Insect Sculpture with M.E.C.C.A          Art Studio
Hundred Dollar Bill Project                   Ford Lecture Hall
Flower pot decorating                            Ford Lecture Hall

Family Day art activities at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art include:

Appearances

• 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. 
  Visit with the birds of Cascades Raptor Center – North Courtyard
• 12:30 p.m.                   
  Do the Frog Hop with Frannie! – Pape Reception Hall
• 1:30 p.m.                     
  Do the Frog Hop with Frannie! – Pape Reception Hall
• 2:00 p.m.                     
  Tour of the Amazonia photography exhibit with Sam Abell and Torben Ulrik Nissen

For more information visit the museum’s website or call 541.346.3027.

The 2010 Spring Propagation Fair will be held on March 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Lane Community College (LCC) Cafeteria. The free, volunteer-driven event is a resource for home orchardists, vegetable gardeners and native plant enthusiasts in and around the Southern Willamette Valley.

Hundreds of varieties of scions (fruit-tree cuttings) and vegetable seed, will be shared by local fruit enthusiasts and seed-savers at the Fair.  Rootstocks will be available for a nominal fee. Grafting assistance will be provided. Adventurous attendees are welcome to attend a grafting workshop at 1:00 p.m.

Attendees are not required to bring seeds or scions to participate. However, they are encouraged to ask questions of the experienced local gardeners and gardening education non-profits (see sponsor list below) or listen to the following speakers:

• 11:00 a.m.

Where to begin? From ground zero to feeding yourself out of a garden. Lauren Bilbao, a senior instructor at the Urban Farm Program of the University of Oregon.

• 12:00 p.m. 

Heirloom Pear Varieties for the Southern Willamette Valley. Joseph Postman, curator of the USDA’s 2000+ varieties pear germplasm collection in Corvallis, will discuss pear heirlooms from around the world, well-adapted to growing hereabouts. Several of the difficult-to-find scions he will be discussing will be available at the exchange.

• 1:00 p.m.

Social Permaculture: Growing Our Food with Our Neighbors. A panel discussion by local residents discussing the current state of collaborative, neighborhood-based approaches to growing food. Jan Spencer (River Road Neighbors), Charlotte Anthony (Victory Gardens for All), Aleta Miller (Environmental Center of Sustainability), Anne Donohue (Friendly Neighbors).

• 2:00 p.m.

Locally Adapted Vegetables: What Are They and Why Do They Work So Well? Andrew Still and Sarah Kleeger of the Seed Ambassadors Project and Adaptive Seeds.

• 3:00 p.m.

Incorporating Native Plants into Food Gardens. Why and How? Devon Bonady of the Lane Community College Learning Garden and Fern Hill Nursery; Brian Basor, president, Emerald Chapter, Native Plant Society of Oregon.

The 2010 Spring Propagation Fair is sponsored by:

Eugene Permaculture Guild
Seed Ambassadors Project
Lane Community Learning Garden
The OSU Extension Service in Lane County
Home Orchard Society
Victory Gardens For All
School Garden Project of Lane County
Huerto de la Famila
ECOS
Springfield Transitions Garden
Gardens Program of Food for Lane County
Urban Farm Program of the U of O
USDA Agricultural Research Service National Clonal Germplasm
   Repository, Corvallis
Native Gardening Awareness Program of the Native
   Plant Society of Oregon, Emerald Chapter
Lane County Beekeepers Association
Eugene Tree Foundation
The North American Biodynamic Farming and Gardening
   Association

Bus service to LCC is available from Eugene Station; Free parking is available at LCC. Spanish-language support will be offered.

For more information, visit Eugene Permaculture Guild or contact Charlotte Anthony.

After adopting nine children in addition to her three biological kids, Christy Obie-Barrett knew she was prepared to offer something more to the Lane County foster children who were still in search of a loving family.

That’s why she founded A Family for Every Child (AFFEC) Heart Gallery, a non-profit organization that aims to find new homes for Oregon’s foster children.

The organization helps facilitate the process of adoption by recruiting families for foster children, who are often referred to AFFEC by other foster programs. The non-profit recruits adopting families in a number of different ways using the media and its Web site.

AFFEC also creates wall exhibits, or “heart galleries” as the  organization calls them, which display photographs and biographies of foster children seeking permanent families. These heart gallery exhibits can be found in locations throughout Eugene and Oregon including the Gateway mall, the Eugene airport and the Market of Choice at 29^th and Willamette.

Additionally, AFFEC also offers a mentor program for foster youth from ages 12 to 21. The program’s goal is to ensure that foster youth are successful in completing school and transitioning into their lives as adults, according to the Lane County Heart Gallery Web site.

The organization has experienced great success in its three years of existence. It has moved more than 200 children who were featured on the Web site into foster families. “I had no idea it would be this big. People really responded,” Obie-Barrett said.

Each year, A Family For Every Child works with 250 of the 1000 kids in the Lane County foster program.

