• This Earth Day Go Straw Free!

    Posted April 21, 2014 at 3:19 p.m. to AWAKE Community Public | Comment

    Please take the NO STRAW CHALLENGE! When you dine out, ask for your drink and/or water to be served without a straw or plastic stirrer. You will be doing us all on planet earth a big favor!

    Did you know we use more than 500 million straws a day in the U.S. alone? And that none of them can be recylced? Straws are one of the most frequently found pieces of trash found in the ocean, beaches and rivers. Let's work together to create less waste and leave a better world for our children.

    Milo Cress, in the video below, started the No Straw Challenge when he was just 9. He is a wise and dedicated young man. Please, this Earth Day, join us and take the No Straw Challenge!

  • Spoken Words to Hear this Easter

    Posted April 20, 2014 at 3:46 p.m. to AWAKE Community Public | Comment

    Happy Easter! Today we're featurning a video by Doxent featuring Loveshadow's remix A New May Day featuring Snowflake's At the Root spoken word. May it resonate in your heart.....with LOVE.

  • Green Art People Announces Partnership with Nonprofit AWAKE Community

    Posted Nov. 5, 2013 at 9:18 p.m. to AWAKE Community Public | Comment

    Common aims join art-based organizations for sustainable collaborative action

    awake logoToday two California nonprofits officially linked arms to further sustainable living through art. Green Art People, based in Ventura, and AWAKE Community, with operations in San Diego and Los Angeles, are forging a partnership that is connecting the southern coast of California through creativity with a cause. Both organizations focus on living in harmony with the earth and reducing humanity’s consumptive footprint;  both do so through inspirational creation.

    The mission of Green Art People is to build community and  nurture creativity through art, music, and conservation.  The organization provides space and programs that put the power to create in the hands of the community. Programs include their UpCycle Art Supply Store, where scrap materials are donated by businesses and individuals and are reused by local artists, keeping thousands of pounds of waste material out of local landfills. The Upcycle Art Supply Store provides a portion of funding for their programs and free art supplies for teachers. Programs also includes a free weekly gathering where people of all ages participate in music, art and camaraderie, Growing Art People, their children’s program, LAMP a local music archiving program,  Green Action Group, and other community events also take place at their unique and inviting space on the westside of Ventura.

    green art people logo“Green Art People is honored to join forces with AWAKE Community. Our shared missions to find innovative and inspired ways build a creative and conscious community are a logical and most inspiring fit,” remarked Lisbet Frey, co-founder and CEO of Green Art People. “Thanks to AWAKE Community for acting as our fiscal sponsor, as we are now able to receive charitable donations via their 501(c)(3) organization. Green Art People’s donors will be able to receive a tax deduction and help us build our programs in Ventura and beyond.”

     

    AWAKE, an acronym for Artists Working for Awareness, Knowledge and Education, was founded in 2003 to highlight important social issues and green living through art, music, and sustainable technologies. AWAKE has spearheaded elementary school gardening programs from San Diego to Los Angeles, teaching that harmony with organic nature, and with one another, inspires healthy living and is good for the soul. AWAKE has organized art and music based events for the U.S. Congressional Stop DUI Caucus and the National Biodiesel Board. AWAKE’s partnership with the San Diego Puppet Insurgency has educated thousands of Earth Fair attendees each year on the impact of disposable plastics in the ocean and the preservation of natural, open spaces -- all through unique interactive art installations and music.

    “AWAKE is thrilled to partner with Green Art People,” stated Emily Richards, Chairman and co-founder of AWAKE. “Our mutual aims of utilizing art and creativity to further sustainability in our communities makes this synergy a very powerful one. Together we are working to reconnect to nature through artistic expression.”

    With AWAKE now as the fiscal sponsor of Green Art People, donors may make charitable contributions to Green Art People that are tax-deductible through AWAKE Community. This important relationship will enable both entities to support one another through their networks and enable the surrounding communities to give their support in even bigger ways.

    To learn more about Green Art People, visit http://www.greenartpeople.com. To learn more about AWAKE Community, visit www.awakecommunity.com.

  • Salk Vernal Pool Habitats Graded and Gone

    Posted Oct. 31, 2013 at 4:37 p.m. to AWAKE Community Public | Comment

    Mitigation is the Consolation for Endangered Species in San Diego

    Years of passionate efforts by communities and nonprofits working to save the Salk Vernal Pool Habitat in Mira Mesa has come to end. The bulldozers won. But promises of mitigation at McAuliffe and Carrol Canyon Vernal Pools Sites provides some consoltation. 

    The Salk habitat was recovering from a controversial full-grading in 1979 , becoming a home to birds like Least Terns and Killdeer, Fairy Shrimp, Mira Mesa Mint, and other endangered and threatened species. Although the vernal pools at the Salk Site have taken a beating from motorcycle jumps and the remnants from the adjacent dog-park, many species that make vernal pool enivornments their seasonal spring home were flourishing. 

    Not anymore. The entire site has been fully-graded in preparation to build Jonas Salk Elementary School, soon to increase the number of elementary schools in Mira Mesa from four to five. Plans for Salk Elementary have been on hold for many years and pressure was placed on the school to improve the four existing schools with its remaining Prop D funds, instead of stressing state budgets that have already caused teacher lay-offs and other school budget cuts. The pictures below are what the beloved vernal pool site looked like in late September 2013.

    Many people have contacted us at AWAKE Community, shocked by the loss of the habitat. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service described the Salk site as having "the largest unprotected vernal pool complex remaining in Mira Mesa." AWAKE spent more than five years working earnestly to preserve this site and are deeply saddened by this result. 

    AWAKE will be vigiliantly watching SDUSD's "mitigation" projects at the McAuliffe and Carrol Canyon vernal pool sites and will provide more information as we receive it. Currently, we're not allowed into the areas. Thanks for your support.

  • Composting in Ventura

    Posted March 12, 2013 at 3:20 p.m. to AWAKE Community Public | 1 Response

    AWAKE Community has a composting educational program in Ventura CA.  Working with community organizations and the City of Ventura's Environmental Sustainability Department, we've built four demonstration compost piles with resources onsite in order to show how to close the loop and heal the earth through simple gardening practices.  These compost piles will yield good soil for Ventura's community gardens and backyard gardens.

    The next workshop is April 6th.  It's free and open to the public of course.  Please join us for a hand-on approach to learning more about sustainability.  

    For more information visit the blog Good Earth   See you in the gardens!

 
Unknown Title by Unknown Artist from Unknown Album