of approximately four inches.
Convention allows that those who discover new species have a say in naming it. We realized this striking discovery represents an exceptional opportunity to raise funds for continued research on Mexican butterflies, by allowing rights to the species-level name to be auctioned, said Austin.
The butterfly lot is up for sale on iGavel.com, a high-end auction site which guarantees the authenticity of its items. So far there have been twelve bids, with the highest offer being $34,000. Bidding closes on Nov 2nd.
http://www.dailymantra.com
http://www.myspace.com/thedailymantra by Nicole ... more
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