Each year, AFFEC works with 250 of the 1000 kids in the Lane County foster program. Obie-Barrett says around 70 percent of the children in all the different programs their organization offers are in the Lane County area.

Obie-Barrett’s decision to devote much of her time to a foster program stemmed from her compassion for foster children and her first-hand knowledge of the adoption process. “I felt confident that I knew enough to navigate the system,” Obie-Barrett said.

“When I see kids and parents become families,” Obie-Barrett said with a sigh, “I don’t know how I could get that from a private business.” Obie-Barrett said she finds it is an amazing experience to spend her time doing something she knows is making a difference. “I’d like to believe it betters our society by providing a better life after foster care.”

There are a number of ways for Eugene community members to get involved with A Family for Every Child Heart Gallery. Mentoring, volunteering, and sponsoring a child’s photograph to be mounted on a Heart Gallery wall are all great ways to help out Lane County’s foster children. Also, local businesses can support the cause by allowing the organization to set up a Heart Gallery display in their venue.

For more information, contact Christy Obie-Barrett by email or by phone at 541.343.2856.

Camille Rasmussen is a Journalism student at the University of Oregon who is minoring in French and Business Administration. Learn more about Camille on her blog.

The City of Eugene is now accepting applications for multiple 911 Call taker/Dispatcher openings and is hosting two upcoming “Career Events” so interested individuals can learn more about the position:

Emergency Services Training Center, 1705 West 2nd Avenue

 
These career events are open to the public; pre-registration is NOT required to attend.

At both events, 911 Call taker/Dispatcher professionals and human resources staff will be available to answer questions about the position. The Eugene Police Department will also be on hand to explain the multi-phase, sometimes months-long, application and testing process.

Those who do successfully complete the application process – which includes a police background check and psychology test – can earn an hourly salary range of $18.77 – $26.44 per hour plus a comprehensive benefits package.

“Only about three percent of the population has the proper skill set and personality to be successful in the career,” said Jenna B LaBounty, public information coordinator for the Eugene Police Department. 

A “Self-Screening Questionnaire” is available online for those who want to test their chances for acceptance and career satisfaction in advance.

For more information about the job requirements or to apply online (registration required), candidates can visit the website. Interested individuals can also call (541) 682-5061 or watch this career video.

TalkFest 2010, a celebration with free entertainment, interactive games, and snacks and beverages, will be held on March 6 from 12 to 4 p.m. in the HEDCO Education Building on the University of Oregon (UO) campus. Everyone is invited.

The event kicks off the official launch of “Talk,” a community-building project created by nine members of Allen Hall Advertising, a UO student-run agency.

The festival will feature storytelling of all forms, including performances by Mark Lewis, Sir Readalot, Absolute Improv actors, Eugene Poetry Slam, and more. UO student groups will host demonstrations, and attendees are welcome to join in a number of interactive conversation “ice-breaker” games.

Event attendees can also become a part of the Talk project, by  conducting a video interview at TalkFest.

As the TalkFest event slogan claims: “If you bring a story, we’ll bring a crowd.”

For more information visit the Talk website.

Nicole Perkins is dually majoring in Public Relations and Art History at the University of Oregon and hopes to find herself working in community outreach, research and education for museums. Learn more about Nicole’s journey on her blog or connect with her on twitter.

People have started to “Talk.” Candidly. They are sharing intimate, humorous, and touching stories with those around them.

Art History student Marisa Fonseca loves her family. Professor John Mitchell lost his daughter. Advertising student Evan Schultz is afraid of the future.

“Talk” is a University of Oregon (UO) community-building project that uses video to spark conversation about what people have in common.

Here’s how it works: UO students, staff and faculty members are interviewed about a variety of “life themes,” including family, travel, and faith. At the end of each interview, participants are asked to share something they love, something they have lost, and something they are afraid of. Then their personal stories and experiences are shared online for discussion.

“Talk allows us to see and share all the ways that we are connected.”

“Talk allows us to see and share all the ways that we are connected,” said Isaac Viel, Talk’s technology director.

The project, which was born in spring 2008 when the UO Office of the Provost requested a diversity-oriented campaign, is the product of Allen Hall Advertising – the UO’s student-run advertising agency. Talk founders Rachel Hom, Jamison Merrill and Tyler Kirsch wanted to approach the topic of “diversity” in a new and creative way.

Instead of a traditional “check the box” method of recording diversity, we wanted people to start talking, Hom and Merrill explained.

Talk’s nine team members hope to strengthen the campus community with this project. They also hope that individuals will learn more about their community not only as passive observers of other people’s stories, but also as participants in conversation with one another.

Though the project is based at the university, Talk team members believe that its mission of sharing stories and sparking conversation can scale to the Eugene community at large.

Nicole Perkins is dually majoring in Public Relations and Art History at the University of Oregon and hopes to find herself working in community outreach, research and education for museums. Learn more about Nicole’s journey on her blog or connect with her on twitter.

