Category Archives: Intentional Communities

This article was originally published onWaging Nonviolence.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, along with systemic inequalities that have come to the fore, there has been increased attention to the role of mutual aid, community solidarity and alternative social structures. Many of these practices already exist around the world from intentional communities to activist encampments.

One such example can be found in the territories occupied by Brazils landless worker movement, Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra, or MST, which recently had one of its 20-year-old camps set on fire by Brazilian police. As a result, hundreds of people were evicted from their homes and school in Minas Gerais state.

The first time I visited Brazil was at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre in 2002. I was deeply impressed by the strong, radical and sophisticated resistance of activists in South America, MST in particular. Since then I have been returning regularly, learning about the ways these activists are engaging in constructive resistance to reimagine a better society.

During my last visit in June 2019 along with my colleague and friend Professor Kurt Schock from Rutgers University and research assistant Carolina Munis we encountered both a new and an old MST community in southern Brazil.

The land occupation Marielle

Our first visit was to the 14-month old ongoing land occupation of Accampamento Marielle, two hours outside of Sao Paulo. Comprising about 1,000 families organized in 33 base groups, the camp has a secretariat, an unarmed security team guarding the camp, a Saturday school for kids, a soccer field and a communal kitchen, where food comes in through donations. A second-hand clothing store sells clothes and shoes for a small price; other shops, like that of a car mechanic, coexist with communal gardens.

The activists work in different committees, including education, health, sport and culture, infrastructure and LGBT support. They have gender quotas for groups, make all decisions together and in equal fashion, and they have a zero-waste plan. All community members also have a duty to participate in these different thematic committees and a right to have representatives from the base groups take part in joint decisions.

Perhaps the most precarious aspect of the Marielle occupation was its little health center, which exists in one small room of an old, half-collapsed house. At this health center, two women in white clothes, who were newly trained health workers, did their best to help people with different medical problems. Having learned some basics from a conventionally-trained nurse, they created a medical handbook with advice for common health problems.

The health center had only simple equipment for checking fever and blood pressure, but also many local herbs for remedies including one mixture that was made from an old family formula. The two health workers try to use natural medicine and traditional knowledge whenever possible, while still being clear that conventional medicine is needed on occasion. In those instances, they refer to their collection of common medications, collected from inhabitants of the occupation. However, when anyone gets seriously ill, they call the ambulance or organize transportation to the nearest hospital.

When arriving at the hospital, they often have to give a false address, since staying in the camp makes them technically homeless and therefore liable to be denied treatment. These two health workers were acutely aware of how little resources they had and were embarrassed about their meager health service. Nevertheless, they took great pride in what they had built together with their comrades, despite all of the difficulties.

The settlement Contestado

After two days at this land occupation, we traveled to the established MST settlement Assentamento Contestado in the southern state of Parana. There we found the main educational center for Agroecology on the continent Escola Latino Americana de Agroecologia, or ELAA with thriving farm lands, nice and comfortable family houses, a small processing factory for vegetables and a newly-built health clinic. Consisting of a large one-floor building, this health center had space for visiting medical doctors and dentists, as well as an educational facility where community members could take a year-long class learning to treat people with natural medicine and traditional methods.

Resembling the little health clinic in Marielle perhaps only in spirit, this new shining center run by trained professionals gives free health services both in natural and conventional medicine to everyone in the local area, including those who are not part of MST. Its a profound realization what MST is capable of achieving.

Constructive resistance

MST is engaging in resistance by building a new society through resistance. It is fully integrated; contemporary resistance and the creation of the future. You cannot understand their resistance if you do not see how they are recreating community, agriculture, education, health, their relations to nature and each other, politics or gender relations. And, you cannot understand their creation of this new society if you do not see how the resistance is what makes it possible.

Their resistance creates the possibility of breaking the chains of the exploitative capitalist modernity that entraps them in poverty, injustice, repression and isolation from each other. Resistance is what makes the re-creation of communities possible, and the building of community is what makes resistance possible. It is an integrated form of constructive resistance.

In this occupying community of Marielle, I met with an experienced land activist. He told me about a previous occupation that he was involved with. His story is a hopeful one about a similar situation where they lived in shacks, resisted and created community together. Now the settlement has been formalized with legal titles to their land. He said,

Over seven years we were evicted 13 times. We would have to leave, occupy a different land and come back, leave and come back but in the end, we got the land.

Although I had heard such stories before, I still found it astonishing. The difference this time was that I was hearing his story after seeing what this kind of resistance and community-building looked like first hand so I could appreciate his story on a deeper level.

Every time the bulldozers and the police came, the state destroyed their decorated shack homes, the small gardens with vegetables and flowers growing, their assembled furniture, the meeting spaces with wooden benches and roofs, the soccer field where their kids played, their humble but proud health center and communal food area, their water collection system and their simple cafs and shops. Every time, after the bulldozers and police left, they had to rebuild either in the same place or on a new nearby piece of land.

They had to do it 13 times, again and again. That kind of endurance, persistence and resilience is what resistance is about. They rebuild and rebuild, re-creating their community again and again. It is also how nature works. It adapts; it comes back with new life every spring, even after a fire, and with time, if left alone, the vegetation will flourish.

When the forces of state repression come, this land reclaiming group of the poorest move away and take hold somewhere else. When the brutal blow of the states armed fist hits them, they move like water, absorbing the violence by flowing away. Like a swarm of bees or birds, they disperse when attacked, then quickly reintegrate again. Over time, the state does not have the energy to repress them anymore: land occupations start to pop up everywhere, counter-forces to the state mobilize, and urban support groups of journalists, lawyers, social workers and some politicians put pressure on the state.

When the poor eventually win their rights in courts and receive support from the general population, the state tends to give up. Therefore, at the end of the day, they often get the legal titles to their piece of land. And then, finally, they can build their permanent structures, solid meeting houses with real facilities, proper and large gardens, effective water systems, cultural centers, schools and proper health clinics.

Fulfilling Gandhis dream

The landless workers movement has achieved something Mohandas K. Gandhi never was able to do: integrate both the yes and the no of the struggle. In other words, MST has been able to combine the building up of new constructive alternatives which constitute a new society with the mobilization of a broad-based resistance to the dominant system that oppresses ordinary and poor people.

Clearly, Gandhi thought it was important to have a constructive program, and he emphasized and mobilized for that vision. He could rightly be seen as the foremost proponent of a kind of resistance that focuses on building a new autonomous society. On the other hand, he had serious trouble getting other anti-colonial activists to understand its importance for the liberation of India from British colonial rule. So the constructive element never gained significant attention as the peaceful mass resistance for which he became so famous.

More importantly, mass resistance campaigns against British colonialism did not integrate the constructive program. Instead they were separated, they took place in different places, and were sometimes not even organized by resistance-oriented activists, but people specialized in this more constructive work, like teachers and journalists.

In contrast, resistance and constructive work by MST are integrated. It is nearly impossible to understand the land occupations by MST without seeing how them are experiments in creating a new community and a new way of living. It is also impossible to make sense of and understand how they are able to create a New Brazil on their settlements if you do not see this in relation to their resistance through land occupations. The resistance and the construction are part of the same work.

I am not claiming that MST is perfect. There are many problems and weaknesses, as well as failures, which still exist. For example, MST was slow in showing support to LGBTQ persons within the movement though they now do that and they are struggling to make their peasant way of life in rural Brazil relevant for youth that often long for an urban life. Still, they are onto something, and they show us a promising path of social change that we all could follow.

By combining resistance with constructive work, they avoid the fundamental weaknesses of each approach. For resistance, that weakness is to just be against, to protest, critique and obstruct what is unjust and wrong, and to demand that others often the state correct it. For constructive work, the fundamental weakness is to only build up what is already tolerated, legal and fits into the existing system, like adding new alternatives for us to choose from in a market.

Resistance will always face repression if it is strong and poses a real challenge to the elites and the privileged. It will need resources and a community to survive and endure. Meanwhile, constructive work will always be co-opted if it becomes popular enough that corporations exploit and steal it to make a profit. Resolve and struggle are needed to maintain the foundational values and principles of constructive work, in order to push the limits and break the rules that otherwise force it to conform to existing systems.

A way forward for social change

This particular combination shows a way forward for social change that is truly transformative. That is what is so hopeful about the landless workers in Brazil, and what we can learn from them. Without copying what they do, we can and should apply the same combination of constructive resistance in our own struggles.

