wolfram's blog

These remarks were provided at the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Menlo Park, California on Sunday, April 26th.

The only thing that endures over time is the "Law of the Farm." You must prepare the ground, plant the seed, cultivate, and water if you expect to reap the harvest. (Stephen R. Covey)

Food system change begins in our roots...

My childhood including running wild in the Michigan Woods as well playing in a toxic dump on the outskirts of Detroit. A unique aspect of my career is that I have been able to successfully integrate seemingly disparate environments and elements of my life experience and work, including social service, horticulture, food systems and art.

It is the 200th Birthday of Charles Darwin. How many of you know of his connection to the garden? One day many years ago, I was rushing through the Chicago airport with a few minutues to spare. I popped my head into a used bookshop (in an airport?

The world has changed and the ground has shifted! Welcome to our new President!

Dear President Barack Obama, Today, your inauguration will make history in ways that lift up the hopes of many, mine included. I am so happy for the mulitudes of us who can be there with you in Washington D.C. today. I am also happy for the multitudes of us who can't be there physically but will be there in spirit... Among these folks are the people for whom I have worked for and with during all the decades of my working life in social service: community organizers, small farmers, inner-city poor, urban gardeners, abused and abandoned children, incarcerated, social workers, refugees, developmentally disabled, mentally ill, chronically homeless, undocumented immigrants, indigenous women, therapists, teachers, and more.

Many of us in the nonprofit field will be pleased to read this report by Meredith May in the November 11, 2008 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle:

Bay Area social entrepreneurs are looking to President-elect Barack Obama to keep his campaign promises to invest in the nonprofit world.

Obama has pledged to create a Social Entrepreneurship Agency within the Corporation for National and Community Service, to generate more venture capital for socially conscious startups. The new agency would make it easier for small nonprofits to get federal grants, plus come up with a results-driven accountability system so government officials could make better decisions about which charities to fund.

Reflections on a Historic Election

Another inspiring moment I experienced at the 2008 Bioneers conference was listening to Greg Watson, Senior Advisor for Clean Energy Technology with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

 

While attending the 2008 Bioneers Conference in San Rafael, California, I noticed something that has connected me deeply to the Bioneers mission and reminded me of my own roots in the environmental movement...the same roots that connect me to the work and mission of Collective Roots .

 

 

 

How many of you know what a "Bioneer" is?