Do we all have an equal chance for good health?

Eugene residents are welcome to join the Lane Coalition for Healthy Active Youth (LCHAY) for community conversation about and screening of the documentary film “Unnatural Causes; Is Inequality Making Us Sick?” on March 9 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Eugene Public Library.

According to LCHAY, the film makers crisscrossed the nation uncovering startling new findings that suggest there is much more to our health than bad habits, health care, or unlucky genes…and their research revealed a wealth gradient to good health.

“At each step down the class pyramid, people tend to be sicker and die sooner. Poor Americans die on average almost six years sooner than the rich. No surprise. But even middle-class Americans die two years sooner than the rich. And at each step on that pyramid, African Americans, on average, fare worse than their white counterparts. In many cases, so do other peoples of color,” according to the film’s website.

“The wages and benefits we’re paid, the neighborhoods we live in, the schools we attend, our access to resources and even our tax policies are health issues every bit as critical as diet, smoking and exercise,” says Larry Adelman, executive producer of the film series.

“The unequal distribution of these social conditions – and their health consequences – is not natural or inevitable. It is the result of choices that we as a community, as states, and as a nation have made, and can make differently. Other nations already have, and they live longer, healthier lives as a result,” Adelman says.

The filmmaker also created an “Amazing Facts About Health” data sheet to help illustrate the points made in the documentary.

“We hope that the series and its companion tools will help you work towards better health by bringing into view how economic justice, racial equality, and caring communities may be the best medicines of all,” said Adelman.

Eugene resident David Gusset, a master violin maker, was the first American to win the Antonio Stradivari Foundation’s International Triennial Competition of Stringed Instrument Making.

University of Oregon Journalism and Communication graduate students Marc Dadigan and Katherine Kalk created this short documentary about Gusset, who has won many awards for his exquisite craftsmanship.

As part of the ongoing development of the Eugene Climate & Energy Action Plan, the last of six public meetings will be held on March 4 from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) community meeting room located at 500 East 4th Avenue.

The interactive meetings are designed to help determine the city’s priorities as they relate to climate change. The topic for this month’s discussion will be “Natural Resources.”

Residents who are interested in addressing climate change and energy challenges specifically regarding natural resources are welcome to attend.

Whether or not you’re attending, please feel free to take this short “pre-discussion” survey, which will help to further refine the focus for the evening. You can also learn more by visiting the RESOURCES web page, which offers a wealth of information about all six climate action topics:

For more information, contact Matt McRae via email or telephone at 541.682.5437.

Today five public relations (PR) students from the University of Oregon’s (UO) School of Journalism and Communication are wrapping up a two-month PR campaign for the United States Census Bureau as part of the national Bateman Case Study Competition.

University seniors Sarah Lilly, Emily Olson, Kristina Rhodes, Amy Ruben and Seth Thompson comprise the team. By participating, each member had the chance to gain practical public relations experience and to raise the Eugene community’s awareness about the 2010 Census.

The Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), a professional development organization for public relations students, is sponsoring the competition. The PR campaigns will be judged in April and the top three teams in the country will fly to Washington, D.C. in May to present their campaigns directly to the U.S. Census Bureau. The winning team will receive $2,500 and national recognition in the public relations field.

“Our goal is to educate, motivate and activate University students and Eugene community members to participate in the 2010 Census,” Rhodes said.

“Information from the Census will tell the government how much federal funding the Eugene community should receive.”

“Information from the Census will tell the government how much federal funding the Eugene community should receive,” Ruben explained.

Over $400 million in federal funds to create hospitals, bridges, senior centers and other establishments for communities will be allocated based on Census results, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The results will also be used to determine the redistribution of congressional seats in the United States House of Representatives and realign the boundaries of Oregon’s legislative districts.

Olson explained that the team’s public relations plan targeted three groups in Eugene that typically have low Census return numbers and are referred to as “hard-to-count” groups: college students, Latinos and low-income families. The campaign aimed to increase returns from these groups.

In order to reach out to college students, the team produced educational videos and created a Facebook page called “Do You Count?” The team reached out to low-income and Latino communities by partnering with local non-profits and community organizations to get the word out.

All five team members are looking for post-graduation public relations positions and believe that their participation in the Bateman competition will be attractive to employers. “My participation in Bateman will benefit me in the future,” said Lilly. “I was able to put the skills I am learning in the classroom to use to better our community and campus.”

“Small numbers of people really can change big things if they know how,” Thompson said. It is the team’s hope that their campaign activates the Eugene community to make those big changes, he said.

NOTE: All Census forms are due on April 1, 2010. All Census workers will be carrying official badge identification.

Paige Landsem is a sophomore at the University of Oregon studying journalism and public relations. She is an account executive at Allen Hall Public Relations, the UO School of Journalism and Communication’s student-run public relations agency. Connect with Paige via her blog, The Opinion Paige, and follow her on Twitter.