One key explanation behind the innovative thinking and success of MST is its emphasis on popular education. They organize their own basic and critical education from kindergarten to high school, as well as adult literacy training, forming it along the liberation pedagogics of the Brazilian educator Paolo Freire, author of Pedagogy of the Oppressed. And MST even has its own autonomous activist university, Escola Nacional Florestan Fernandes, outside of Sao Paulo, educating both MST militantes and other movements for free. At the same time, others learn from MST. During my visit I met with a network of educators who assist movements in Brazil to deal with issues of direct action, civil disobedience and security/safety issues.

I am already longing for the next visit to Brazil, knowing very well that they need all our solidarity and support. The new fascist Bolsonaro regime has declared MST a main enemy of the state, and they are determined to crush the movement. We cannot let that happen. Now is a time when international solidarity will be vital.

Teaser photo credit:Blockade of BR-367 by the Landless Workers Movement (Movimento Sem Terra, MST) against the arrest of former President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva in Eunpolis, Bahia, Brazil. Author HVL. This file is licensed under theCreative CommonsAttribution 4.0 International license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bloqueio_da_BR-367_pelo_MST_contra_pris%C3%A3o_de_Lula,_Eun%C3%A1polis_BA.JPG

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A radical land occupation in Brazil shows how to reimagine our societies for the better - Resilience

The most popular sport in the world is growing in East Texas, both in number and diversity.

TYLER, Texas In 2021, soccer surpassed the NHL as the fourth most popular sport in the United States.

Dallas-Fort Worth has grown into one of the most robust soccer markets in the country. Their Major league soccer team, FC Dallas, is developing junior programs in many different regions including right here in East Texas.

"I really feel like we're in startup phase when it comes to the growth of soccer not just in North America, but particularly Texas," said Gina Miller, VP of FC Dallas communications.

"I think soccer is unique because you're seeing a lot of parents putting their children in soccer," Miller said. "Now, we've heard that for the past 20 years, but we're seeing more of that over the course of the past decade and some of those young athletes looking to participate in other sports, where there may not be as many serious injuries."

Then theres the East Texas football club which started four years ago with only seven teams, but right now they have a total of 19 teams.

Team captain Reese Rowe has had a front row seat to the expansion.

"When I first started, you could play a team over and over again within your season," Rowe explained. "Now you can play many different teams are out there."

We see the growth in numbers, but how about diversity?

In December, Kendell Howard became the first black male in Tyler high school history to sign a division one soccer scholarship to play at the next level. Although this makes him the first, hopefully he's not the last.

"As I was growing up, I didn't know any black soccer players, Howard said. "Now I have a teammate over there, and I have one of my football coaches and his younger sons, they look up to me and everything. Just being a pioneer for starting such things is amazing."

For Kendells mom Olivia, the lack of African American representation in the sport locally wasnt the driving force.

"Well, I needed something to kind of get rid of the amount of energy that he had," Olivia said. "And at three, that was all that was available to me. And so that's where it started with me because I had no idea about soccer. I had friends who played, you know, in high school, but none of them looked like us. I didn't care about any of that; I needed what I needed. He needed what he needed, and soccer provided that for us."

Not everyone has the resources like the Howard's had, which is why with FC Dallas, the diversity is also intentional.

"We're holding soccer clinics in underserved communities so that we can introduce members of these communities to the sport that is really so easy and affordable to play," Miller said. "So we're really looking at it holistically, not just on the soccer field, but in the community in the business community as well to expand and hit those communities that might not be gravitating towards soccer or might not be on the soccer radar at this particular time."

What if I told you that the most watched sporting event in the world could be coming to Dallas in the year 2026? Were talking the Mecca of the sport, the Crem de la Crem, the 2026 World Cup.

FC Dallas President and Chairman of the Dallas 2026 Host City bid, Dan Hunt, is working to make DFW a host city for the FIFA World Cup in 2026.

"The majesty of the World Cup and the drama that goes in this tournament and the number of matches that are played, by the time it's played in the United States, Mexico and Canada, the World Cup of 2026 will have 80 matches in the tournament," Hunt said. "The economic impact, it's like the Super Bowl on steroids. People come to your market and they stay longer. They spend, you know, typically more money."

More money in a booming economy with room to grow as expansion and popularity in soccer continues to grow in East Texas.

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The Big Business of Soccer in East Texas - CBS19.tv KYTX

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, students, faculty and administrators faced challenges amid the urgent pivot to emergency remote instruction. The pandemic and resulting quarantines are large-scale crises unlike anything we have ever faced. During the spring of 2020, more than 4,000 U.S. higher education institutions were forced to mobilize emergency remote instruction for more than 20million students. Moving courses en masse into a crisis-responsive form of distance learning protected the health of our communities and preserved academic continuity for students. Faculty members and support staff displayed heroic levels of creativity, commitment and courage to make it all happen.

Entering 2022, the Omicron variant created unprecedented surges in the numbers of infected individuals. Once again, many colleges and universities have chosen to start the term using remote instruction to address this emergency. With the return of what was seen as a temporary measure to preserve the health of students, faculty and staff, our organizations feel the time is right to have a conversation on the national level about some widespread misconceptions that have arisen.

Chief among those is the inaccurate use of terminology that has led to confusion for students, their families, faculty, administrators, policy makers, members of the press and the public at large. Notably, people conflate remote learning with online learning. Quite simply, the difference between the two lies in planning and preparation:

In distinguishing between the two, we sometimes use the lifeboat analogythe lifeboat is great if the ship is sinking, but the onboard experience cannot be compared to that of a luxury cruise liner.

Through emergency remote instruction, what many students experience is not the high-quality online learning that has been developed and delivered by countless institutions for the past several decades. Nor has that emergency instruction been guided by the pedagogies and best practices supported by online learning research. For example, purposefully designed, quality online learning considers online presence and multiple forms of interaction, includes digitally accessible materials, and is well organized in an online course site to guide students along their learning pathway. But as Charles Hodges and his co-authors noted in their important article in the Educause Review,"The Difference Between Emergency Remote Teaching and Online Learning," which explored this topic in depth, for people unfamiliar with online learning the distinction between quality online courses and emergency remote instruction was, and still is, unclear.

Letter to the EditorA reader has submitteda response to this essay.You canview the letter here,and find all our Letters tothe Editorhere.

Emergency remote instruction is not on par with the online learning that those of us who have long worked in the field strive to provide. We at the National Council for Online Education believe students deserve the best possible experience for their educationand institutional leaders must be committed to delivering top-quality, rigorous and engaging learning experiences, regardless of modality. In fact, some accrediting agencies are explicit in expecting that quality be the same for all modalities or even have additionalmore stringentrequirements for online instruction.

High-quality online learning is the result of faculty trained and supported in online pedagogy, intentional instructional design and a host of other important ingredients that we have been fine-tuning for more than 25 years. This work has been guided over the years by research-supported practices, online course and program design guidelines (such as the Quality Matters Rubric, the OLC Quality Scorecards and the UPCEA Hallmarks of Excellence in Online Leadership), and tools crafted to support faculty in designing quality courses.

As described in Every Learner Everywheres book Optimizing High-Quality Digital Learning Experiences: A Playbook for Faculty, high-quality digital learning experiences are well-organized and thoughtfully designed. These experiences rely on instructional design principles and strategies to align learning outcomes with learning assignments, activities and assessment practice not only through strategic design, but also through integrating intentional opportunities for community-building and interaction in the digital environment.

Research shows that, when done correctly, quality online courses are as effective as face-to-face classes and, in fact, often lead to greater student success. But while faculty teaching remote classes are trying their best, they simply have not had the necessary development time. And the process to build those courses, and to prepare instructors to teach them effectively, does take timea resource not afforded by the rush to respond to COVID-19. At the onset of the pandemic, 97percent of U.S. institutions reported having assigned faculty members with no prior online teaching experience to remote courses. In addition, many students faced difficulties accessing the technology and internet connectivity needed to succeed, especially when separated from on-campus computer labs and other vital resources. The pervasive stress of a global pandemic only intensified those difficulties.

According to the U.S. Department of Educations National Center for Education Statistics, before the pandemic, one out of six postsecondary students were fully online students who had already realized the flexibility that learning modality gave them to navigate full-time jobs, family obligations or other needs. Then, during the pandemic, the flexibility provided by using online learning tools in transitioning to remote instruction enabled a significant portion of postsecondary learners a chance to learn without risking themselves, their loved ones or their communities.

