Mar 31: Empowering Communities for a Healthy Tomorrow (part 1)

Empowering Communities: Part 1
Communities at Risk: Understanding the Impacts, Providing Strategies

Dr. Lyn Robertson will kick off the evening by sharing her expertise on a community-based approach to identifying cancer risks and prevention strategies. Dr. Robertson is associate director of Cancer Community Outreach at the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (CEO-UPCI). She and her team partner with UPMC CancerCenter staff to develop effective collaborative and supportive relationships with underserved (uninsured/underinsured, minorities, elderly, homeless/transitional living centers, rural and mentally/physically challenged) communities in western PA.

Following Dr. Robertson's presentation, we will have a panel discussion that addresses occupational health exposures and a movement to reduce toxic exposures and go "green" in several occupational settings. The panel discussion features Dr. Allison Robinson, UPMC Director of Environmental Initiatives; Ms. Jackie Quimpo, owner of Clean Green Generation; and an owner of one of Pittsburgh's leading natural salons.

7 - 9 p.m. (doors open 6:30) at the Carnegie Science Center's Science Stage (One Allegheny Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15212). This is the first of a three-part series. Register online for one ($10) or all three ($25) events.

Mar 29: Empty Bowls Dinner

A community meal to fight hunger

The annual Empty Bowls is a simple community meal of bread and soup to help remind people of the one in seven residents of Allegheny County who are facing hunger.

This marks the 20th year that Just Harvest and Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank will cohost the event. Funds raised will benefit both organizations equally.

Pittsburgh’s Empty Bowls typically draws more than 1,500 people and in its past 19 years has raised more than $500,000 to fight hunger locally in our communities.

The dinner features soup cooked by some of Pittsburgh’s top restaurants, and this year Executive Chef Bill Fuller of Big Burrito will be dishing up an exclusive 20th Anniversary soup for the occasion. Local personality soup servers, a silent auction of ceramic art and celebrity-autographed bowls, live music, and soup-to-go are part of the festivities. This year the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh will also provide children’s activities.

The Food Bank and Just Harvest thank all the many local schools, community classes, professional ceramic studios, and individuals who contribute to Empty Bowls! If you would like to donate bowls to Empty Bowls for next year, please call Ken Regal at Just Harvest: 412-431-8960.

2-6 p.m. at Rodef Shalom, 4905 5th Avenue in Oakland. Each ticket-holder gets to choose a beautiful handmade bowl to take home. Tickets are $22 and will be available at the door or for advance purchase (online, by phone (412)431-8960 x101, or by mail to Just Harvest, 16 Terminal Way, Pittsburgh, PA 15219).

Mar 27 & 28: Farm to Table conference

This annual local foods conference provides consumers with two days of networking and educational opportunities. Speakers, hands-on cooking demonstrations, talks on gardening, nutrition, and health as well as local food tastings. Exhibitors include farmers, vintners, brewers, restaurateurs, purveyors, educators, and activists. The conference provides consumers with ideas and information about where their food comes from and where to find businesses and organizations who can provide them with healthy food and healthy lifestyle choices.

The conference takes place at the David Lawrence Convention Center. More information and online registration at http://farmtotablepa.com/conference

Mar 26: Green Drinks with Communitopia and FutureFest

Mar 26 & 27: Joe Sestak's cross-state hike pauses around here

Progressive Senate candidate Joe Sestak is walking across Pennsylvania (something Senator Toomey almost certainly wouldn't do, and that's about the least relevant of their differences). He'll be in our area this week, with appearances in Pittsburgh and Coraopolis. Almost to the Ohio border!

On Thursday, March 26th at 10 a.m., he'll be at Zeke's Coffee (6015 Penn Ave. in Point Breeze/East Liberty) speaking about foreign policy, including Iran.

On Friday March 27th at 10 a.m., he'll be at the Regatta Bar & Grill (777 Aten Road in Coraopolis) to talk about energy and the environment.

March 25: “Water Creates,” lecture on water and communities

Pitt's Department of the History of Art and Architecture presents

Scarcity and Abundance: Politics and Poetics of Water Lecture

“Water Creates” by Betsy Damon.

Since 1985 Betsy Damon, environmental art pioneer and founder and director of the non‐profit Keepers of the Waters, has raised critical questions through her art about water in the U. S. and abroad. Her workshops are most notable for helping communities organize and take action for their water sources. In this talk, she will present her project “the Living Water Garden”, a world-renowned ecological park and natural water filtration model in the city of Chengdu, China. She’ll share her 30 years of experience working with communities and grassroots on in situ public projects to remedy rivers and wetlands, and reveal the essence of water in city environs.

