Ale Crevier – *culture is not optional

September 5, 2019• *cino Work, Building, Education, Event, Fundraising, Hospitality, Leadership, People, Rectory Stories, SUSTAIN *cino

Summer snapshots at a glance

May 11 – *culture is not optional finishes up remodeling of 208 with the help of Florence Church members and other volunteers.

May 25 – Ale and Annelie begin AmeriCorps VISTA training. *cino is working to partner with AmeriCorps over the next three years to better build capacity for the organization as a whole. A few weeks later, the summer associates join for ten weeks.

June 10 – Summer lunches begin. The Huss Project has partnered seven summers so far with the Three Rivers Public Schools through their lunch program, Meet Up and Eat Up.

June 13 – The Huss Project joins the Three Rivers Water Fest Parade for to promote our work. This event gave AmeriCorps VISTA members a feel of the neighborhood and chance to meet the neighbors.

June 14 – *cino convenes with Camp Tavor over dinner at the camp. This year, Camp Tavor counselors stayed on rotation at 208 each week night.

June 15 – Summer work days begin at The Huss Project. For six weeks, we worked with volunteers from the neighborhood in preparation for Huss Future Festival and several other projects including the renovation of the Imaginarium and the pavilion.

June 20 –The Huss Project has its first Farmer’s Market of the season. Snap peas, strawberries and smiles!

June 21 –Malachi Carter comes all the way from Indianapolis to teach a photography class for kids at summer lunches. We had 12 kids participate and learn grow their visual art skills through practicing photography.

July 2 – Camp Tavor kids come out to volunteer with us at The Huss Project Gardens for Tikkun Olam. We had over 20 volunteers from the camp help weed the garden and plant tree saplings.

July 15 – Aundrea Syrie and Great Dane teach a creative workshop for kids in the neighborhood so that they can develop their love for words. We had 5 kids participate and stretch their confidence in making art with words.

July 23 – Anna teaches summer lunch kids the magic of compost. We had 8 kids participate and gain knowledge about the cycles of food from the soil to our plates and back into dirt through compost.

July 25 –In thanks to all of those who participated in the Big Steps Campaign, *cino hosts a soiree at the renovated Imaginarium.

July 27 – HUSS FUTURE FESTIVAL 2019 ARRIVES. We raised over $7,000 dollars with the help of volunteers and community members. Over 1,000 people from the community came to the festival to make art, get free school supplies for kids, eat delicious food, listen to local musicians perform, and connect with over 15 community resource organizations in our

July 30 – Tikkun Olam round two!

August 8 – Our summer associates’ last day on the job.

August 9 – Storytelling night commences with our wonderful host, Emily, prompting us to wonder about inheritance and legacy.

August 24 – Longtime community members, Alek and Deborah celebrate their love at the Imaginarium. First wedding ever hosted at Huss!

To summarize:

– At Huss Future Festival, we raised over $7,000 dollars this summer in support of the Huss Project.

– We built the pavilion and the Imaginarum.

– Our partnership with AmeriCorps began in efforts to keep this organization sustainable and joy-filled.

– We produced and distributed 2,353 pounds of vegetables this summer to the local food bank and the Three Rivers Farmers Market.

– Summer lunches were a success as we served and enjoyed food with a total of 1,454 children.

-*cino’s 100 Friends of Huss Campaign, launched this summer, partnering with long-term, dedicated lovers of food, art and play.

– Over 74 volunteers dedicated a total of 1,104 hours to Saturday Work Day projects, Summer Lunches, special education events, The Huss Project Farm, the Imaginarium and The Huss Future Festival.

Many thanks to our volunteers for contributing the time, financial support, gifts and love. This summer was filled with so much business, and your presence made all of the difference.

August 26, 2019• *cino Work, Building, Leadership, People

Welcoming new *cino staff: Jacob

A late post and goodbye to our dear summer associate, Jacob Miller. Jacob is one of three staff who have completed an AmeriCorps service this summer.

Jacob has lived many years in Centreville, a few miles away from Three Rivers. He worked with Kirstin and Ale on our storytelling work and research of Huss School. Among his many talents, Jacob is a professional insect watcher, talented musician, and quote quipper. In a few days, he’ll be heading to University of Michigan for his first year of college. We’ll really miss his insightful knowledge of butterflies and goofy humor at The Huss Project.

Thanks again to all of our summer associates for your tremendous work at The Huss Project and Future Fest 2019! We’ll really miss you.

July 23, 2019• *cino Work, Hospitality, Leadership, People, Uncategorized

Welcoming new *cino staff: Ale Crevier

We’re glad to have Ale onboard with us this year at The Huss Project! Ale recently graduated from Calvin College in Grand Rapids with degrees in Literature and Linguistics, and is currently putting her love for writing to use at *culture is not optional with the storytelling team.

Ale grew up in the big city of Chicago with a big family of eight. Known as the “circus” to some, her family has fostered much of the craziness, joy and growth in her life. She and neighborhood friends would constantly be hanging out at the house in the summer, telling stories, building forts and playing frisbee. That the doors were always unlocked communicated a simple, but important message, (aside from a reminder to find the lost key) : belonging belongs in and outside of our homes and ourselves – with community. Hospitality isn’t really a choice we give ourselves, but an opportunity that lives in us and is required of us.

*culture is not optional’s commitment to hospitality – grounded in a vision toward play, food and art – was one aspect that attracted Ale to come to Three Rivers. She hopes to put her language skills to use as an AmeriCorps volunteer this year, researching the history of Huss, sharing community members’ stories and updating social media with The Huss Project’s programming.