We all learned many lessons during the pandemic, including that students wantand needthe flexibility afforded by online learning. Even as students returned to campus, many asked for continued online optionsand not just for health-related reasons. They have asked for flexibility in the modality, duration and scheduling of learning that best serves their educational needs. Many students have full-time jobs, are caregivers and were affected by the pandemic in ways that will continue to influence and challenge them. We also learned the importance of preparedness and saw that institutions that had invested in building a foundation of online quality prior to the pandemicsuch as basic faculty training for online teaching, student orientation for online learning and necessary technology and institutional infrastructurereaped dividends for that work. Institutions lacking online experience struggled with their pandemic response, as they did not have a core of faculty, instructional designers and leadership to support the transition to remote emergency mode.

For this and other reasons, the National Council for Online Education and institutions of higher education owe it to our learning communities to continue to advance high-quality, intentionally designed online learning through which institutions can contribute to student outcomes in new and profound ways. By empowering our faculty members to teach even more skillfully online, we will make courses more engaging and learning more effective. By re-envisioning ad hoc and remote teaching materials, we can offer students new online courses that both adhere to well-established frameworks of quality and expand the opportunities that have made online learning a meaningful experience for millions of learners.

We certainly do not expect all courses to be online in the future, but institutions would do well to support all faculty in leveraging digital learning tools and best practices. We are hearing of more interest in incorporating digital technologies as supplements to face-to-face courses, in blended courses or in new fully online courses. To best employ such tools in serving students, institutions will need to rely on thoughtful technology selection, faculty development, instructional design and application of proven frameworks to best ensure quality online learning.

As colleges and universities offer more online options in response to student demands, they are also challenged to adequately describe the student experience, and ensure quality learning, for each course. Students need to know what learning environment to expect for each, such as how much time is spent face-to-face or online. They also need to know what technologies will be used, including how their instructor and institutional support services will assist them. Those communications with students are made more difficult when people conflate the terms remote and online learning. Therefore, we call on institutions, researchers and the press to be more reflective and accurate with terminology when discussing or examining a given educational experience

Finally, the pandemic reinforced why online learning is so vital to the future of higher education: through digital tools, students were able to continue learning. Digital tools enabled a new wave of students and educators in realizing the advantages and opportunities of online learning. As online education leaders, we pledge to use these lessons to continually adapt and evolve so that we can meet the needs of future students, even as we help shepherd our communities through unpredictable future emergencies.

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Remote instruction and online learning aren't the same thing (opinion) - Inside Higher Ed

Community coalitions in Sacramento on Wednesday kicked off a targeted effort to get children ages 5 to 11 vaccinated for COVID-19. "There is more intentional focus on making sure we are reaching our hardest hit, hardest-to-reach families and youth," explained Mai Vang, Sacramento city councilwoman representing District 8. Sacramento County, Kaiser Permanente and La Familia Counseling Center joined forces this week to increase access to the COVID-19 vaccine in communities with lower-than-average vaccination rates, particularly for children 5 to 11 years old and within communities of color. In Sacramento County, more than 68% of children ages 5 to 11 are still not vaccinated. La Familia hosted a vaccination clinic at its Maple Neighborhood Center on Wednesday encouraging shots for kids. "We know that the LatinX community has one of the lowest vaccination rates here," said Rachel Rios, executive director of La Familia Counseling Center. "We have pockets of communities, mostly our underserved communities and folks who dont speak English, that we still have yet to reach."Rios added that many in the community were also essential workers who could not easily take time off to get their children vaccinated. "We know COVID-19 doesn't discriminate, but our current system does," Vang said. " who has access to health care, who has access to vaccines."Medical experts continue to emphasize the importance of vaccinations to beat COVID-19."There's this underappreciation of just how serious COVID can be in children," said Dr. Dean Blumberg, head of pediatric infectious diseases at UC Davis. "I see children young children hospitalized for COVID. Just because it's milder doesn't mean it can't be more serious."Blumberg added there have been more than 1,000 known deaths in the United States among children and almost 50 pediatric deaths in California.Vaccines opened up for kids 5 to 11 two months ago, but vaccination rates remain low. New data from Kaiser shows just 28% of eligible children nationwide have gotten their first dose. About 19% are fully vaccinated. In California, about 24% of eligible kids are fully vaccinated."We encourage parents to reach out to trusted sources a pediatrician or someone else who believes in mainstream science," Blumberg said."We know the way out is by vaccinating our families so we can spend time together again and lead healthy lives," said Rios. La Familia will host additional vaccination clinics on Feb. 8 and 23. More information can be found on their website.

Community coalitions in Sacramento on Wednesday kicked off a targeted effort to get children ages 5 to 11 vaccinated for COVID-19.

"There is more intentional focus on making sure we are reaching our hardest hit, hardest-to-reach families and youth," explained Mai Vang, Sacramento city councilwoman representing District 8.

Sacramento County, Kaiser Permanente and La Familia Counseling Center joined forces this week to increase access to the COVID-19 vaccine in communities with lower-than-average vaccination rates, particularly for children 5 to 11 years old and within communities of color.

In Sacramento County, more than 68% of children ages 5 to 11 are still not vaccinated. La Familia hosted a vaccination clinic at its Maple Neighborhood Center on Wednesday encouraging shots for kids.

"We know that the LatinX community has one of the lowest vaccination rates here," said Rachel Rios, executive director of La Familia Counseling Center. "We have pockets of communities, mostly our underserved communities and folks who dont speak English, that we still have yet to reach."

Rios added that many in the community were also essential workers who could not easily take time off to get their children vaccinated.

"We know COVID-19 doesn't discriminate, but our current system does," Vang said. "[It affects] who has access to health care, who has access to vaccines."

Medical experts continue to emphasize the importance of vaccinations to beat COVID-19.

"There's this underappreciation of just how serious COVID can be in children," said Dr. Dean Blumberg, head of pediatric infectious diseases at UC Davis. "I see children young children hospitalized for COVID. Just because it's milder doesn't mean it can't be more serious."

Blumberg added there have been more than 1,000 known deaths in the United States among children and almost 50 pediatric deaths in California.

Vaccines opened up for kids 5 to 11 two months ago, but vaccination rates remain low. New data from Kaiser shows just 28% of eligible children nationwide have gotten their first dose. About 19% are fully vaccinated. In California, about 24% of eligible kids are fully vaccinated.

"We encourage parents to reach out to trusted sources a pediatrician or someone else who believes in mainstream science," Blumberg said.

"We know the way out is by vaccinating our families so we can spend time together again and lead healthy lives," said Rios.

La Familia will host additional vaccination clinics on Feb. 8 and 23. More information can be found on their website.

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Most eligible children still not vaccinated for COVID-19. Groups in Sacramento are working to change that - KCRA Sacramento

Innovation is the name of the game this month, with artists working to expand viewer expectations while emphasizing vital issues of the moment. GLEANs Artist-In-Residence Exhibition demonstrates just how much can be achieved with materials gathered from the Metro dump, and at PCCs Paragon Arts Gallery, animations from a VR experience aim to increase awareness of tech addiction. High Desert Museum focuses on the history of ideal communities this month while spotlighting Native artists contemplating Indigenous futurisms.

Increased LGBTQ+ representation is also a theme within this months exhibitions. Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at PSU has To Survive on This Shore focuses on the histories and portraits of older transgender people, while Eugene Contemporary Art presents a group show of works by Tropical Contemporarys Transformation Residency participants. Read on for more information on these compelling, boundary-pushing events.

Modern FolkJanuary 22 February 19, 2022Stephanie Chefas Projects305 SE 3rd Avenue, Ste 202, Portland (Thurs-Sat 1 PM 6 PM)

This group exhibition centers the works of five West Coast artists who voice their cultural identities through folk art practices. Briana Spencer, Deedee Cheriel, Gina M. Contreras, Kellen Chasuk, and Lisa Congdon draw on a range of influences for Modern FolkCalifornia street art, punk rock, 90s DIY culture, Chicana culture, modern lowbrow, and humorto create an exhibition that feels graphic and vibrant.

Winter FormalJanuary 14 February 12, 2022Holding Contemporary916 NW Flanders Street, Portland (Fri-Sat 12 PM 5 PM)

Winter Formal gathers works by Emily Bixler, Jovencio de la Paz, Kassandra Howk, Kellie Romany, Stacy Jo Scott, and Sarah Wertzberger to accentuate the formal elements of each artists practice. Materiality, shape, color, and mark-making are brought to the forefront here, shown through the diverse mediums of each featured artist. Sculptural works, prints, paintings, and hung textiles demonstrate the ways in which distinct aesthetics can convey deeper intent.

