Volume 4 • No. 2 • New Moon • January 30, 2025
Silent Spring • 19" x 26" x 4.5" • Mixed media on cardboard • 2024
Pollinators • 16" x 20" - Mixed media on canvas • 2024
Re-Emerge • 36" x 48" • Mixed media on canvas • 2024
If you haven't met him at one of Crosshatch's programs or other related events, you might have noticed Nick's name at the bottom of some of our emails and wondered who he was. Click above to learn a bit about Nick, his take on birding, and how he contributes to Crosshatch's mission.
Partial spoiler: he's been working alongside us for nearly a year as an inaugural MI Healthy Climate Corps member.
The Warp — Ideas and Inspiration
|| 1 || Not everything shared made it into the final cut of the Winter Birding video. One such snippet was a story of a special time at Witt Family Farm in Central Lake. As they walked the farm, Nick recognized something inspiring in the grazing methods and care that Dean Witt had found to improve their pastures. The land offered testament to the results of viewing inputs and energy differently, at least compared to the production patterns of fields of corn and soy Nick saw plenty of in his four years of college in Iowa.
Nick's recollection brought about my own. I remember touring Paul May's rotational grazing setup and hearing about his five-gallon bucket in particular: This bucket, which allows him to efficiently rotate the cattle from paddock to paddock, also allows him to propagate desired plant species in his fields. It carries oats as a treat to entice the cows to eat, salt to slow their feeding and seed selected for propagation–in today’s case, Indiangrass.
|| 2 || If one five-gallon bucket can be such a practical and efficient tool, what's the impact of fifty? Groundwork's Christina Barkel shared these words about a Building Resilient Communities-powered container gardening class she taught back in June:
I helped drill drainage holes into about 50 5-gallon buckets, then filled each with a mixture of potting soil and compost, as I chatted with class attendees. Some young people there had never seen a tomato plant before, and were surprised and delighted to learn you can grow one on a back porch. Other people were longtime gardeners, and they entertained me with stories of chasing deer and chipmunks away from plants in their pasts, and advised me on the precise watering and fertilizing schedule they’d used to grow food.
No matter their experience level, everyone in class that day was excited to learn more about growing vegetables. They were also in need of the basic items required to grow food, like buckets, soil, seeds and watering cans, so they could grow food for themselves. Thanks to the hard work of Shannon Saunders, Woodmere Ridge Food Pantry Coordinator, and Groundwork’s Building Resilient Communities (BRC) program, we were able to work together to increase healthy food access for the residents and have some fun along the way.
Follow the links above or below in the Weft to learn more about grants offered through the BRC program.
|| 3 || In the face of, well, everything, do birding and buckets strike you as trivial? Take heart and take in some recent and relevant thoughts from Jeff Wagner, the executive director and basketry instructor behind Groundwork—not the one in Traverse City, but the one in Paonia, Colorado:
The name I chose for this organization, Groundwork, is an expression of our core philosophy: large-scale change is intertwined with and depends upon small-scale change. Anything so large as solutions to global environmental issues requires a solid foundation to rest upon. We cannot expect large-scale change when our daily lives feed and are fed by the systems we claim to oppose...
...That in-between scale is where we need to think to create change: way smaller than the global, but still much larger than the personal. Most importantly, that scale is within our sphere of influence...
...Our window is a single pane of glass that helps make up the Overton windows of our community and of our society as a whole. If your neighbors turn their entire lawn into a vegetable garden, you are more likely to at least enlarge your own garden. If you commute daily on a bicycle, your family is more likely to at least see a bicycle as a viable form of transportation.
As you think about the coming year, I encourage you to consider how you might shift the window of what's seen as possible within your community. Small actions and small ideas can change the world. In fact, they always do, if we are able to sit still, breathe deep, and watch carefully.
The Weft — News and Events
We’re heartened by a wide-range of expressions of resilient communities and gatherings. Here’s a smattering of regional events and happenings that reflect that diversity, collected for your consideration. Choose your own adventure!
|| 1 || Crosshatch Community Microloan Application Deadline—February 7th. This program aims to enhance existing local food or farming ventures or to help start new ones in Northwest Lower Michigan. Ideal candidates will propose ideas that would boost farm or food businesses and elevate the region’s local food system. Find more information and apply here.
|| 2 || Upcoming Collaboration Cafes:
-Conservation Collaboration Cafe—A pop-up space for conversation and collaborative thinking at the Antrim Conservation District office. Thursday, February 6, 9:30-11:30am. Crosshatch and the Antrim Conservation District are looking forward to hosting farmers and community members for conversation about ways to work together for the best possible land stewardship. Free, but RSVP appreciated.
