[ESSP] events and chickens

[lad01 at hampshire.edu]

some interesting events, not to mention chickens

peace
laura


*Activists Meeting* 

What:* A meeting to put together a website that can help network Five College 
and **New England activism.* 

*When:* Saturday, November 20th, at 2 PM. 

*Where:* Franklin Patterson Hall, Room 108, Hampshire College 

*Description:* The Five College area contains a great deal of activist 
potential. 

 Unfortunately, much of this potential is lost due to lack of co-ordination 

within and between Colleges and community groups.  A group of Hampshire and 
Five 

College students are working on a project to help network the activist groups 
in 

the area that share similar philosophical goals - specifically, through a 

website.  Using the Five Colleges networking as a model, we would like to 
expand 

the project to include other parts of New England. We hope to create a neutral 

tool of communication that brings people together, crosses ideological lines 
and 

creates an actual activist community.  We would like as many groups from the 

community to attend this meeting to start a conversation that will hopefully 
lay 

the grounds for a more cohesive activist community in the Five College area. 



Questions? Contact Ben Hueftle at bhh04 at hampshire.edu or Brendan McQuade at 
bim04 at hampshire.edu 
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Dear Friends! 

Please join us for a very special, contemplative retreat -- an 
opportunity for us to be together, feel the miracle of life together, 
and reconnect with hope, faith and peace.  People of all faith and 
non-faith perspectives are welcome!  Please RSVP to Tina, 
tclarke at cleanwater.org <mailto:tclarke at cleanwater.org>, 413-549-6834. 

Healing the Earth; Healing Ourselves 
An evening retreat with the Rev. Dr. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas 
Sunday; November 21; 7-9pm 
First Churches Northampton, 129 Main St. 

This evening program is designed for: 

    * People who seek to connect spirituality and religious faith with 
      care for the Earth; 

    * Anyone who feels angry, sad, or despairing about the future health 
      and well-being of our children and planet; 
    * Those who want, through prayer and action, to create a future in 
      which children and all living creatures can thrive; 
    * Burned-out activists who seek spiritual refreshment. 

The program is co-sponsored by the Environmental Taskforce of the 
Hampshire Interfaith Council, the Massachusetts Council of Churches and 
Clean Water Action. 


Previously offered at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, the 
retreat emerged from interfaith reflection on the connections between 
damage to our environment and health, child development, poverty, 
racism, and our desire to nurture ourselves and each other, and to 
respond in faith and hope.  For more information about the issues 
bringing us together, see: www.healthytomorrow.org 
<http://www.healthytomorrow.org/>. 


      For more information: Tina Clarke, Clean Water Action, 
      413/549-6834 (Amherst, MA) or tclarke at cleanwater.org 
      <mailto:tclarke at cleanwater.org> 

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AND..... 
*Are you interested in . . . 
   Supporting the local economy? 
   Caring for our environment? 
   Working for social justice?* 

Then come eat, meet and greet with like-minded folks 
at the Food Roundtable for an Equitable and Ecological Economy! 

Monday, November 22 
6:30 to 9:00 pm 

Bangs Community Center Room 101 
Downtown Amherst (behind Rao's Coffee) 

Schedule: 6:30 introductions 
7:00 to 8:00 eating and announcements, updates 
8:00 to 9:00 time to socialize and network 

If you can, bring your own place setting and some food or drink to share. 

For more information & to RSVP contact: 
Megan at earthskyfirewater at gmail.com or call (413) 253-0255. 

Co-sponsored by the Pioneer Valley Sustainability Network (www.pvsn.org) and 
Earth & Sky Exchange (www.earthskyexchange.org) 

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The time is nearing for my move from the Valley to North Carolina, and I am 
looking to find a home for my chickens.  I will be leaving the Valley by 
November 30, but more likely a week before that, so I am looking for someone 
who could take them IMMEDIATELY! 

I have 4 brown hens, 3 whites, one rooster who is devoted to protecting the 
hens, and one little month-and-a-half old white chick whom I hope is a hen 
but I don't know just yet.  (Two roosters in a flock is one rooster too many.) 

My ideal of a new caretaker for the flock would be someone who can take them 
all, who has open land that they can run around on, and who will not eat 
any of them.  They give between 3 and 6 eggs a day, depending on the season 
and amount of sunlight, so hopefully this would be enough food to keep 
hungry eyes off the rooster and the hens.  Also, a few of the hens are broody 
at times, which means that they pretty much decide when it's time to have 
some more chicks around.  If you choose to let them keep the eggs they start 
sitting on, you could increase the flock as you wish.   

If you have never had chickens in your life, I encourage you to at least 
consider it.  I have loved having them as a part of my daily life, and the 
give-and- give relationship with them (you feed and care for them, they feed 
you) is something beautiful to experience.  Ever since becoming their 
caretaker, I have not been able to understand how chickens ever were labeled 
a "boring" animal.  They are fascinating to be around: they communicate with 
each other, the flock has its own dynamics, and their way of being on the land 
is lovely.  Also, all of these birds were raised in the absence of their 
parents, and seeing how they know to care for their little ones is painfully 
beautiful to watch.  The rooster is a model of living in the moment in the way 
that he attends to their surroundings and anything that might pose a threat to 
them, and he has a very particular "churgle" that he makes when he finds 
choice little bugs for them to eat (he always gives his bugs to the hens)! 

If you would like to take them, please let me know soon.  If you know anyone 
who might want them, PLEASE send them this email!  And if you want them 
and don't have a coop yet, I could give a LITTLE bit of time in helping to 
build one, but it might be tough to do in such a short amount of time.  But at 
any rate, let me know and we'll see if we can figure something out. 

Thanks, and peace. 
Sarah Hamill 
sarah hamill <shamill at LYCOS.COM>