Olivia Faith Harwood: Possessions, PossessionsJanuary 29 March 13, 2022Fuller Rosen Gallery1928 NW Lovejoy Street, Portland (Thurs-Sun 12 PM 5 PM)

Portland-based Harwoods solo exhibition at Fuller Rosen delves into the complex constructions of identity in adolescence. Harwoods painting series constructs a paranormal world through imagery pulled from the occult and feminist horror, plus plenty of creepy-crawly creatures. Dreamlike yet still anchored in reality (many of the objects seen in Harwoods paintings are from her own collections), Possessions, Possessions considers the inner and outer realms of selfhood during a perilous time.

Yang Fudong: from Yejiang/The Nightman Cometh to Dawn BreakingOctober 23, 2021 February 26, 2022Hallock-McMillan Building, curated by Zena Zezza237 SW Naito Parkway, Portland (by appointment Thurs-Fri, 2 PM 5 PM; Saturday screenings at 3 PM and 5 PM)

Zena Zezzas latest Artist Project Season, showcasing the works of Shanghai-based artist and filmmaker Yang Fudong, ends late this month. This programming, comprised of an installation alongside three short films, marks the first presentation of Fudongs works in the US. Additional Saturday screenings throughout the season have included other film works by Fudong, who references his formal education in Chinese landscape painting to engage with complexities of Chinese history, identity, and modernity.

To Survive on This Shore: Photographs and Interviews with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Older AdultsFebruary 8 April 30, 2022Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at PSU1855 SW Broadway, Portland (Tues-Sat 11 AM 5 PM)

Photographer Jess T. Dugan and social worker Vanessa Fabbre collaborated on this exhibition to highlight representations of older transgender people, a demographic often hidden or obscured in modern culture. Dugan and Fabbre documented the stories of their photographed subjects, gathering diverse accounts spanning the last 90 years of trans experience and activism in the United States. This collection of portraits and stories aims to illustrate the nuanced, complex journey of aging while trans.

Imagine a WorldJanuary 29 September 25, 2022High Desert Museum59800 US-97, Bend (open daily 10 AM 4 PM)

High Desert Museums new exhibition explores the history of ideal societies in the American West and encourages interactivity by inviting viewers to contribute their own concepts of utopia. The exhibition considers specific ecological, spiritual, and communal philosophies around intentional communities, including Oregons infamous Rajneeshpuram. Imagine a World also highlights Native artists working through the lens of Indigenous futurism to intertwine science fiction, cosmologies, oral traditions, and more.

Mariam Ghani: Partial ReconstructionsFebruary 1 March 19, 2022Schneider Museum of Art555 Indiana St, Ashland (Tues-Thurs 10 AM 4 PM)

Filmmaker, writer, and artist Mariam Ghani creates work that examines the places in which sociopolitical and cultural structures take visible shape. She often engages in long-term collaborations, including ongoing critical, curatorial, conservation, and creative work with national film archive Afghan Films. Her first feature-length film, the critically-acclaimed documentaryWhat We Left Unfinished, premiered at the 2019 Berlinale.To learn more about Ghanis work and Partial Reconstructions, tune in for her Creative Industries Zoom Discussion on February 3.

Month of SundaysJanuary 15 February 27, 2022Eugene Contemporary Art245 W 8th Ave, Eugene (Sat-Sun 12 PM 4 PM)

Tropical Contemporarys innovative Transformation Residency Program has helped enhance resources and opportunities for transgender and gender-diverse artists since 2020. While the program was planned pre-COVID, the residency and its participants were bound to challenging pandemic constraints. Now, the ten artists who participated in the programCarina Borealis, Princess Bouton, Francis Dot, Irene June, Remy Malik, Oliver Myhre, Julia O., Eel Probably, Pace Taylor, and Ty Warrenassemble to present works together for the first time. Themes include meditations on rural gay identity, intimacy, and queer touch, explored through varying mediums like assemblage and installation.

Jeremy Rotsztain: Walking a TurtleJanuary 19 February 28, 2022Paragon Arts Gallery, Portland Community College Cascade Campus815 N. Killingsworth St. Portland (window exhibition)

Artist and software programmer Jeremy Rotsztains Walking a Turtle explores awareness, attentiveness, and digital distraction via a window exhibition at Paragon Arts Gallery. The exhibition consists of animated screen recordings taken from RotsztainsWalking a TurtleVR experience, which transports participants to 19th century Paris, where they go on a walk with a turtle in a nod to flneur practices of the time period. In the full VR experience, the participant must increasingly avoid distraction while on the walk with the turtle. In this way, Rotsztain emphasizes the dark UX patterns of pervasive technologies that encourage addictive, reward-seeking behavior. The full Walking a Turtle VR experience will be available on commercial VR platforms in Spring 2022.

GLEAN Artist-In-Residence ExhibitionJanuary 21 February 25, 2022Maddox Building1231 NW Hoyt St. Suite 102, Portland (Fri-Sun 12 PM 5 PM)

Each year, juried art program GLEAN invites five artists to spend five months contemplating consumption habits, waste, and discarded resources by making artworks with materials collected from the Metro Central Transfer Station (the dump). GLEANs current Artist-In-Residence Exhibition highlights works created by the programs 2021 cohort, including Caryn Aasness, Colin Kippen, Jessica (Tyner) Mehta, Malia Jensen, and Willie Little, and demonstrates how each artist made the most of dump materials provided through mediums like video and ceramics.

Lindsay Costello is an experimental artist and writer in Portland, Oregon, with an academic background in textile research at the Oregon College of Art and Craft. Her critical writing can also be read at Hyperallergic, Art Papers, Art Practical, 60 Inch Center, this is tomorrow, andTextile: Cloth and Culture, among other places. She is the founder of plant poetics, an herbalism project, andsoft surface, a digital poetry journal/residency. She is the co-founder ofCritical Viewing,an aggregate of art community happenings in the Pacific Northwest.Herartistic practice centers magic, ecology, and folkways in social practice, writing, sculpture, and installation.

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VizArts Monthly: Innovation and Representation - Oregon ArtsWatch

Grant is Intended to Develop a National Network of Organizations Focused on Mobilizing Large-Scale Change for Underrepresented Communities

Improving the access and impact of STEM education and experiential work-based opportunities is one of the key pillars of the Arizona Technology Councils mission, said Steven G. Zylstra, president and CEO of the Council. This is especially critical in underserved communities, where the opportunity for a STEM education expands career possibilities immensely. The Council is proud to join the ALRISE network and will work directly with our members to help create more opportunities for Latinx students to take part in internships, hands-on training and more.

ASUs ALRISE Alliance is funded by NSF Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (NSF INCLUDES), a comprehensive national initiative to enhance U.S. leadership in discoveries and innovations by focusing on diversity, inclusion and broadening participation in STEM at scale. The grant represents a nationwide effort to address the overarching broadening participation challenge to accelerate Latinx representation in STEM education with institutional intentionality and capacity building for experiential learning.

ASUs vision for the Alliance is to drastically improve Latinx student retention and completion in STEM at two- and four-year Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) and emerging HSIs (eHSIs). The Alliance aims to complete this goal by taking the following actions to deliberately change long-standing systems:

Our goal in bringing industry and educational leaders into the Alliance is to form a densely connected network of peers, a shared community and intentional coordination of the disparate efforts across individuals and organizations to drastically improve diversity and opportunity in STEM education and careers, said Caroline VanIngen-Dunn, director, Center for Broadening Participation in STEM at ASU and principal investigator of the ALRISE Alliance. The Council will play a critical role in connecting Latinx students with industry partners to facilitate more opportunities for work-based experiences in STEM fields while also enabling organizations to diversify their employment base.

As outlined in its 2022 Public Policy Guide, the Council is heavily focused on creating opportunities to cultivate a diverse, equitable and statewide STEM ecosystem. Through STEM advocacy at the state and federal level, the work of the SciTech Institute and events and partnerships with member organizations, the Council is working towards long-term, shared, sustainable and flexible STEM missions that bridge, integrate and strengthen the learning opportunities offered by organizations across sectors instead of isolated, independent entities. This will result in the expansion of STEM business and education opportunities throughout rural and urban Arizona communities, fueling a strong, diverse talent pipeline prepared to meet the states anticipated growth.

To learn more about the ALRISE Alliance grant #2120021 and the National Science Foundation, please visit the NSF website at http://www.nsf.gov/.

