“…Honestly, when i took this class, I had no idea what it was about.  I read the description before I signed up, but not very well.  It was one of the few classes that met my requirement and my schedule.  When I entered the classroom, I expected it to be another waste of time class.  I wasn’t prepared to be in a class with meaning and purpose; one that I’d actually enjoy.  Right now this class is allowing me to help others.  I can find no better use for my time than to help kids.  Not only do I get to help them, I get to help them help others.

With this class, I can spread the hope of a better community, a better environment, and a better world.  Slowly but surely I am helping to change the world in a way it needs to be changed.  By enabling us, as a class, to do this, you, as the teacher, are one of the most influential people I know.  You inspire change in everyone you teach, and in turn they do it for others.  You have touched the lives of people you’ve never even  met.  I don’t want to be preseident or CEO of a major organization; I simply want to make people’s lives better, just like you’ve done.  I never realized how much of an impact I could have by doing something as small as just talking to people and letting them know they can do something.  I’ve never felt so empowered and ready to do so much more than I ever thought possible.” Cassandra S., My Story, 1/27/13

in just week four of the spring semester, a new student reflects on her experiences as she begins to outline her public narrative and develops a story and voice through a writing assignment.

Community and Campus Based Action Research Teams
Weekly Announcements: February 4-8, 2013

Today, February 5: 2:20pm
Spoken Word, Art, and Activism Seminar Presents:

You are invited to connect with two artist activists visiting from the Northeast at the Spoken Word, Art and Activism class tomorrow at 2:20 at HLC 4106!

Ryan Pierce, an award-winning painter from Portland, and his wife Amy Hartwood, an environmental activist also from Portland, will talk to the class (and other interested folks) about their experience bringing art and activism together to change the world.  Together they have formed Signal Fire, a non-profit that provides wilderness residencies and retreats for all creative disciplines.

1. February 4-8
No Uranium Mining Week at NAU
Gardner Auditorium, W.A. Franke College Of Business, South Campus NAU
Monday 1pm – Uranium Mining Activism Through the Years
Mary Sojourner (Activist and Author)
Tuesday 2:30pm – Canyon Mine
Roger Clark (Grand Canyon Trust)
Wednesday 1pm – Hydrogeology of Uranium Mining
Dr. Abe Springer (Professor at NAU)
Thursday 2:30pm – Native American Impacts of Uranium Mining
Robert Tohe (Sierra Club Southwest Environmental Justice Organizer)

All presentations above will be at Gardner Auditorium, W.A. Franke College Of Business, South Campus NAU (Building 81)
All are FREE and PIZZA WILL BE SERVED!!

2. Thursday, February 7
FYSeminar Peer TA Training
2-4pm, ARD Large Pod

Welcome all Peer TA’s, Learning Community Leaders, and anyone interested in learning more about leadership development and engaged pedagogy with the Action Research Teams. Join us for a wonderful afternoon of workshops around classroom engagement and community development.

3. Friday, Feb. 8, 2013, 2pm
Rally/Protest Against Canyon Mine
Outside the Student Union

http://nauagainsturanium.wordpress.com/2013/01/24/join-us-for-no-uranium-mining-week-at-northern-arizona-university-feb-4-8-2013/

4.  Thursday, February 7

Battle of the NAU Colleges Lumberjack Free Throw Challenge
Date: Thursday, February 7
Event: NAU Men’s Basketball vs. Portland State at the Skydome
Game Time: 6:35 p.m. / Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Halftime Competition: Appx at 7:00 p.m.

Join us to cheer on University College Faculty and Staff, including a free throw master from the Action Research Teams!!! as we celebrate NAU and partnership in a fun and creative way.

5. February 8-10
Experience Entrepereneurship. Launch Your Business.

Now that you have the knowledge and confidence to change the world, learn
how to make your idea come to life at Startup Weekend.
NAU and the Launchbox Student Business Incubation program invite students to
experience entrepreneurship at new heights. Whether entrepreneurs found companies,
find a cofounder, meet someone new, or learn a skill far outside their usual 9-to-5,
everyone is guaranteed to leave the event better prepared to navigate the chaotic but fun
world of startups. If you want to put yourself in the shoes of an entrepreneur, register now
for the best weekend of your life! nau.startupweekend.org

6.  Saturday, February 9

Kahtoola Agassiz Uphill Race Fundraiser
For Camp Colton Environmental Education Center
4:30-8pm
Agassiz Lodge, Snow Bowl

Join us by racing or showing your support in the 5th annual Agassiz Uphill Challenge- every dollar from this event goes directly to Camp Colton Environmental Education Center. Music, food, prizes, and a whole lot of fun! For more information, visit http://kahtoolaagassizuphill.com/

7.  Monday, February 11
AGWA hosts a film showing:
Last Call at the Oasis
Franke College of Business, Gardner Auditorium
7-9pm
Illuminating the vital role water plays in our lives, exposing the defects in the current system and depicting communities already struggling with its ill-effects, the film features activist Erin Brockovich and such distinguished experts as Peter Gleick, Alex Prud’homme, Jay Famiglietti, and Robert Glennon. Discussion to follow.