-Catalog Collaboration Cafe—A pop-up space for conversation and collaborative thinking at the Lively Neighborfood Market. Thursday, February 20th, 9–11 AM. Expect discussion on tips and tricks for farm purchasing for the upcoming growing season. Bring your seed & feed catalogs and a computer to talk about and make smart purchases together. More details and registration here.
|| 3 || Alluvion Marquee Lighting—Commongrounds on 8th Street, February 7th. Open to the public. Reception at 5pm, opening remarks at 6pm, and official lighting ceremony at dusk.
|| 4 || Groundwork's Building Resilient Communities Micro-Grant Program. Small grants and staff help to support food pantries, churches, farms, schools, and other community-focused sites in growing their capacities to positively impact their communities from the ground up. Find more information on the BRC program here, or check out the intake form for applying.
|| 5 || Farmland: Food, Justice, and Sovereignty. An art exhibition at MSU's Broad Museum "centered around questions of food knowledge, production, scarcity, and consumption against the background of Michigan State University’s 170-year history of agricultural tradition." January 18th-July 27th. Find more information or get free tickets here.
|| 6 || Underground Innovations 2025—Michigan Ag Advancement. February 4th-5th, Frankenmuth, MI. Speakers on topics such as cover crops, grazing, strip-till, food grade grains, and new crop markets will share how they've come to adopt new practices, how they've gotten to this point, and where they are looking to go in the future. Network with producers from across Michigan and beyond. Find more info and register here.
|| 7 || Land-Based Projects Summit: An Invitation for Farmers, Land Stewards, Creatives and Artists. Monday, February 10th, 9am-2pm at The Alluvion. Crosshatch invites you to a day of learning, collaboration, connections, and creative thinking to explore how agriculture and creative experiences on the land can work together. Find more information and register here.
|| 8 || Catalyzing Agroforestry Grant Program. Application Deadline March 3, 2025. The CAG program provides direct financial support to farmers who seek to mitigate climate change through the use of agroforestry to sequester carbon, sustain healthy farms and forests, and protect water quality, soil, and biodiversity through applications like alley cropping, forest farming, riparian buffers, windbreaks, etc. Find more details and apply here.
|| 9 || Author Reading and Book Signing (Wednesday, February 12th in Bellaire) and Fiction Writing Workshop (Thursday, February 13th in Alden)—John Mauk. 25 copies of John’s newest book, Where All Things Flatten, will be given to the first 25 people who register for the reading or fiction writing workshop. Click the links above for more details and to register.
|| 10 || NDN's Community Action Fund Grants are now open for applications. CAF grants support Indigenous frontline, grassroots, community-based groups and organizations, Tribes, communities and villages, and individuals leading direct action or movement-building work in their effort to defend Indigenous People’s rights, and protect their land, air, water, and natural resources. Find more information here.
|| 11 || Farm Stop Conference. March 2nd-4th, Ann Arbor. Schedule, speakers, registration, and other details available here.
|| 12 || Planning for Profit: Marketing & Production Budget Workshop—9am-3pm, January 31st. An MSU Extension workshop offering tools for maximizing profit on the farm, held in Kalamazoo. Free. Please register and learn more here.
|| 13 || Winter 2024-2025 Resources for CSA Farmers. Click here for a list of resources, including events and technical support, compiled by the Michigan CSA Network.
|| 14 || Real Organic Certification—Click here for information on applying for Real Organic's free add-on certification program, representing higher standards in soil practices, animal welfare, and worker protections. The application takes about 20 minutes to complete. You will receive an initial farm inspection (1-2 hours), reapply for certification each year (10 minutes), and be reinspected every 5 years.
|| 15 || Happenings at The Alluvion Between Now and the Next Whole Field include: The Jeff Haas Trio featuring Laurie Sears + Lisa Flahive, Mark Lavengood & Friends with Joe Rood, The Bill Sears Quintet, Funky Uncle, Ship Yard #2 feat. Destination Devastation and Joe Dominick, Mindful & Musical with Miriam Picó - Mini Bird, Viridian Strings, Stop Making Sense - Talking Heads Film Screening & Dance Party, XH's Land-based Projects Summit, and Big Fun.
Find more information at www.thealluvion.org.
sponsored by:
Desmond Liggett Wealth Advisors is a mission-driven, fee-only wealth management company with a simple purpose: to generate exceptional value for the individuals, families, small business owners, and non-profit organizations they serve. Desmond Liggett Wealth Advisors believe in and adhere to triple-bottom-line analysis for portfolio investments, ensuring that they review how a company’s environmental and social values impact its long-term resilience and, consequently, value.
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