4:30 p.m. in Room 202 of the Frick Fine Arts Building in Oakland (by the fountain across from Schenley Plaza).

Mar 24: Urban Agriculture Zoning Code hearing

With the rise in interest in city farming, beekeeping, backyard chicken raising and all things agricultural, there has been an equal rise in the need to revise and update city zoning code on urban agriculture. This Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at 2:00 p.m., there will be a public hearing on the City Planning Commission’s plans to amend text to the zoning code related to urban agriculture. The meeting will take place at the John P. Robin Civic Building at 200 Ross Street in Pittsburgh.

The Planning Commission has been working with Pittsburgh’s urban agriculture community to make revisions to the code. The Pittsburgh Food Policy Council has provided a user friendly version of the proposed changes here. You can read the full code at the link here. The broad basics of the revisions include:

• Expand the allowable zoning districts and use classifications for all types of Agriculture and Urban Agriculture

• Amend and supplement the use standards for all types of Agriculture and Urban Agriculture

• Add definitions to supplement Agriculture and Urban Agriculture use standards

The hearing is your opportunity to provide public comment in front of the Commission, so if this is a subject dear to your heart, you are urged to attend. If you cannot come to this hearing in person, you can submit a written statement to Dolores Hanna at dolores.hanna@pittsburghpa.gov by March 23rd, the day before the hearing.

2 p.m. on the first floor of the John P. Robin Civic Building, 200 Ross Street, Pittsburgh, PA.

Mar 24: CMU IFF screening of A Dangerous Game

The CMU International Film Festival presents the startling documentary A Dangerous Game, which takes a look at the high environmental and economic costs of golf courses for the 1% (it's a sequel to the award-winning documentary You've Been Trumped, which can be seen online). Once again, the IFF organizers have offered a generous admission discount to Sustainability Salongoers (just register for the Student/Senior rate), for single films or the full series!

What does it take to stop The Man? If that man happens to be real estate mogul Donald Trump, democratic process is not always the answer. British journalist and documentary filmmaker Anthony Baxter has followed his highly regarded and controversial 2011 film, You've Been Trumped, an exposé of Trump's heavy-handed acquisition of a fragile coastal wilderness area in Scotland to build a luxury golf course, with a second film, A Dangerous Game, which continues the Scottish saga and documents Trump's similar enterprise at a UNESCO World Heritage site at Dubrovnik, Croatia.

In each country, there is little hope for redress via the existing laws. Trump's triumph of capitalism comes at the expense, in both cases, of traditional cultural values and land-use practices. Baxter’s highly entertaining and beautifully filmed A Dangerous Game reveals what happens when the desires of the world’s rich and powerful collide with the lives and livelihoods of local residents.

The film includes guest appearances by American actor, Alec Baldwin, and environmental defense lawyer, Robert Kennedy, Jr.

6:30 p.m. at McConomy Auditorium in CMU's Cohon University Center, with a discussion including the filmmaker and CMU faculty as well as a reception sponsored by the East End Food Co-op. More details and a link to purchase tickets are here.

Mar 22: MOSAIC Conference on Gender

MOSAIC, CMU’s annual gender conference, has expanded from its traditional focus on women’s issues to address the larger issue of gender, in response to the continual growth of the conference and the evolving needs of the campus community. MOSAIC provides an opportunity to promote gender equity and to open a forum for exploration and discussion of the role that gender plays in the lives, careers, and education of men and women as individuals, and in the larger scheme of culture, society, and government.

This year's keynote speaker will be Kate Bornstein.

9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Cohon University Center. The MOSAIC Committee welcomes proposals and registrants from other universities, individuals, and community organizations. Register to attend Mosaic 2015 here.