8.  Tuesday, February 12
Observatory Mesa Public Comment Hearing
Flagstaff City Hall
10-12pm

Who loves Observatory Mesa? We do! In 2004, voters approved a $5.5 million bond to acquire conservation land on Observatory Mesa. Now the City is going for a matching grant to preserve 2,200 acres of State Trust land on the mesa. State Land will be holding a Public Comment Hearing at City Hall on Tuesday, February 12 at 10 am. This is your opportunity to share how you feel about preserving open space in Flagstaff!

Learn more about Observatory Mesa at www.flagstaff.az.gov/openspace

9.  Tuesday, February 12
Starhawk Workshop and Lecture
“The Magic of Co-creation: Building Power in Groups.”
4-6pm at SBS 104.
*Snacks and refreshments provided

Please come with an open mind as we explore and learn together through this amazing opportunity!

Workshop Description:
Working together in groups can be the most inspiring, empowering and ecstatic experiences of our lives. To change the world, we need to do it together. Yet over and over again, this happens—a group of people come together, fired up with passion to create change. They begin with huge inspiration and enthusiasm—and a year later, it’s all foundered in the mire of conflict. We could have changed the world ten times over—if we didn’t have to do it together with other people, those irritating, self-righteous, controlling, fluff-brained, clueless idiots who are our friends and allies.
But we can do better. In her latest book, The Empowerment Manual, A Guide for Collaborative Groups, Starhawk draws on four decades of experience in circles and collectives to show us how to foster connection, clear communication and positive power in ourselves and our groups.
In this 2 hour workshop, we will use the tools of magic, meditation, trance, and ritual to explore issues of personal and social power. We’ll look at ways to create nurturing and healing group structures, to deal with difficult people and embrace constructive conflict. We’ll raise and focus group energy to celebrate our connectedness and nurture resilient communities that can be joyful and effective agents of change.
E-vite to follow shortly. Please RSVP so we can plan accordingly.
*To learn more about Starhawk, please visit: http://www.starhawk.org/

Lecture: Women Taking Action: Using the Insights of Feminism to Change the World
7:30pm
SBS Room 110
Books signing to follow

10.  Friday, February 22: Action Research Team Leadership Meeting
10:00-11:00 am
Room TBD

11.  Deadline is March 1
Call for Nominations! 2013 Campus Sustainability Awards: Action Research Team Community, Please participate in this process!

The purpose of the campus sustainability awards is to recognize those who have made an extraordinary effort to enhance the culture of sustainability on the NAU campus and surrounding community. For the Environmental Caucus, sustainability means increasing the health of our community and our planet through an understanding of, and actions to enhance, the stability, resilience, and diversity of our intertwined natural, social, economic, and cultural systems. A sustainability award nominee should recognize these links and undertake significant actions resulting in positive impacts to the sustainability our local community. These actions could have a major impact over a short period of time or occur over an extended period.

Award Categories include: Students, student organizations, faculty, staff, and campus organizations or units. Nominees do not have to be active members of the environmental caucus. Applicants must be members of the NAU or local community.

To nominate: Please send a letter of nomination to: environmentalcaucus@nau.edu that includes a statement describing the nominee’s role and activities at NAU and the impact of their activities on the sustainability of our community. Nominations will be accepted through March 1st, 2013.

Please begin thinking about University College Undergraduate Symposium, April 26th and the Action Research Team Symposium May 2. Details to plan and follow.

Engagement Opportunities:

12. CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
U.S. Borlaug Summer Institute on Global Food Security
Application Deadline: Monday, March 4, 2013

The U.S. Borlaug Fellows in Global Food Security Program will hold its second annual Summer Institute on Global Food Security Tuesday, May 28- Saturday, June 8, 2013 on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. This two-week learning program is for graduate students who are interested in developing a holistic understanding of the conceptual challenges around global food security with a focus on cross-disciplinary problem solving of real-world development challenges. Applicants must have completed at least one semester of graduate study and be enrolled in a U.S. institution at the time of application. U.S. citizenship is not required. Information about the inaugural Summer Institute on Global Food Security held in July 2012 is available here.

Applications are available at the program website.
Research grant opportunities available as well. Questions may be sent to borlaugfellows@purdue.edu.
7-month Sustainable Living Apprenticeship

13. Red House Farm in Boulder, Utah
Starting in April
This will be an amazing opportunity for those interested in Sustainable Communities and living skills. Check out the details at http://sustainableapprenticeship.weebly.com/

Campus and Community Based Action Research Teams
Weekly Announcements: January 21-January 26, 2013

Welcome back! Please read the weekly announcements carefully and pay close attention to spring dates and special upcoming events. They are not in a particular order- be sure to go through each item.