About the Arizona Technology Council

The Arizona Technology Council is Arizonas premier trade association for science and technology companies. Recognized as having a diverse professional business community, Council members work towards furthering the advancement of technology in Arizona through leadership, education, legislation and social action. The Council offers numerous events, educational forums and business conferences that bring together leaders, visionaries and community members to make an impact on the technology industry. These interactions contribute to the Councils culture of growing member businesses and transforming technology in Arizona. To become a member or to learn more about the Arizona Technology Council, please visit http://www.aztechcouncil.org.

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AZTC Selected by ASU as a Key Partner in a $10 Million NSF ALRISE Alliance Grant Aimed at Accelerating Latinx Representation in STEM - Digital Journal

We found out about the logging by accident. We'd gone to The Forest Service Ranger District in Waldport and were looking at a big map of our valley, Tenmile, which hung on the wall.

"What are the little flags?" I asked one of the Forest Service staff. The map was covered with flags, like what you see in old war movies when armies are being tracked. Chuck says they weren't flags, but stickers. He always wants me to get the facts exactly right, but I remember them as flags. The Forest Service worker that day said the flags, or stickers or whatever they were, indicated sale units. When I wasn't sure what that meant, he added that they were "units in process of being negotiated as part of the Forest Service's management process."

We looked more closely. Flags were everywhere: along the road lined with giant spruce, hemlock, cedar and Doug fir; above the sauna; above our houses; near the campground; near the beautiful Five Mile Meadow.

"Forest management," said the man.

RELATED:How much forest did we lose in 2020? Like, a Netherlands' worth

We'd only lived in Oregon for a few years and didn't know about logging yet. Of course, it was happening all around us. Throughout the day, we'd hear the sound of chainsaws, the yarder whistle, and the crash of trees as they fell, and every day on Highway 101 or on the narrow, winding gravel road to our place, we passed trucks full of huge logs.We'd seen whole landscapes that had been clear cut and then sprayed with toxic chemicals. We saw areas that had once been pristine forest, now stripped of every living plant and animal, like a bomb had gone off, but we didn't understand the forces at play. Later we'd see how Big Timber had worked its way into and corrupted Oregon's legislature, its agencies, communities and schools, but back then, we were innocent.

My midwife had told us about the Tenmile property: 25 acres for sale in a semi-intentional community located in Oregon's Coast Range. Theland is between two wilderness areas and surrounded by the Siuslaw National Forest. It's off Highway 101 and up a narrow gravel county road that twists and climbs. The first few times you drive the road it's harrowing, with blind curves and steep, deadly drops. Huge trees line the road: spruce with its thick, sharp needles; the graceful hemlock with its drooping branches; thick-barked Douglas Fir and my favorite the most iconic, dramatic of them all cedar.

Everything is layered and textured. The forest, first of all. The trees and their understory. Tall and short, thick and thin, sharp and soft. The colors are muted grays and browns and every shade of green. Most of it's in shadow, but every now and then a shaft of light makes its way through the thick branches and illuminates some little section of forest. The landscape is layered with trees and bushes, ferns and flowers, and it's layered with scent. The smell of the cedar and the other trees, too, and the damp, vegetative smell of growing things. To drive up Tenmile is to be enclosed in color, texture and scent.

RELATED:Is it possible to live off-grid?

We quickly learned to differentiate sections of that road. The kids named one part Columbine Hill for the orange flowers that grow there every spring. In early summer, they made a game of counting the wild irises or trillium we passed on the way home or to town.

When we moved there, the Tenmile community was nine years old and made up of six households: eleven adults and eight kids. They came from different backgrounds, from WASPs and Irish Catholics, from wealthy families and the working class.All of them were people who could do things. They built houses and put in driveways and fences. They roofed and sided and did masonry work. They ran water lines, repaired engines and built a hydro-system. They caught their own fish. They went clamming and crabbing. They were master gardeners. They canned, baked and pickled. They read Tarot cards and milled lumber. They wove, painted, played the mandolin and made pottery.

What I liked best about my neighbors was their love for the place.The way they stopped to listen when the first rains came. Their excitement at the sight of an otter in the creek, a lynx crossing the road, a marten in the woods or evidence of a bear. And I like that when the valley was eventually threatened by seemingly insurmountable forces, the neighbors turned into bad asses and fought like hell.

Each of us had our own separate piece of land, but we shared a garden and an orchard. The orchard grew plums, pears and apples, all varieties. There was a weekly sauna and potluck.We helped build each other's houses and take care of each other's children. Kingfishers and swallows flew over us. The kids caught snakes in the grass, and the men caught salmon in the creek. In the morning, the meadow outside our window might be full of elk or deer. Black bear and cougar lived in the woods, and at night we could hear owls.

At the beginning, Chuck and Ilived in a 12 x 24-foot cabin with our two kids. The first summer, we had no outhouse and dug holes in the ground instead, which is acceptable for only a short time, if you ask me. Then Chuck built an outhouse with a composting toilet, which just meant a large plastic barrel that, when full, would be capped and left to biodegrade. We heated our house with a woodstove. Hot water came from a tank which sat above the woodstove and was connected to it by a copper tube. At first, there was no phone service, although soon Pioneer Telephone, a co-op, put a line to the house.Electric power only went up the valley for a mile and a half, so, everyone was off grid. Our refrigerators and stoves ran off propane. We used generators to run machinery and ran lines off our car batteries to watch movies. In the beginning, at night we read by kerosene lamps, but eventually Chuck and I were able to connect with our neighbor's hydro system, and then, except in late summer when it got too dry, we had enough electricity for lights and the radio. Our drinking water came from a spring up the hill, and it was the sweetest water you ever tasted.

RELATED:"Off the Grid": The growing appeal of going off the grid

For the first two years, our house was too small for a bathtub, so the tub sat on the deck outside. I loved sitting in the hot bath beneath the stars, working in the garden surrounded by trees and mountains, lying in bed with the sound of the creek, waking in the morning to find a herd of elk in the meadow.

We had thought by going to a remote, hidden place, we could drop out, be part of a community, make our own rules and live quiet lives with our kids, but everything changed that day in the ranger district, looking at the map. All the little flags, the timber sales, clear cuts.

We soon realized that instead of paradise, we'd landed in the middle of the Northwest Timber wars.

Before, when we got together, we had talked about the kids or the garden, an unusual animal someone had spotted, or building projects. We told funny stories. Now our conversations were about the forest and what we might do to protect it. They were all about strategy. The first thing we had to do was figure how the Forest Service worked. As a federal agency, it was full of rules and procedures for everything. We needed to know who was accountable and where to put pressure.

We read books and talked to people. We learned from activists all over the country. Regional forest defenders came to Tenmile and we'd take them into the forest and to the sauna. We'd feed them salmon because this was back when you could still catch Coho in the creek, back before the salmon and trout numbers plummeted and even catch and release was outlawed. We'd give them pies made from berries we grew in the garden, salads and soups and fruit, whatever was in season. Brock Evans, president of the Endangered Species Coalition, visited from D.C. He encouraged us by saying that a small focused group is often more effective than a large unfocused one. And one night in the sauna, Brock told us what was necessary: endless pressure, he said, endlessly applied. This never stopped being true.

Now driving home, I'd find Chuck's truck parked along the road where he'd pulled over to go into the forest. I loved watching him in our meadow, bending over to look at a plant. We took walks in the woods and. he pointed out the canopy, the way the hemlock grows in the shade of the Doug fir, for instance, and the understory below. We noticed the shape of the oldest trees. Most of them have had their tops blown off in fierce winter storms, so they're the same height as the trees around them, but their tops are flat. We learned about the birds that nested in those high, flat treetops. We learned the names of the plants, theelderberry, huckleberry, and sword fern, that grow on the forest floor.Fallen trees became nurse logs for hemlock or spruce seedlings, helping build the biomass that makes up that soft forest floor, growing in a row up its trunk. We learned about the insects that live in the downed logs. We shared information and we strategized.

RELATED:Ecological, but unaware: You care about the environment more than you think

Our little community was starting to have conflicts, but when it came to protecting the valley, we pulled together. We were a team. We went to public meetings, lectures, workshops and trainings. We learned everything we could. Eventually, we were the experts. One day I called one of our go-to environmental groups with a question and was given my own home phone number to call for an answer.

Meanwhile, The Forest Service was surveying the trees along the road. Timber sale boundaries were being marked.The tall cedar that was my favorite tree in all the world. Yellow tape. They were getting ready.

