a loving concern for the environment

International Poetry Month

NATURE

O Nature! I do not aspire
To be the highest in thy quire,—
To be a meteor in the sky,
Or comet that may range on high;
Only a zephyr that may blow
Among the reeds by the river low;
Give me thy most privy place
Where to run my airy race.

In some withdrawn, unpublic mead
Let me sigh upon a reed,
Or in the woods, with leafy din,
Whisper the still evening in:
Some still work give me to do,—
Only—be it near to you!

For I’d rather be thy child
And pupil, in the forest wild,
Than be the king of men elsewhere,
And most sovereign slave of care:
To have one moment of thy dawn,
Than share the city’s year forlorn.

~Henry David Thoreau

Tree Sparrow Spizelloides arborea

Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) Photo credit Paul Stein

Great Blue Heron Montage.

Trembling Aspen grove Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, CA

Thoreau wrote his poem for nature.  Can you create an earth month poetry video for those at home and self-isolating for COVID-19?  Would your poem combine nature and action on climate change?  Can you celebrate both the 22nd National Poetry Month and the 50th anniversary of Earth Month as we come up to April 22?  Can you write a poem for every day of the year from today onwards?   How can you paint a picture with words through your poetry imagery of your local environment?  Can you incorporate the three R’s – Reuse, Reduce, recycle?

“Through time, poets and artists of all kinds have held a mirror up to society, to help us reflect and engage with some of the fundamental questions we face. Energy cannot be considered from an entirely intellectual perspective; energy generation is the unrecognized beating heart of our culture, the invisible ingredient in our diets, the unseen web that binds us to each other, to our places of work and our places of fun, and to strange people in strange lands. We cannot hope to grasp the magnificent complexity of this without art.”
Jonathan Porritt

Here are some great ways to get involved with poetry, if you have nothing to do, and are totally bored counting how many spaghetti noodles there are left in your spaghetti box.   And if your kids, home from school, are finished their online lessons, here some innovative ideas to get  your children involved with poetry, too.  Find your inspiration by looking out your window, and celebrate spring in your poetry.  Take some time to enjoy the ever changing presence in the phenological moment through the written word.  Best wishes to everyone.  It is time to band together!

“The science of climate change is unequivocal. Its negative social and financial consequences are clear, dire, and exponential…. And yet we have been unable to effect change at the necessary scale. We have failed, somehow, to humanize this issue…. A good poem reminds us of our shared humanity. A good poem will string words together like pearls and connect us, shock us out of our usual tropes. A good poem reminds us of everything we share and everything we put at risk.” —Treehouse Investments, in a Q&A about the Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize

April 21-27 is Earth Week!  On Tuesday April 21, there is one more sleep before the  April 22 50th birthday Earth Day celebration! This year’s Earth Day 2020 theme is Climate Action, which will be explored during Earth Month.

For directions as to how to drive to “George Genereux” Urban Regional Park

For directions on how to drive to Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

  Canada Helps

For more information:

Blairmore Sector Plan Report; planning for the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area,  George Genereux Urban Regional Park and West Swale and areas around them inside of Saskatoon city limits

P4G Saskatoon North Partnership for Growth The P4G consists of the Cities of Saskatoon, Warman, and Martensville, the Town of Osler and the Rural Municipality of Corman Park; planning for areas around the afforestation area and West Swale outside of Saskatoon city limits

Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063
Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot
Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com
Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map
Where is the George Genereux Urban Regional Park (Afforestation Area)? with map

Pinterest richardstbarbeb

Facebook Group Page: Users of the George Genereux Urban Regional Park

Facebook: StBarbeBaker

Facebook group page : Users of the St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

Facebook: South West OLRA

Twitter: StBarbeBaker

Please help protect / enhance your afforestation areas, please contact the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. (e-mail)

1./ Learn.

2./ Experience

3./ Do Something: ^***

  Canada Helps

– Seth Speaks…
If you do not have a loving concern for the environment… it will no longer sustain you – you will not be worthy of it. You will not be destroying the planet, you see. You will not be destroying the birds, or the flowers, or the grain, or the animals… they will be destroying you. ~ Seth

Unlike the urban development that I see taking over and swallowing up our precious soil, when we interact with our environment in a way that allows for regeneration and natural spaces, the outcome can be beautiful. Cory Trepanier

For… first artists, the native people, art was not only of a functional nature, but also linked to their concepts of religion and the relationship of man to his environment. ~ James J. Kurtz.