Mar 21: Sustainability Salon on Food

The 38th Sustainability Salon will focus once again on FOOD -- growing it ourselves, sourcing it locally, and food education and policy. Join us on March 21st (from 3-10 p.m., with potluck food and drink). Erin Hagan Hart will talk about the upcoming Farm to Table Conference (the theme this year is Cook At Home -- and Erin will be offering complimentary tickets to Salongoers!). We'll hear from Rayden Sorock about some of Grow Pittsburgh's amazing programs bringing food-growing to all corners of Pittsburgh through education, youth job development, farm stands, community gardens, and the new Garden Resource Center with its Tool Lending Library. Dylan Molloy of Just Harvest will talk about their programs including the annual Empty Bowls Dinner (the source of many of the lovely bowls you see serving Sustainability Salon fare). Greg Boulos of Blackberry Meadows Farm has been involved in Pittsburgh's local food movement for over ten years. From food sovereignty to food deserts, Greg has been working with neighborhoods, nonprofits and his own community of eaters to advocate and ensure "higher octane" meals for better regional nutrition. In addition to a Community Supported Agriculture program, Blackberry Meadows is now offering a grow-your-own version where they provide seedlings and supplies for backyard gardeners -- Garden Share, a unique way of Supporting Community Agriculture. Don Kretschmann will bring us up to date on the situation with natural gas facilities in the area surrounding his 80-acre organic CSA farm. and Erin Kelly will share the East End Food Co-op's Fair Trade practices. More details may appear here as I finalize the speaker roster.

The next Salon will be on April 11th, continuing our fourth Springtime Food Focus and also returning to the Revitalizing Communities theme from last fall -- we'll look at developing neighborhood-scale food systems in Hazelwood and Braddock. A few other events to which I'd like to draw particular attention, as they relate to our Salon topics:

1. Earlier in the day on Saturday, there'll be a great Open Space gathering on Urban Farming and Gardening, down at the historic Pump House in Homestead. (and later in the evening, and Sunday afternoon, there's the local high school musical!)

2. Although our Wintertime Film Series wound down in February, I wanted to bring your attention to another entry in the CMU International Film Festival. On March 24th, the IFF will present A Dangerous Game, which takes a look at the high environmental and economic costs of golf courses for the 1% (it's a sequel to the award-winning documentary You've Been Trumped, which can be seen online). Once again, the IFF organizers have offered a generous admission discount to Sustainability Salongoers (just register for the Student/Senior rate), for single films or the full series!

3. If you care about really really local food, and especially if you want to grow a bunch of it, you may want to attend the public hearing on the proposed Urban Agriculture Zoning changes, earlier on Tuesday the 24th.

4. Next weekend brings the Farm to Table Conference, a celebration of local food with talks, tastings, demos, and workshops.

5. For those who couldn't make it to our packed screening of The Power of One Voice, the film is being shown each Sunday this month at the Carnegie!

6. Hearkening back to last November's salon, Betsy Damon -- one of our impromptu speakers at that event, sharing her work in Larimer -- will be back in town and giving a talk at Pitt.

Salons run 3-10 p.m. at Maren's house in Squirrel Hill. Please don't arrive before 3 p.m. We'll aim to start the program sometime around 4, after folks have had a chance to meet, mingle, and tour around an interesting and productive urban permaculture site. Please email me with salon in the Subject line to RSVP (yes or maybe), or click on the link in your EventBrite invitation (if you're not already on my list, please email me to be added!). Please RSVP each time -- it helps greatly in several ways. Among other things, attendance varies widely, and these events have been so successful that we need to begin limiting attendance. So RSVP early if you can, to ensure your participation! The free virtual "tickets" on Eventbrite may run out (you don't need to print any tickets, by the way, just be on the list). Also, weather and such can be unpredictable and it's good to know who to contact if there's a change -- and I'll send directions and/or a trail map if you need 'em on Friday or Saturday. Be sure to include salon in the Subject line, as I receive a ridiculous amount of email every day. And if you're new, please let me know how you heard about the Salons!

Bring food and/or drink to share if you can, along with musical instruments if you play. Check back on MarensList (where you can find information on all sorts of environmental and social justice events) for updates. And if you aren't yet on my list, if you're interested in Sustainability Salons (and our occasional house concert, simply contact me and I'll put you on my email list.

As always, I'll be sending out directions and such, and any late-breaking info, to all the RSVP'd folks by the morning of the salon if not before. So if you don't have it yet, please be patient! One of these days I'll streamline this process a bit, but for now it takes a while to to dot all my i's and cross all my t's. (All the extraneous requests for the address don't help; I have lots of other stuff I send out with it, but don't like to let them go unanswered so it adds hours to my prep time. If you RSVP properly (see above), you should get the info by the morning of the salon!)

For the uninitiated, a Sustainability Salon is an educational forum; a venue for discussion and debate about important environmental issues; a house party with an environmental theme. We usually have featured speakers on various aspects of a topic, interspersed with stimulating conversation, lively debate, delectable potluck food and drink, and music-making through the evening.