But then, the Northern Spotted Owl, one of those species that liked to nest in the high, flat tops of the tallest trees, was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA,) and, just like that, all bets were off. Under the ESA, a listing meant its recovery fell on federal land, so anywhere an owl was found, an area had to be set aside for protection. Pretty soon you'd see bumper stickers saying "I like my spotted owls fried," (so witty) and in some places, owls were found shot and nailed to trees. When we found Spotted Owls at Tenmile, it seemed like our problem was solved.

Although our little valley was the center of the universe to us, the political wheels of the timber wars turned regionally and nationally. The Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, now called Earthjustice, led the legal battle over old growth habitat for the Spotted owl. An injunction was issued by a federal judge shutting down all timber sales in Northwest National Forests. Then in 1989, Congress passed a one-year rider setting aside the injunction.

The following year, Congress failed to pass another rider but gave the go-ahead for clearcutting on already sold timber sales, if they didn't contain owl habitat forest structure. Each national forest was to have a Citizen Review Committee appointed to pass judgement on the size of each timber sale's trees were they large enough to be owl habitat or not?

First, we were told by the Forest Service that our trees weren't big enough to meet this criterion. We had a meeting then, and people came from town and from other nearby valleys, and we walked the drainages, measuring trees. DBH, diameter at breast height. We presented the data to the Forest Service, and they finally agreed to include the Tenmile sale units in the Citizen Review Committee process.

I think most people, at least in the northwest, realize the issue with the owl wasn't simply the survival of one species but that the owl is anindicator species,which means it's a gauge for the health of an ecosystem. It means that if the owl can't survive, a number of other plants and animals won't be able to either. You should also know that loggers were already struggling. Almost all of the old growth on private lands was gone by now, and many of their jobs had been automated. Also, as Chuck once pointed out to an audience of angry loggers who'd come to disrupt a talk he was giving: we're not your enemy. Your enemy is flying overhead at 35,000 ft in their corporate jets. It's those folks who overcut the forests, destroyed your unions and are sending our logs to mills in Japan.

RELATED:Reimagining humanity's obligation to wild animals

The Citizens Advisory Boards were made up of local leaders, including a sprinkling of those sympathetic to environmentalists, but generally weighted towards the timber industry. Everyone quickly realized that, regardless of the law, regardless of extinction or anything else, getting the cut out was primary. That wasn't going to change.

The meetings for our area were held at the headquarters of the Siuslaw National Forest in Corvallis.We'd go every week and sit in the back of the room. We weren't allowed to speak, but I still have the notes I took from those meetings.

Kent wants the cut out by Sept 30thCarl says there's no long-term plan for the owlGary says there is!Carl says that's an opinionGary says it's an expert opinion

Liz wants a votePat wants to talkDon wants a different definition of Old GrowthBruce says the process is proving itself.Pat says it's a timber-driven process.Liz says the volume is determining the processDon wants better stand descriptionLiz has a problem with analysis and mappingBruce has problem with definition of emerging Old Growth

Sometimes, we'd bring our kids. None of us had time for this and nobody could afford it, but we went to every meeting and made sure our tree size data was in the hands of each Committee member. Back in the valley, a neighbor was dying and someone else was getting a divorce. There was a fight over property. We were struggling to maintain our little community. And we had jobs and the normal hardship of living in the woods. Our water lines were always breaking. Roofs leaked. Driveways got washed out. Trees fell across the road. Car and trucks rusted and broke. It seemed like Chuck and I got flat tires about once a week. And you couldn't turn your back on the vegetation. It was always creeping over the driveway, over the paths, into the walls, over the gardens. You had to work hard just to keep from going backwards. It rained twenty-three days straight that December.

Even so, week after we went. It mattered that we showed up. It made a difference that someone was watching. When information about a particularly important stand at Tenmile was suppressed, our neighbor Paul got an accurate map to a sympathetic board member, and she was able to block its sale. Don't believe it when people say we have no power. In the end,nearly allthe Tenmile sales were taken off the board, which was a great victory, although slightly hollow. Our valley was preserved, but the cut still went out. Away from Tenmile, sale after sale went through. Where were the people to speak up for those places? We sat in the meeting room, silent, as the names of sales were called out.

Blue Bird, Angel, Beaver Pond, Black Snow, Tidewater, Skywalker, Stillwell, Sugar Cube, Sugarloaf, Mariah Skyline, Gordy Bluff, Picnic, Signal Point, Wapiti, Rocky Cedar, Sweet Thin, Crazy 25, Little Green Horn, Green Apple, Grass Skirt, Raspberry, Hot Elma. A place someone named Lower Sweet. A place someone called Starlight.

The following year, 1991, logging on the National Forest was shut down.

Oscar Wilde once said every story can be a happy one, depending on where you end it. This story didn't end here but, still, at least in terms of our valley, the ending is a hopeful one.

While it'struethat logging on national forest land was shut down, what really happened was complicated. The shutdown was in effect only until Congress or someone could work out the next deal. And nobody was talking about private property because private property was untouchable, even if most private forestlands were increasingly owned by big corporate timber firms who destroy the land, pay almost no taxes, take the profit and run. The public relations people want to convince us that those forest owners are all mom and pop, but it's not true.

First, we were able to protect Tenmile because the Tenmile forest is Spotted Owl habitat, and when that wasn't enough, Marbled Murrelets, another threatened species, were discovered there. Our efforts were further helped when a group called Conservation International identified the ecological importance of the Tenmile as part of one of the largest intact temperate rainforests left in the continental US. When a place we call The Five Mile Meadow, one of the most beautiful spots in the valley, was about to be bought by a timber company, Paul arranged for Audubon to buy it and create a sanctuary. He also facilitated the sale of another parcel to an Oregon State University conservation group known as The Spring Creek Project. Chuck and I, along with other landowners, put our trees in a conservation trust, to be protected. A few years ago, the philanthropic arm of Worthy Brewing from Bend, Oregon (their motto is earth first, beer second) bought 64 mostly logged-over acres and are planting trees in hopes of returning that property "to the natural world." Their plans include a solar-powered nature retreat and working organic, regenerative farm.

Years ago, I wrote an essay about our failed attempt at living on the land, which was published inThe Sunmagazine and reprinted inHigh Country News. The essay was titled "On Being Wrong" and was about my personal failures and about how little self-knowledge Chuck and I exhibited when we decided to live in the woods.We had worked for years, saving money to buy our land, but it turned out we weren't equipped for that life. Unlike our neighbors, we (especially I) didn't have the skills or wherewithal. And the community itself, despite its history and shared values, didn't hold together. For a long time, it seemed to me that the whole endeavor had been a failure, but that's not true.

We were still living at Tenmile when my husband, frustrated by the destruction of forests outside our own valley, started a regional conservation group, The Coast Range Association, to advocate for the entire Coast Range Forest, from the Columbia River, in the north, to the Siskiyou region, in the south. The organization is now over 25 years old, and Chuck is slowly handing over its management to the next generation of forest activists. The group's current focus is the climate crisis and the importance of leaving big trees in the ground for carbon, while creating good jobs. My husband's 25-year long criticism of the role of Wall Street ownership of private forests is no longer considered radical. Recently, his analysis of forestland ownership by Real Estate Investment Trusts was taken up by ProPublica and published in a series of exposs.

Chuck isn't the only Tenmile resident to dedicate himself to the environment. Nearly every household there has someone who ended up working in conservation. In addition to ensuring the preservation of Tenmile, Paul has worked in various capacities as a conservationist. Among other things, he's participated in watershed councils and helped development and management of wetland conservancy and ocean reserves. Paul's son earned a PhD with research focused on the cumulative effects of pesticide use in forest management in the Coast Range. His current job is addressing ocean acidification.. Two of our neighbors served on the board of Chuck's organization. Both our son and one of the neighbor's daughters worked on stream surveys, counting salmon, for Oregon's Fish and Wildlife agency. Our daughter and her husband own 150 acres of land, much of it damaged by misuse, on which they're practicing regenerative agriculture. Our son-in-law works in wetland restoration.

When Chuck and I looked at the map of Tenmile on the wall of the ranger district in Waldport all those years ago, we were planning to make a trail through the woods to connect all our properties, so the kids could reach each other's houses without walking on the road. We had no idea what those little markers foreshadowed, and how it would change everything. It wasn't what we'd dreamed of. We didn't plan it. We just wanted to have gardens and hang out in a beautiful place. We wanted dancing and storytelling, potlucks with pies and salmon, and on Sunday nights, sauna, and even though we ended up losing all that, what happened instead was beyond anything we could have ever imagined.

