[ Saturday, July 9, 2011; 8:00 am to 11:00 am. ] El Pueblo Farmers’ Market

Located at El Pueblo Adult Learning Center Parking Lot,
SW corner of Irvington Road and S. Sixth Avenue

Mesquite trees are all over
Tucson and their pods can be
used in variety of foods.
Come learn how to:
• Identify
• Collect
• Store
• And use mesquite pods!

[ Saturday, June 11, 2011; 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. ]  

Green Market Starts: 9 North Scott — John Wesley Companies — will be transformed into a Green Market

2nd Saturdays Downtown features multiple bands, movies and other live entertainment as well as arts, crafts and food booths. Visitors to 2nd Saturdays Downtown also use the opportunity to visit downtown shops and restaurants. The streets are crowded [...]

[ Saturday, June 11, 2011; 10:00 am to 11:30 am. ]  

The PRO Neighborhoods Newsletter informs us that:

The Community Food Bank’s Community Food Resource
Center will team up with the Pima County Library system in
June to present a series of workshops on Sustainability and
Home Food Production June 11th, 18th, 23rd and 25th. See details here.
The workshops are free and open to the public. Pre-registration
is not required. For [...]

The PRO Neighborhoods Newsletter informs us that:
 
The Community Food Bank’s Community Food Resource
Center will team up with the Pima County Library system in
June to present a series of workshops on Sustainability and
Home Food Production. The workshops are free and open to
the public. Pre-registration is not required. For questions or
information on this series, contact Leona Davis [...]

[ Tuesday, June 28, 2011; 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. ] 320 N. Commerce Park Loop, Sentinel Building, Rillito/Sabino Room.

Growing a Monsoon Vegetable Garden. Learn how some simple techniques and carefully choosing delicious and desert-adapted varieties of corn, squash, beans, melons, and others can make your vegetable garden a success during this upcoming summer monsoon-rain season. The workshop will cover how to place your garden for [...]

[ Saturday, June 18, 2011; 8:00 am to 12:00 pm. ] Saguaro Fruit Harvest: preparation, syrup, sweets and a special liqueur

Saguaro harvest marks the beginning of summer’s bounty, and the act of harvesting with gratitude is the traditional way to invite the return of monsoon rains.

We’ll be harvesting, preparing -and thanking saguaros for- their delicious, nutritious fruit; walking and learning about saguaro/ ironwood [...]

[ Saturday, May 21, 2011; 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. ]

Transition US is committed to enabling action-oriented programs at the national level.  The Home and Garden Challenge is just such an opportunity. Inspired by the the amazing work done in Sonoma County, CA last May where over 600 gardens were planted, we have decided to take it (inter)national this May 14th & 15th.
Organizing a Home [...]

Native Seeds/SEARCH would like suggestions from local farmers and gardeners who grow for local markets.  We want to know what we can trial or grow for seed at our farm this summer that will help the local food movement.  We want to know what crops and what varieties you need to be successful. Contact Bill [...]

[ Friday, April 29, 2011; 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. ] Antigone Books, 411 N. 4th Ave.

Gary Nabhan, author of “Chasing Chiles: Hot Spots Along the Pepper Trail”, will discuss his book.

This event is free to the public.

Request for Proposals: Design of “Arizona Heritage Food Wagon”
 
The “Arizona Heritage Food Wagon” will be built by local artists, carpenters, or metalworkers and simultaneously serve as 1) a piece of art with iconic images of Arizona heritage foods; 2) an information kiosk about the history of those foods and the Arizona based producers and restaurants [...]

 
So what is the sustainable path forward?
The most often-adopted definition of sustainability is “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”  What is important about this definition is that we have to consider the needs of future generations. What is most productive though is that [...]

[ Tuesday, April 26, 2011; 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. ] Watershed Management Groups Co-op presents a Spring Local Foods Potluck and Free Public Lecture.

Location: Calvin Room, St Mark\’s Presbyterian Church. 3809 East 3rd Street.

RSVP to Co-op@watershedmg.org

This is a semi annual get together for members of Watershed Management Groups Green Living Co-op
and anyone interested in the Co-op.

Please bring:
*A dish to share that includes ingredients grown in [...]

Timothy Egan, writing in the New York Times, has offered a few words of concern about what seem to be quite serious risks from GMO salmon; his message rings brightly in the wake of recent events in Japan….
Read this well written piece here.

[ Sunday, March 20, 2011; 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm. ] Time again to invite you all to proclaim local community from the rooftops. One rooftop at least.

Join in on the action on the roof of the Pennington St Parking Garage, 110 E. Pennington St.

What is Common Ground?

What it is… is a CELEBRATION, where every group, organization, congregation, small business, performer, artist, EVERYBODY in the Tucson [...]

[ Sunday, March 6, 2011; 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. ] What is the future of our food? A community conversation.
Featuring special guest Robert Gottlieb, co-author of Food Justice.

All are welcome to attend this free event!

Click to View Printable Flyer in English and Spanish
• Bilingual event
• Childcare and food provided

Pima Community College
Downtown Campus
1255 North Stone Avenue
NW Corner of Speedway & Stone Avenue
Enter through main doors and [...]