Past topics have included green community revitalization, solar power, climate change, environmental art, environmental education (Part I & Part II), community mapping projects, environmental journalism, grassroots action, community solar power, Marcellus shale development and community rights, green building, air quality, health care, more solar power, trees and park stewardship, alternative energy and climate policy, regional watershed issues, fantastic film screenings and discussions (led by filmmakers) over the winter with Rachel Carson and the Power Of One Voice, Sustainability Pioneers, films on consumption, Living Downstream, Bidder 70, YERT, Gas Rush Stories, and food, food, food, food, and more food.

Quite a few people have asked me what sorts of food to bring -- and my answer, as always, is whatever inspires you; I believe in the "luck" part of potlucks. Tasty noshings for the afternoon, hearty main dishes or scrumptious salads and sides for dinner, baked goods from biscuits and breads to brownies or baklava -- and/or beverages of any kind: wine, beer, hard or sweet cider (the latter we can mull if you like), juice, tea, whatever (I've got the kombucha covered, though it's always fun to compare). The more the merrier! Local fare is always particularly welcome, whether homegrown or boughten. Dishes containing meat or dairy are fine, though if it isn't really obvious please make a note of it.

And if you like to make music or listen to homemade music, don't forget the evening sing -- we typically run the gamut from Irish fiddle tunes to protest songs to the Beatles, and a fun time is had by all. Bring instruments if you play, and/or pick up one of ours. Conversations will continue through the evening, as well.

Mar 21: Urban Garden and Farm Open Space

Join the Pittsburgh Garden Experiment for an urban farming and local economy expo packed full of information and networking! The first part of the event will be organized as Open-Space Networking, a technique for self organization in large groups. People can self-identify as interested in a topic or hosting a topic. People with similar interests will be linked up, encouraging self-organized initiatives.

The Presentations are focused on getting to know what people are coming up with and how we can work together better to create a local food economy. We have ten different 20-minute presentations by ten different green entrepreneurs, organizations and backyard experimenters. During that time there will be demonstrations and tables showing off local businesses and organizations involved in urban agriculture.

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the historic Pump House (880 Waterfront Drive E, Homestead, PA 15120 (map), which is at the trailhead of the Great Allegheny Passage -- so you can bike there! Food By "O My Grill" Food Truck from 11-2.

Schedule
All Day: Networking and Open-Space Organization
Current Tablers: Steel City Grazers, Pittsburgh Pro Poultry People, Shadyside Worms, Apothecary Muse, Steel City Soils, Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, Repair The World, Fellowship Foods
10:00- 3:00 TED-style Presentations by speakers working on urban ag-related projects
• 10:00 Intro to Open-Space and Networking - making soil for urban growing - Jeff N.
• 10:30 Hugelkulter in my Rain Garden - Pat B.
• 11:00 Repair The World - Connecting volunteers with gardens - Sam
• 11:30 Compost Tea Brewing and Soil Biology - Keith M. and Jeff J.
• 12:00 Pittsburgh Pro Poultry People
• 12:30 Backyard Composting with Curt
• 1:00 Shadyside Worms - Travis
• 1:30 Fellowship Foods - Chip K.
• 2:00 PittMoss - Founder - Mont H.
• 2:30 Backyard Goats and Chickens - Kaeryn
• 3:00-4:00 Networking and Closing Remarks

Afterwards you can head over to my place for the Sustainability Salon on food (talks, discussion, potluck, and music) -- but please let me know if you might do this (or want to be on the list for future Salons)! Info is here.

Mar 20, 21, & 22: How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Ah, the perks of being the Maren of MarensList: I get to spread the word about our local high school musical!

How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying

7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. on Sunday at Taylor Allderdice High School, in Squirrel Hill (on Shady Ave. between Nicholson and Forward. Or on Forward between Shady and Tilbury. It's a big school.) Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for students.

Allderdice Front Entrance

Mar 19: Food Production & Hunger

Global Challenges and Local Impacts: Food Production and Hunger

The United States alone is responsible for $43 billion worth of food waste. In this nation, 40-50% of harvested food is never eaten. Globally, millions of acres of potentially productive farmland is being used to grow cash crop commodities like cotton, tobacco, and marginally nutritious foods with a large global market. Countries suffering from a hunger crisis, such as India and Argentina, are shifting focus to the expanded use of fast-growing, disease resistant genetically modified foods. GMOs and efficient agricultural practices will feed a developing country’s bursting population and expand its agricultural economy. However, most European countries are not investing in developing farms abroad because their culture places high value on sustainable and healthy foods, free of pesticides and hormones. How do the issues surrounding food production interact across countries and cultural preferences? Is there a tension between nations focusing on sustainable foods and those focusing on the hunger crisis?