Among other questions that she is asking herself, Ale is wondering how she might develop consistent, daily habits that contribute to her mental health and social life in positive ways.

July 15, 2019• *cino Work, People, Three Rivers

Welcoming new *cino staff!: Anna McClurkan

While the summer is halfway over, we have a few more wonderful folks to introduce to you at *culture is not optional. We’re really happy to have Anna McClurkan with us this summer! Her expertise in education, agriculture, and environmental studies has benefited our staff greatly at The Huss Project. Anna grew up in Kalamazoo and is currently a senior at Michigan State University, having worked in community gardens in East Lansing.

Anna’s current projects at The Huss Project Farm have allowed her space to do more on the ground work. “Being in Three Rivers lets you take a step back while also diving right into a small project like this where you can focus on one plot or one garden and be able to make a bigger impact than if you were doing the same kind of thing in a larger city,” she said. “It makes it a little less overwhelming.”

With environmental crises occurring and looming, practiced-based knowledge is a key component toward educating future generations, Anna noted. She’s excited to be working on the field at The Huss Project Farm where kids at summer lunches get the chance to see what vegetables we’re growing and the practices we’re implementing.

Anna noted that, going into the future, sustainable efforts toward environmental action will prove challenging, due to constant changes. “We’re probably going to have to make changes to keep up with what’s been happening around climate change so that we can continue to grow food sustainably even in uncharted and unpredictable areas,” she said.

On July 23rd, Anna will be teaching a class for kids interested in how compost works and what solutions it enables for our soil. Check out our event on Facebook!

June 26, 2019• Uncategorized

Welcoming *cino staff: Annelie

We’re excited to have Annelie on board as a year long VISTA member for *cino! Annelie has been a part of our community for a few seasons now, contributing greatly to The Huss Project Farm, Future Festival and the Three River’s Farmers Market. We have greatly appreciated her presence, joy, and work these past few years.

We’re continuing with a series of bios this week, questioning how the places we’re from inform our collective work in Three Rivers. Annelie was born in Corvallis, Oregon and has lived most of her life there. Corvallis is a “hippie” hub for environmental activism, Annelie said, laughing. “Growing up around agriculture and nature as well as seeing this very intentional way of viewing the earth and we interact with it were very influential.”

After moving from Corvallis, Annelie’s perspective on environmentalism has shifted. While the Corvallis community offers alternative ways in which to care for the world, such as implementing solar panels and growing organic foods, not all of their practices are economically accessible. “Moving [to Three Rivers], I realized that the environmentalist movement is not made for rich people even though a lot of wealthier white people have kind of dominated the conversation,” she said. She has found many examples here of folks using their resources, imagination and time to expand the definitions of environmental work.

Similar to Sugan, Annelie has found the social model for permaculture appealing, drawing particularly on activist Pandora Thomas’ work. Thomas’ model focuses on how to address the felt needs of people who find it most difficult to get their needs met, Annelie noted.

Annelie has recently been asking herself the question of how and where to invest her energy. “I used to think I wanted to invest most of my energy in farm work,” she said. “Recently I’ve wanted to invest my energy in education…and getting people connected to resources for their own benefit.”

More bios to come!

June 18, 2019• *cino Work, Leadership, Organization, People, SUSTAIN *cino

Welcoming new *cino staff: Sugan

As the rhythm of summer has already begun, *culture is not optional is excited to welcome our new AmeriCorps members – Sugan, Jacob, Ale, Anna and Annelie! Our projects include food systems work at The Huss Project Farm, storytelling and promotions for *cino and Future Fest and construction for the Imaginarium.

This week we’ve asked the new staff to share how previous places they’ve inhabited inform their current perspectives and role in the world.

Sugan is a recent graduate from Western Michigan University and a summer associate here. They were born in Bundu Tuhan, Malaysia and have lived most of their life in Kalamazoo, Michigan. “The lesson I learned from Kalamazoo is that it’s important to invest in your community,” they noted. “What I’ve learned from spending time in Bundu Tuhan is that you have to draw upon preexisting knowledge. A lot of that knowledge comes from elders. So if you are going to take that model and apply it to non-indigenous and non-tribal settings, it would be talking to people who have been here for a long time.”

Sugan pointed out their appreciation for already having such interactions in Three Rivers. At the Water Parade in town, Sugan met Richard Price, a longtime resident of Three Rivers. He walked AmeriCorps members through several old sites on the walk, such as an old gas station where the Ridgeway Floral & Gifts now stands.

Getting to know folks in Three Rivers like Richard is an essential social value that, for Sugan, applies directly to *cino’s approach regarding other things like permaculture. In order to understand permaculture, we must understand its roots in indigenous cultures, where social and environmental aspects of agriculture are tied, Sugan noted.

Sugan’s involvement in Three Rivers – particularly working at the summer lunch program and Huss Project Farm – has allowed them to combine their interests in permaculture, community sustainability and education. “There is a certain type of empowerment, being able to grow your own food. That creates better connectedness between yourself and what sustains you,” they said.

One question Sugan has been asking themself is how to integrate self-healing work in the context of a systems thinking model. “It is ironic to be doing healing work—whether you’re healing the environment or community—and not healing yourself,” said Sugan. “My biggest question is how do I channel healing energy to myself as well?”

Stay tuned for future bios this week.