Mark Bittman, writing in the New York Times explores this issue.
“If you want to avoid sugar, aspartame, trans-fats, MSG, or just about anything else, you read the label. If you want to avoid G.M.O.’s — genetically modified organisms — you’re out of luck. They’re not listed. You could, until now, simply buy [...]

Dr. Mercola (www.Mercola.com) offers a critical look at the background and orientations of several Monsanto insiders who have been assigned responsibility for protecting the public food supply. You may wish to pursue this story further.

The New York Times reported that “Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on Thursday that he would authorize the unrestricted commercial cultivation of genetically modified alfalfa, setting aside a controversial compromise that had generated stiff opposition.” This pending decision has potentially devastating implications for the organic farming effort.
Read the entire article here.

[ Saturday, January 15, 2011; ] Starting January 15th, Bean Tree Farm will have a series of workshops to help you explore native and local foods, herbs and earth crafts. To find out more, visit the website here.

All Sonoran Permaculture Guild classes and workshops can be viewed at:
http://www.sonoranpermaculture.org/courses-and-workshops/

Vicki Robin has shared some of her insights from her month of existing on a “hyperlocavore” diet: food from no further than ten miles away from her home. There are useful insights for all of us as we think about the links between energy, food, and our carbon footprints. Read the article in Yes magazine [...]

[ Sunday, November 14, 2010; 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm. ] ъглови легла

Taste Film, Talk Food – Film Festival

Presented by: Slow Food Tucson , Food Conspiracy Co-op and The Screening Room

The Screening Room will show 2 Films:
What’s Organic about Organic?
&
Food Fight

The festival will be followed by appetizers and drinks at 47 Scott.

Tickets are $15 (includes one beer or glass of wine [...]

[ Monday, November 8, 2010; 5:45 pm to 8:00 pm. ] Joel Valdez Main Library, Downtown, 101 N. Stone Ave

Free Parking in the Basement after 5PM

This month’s General Meeting will be focused on critical concerns about food security, food safety, and the steps that each of us can take to reduce our contribution to the region’s carbon footprint by changing our behavior toward food. We will [...]

[ Saturday, October 2, 2010; 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. ] Introduction to Permaculture – In this one day overview of Permaculture design, ethics, and principles you will have the opportunity to put together a long term plan for your sustainable home and landscape – one that takes care of people and takes care of our environment at the same time.

Location: Mesquite Tree [...]

[ Saturday, October 16, 2010; ] You are welcome to visit the San Xavier Cooperative Association’s unique and productive farm in the fields adjacent to the famous Mission. Here they grow both traditional and contemporary crops in the heart of the Santa Cruz Valley, where the land has been cultivated for over 4,000 years. Local aficionados wait patiently each year for [...]

Tell the folks at your favorite restaurant that Tucson Water is now offering free replacement valves & installation for commercial kitchens. As part of the Rinse Smart Program, Tucson Water will replace inefficient high water-use pre-rinse spray valves with low-water use valves saving water, sewer and energy costs. They will install it in less than [...]

[ Saturday, October 2, 2010; 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. ] A symposium examining recent evidence that climate change may be affecting desert ecology in Saguaro National Park will beheld from 9 am to 4:30 pm, October 2nd at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum’s Warden Oasis Theater.

Jonathon Overpeck, co-director of the Institute of the Environment and leader on the  Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and Travis Huxman, [...]

[ Sunday, September 12, 2010; 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm. ] The Age of Stupid
September 12th, 5:00 pm. Film starts at 5:45

Sunday Night at the Movies at St. Francis in the Foothills Church, at Swan and River Roads. Bring a potluck dish to share in the main meeting space. Questions? Call Liz 299-9839

Pete Postlethwaite stars as the narrator of the film, an old man living alone [...]

Barbara Rose, a teaching team member of the Sonoran Permaculture Guild has announced a series of intensive workshops about native foods, herbs, and earth crafts on the first and third Saturdays of each month.
More details are available at www.beantreefarm.com.

[ Saturday, September 18, 2010; 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. ] An afternoon of local food learning, networking and experiences.
Walking J Farm (Double Check Ranch South), Amado, AZ Just an hour south of Tucson .
For details, contact Judith Mattson at Local Food Concepts, 520.395.0663, or via email:
LocalFoodConcepts@comcast.net

A personal choice to select, prepare and serve local, fresh, healthy, natural and organic foods is only as good as the available food supply.  Here in the desert, it can be a special challenge – both for customers and those who grow food locally.
Local Food Concepts, the Tucson-based, local food information resource headed by writer/consultant [...]

By Steve Andrews, Sally Odland, John Theobald and Randy Udall.  Andrews and Udall are retired co-founders of ASPO-USA. Odland is a former ASPO-USA board member. Theobald is a former ASPO-USA conference organizer.
Published by the Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas – USA (ASPO-USA) on Mon, [...]

[ Tuesday, July 13, 2010; 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm. ] ooo
000
The Truth About Alcohol Fuel: Our Path Beyond Petroleum,
with David Blume
Tuesday, July 13, 2010, 5:30 pm
Tucson Public Library, 101 N. Stone Ave.  Lower Level Meeting Room:
Co-Sponsored by the Community Information Resource Center and Sustainable Tucson

Permaculturist David Blume will present the history of alcohol fuel, and outline how localized, small-scale alcohol fuel production can contribute to [...]