On the panel for this discussion:

Brian Snyder, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture
Dawn Plummer, Director, Pittsburgh Food Policy Council
Ken Regal, Executive Director, Just Harvest

6:30-8 at the Union Project (801 N Negley Ave., 15206). Free and open to the public, but you must RSVP here. Presented by Global Solutions Pittsburgh (for more information, email Laura Amsler or call 412-471-7852).

Mar 8, 15, 22, & 29: Rachel Carson & The Power of One Voice at the Carnegie

Film screening: The Power of One Voice: A 50-Year Perspective on the Life of Rachel Carson

In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History will present The Power of One Voice: A 50-Year Perspective on the Life of Rachel Carson every Sunday in March.

The 51-minute documentary is composed largely of interviews conducted at Chatham University and the National Aviary in 2012 during a 50th anniversary celebration of Carson’s groundbreaking book, Silent Spring. Through the insight of featured historians, writers, and scientists, the film places the struggles and achievements of the woman widely credited with inspiring the modern environmental movement in a context relevant to issues we face today.

3 p.m. every Sunday in March, in the Earth Theater at CMNH; Free with admission to the Museum. For more information about the film (including a trailer), click here to visit the official website.

Mar 14 & 21, Apr 21 & 25, May 2 & 14, and other dates: Garden Workshops

Grow Pittsburgh is offering a whole raft of workshops this year, including seed-starting, fruit tree pruning, building raised beds, soil testing and soil building, school gardens, container gardening, edible perennials, pest and disease ID, preserving food, and season extension.

Times and locations vary. Each workshop is only $5 (free for GP members!), but registration is required; you can sign up online. Information on each workshop is here, and if you have more questions contact Jake by email or phone (412-362-4769 x102).

Mar 13: Health Impact Assessment for proposed Shell ethane cracker plant

Come join the Clean Air Council at the Community College of Beaver County for a free workshop on the results of the Council's Health Impact Assessment (HIA). All are welcome to attend!

This workshop will cover the results of the Council's study about the health effects of Shell's proposed petrochemical facility in Monaca, PA. Authors of the study will be there to discuss the facility and answer questions.

11 a.m. - 12:30 pm or 4 - 5:30 p.m. at the Health Science Center (HSC), Auditorium Room #6010, Community College of Beaver County (1 Campus Drive, Monaca 15061). For further details or any questions contact John Lee, MPH at jlee@cleanair.org or (215) 567-4004, x104.

Mar 12: Inspire lecture: Food = Community

Inspire Speakers Series Presents: Will Allen, Stephen Ritz, and Jennifer Flanagan.

Food = Community. By investing in healthy, fresh and local food, we can create jobs, improve public health, connect communities, teach useful skills, and reduce food waste. Food connects all of us and is central to some of our region’s most pressing issues. Join the Green Building Alliance to learn how an urban farmer, a social entrepreneur, and a teacher are using food as a key to creating more livable places for all.

5 – 8 p.m. in the Elsie H. Hillman Auditorium at Hill House Kaufmann Center, 1825 Centre Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Doors open at 5 p.m. to enjoy food, beer, wine, networking, and music. Presentations begin promptly at 6 p.m. Dessert, coffee, and a book signing will immediately follow the presentations.) This time, the event will also feature food tastings from Community Kitchen Pittsburgh and craft beer from a local brewery!
Tickets start at $20. If this does not fit your budget, please contact us and we can arrange for a discounted rate. Learn more and register here (Online registration closes at 2:00 p.m. on March 11. General admission is available on-site from 5 p.m.).

Will Allen has made it his life’s work to change the vast American food distribution system, with its propensity to cater cheap, highly-processed food to low-income urban populations, but his 20-year-old urban farm humbly squeezes bushels of vegetables and hundreds of fish and livestock onto a three-acre plot. A pro-basketball player turned farmer, Allen founded Growing Power in 1993 to teach Milwaukee city-dwellers about healthy food production while in turn providing what was then a neighborhood food desert with fresh produce. Today, Allen’s vision to teach and farm creatively has spread to numerous farms in and around Milwaukee, inspiring partners from diverse backgrounds to provide local communities with affordable food through closed-loop farming practices. No less a teacher than a farmer, Allen instructs his partners in the Good Food Movement how to build wholesome communities by growing wholesome food. You can learn more about Will Allen here.