More stories about forest life:

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We moved to an off-the-grid paradise and ended up fighting a war to save the forest - Salon

As every job increasingly touches technology and other STEM areas, business and education leaders say 2022 will be all about continuing the mission to create more access and opportunity to education in STEM subjects: science, technology, engineering and math. There is work to be done to continue integrating the broad set of STEM skills both in and outside of the classroom, they say.

Pat Barnes, senior global program officer of STEM education and equity at Deere & Co., said it is difficult to find workers with the required deep technical knowledge due to both a limited supply of graduates and increased competition for workers.

At MidAmerican Energy Co., Kathryn Kunert, vice president of economic connections and integration, said the utility company faces similar workforce issues, citing the top challenge of finding workers who want to both live and work in rural areas.

You really have to provide them with opportunities, potentially in addition to their jobs, Kunert said. Theyre much more interested in having the value-added proposition provided to them as well.

She said recruiting efforts in rural Iowa are established, but there are some instances where its still in its infancy. For MidAmerican, those measures are doing outreach to schools and families to share available career opportunities in STEM fields, regardless of whether a student plans to obtain a four-year degree.

When you partner and you marry up the education and the STEM aspects to the business and let them know that there are opportunities right there in their own backyard and what that means and what they can do for a career thats what I think we have to continue to work on [is connecting] those opportunities with students and the educators.

Barnes said ensuring equal access to Iowas STEM education resources for all students is Iowas biggest opportunity for improvement in the near future. The Iowa Governors STEM Advisory Council, of which Barnes and Kunert are members, released recommendations from its diversity, equity and inclusion work group in April 2021. He said the group is working to implement the recommendations within the councils programming and they presented at the councils annual meeting in January.

Compared with 10 years ago, awareness and support of STEM education in Iowa has increased significantly, with help from the collaborations between industry, nonprofits and government, Barnes said. But he said if were really serious about moving the needle on supporting and increasing the [talent] pipeline, companies need to consider both short- and long-term investments in STEM efforts.

Pi515 Founder and Executive Director Nancy Mwirotsi is focusing on long-term plans this year, because she said to be ready to meet the job demands of the 2030s, preparation must start in 2022. The Pi515 program offers underserved youths mentorship and teaching in computer science and related fields.

At the end of 2020, there were 1.4 million open computer science jobs nationwide and only 400,000 graduates available to fill them, according to an analysis from Daxx, a software development and technology consulting service provider.

Projections from Korn Ferry, a global organizational consulting firm, estimate that by 2030 there will be 4.3 million global job openings in the technology, media and telecommunication fields and 7.9 million open jobs in the manufacturing sector. Daxx also reports that a sustained shortage of software developers could result in an annual loss of $162 billion for the U.S. in unrealized output.

Mwirotsi said Iowa needs to look at this kind of data for the state because it will really shape the direction of what were going to do. Even though the workforce is adaptable, she said STEM curricula and strategies have to be devised and planned in advance with support from sustained, intentional efforts.

[STEM education] is a process. It is a really long process, Mwirotsi said.

As the new year gets started, the Business Record asked Mwirotsi and other STEM education leaders about their priorities for 2022.

STEM BEST H.D.

Iowa Governors STEM Advisory Council

With a $700,000 special appropriation from the Legislature granted last year, the Iowa Governors STEM Advisory Council created the STEM BEST H.D. (High Demand) program. It is an expansion of STEM BEST, which provides up to $25,000 grants for schools and businesses to partner and create curricula or projects that integrate STEM workforce skills. The new H.D. program has the same goal of the original program but will target the following industries identified as experiencing an increased demand for workers: computer science, information technology, health professions and advanced manufacturing.

STEM BEST Program Director Tanya Hunt said that the H.D. program also differs in several other ways.

It lowers the cost-sharing requirement for applicants and offers a potentially higher award amount applicants can receive grants of up to $40,000. School districts will also have a year and a half to use funds awarded through STEM BEST H.D., whereas STEM BEST grant recipients have about 10 months to use their funding.

We award in February 2022, and then [applicants are] able to utilize those awards through August 2023, which to me is even better than the money, Hunt said. Having that time is going to afford really great opportunities for those that are awarded.

With every state agency, including the STEM council, working to address workforce shortages, Jeff Weld, executive director of the Iowa Governors STEM Advisory Council, said STEM BEST is an arrow in the quiver, but teachers are at the center of the effort as they take on the additional role as workforce developers.

This is a new hat for teachers to try and wear, and STEM BEST is an answer to them when they say, How am I supposed to help promote career awareness? Weld said.

Long-term, Weld said the hope is that one day STEM BEST grants arent needed because every teacher, in every school, in every community in the state is already by nature incorporating career advancement, career awareness and collaboration with local community employers into the school day.

Since STEM BEST started in 2014, 80 programs have been launched across the state. More than 40 proposals were submitted for the 2022 H.D. program, and awards will be announced in mid-February. Applications for 2022 STEM BEST grants open on March 14.

K-12 computer science course requirements

Iowa Governors STEM Advisory Council and Iowa Department of Education

Gov. Kim Reynolds in 2020 proposed a path to require computer science curricula in Iowas 327 school districts and 116 accredited private schools. The Legislature passed the bill, and the initiative will hit its first checkpoint on July 1 when high schools must have a plan to start offering at least a half-unit computer science course in the 2022-23 school year.

The law requires that the instruction be high quality, meaning it aligns with Iowas computer science standards. Heather Doe, communications director for the Iowa Department of Education, wrote in an email that Iowas computer science standards come from the Computer Science Teacher Association and were adopted by Iowas education department in June 2018.

Doe wrote that a high-quality computer science course in Iowa may cover computing systems, management information systems, programming, information support and services and courses in advanced placement computer science. Introductory-level courses do not qualify.

Some high schools already meet the July requirement. According to the 2021 Condition of Education Report, 10.1% of Iowa public high school students graduating in 2021 took a high-quality computer science course.

Despite the definitions of high-quality computer science courses, Weld said those in the education community, from parents to teachers, are still unclear on what it means to have a high-quality course.

I dont think its well known what everybody means by high-quality computer science and what it means to say high-quality computer science teacher preparation, Weld said. Theres a lot of variance across whats being taught, and how its being taught and by whom its being taught because that high-quality [definition] is so nebulous.

Weld said this is one reason why the governors Computer Science Work Group, which was active from December 2020 to June 2021, recommended forming an ongoing work group in its report to the Legislature.

Weld, who co-chaired the work group, said the main theme across its recommendations was aggregating good things we know are happening in pockets of the state and [making] sure everybody has access to them. The following are the top three recommendations from the work groups report, Building on Iowas Vision for Computer Science Education:

Create an ongoing Computer Science Work Group. This group would oversee the delivery of quality professional development for computer science teachers and curate resources for educators as they create computer science curricula. Making a computer science endorsement a critical and affordable credential for secondary teachers was also recommended.

Bridge any computer science gaps in schools and communities. The work group recommended expanding computer science education to underserved students by training all kindergarten through eighth grade teachers to integrate the subject in their classrooms and by preparing technology teachers and specialists working in schools to teach computer science courses.

Put a work-based learning coordinator in each school district. The addition of this role would expand access to work-based learning options and include how computer science is redefining virtually all occupations, according to the report. Other recommendations are creating a playbook that facilitates collaboration between schools and businesses and providing additional financial incentives for employers to participate in work-based learning.

The work groups recommendations are currently under review by the Iowa Department of Education, which will submit a computer science plan to the Legislature by July 1.

Preparing youth for the future of work

Pi515

The theme for Pi515 in 2022 is 2030: Preparing youth for the future of work because Mwirotsi said Generation Z is going to shape the digital economy, and the work to prepare them needs to start now.

Mwirotsi plans to put on several roundtables in 2022 to elevate the conversation about the needs for 2030 in both the technology and business communities.

With an eye on the long term, Mwirotsi said Pi515 is also shifting its focus to create more intentional partnerships with new businesses and communities.

Instead of local IT professionals coming to lead the Pi515 course at schools, Mwirotsi has reversed the model so students are being taught in the companys offices.

I want companies to let these kids go into their spaces, she said.

Pi515 has tested this new model with American Equity, and Principal Financial is the business partner for the current course, which runs through March.

Mwirotsi said meeting the goal of adding five to 10 more business partners this year would allow Pi515 to offer the course to more students and in more areas of the state like Waterloo and Cedar Rapids. At the time of publication, one new company had agreed to partner with Pi515.