Here’s a nice little story about a truly “frugal” family writing a new chapter about living sustainably ( but unfortunately they live in Pasadena.) Perhaps some of you will figure out the secret for doing some of this here in Tucson.
Take a look here.

The Pima Association of Governments just approved the Second Tucson Region Indicators Report. It provides a snapshot of the region with data on key measures that characterize its current health from an environmental and community perspective.
Five theme areas are: Natural Resources, Air Quality, Water, Transportation and Energy, and
Community and Economy, to represent the essence of [...]

[ Sunday, May 23, 2010; 4:00 pm to 6:30 pm. ] Local chefs cook meals with produce from local gardens at a fundraiser
for Kim Fox’s travels from 4 to 6:30 p.m., Sunday, May 23. $25 to $75.
Mercado San Agustin 100 S. Avenida del Convento. Call 461-1106, or
visit theoriginalhoe.blogspot.com for more information.

Sara Jones of Tucson CSA will make dessert, and Amy Schwemm of Mano Y
Metate will make [...]

Sustainable Tucson is republishing the following call to the community which we originally presented in February 2008. The message is not only more relevant today but portends some of the events which have already happened since then. As we prepare to participate in the upcoming Imagine Greater Tucson process this coming Fall, let’s focus on [...]

The New York Times reports on a truly scary “we told you so” story about the growth of “Roundup-resistant weeds” that threaten to dramatically raise the cost of food and the widespread use of even more deadly pesticides.
This is how the article begins…
“Just as the heavy use of antibiotics contributed to the rise of drug-resistant [...]

Bill McKibben on “Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough Planet” (video)
by Michael Brownlee
Description:
As part of his current book tour, author and climate activist Bill McKibben spoke at the First United Methodist Church in Boulder, CO on April 27, co-sponsored by Boulder Book Store and Transition Colorado. The video of his presentation is below, following [...]

You may want to read at least the free summary of the recent National Academy of Science report on The Impact of Genetically Engineered Crops on Farm Sustainability in the United States.
According to the summary:
“Corn, cotton, and soybean that have been engineered to resist insect pests and herbicides are now planted on almost half of [...]

[ Saturday, April 24, 2010; 9:30 am to 11:30 am. ]
You‚re Invited to a FREE Public Showing

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO MONSANTO

GREEN VALLEY LIBRARY

601 N. LA CANADA

GREEN VALLEY, AZ 85614

Saturday, APRIL 24, 2010—-TIME: 9:30 a.m.

The World According to Monsanto, a film by Marie-Monique Robin, documents the devastating cost of Monsanto‚s race [...]

By Guy R. McPherson
Published at Energy Bulletin and Guy’s blog: Nature Bats Last
(Guy, a former UA professor, has inspired Sustainable Tucson with his writings and appearances at ST General Meetings during the past four years)
As we continue into the decades-old, but only recently acknowledged era of destruction and extinction, it’s apparent the current model [...]

[ Wednesday, April 21, 2010; 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. ] An important planning meeting of the Sustainable Tucson Food & Agriculture Working Group will be held in the small meeting room at the Woods Memorial Library, 3455 N. First Avenue. All are invited to help discuss, dream, create, suggest, discover, plan and envision the future focus of the group.

[ Saturday, April 17, 2010 2:00 pm to Saturday, April 24, 2010 2:00 pm. ] Join The Watershed Management Group in celebrating the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.  Earth Month events include:

April 10th: Green Streets Block Party, 4pm to 7pm
April 10th: Street Painting Event, 10am to 1pm
April 17th: Samos Neighborhood Green Streets Workshop, 8am to 1pm
April 18th: Green [...]

[ Saturday, March 27, 2010; 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. ] Double Check Ranch at the Walking J Farm

Amado, Arizona

Here’s one to add to your shopping list on March 27 – fresh, natural, locally grown and grass fed beef.  See where your food is grown!  Go directly to the source!  The Walking J Farm (a member of [...]

[ Sunday, March 21, 2010; 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm. ] BECOME PART OF THE CHICKEN REVOLUTION!
RAISE CHICKENS IN YOUR BACKYARD

Come to the workshop teaching all aspects of raising chickens for meat and egg production ($20)

rsvp 622-1917 $20

[ Wednesday, March 17, 2010; 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. ] Woods Memorial Library, Large Meeting Room

(West side of 1st Avenue, just south of Prince)

The March meeting of the Sustainable Tucson Working Group on Food & Agriculture will continue our series of programs featuring local leaders in food and agriculture. Bryn Jones, Executive Director of Native Seeds/SEARCH will join us for “A Conversation with Bryn Jones.” [...]

Dear Community Friends and Partners:

The first print edition of the Green Pueblo Map showcasing our community’s favorite “green” places and spaces will be available later this year.  If you haven’t already done so, we encourage you to “make your mark” on the map by nominating your favorite sustainable sites at www.greenpueblomap.org [...]