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SCHOOL OF LIVING NEWS

TREELINE

Welcome to our School of Living electronic newsletter where you can catch up on what is happening in our land trust communities and SOL committee work.

The newsletter archive lives under the "Publications" tab in the primary menu of the School of Living website. From there, you will be able to access each newsletter and use its link for sharing. Contact mvelicky@schoolofliving.org if you need any assistance in retrieving these newsletters.

MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

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Image courtesy of Karen Stupski

The School of Living's Q1 2021 board meeting was held on January 23rd via Zoom. Minutes from the Q4 2020 board meeting were reviewed and approved. Reports from SOL communities, committees, and fiscally sponsored projects were reviewed. Here are some highlights from January's board meeting that may be of interest:

  • School of Living is, now, "School of Living, Inc. aka School of Living" in the state of Maryland. This adjustment is in response to changes in state requirements after initial filing in 1967.

  • The board agreed that for each October board meeting, the Treasurer will make available a report including the status of real estate taxes and compliance for each land trust property.

  • Empower Project, a fiscally sponsored project of SOL, is on hold for 1 year.

  • Permaculture Living Lands Trust, a fiscally sponsored project of SOL, reported that 2020 was a growth year and provided a summary of their 2020 activity. They look forward to "...SOL’s ongoing support as a fiscal sponsor for start-up grants we plan to apply for in 2021, and any suggestions about potential funding sources and opportunities to educate others about our vision and mission."

  • Sufficient funds have been raised towards completion of the School of Living documentary. Approval was granted to release these funds to Matt Tennyson for completion of the project pending discussion of completion date.

  • Congratulations is in order! Stellar Roots is growing and celebrating a brand new baby!

  • Board meeting schedule:

    • Q2 2021 - April 17, 2021 includes the annual membership meeting - Zoom

    • Q3 2021 - July 24, 2021 - Zoom

    • Q4 2021 - October 16, 2021 at Stellalou - Cochranville, PA

    • Q1 2022 - January 22, 2022 - Zoom

*Note: These highlights do not serve as approved minutes of the Q1 2021 Board Meeting.

The following article was written by Mike Curtis, a teacher and student of the work of Henry George and its applications. Mike is a long time friend and supporter of School of Living, a land trust organization inspired by Georgist prinicples. Mike, currently, runs the Henry George Academy where you can find his writings, presentations, and lessons about Henry George. Thank you, Mike, for sharing this work.

THE AMERICAN DILEMMA

BY MIKE CURTIS

President Trump was a demagogue, for sure. He could be treated as a felon and disqualified from running in 2024. But the contempt and machinations of his tens of millions of followers and the motley mob that ransacked the U.S Capital, are rooted in the intractable problems of unemployment, stagnant wages, and the exorbitant cost of housing. By exploring the cause and working for a solution, President Biden and the new Congress could eliminate the threat of another demagogue as they build toward a just and prosperous nation...Read more

PREPARING FOR GOATS!

BY HANNAH LEVASSEUR

goats

Image courtesy of StellaLou Farm

StellaLou Farm has long wanted to bring some goats to the property for their excellent land management skills and for the joy. When we bring home goats, their primary work spaces will be in the overgrown woodlot and windbreaks so we can access the spaces to rehabilitate them. With just human power, it is too much for us to cut back and maintain, we hardly make a dent before it has grown back. We will begin with two young wethers, castrated males, as there are less health requirements than a doe or the hormonal challenges of an intact buck. We are looking for a full sized goat, ready to eat lots of wild vegetation!

The delay in our introduction of goats to this SOL CLT has been in preparation; making sure that we have the available time, knowledge, and infrastructure for their care.

After a lot of reading, and a lot of conflicting information (on sheltering, fencing, diet, and care), this past year Hannah has built a goat house on the back side of the chicken coop. It is enough space for up to four goats. There is a top vent and windows on the East, West, and South sides for good air circulation, and a wide bench for them to get off of the ground and rest. We have a small section divided with a gate so we will have space for storage and eventually milking when we are ready for that next step.

This season we have installed the main pen for them, a permanent fence attached to their shelter. The corners are made from 6x6" posts, found in the barn, leftover from other projects, and 4x4" supports. All other posts are T-posts, holding up a 4' tall cattle panel, lined on the outside with welded wire fencing with 2x4" openings. The cattle panel is strong enough to support the weight of the goats as they rub, lean, and stand up on it. The additional wire breaks up the large holes in the cattle panel for when there are babies! We hope this research-based fencing prevents any escapes!

We are now in our final stage of preparation: ordering all of the emergency care, dietary supplements, and equipment we need. Hannah took a beginner goat keeper class and has made multiple visits to a local goat keeper who has generously shared knowledge and will serve as a mentor in this new project, and also a likely source for our goats at the end of this season!

While others may act faster in their addition of a new animal to their property, this speed has given us the time we need to research, counter research, and discuss all decisions for our goat care plan. We don't take this responsibility lightly, and we hope that our preparations will make us good novice goat keepers!

We look forward to introducing the new babies to you soon!

PA PREFERRED PROGRAM

BY MICHAELANN VELICKY

We got busy filling out forms and putting finishing touches on our honey house at StellaLou. We, then, had the the honey house inspected and officially certified as a food facility by the state and registered with the FDA. This will help us to expand our market selling honey in the coming season. This process, also, allowed us to become a member of the PA Preferred program.


The PA Preferred program helps consumers to easily identify and purchase locally grown and processed items. It provides us with a brand identity for the honey that we produce which we hope will be beneficial for sales. With the PA Preferred logo, consumers will know that they are directly supporting Pennsylvania farmers.


There are similar programs in other states such as Maryland's Best and Virginia's Virginia Grown.

papreferred

Image courtesy of the PA Preferred Program website

OPPORTUNITIES FOR SHARING

Stellar Roots

Stellar Roots is a collective of Black, Brown, and Indigenous people rooted in healing and in service of land based community living. They have been operating as a partner of the School of Living Land Trust since 2018 and are working and living on the Itsodi land, a School of Living land trust property. Learn how you can support this project. Note that Stellar Roots is not a non-profit organization and your donation will not be tax deductible.

Empower Project

While Empower Project is on a break, you can go to their GoFundMe page for an update on their accomplishments and their plans. And of course you can continue to give them support towards their mission to empower communities towards self-liberation through food sovereignty and education while emphasizing environmental stewardship.

SOL RECOMMENDS:

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