Earth Day 2019

Look up at the sky —
The heavens so blue, the sun so radiant,
The clouds so playful, the soaring raptors,
The meadows in bloom, the woodland creatures,
The rivers singing their way to the sea,
Wolf song on the land, whale song in the sea,
Celebration everywhere, wild, riotous,
Immense as a monsoon lifting an ocean of joy,
Spilling it down over the landscape,
Drenching us all with a deluge of delight
As we open our arms and rush toward each other,
You and I and all of us,

Moved by that vast compassionate Presence

That brings all things together in intimate Celebration,

Celebration that is the universe itself.

-adapted from “Every Being Has Rights” by Thomas Berry

Urban Forestry Toolkit

Vibrant Cities Lab (http://www.vibrantcitieslab.com/toolkit/) has produced a new urban forest toolkit for communities. Hosted by the U.S. Forest Service, American Forests and the National Association of Regional Councils, the Vibrant City Lab is an online resource for looking at the positive health impacts that urban forests have in communities. The website posts recent research on human health, economic development, water quality, air quality, public safety, and other urban issues. The urban forest toolkit walks citizens through an urban forestry process of assessing, prioritizing, organizing, building, planning and sustaining.