She said the new model has received tremendous response from students and has helped with their engagement in the course. A new high school cohort is expected to start in September.

Pi515 is also hosting its second Girls Entrepreneurial Summit on April 28, where high school students will present the business ideas theyve developed in the weeks before. They also participate in a pitch competition where the winner receives a cash prize courtesy of John Pappajohn.

Priority: DeltaV Code School

Cybersecurity Program

NewBoCo

The New Bohemian Innovation Collaborative, or NewBoCo, in Cedar Rapids launched its DeltaV Code School in 2017 with a focus on lowering the barrier of entry to software development by providing boot camp-style courses for adults looking to change careers. In 20 weeks, NewBoCo Executive Director Aaron Horn said DeltaV could take someone from knowing potentially nothing to being a junior-level full-stack developer.

Since then, DeltaV has introduced other course tracks: digital marketing in 2019 and help desk and administration in 2020. A cybersecurity program is the most recent addition, announced in fall 2021.

As with the other courses, the motivation was to make an industry facing a high demand for workers accessible to anyone. Horn and others from NewBoCo spoke with local companies about the roles and skills they need, and he said they have built the DeltaV curriculum based on that feedback.

The first cohort of the 10-week cybersecurity program starts Feb. 7, and instructor Dan Tuuri said after graduation, students could take on jobs like a junior cybersecurity analyst or a help desk or policy review role.

Its going to be 10 weeks of education that really simulates what somebody at an entry-level security role would do, Tuuri said. In order to stay on top of the ever-evolving challenges in cybersecurity, the curriculum will cover topics like artificial intelligence and cryptography and end with students responding to a 72-hour simulated cyberattack.

The way cyber risks touch every IT position makes awareness and literacy of cybersecurity risks a top need in STEM education, Tuuri said. He said the need for graduates to have fundamental cybersecurity knowledge is becoming as important as them having financial literacy.

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What is ahead for STEM education in 2022? - Business Record

(Each Saturday, a faith leader offers a personal perspective in this space. To become part of this series, email religion@recorder.com)

Tomorrow, the Sunderland Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, will conduct its Annual Congregational Meeting following its morning worship. This combination is intentional. The church at worship inspires the church at work. Spiritually nourished by Word and Communion, the members are prepared for the sacred responsibility of church governance, which entails everything from mundane financial matters to how best to preach and live the gospel in the church and in the world.

Every member of the congregation contributes to the leadership of the church. Each members opinions and expectations, and the consensus that emerges from them in dialogue, are judged to be the most trustworthy expression of the Spirits intent.

This Congregational Church Model is and has been thoroughly democratic since it arrived on these shores with the Pilgrims. Each members conscience is respected. Each congregations autonomy is protected. What holds this together is a respect for covenant, a solemn and sacred agreement to value the opinions of others and to expect the same in return. Covenant requires mutual trust and a humble willingness to compromise.

Gathering as a community is valued and entered into freely. I have heard it said, only somewhat jokingly, that Congregationalism at its most forceful will strongly encourage. This recognizes the value of teaching and informed discussion. Congregationalism employs a collaborative leadership and is an outright rejection of the power of the privileged few. This heritage of democracy influenced the political formation of our nation and has long been respected as its fundamental tenet. In a nation not defined by a common faith, origin, race or ethnicity, it is democracy that is our keystone.

The birthdays of Lincoln and Washington fall later this month. When I was in school and waiting for winter vacation, it was the birthdays of these two American icons that were celebrated on Presidents Day. Washington surprised the world when he relinquished command of the Continental Army at the end of the Revolutionary War. Abigail Adams wrote that if Washington were not one of the best-intentioned men in the world, then he might be one of the most dangerous. Washington respected the nascent American democracy. His example of walking away from the autocratic power that was almost expected of him at the end of the war and of his second term set an example for future Presidents.

Lincoln was called upon to reassemble the nation Washington had helped form, and to begin in earnest to advance a more complete understanding of the ideal: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal He was the President whom fate would have confront Americas peculiar institution of slavery. The enlightenment of Americas words could no longer tolerate the barbarity of its actions. Lincoln is quoted as saying, No man is good enough to govern another man without the others consent. He led us through the cataclysm of Civil War to advance the scope and thus the legitimacy of our democracy.

Lincolns February birthday, along with that of Frederick Douglas, is also the reason why February is African American History Month. Some three weeks ago, we celebrated the birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He stood on the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered his famous I have a dream speech. He called out America for not fulfilling its promise to continue advancing democracy among all its people. That struggle remains ours still today.

Democracys continuing work is a noble endeavor and one that depends on our higher selves. It battles the baser instincts of pride, power and greed. It challenges us to respect each other as equals and also the covenants that hold us together as one people, one people who are actually stronger because of our differences. In our church tomorrow, we will treat democracy as a sacred gift. I hope we as a nation can do the same.

The First Congregational Church of Sunderland, United Church of Christ, has ministered to the people of the local communities since 1717. Worship services on Sundays begin at 11 a.m. The churchs website and Facebook page are found under First Congregational Church of Sunderland. The churchs phone number is 413-665-7987. If you would like to reach Rev. Randy Calvo, please email him at randyc1897@gmail.com. We offer religious education for the youth and Bible study for adults. We have a wonderful music program under the direction of Anthony Tracia, and a bell choir. All are welcome and we mean it.

Continued here:

Faith Matters: The sacred gift of democracy - The Recorder

My paternal grandparents were the textbook definition of Cajun French.

While I built my byline on the name Monique Batson, I was born LaTesha Monique Quibodeaux. My name was as French as could be, down to having all five vowels and an x in my last name alone.I was in second grade before I learned how to spell it.

But, as the first in my family to be born in Texas, the culture and history were fascinating to me.

They believed no meal was complete without rice and gravy.

Gumbo contained nothing but roux, chicken, sausage, and whole boiled eggs. There were no vegetables added for flavor, nothing green floating around. It wasnt needed.But no one was about to eat it until they added a hefty amount of Tabasco sauce to their bowl.

When we gathered together for holidays, my grandfather would load his record player with Zydeco music on vinyl hed kept for decades.

And more than not, they spoke to each other in Cajun French.

Married for 60 years before my grandmother died, they almost didnt need to speak at all. But when they used English, it was always with the heavy Cajun accent every Southeast Texan recognizes instantly.

But for the most part, they spoke in a language we couldnt understand. Whether it was intentional or habit, Ill never know.

They had moved to Texas when my biological father was young, and he never learned the language. Therefore, I didnt either.

It was quite obvious when my grandparents were talking about me as Monique translates exactly the same in both languages. Yet they would never tell us what they were saying, as their conversations were as sacred as dangerous.

A former co-worker of mine once wrote a story centered in Port Arthur that talked about how the Vietnamese language was locally on the brink of death.

While intentional, it was never supposed to be malicious.

Immigrants struggled so hard with their lack of knowing the English language that they focused on ensuring their kids knew English first. To many of them, speaking their native language was what held them back or led to a deep struggle. So they worked to ensure their children had a different experience.

Yet in the process, foreign languages began to die within their own communities. Rituals and culture began to fade, with few left to help teach those who now want to embrace their heritage.

And thats why, this week, I was fascinated to see the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement from Queen of Vietnam Catholic Church perform the traditional Lunar New Year lion dance for the students of Houston Elementary School. Had you seen me clapping and smiling, you might have mistaken me for one of the faculty members.

It was the first time the school held a Lunar New Year assembly, Principal Marcia Sharp said. But it was done in an effort to ensure students were exposed to all of the cultures in Southeast Texas.

In addition to the lion dancers, teachers gave a presentation on the Lunar New Year traditions, explained the meaning, and joined students in a fashion show.

And as someone who missed out on learning about my own culture, seeing the children light up and dance along to something some had never experienced was heartwarming.

Gone are the days of being afraid of where we came from. We need to teach our children all of the traditions our ancestors celebrated. And if youre like me learn together what you dont know.

My Cajun grandmother was also Catholic. And while I wasnt raised that way, watching her make rosaries and anoint doorways with Holy oil fascinated me. She had a room in her home dedicated to Catholicism there was a folding prayer pew that my grandfather built her under shelves of statues of saints, candles, and other affiliated items.

Her foundation was everything to her.

I only wish I had spent more time learning everything it was built on before she passed.

Monique Batson is the Port Arthur Newsmedia editor and can be reached at monique.batson@panews.com.

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MONIQUE BATSON It's up to us to teach our children about their history - Port Arthur News - The Port Arthur News