1. Biweekly Action Research Team Leadership Meetings Spring Schedule:
Every other Friday at 10am starting February 1, 2013. Nervous about amount of space in Bury and will check on alternative venues. So, location TBA. Thanks to all that had responded to doodle poll.

2. FYSeminar Peer TA and Learning Community Leadership Workshop
Thursday, February 7th from 2-4 pm in ARD Large Pod: Join us for an exciting workshop, meet new people, learn new skills, and help us collectively think about the creative leadership role you play in your seminars and positions- Agenda to follow

3. University College Open House: Celebrate our work together!
Wednesday January 30th: 11-3pm in Bury Hall. Action Research Teams- please join me. Do you have your research posters you can drop off in room 303 to highlight our work? Would you like to set up a table? Can you and your teams volunteer an hour to represent your FYSeminar, Learning Community, and Action Research Team work? Please help us celebrate publicly the amazing work of our collaborative. Email me with an RSVP and ideas!

4. Starhawk Presentation and Lecture: Women Taking Action: Using the Insights of Feminism to Change the World
February 12th, 2013 at 7:30pm in SBS Room 110 with book signing to follow: World renowned author, activist, and earth based spiritualist presents- Learn how to bring the techniques and creative power of spirituality to political activism

5. Call for Nominations! 2013 Campus Sustainability Awards: Action Research Team Community, Please participate in this process!
The purpose of the campus sustainability awards is to recognize those who have made an extraordinary effort to enhance the culture of sustainability on the NAU campus and surrounding community. For the Environmental Caucus, sustainability means increasing the health of our community and our planet through an understanding of, and actions to enhance, the stability, resilience, and diversity of our intertwined natural, social, economic, and cultural systems. A sustainability award nominee should recognize these links and undertake significant actions resulting in positive impacts to the sustainability our local community. These actions could have a major impact over a short period of time or occur over an extended period.
Award Categories include: Students, student organizations, faculty, staff, and campus organizations or units. Nominees do not have to be active members of the environmental caucus. Applicants must be members of the NAU or local community.
To nominate: Please send a letter of nomination to: environmentalcaucus@nau.edu that includes a statement describing the nominee’s role and activities at NAU and the impact of their activities on the sustainability of our community. Nominations will be accepted through March 1st, 2013.

6. Fanaticism and the Abolition-Democracy: Critical Theory in the Spirit of Joel Olson: Conference this week!
January 25-26, 2013, Northern Arizona University Campus- check online for specifics on locations of various events and panel discussions. For more information visit: http://www.olsonmemorialconference.org/

7. Please begin thinking about University College Undergraduate Symposium, April 26th and the Action Research Team Symposium May 2. Details to plan and follow.

All of this information and more available on our website: nau.edu/crafts or contact Lauren.Berutich@nau.edu with any questions.

I found time for reflection, rejuvenation, and creative thinking.  I wrote, rested, and planned. It is a time to explore our communities on a deeper level and to engage in democratic action.  We are the voice of now.  We are the dreamers, thinkers, actors of change.  I became even more aware of how grateful I am for the ARTs and my work here at NAU.  As my colleague poetically discussed this with me, this collaborative work helps us to bear the critical and hard issues challenging our planet each day.  It provides us with a hands-on, empowering, and vibrant space to organize around the changes we long to achieve.  To move towards a just and sustainable future. To believe in hope.

This work celebrates engaged learning, reminds us we are all teachers and learners, and can be “the change we wish to see in the world.”

There are many ways to learn new skills, develop leadership, and participate with the ARTs.  Please browse the website, look for important upcoming dates, and contact us to connect further.

Cheers everyone and happy new year.

All the best,

Lauren Berutich and the Campus and Community Based Action Research Teams

When: Friday, October 12th at 7pm

Where: Coconino Center for the Arts

What: Please bring friends and family and help us spread the word! This is a unique and eclectic collection of music and spoken word about the border and immigration.

The good stuff: ALL proceeds will go to No More Deaths / No Más Muertes, a humanitarian group that puts water in the desert and provides migrants and recently deported people on the Mexican side with food and medical attention.

Support local bike commuters, find a new set of wheels for your own town ride, and help contribute to the Yellow Bike Program to cut down on vehicle use while getting to class on time and working on healthy and active lifestyle!

Orpheum Theater. September 17, 2012, 7 p.m.

deBuys’ influential book, A Great Aridness: Climate Change and the Future of the American Southwest, outlines the most significant environmental challenge of our time.

His book is available at the Flagstaff Public Library, Barnes & Noble, and the NAU and MNA Bookstores.

This Event is FREE to the public and all ages are welcome and encouraged to attend. Seating will be first come first served as our seating capacity is limited.

This event is sponsored by: The Musuem of Northern Arizona, Northern Arizona University’s Climate Science and Solutions, and Landscape Conservation Initiative.

For more information: http://orpheumpresents.com/index.php?e=1234