Jennifer Flanagan co-founded Pittsburgh Community Kitchen, a nonprofit food service company with a fully- integrated culinary-based workforce development program for adults with barriers to employment. Flanagan oversees the agency’s training programming and is responsible for fundraising, program evaluation, and community partnerships. Since launch, she has secured $1.2 million in start-up and gap funding and together with her co-director, they have secured over $2 million in food service contracts. They focus services on congregate and institutional food services, in particular those serving at risk or low-income individuals, and on ensuring that children and families have access to nutritious, freshly prepared food, regardless of their economic situation.

Prior to launching the Kitchen enterprise, Flanagan worked at Allegheny County Department of Human Services on workforce development initiatives for individuals coming out of the Allegheny County Jail. Previous experience also includes securing and managing federal grants and multi-state demonstration projects for the health care and educational sectors, as well as 10 years spent in corporate marketing and communications.

Stephen Ritz is the perfect person to emcee this lecture. As a former Inspire Speakers Series presenter, TED Talker, and Huffington Post Blogger, Ritz’s enthusiasm and passion for the power of healthy, locally grown foods is sure to ignite the audience. Ritz is a South Bronx educator / administrator who believes that students shouldn’t have to leave their community to live, learn, and earn in a better one. Ritz has led his students to grow healthy food in their own community while creating jobs and increasing school attendance. So far, his students and community members have grown more than 30,000 pounds of vegetables in the Bronx. Stephen’s TEDx Manhattan Talk was ranked in the Top 25 Food/Education TED Talks of all time and is used globally for teacher training and workforce development. As this Inspire Speakers Series lecture’s emcee, Ritz will lead us through the event, apply some context to the lecture topics, and facilitate the Q&A session. You can learn more about Stephen here and here.

Mar 7: Second-year Beekeeping course

Beekeeping 201 -- Second-year Beekeeping. This one-day classroom-based course offers second-year beekeepers more advanced information, such as swarm management, split making, and pest management. (For rank beginners, 101 is offered on March 21st.)

More details on the Burgh Bees web site.

Mar 7: Backyard Chickens

Learn the basics of keeping hens in the city, including the latest state of local legislation, from Pittsburgh Pro Poultry People (P4).

10-11 a.m. at the Carnegie Library's Allegheny Branch (1230 Federal St. 15212); free & open to the public.

Mar 5, 12, and 19: A Garden Primer

Don't know the first thing about vegetable gardening, but want to learn? Do you have some experience but want to iprove your growing? Join Grow Pittsburgh for a three-part educational series.

6:30-8:30 p.m. at the East Liberty Presbyterian Church, 116 South Highland Ave., 15206. $50 for GP members, $60 for non-members; scholarships available. Free childcare; please email Jake or call 412-362-4769 for details.

Mar 5: Community garden meeting on the Northside

Food City community meeting, with garden plots available!

5:30 at the Limbach Community Center (816 Tripoli St., 15212). For more info, contact Kimberly Bracken by email or at 412-322-5058 x220.

Mar 2: Civil Rights talk and panel

A Half-Century of Struggle and Success: A Civil Rights Retrospective

The University of Pittsburgh's Honors College will hold a panel discussion, "A Half-Century of Struggle and Success: A Civil Rights Retrospective," on March 2, 2015 to commemorate 50 years of the civil rights movement. Joining us will be four of the nation's top voices on the issue of race who fought for civil rights on multiple fronts or have chronicled its history.

The program will begin with an opening talk by Vernon Jordan followed by a panel discussion.

Vernon E. Jordan Jr.
Former president, National Urban League

Dorie A. Ladner
Freedom Rider and Freedom Summer organizer

Larry E. Davis
Dean, School of Social Work and director, Center on Race and Politics,

University of Pittsburgh

David J. Garrow
Professor of Law & History and Distinguished Faculty Scholar,

University of Pittsburgh School of Law

Moderated by David Shribman, executive editor, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

7:30 p.m. in the 7th floor auditorium in Pitt's Alumni Hall. This lecture is free and open to the public but seating is limited. Follow the link below to reserve your seat now!

Click here to reserve your seat!

http://www.honorscollege.pitt.edu/civil-rights-retrospective

Putting Down Roots: Maren's List