SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14: Alaska Activist Training
9:15 - 2:00 pm (Lunch will be provided but RSVP required)
Des Moines Central Library, 1000 Grand Avenue

Alaska Wilderness League invites you to Activist Media Training in Des
Moines IA. This training is designed to bring individuals together from the
Upper Midwest region and will be focused on using the media to further our
message. There will also be a briefing for updates on the current
legislative issues affecting wild Alaska, including the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge, the Tongass National Forest, and Teshekpuk Lake among
others, in light of the new administration.   The training is free and open
to those who are interested in learning more about the issues facing Alaska
or seeking to improve their grassroots skills. All levels of activists are
welcome! Please RSVP to Lois@alaskawild.org with the names of any attendees
by November 6 as we need a final count for lunch.

 

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14: Alaska Wilderness
Voice from the North, 2:30 - 4:00 pm
Des Moines Central Library 1000 Grand Avenue

Voice from the North is a documentary film about the Gwich'in Nation of
Northeast Alaska and Northwest Canada and its reliance on the Porcupine
caribou herd to meet the nutritional, cultural and spiritual needs of the
people. In 1988, the increasing threat of proposed oil and gas development
on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge led elders to
call upon the chiefs, which led to the establishment of the Gwich'in
Steering Committee to speak with one voice in opposition to oil and gas
development in the birthplace and nursery grounds of the Porcupine Caribou
Herd. The film captures the spectacular scenery of the Brooks Range and the
Coastal Plain, the caribou migration, with pictures and voices of the
Gwich'in people. Lois Norrgard, Upper Midwest Field Staff for the Alaska
Wilderness League, will follow the film with a short presentation about new
drilling threats in the Arctic and lead a discussion about the film and
where we are today with America's Arctic Refuge.  Thanks for keeping Alaska
wild.

 

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18:
Central Iowa Sierra Public Program, 7 p.m.
Deep Nature: Photographs from Iowa

The University of Iowa Press released a new book of photography in its Bur
Oak series this autumn by Linda and Robert Scarth, with an essay by John
Pearson. Deep Nature: Photographs from Iowa contains 80 images that look
closely and deeply at some of the smaller natural community members found in
Iowa and throughout the Midwest. The program will include the images from
the book and a discussion of some of the places, circumstances and
techniques involved in finding and celebrating the beauty in Iowa. The
Scarths live in Cedar Rapids. They are members of a number of environmental
and natural history organizations including Sierra Club. They have
photographed together since early in their marriage and collaborate from
location and subject selection, all the way through optimizing images for
prints, publication or digital presentation. They maintain their web site
and blog at http://www.scarthphoto.com <http://www.scarthphoto.com/> .

 

Central Iowa Sierra public programs are 7-9 p.m. at Grace United Methodist
Church, 37th & Cottage Grove, just north of I-235 in Des Moines.  Contact
Jane at 223-5047 or jrclark@radiks.net for more information. 

 

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21: HIKE
Hike on the Neal Smith paved bike trail, north to a tall hillside for a
7-Mile view.  Meet at 1 p.m. at the southeast end of the Harding Hills HyVee
parking lot. Total time about 90 minutes, moderate difficulty, hiking boots
are strongly recommended.  We will soon be conscious of a change of season
and it will be great to explore our woods and trails to see the wildlife
there.  Contact George 745-7563 for more information.