The garden beds are finally thawed, but here the frost is not out of the areas that were heavily mulched or in deep shade yet. In many places, the heavy clay soil is still too wet to work up, but Spring activities have ramped up and nearing full swing.
This particular Spring has seen us restart our ECO-Tours website. Since we cannot afford a special person to be our wed guru, we have faced several challenges regarding our web presence. Originally, we had a computer in our basement that hosted the site. We had a bang up website that included our history, structure, bios of our board and reports on our work, but whenever we would have cars running into power poles or thunderstorms that would take out our power, we would have to reestablish the site and it would fall off the grip so to speak several times each year. My tech prowess is limited and if we were not home when the lights would go out, or if we were asleep when it happened, I wouldn't realize or notice. Needless to say, it was not the ideal situation. More recently, it was hosted elsewhere, but there too we had problems keeping it updated with our limited all-volunteer staff. Several of our members have computer savvy, but everyone seems so busy that we can go weeks or months without getting the site updated.
A recent search found that the site had been highjacked to a server between Madison and Milwaukee and I'm not sure how that can even happen. So this week we began development on the third incarnation of our website. ecotoursofwisconsin.org should be up and running again! It will need lots of hours of development and our current tech helper says that the dream I have about the design of the site will take a lot of work...As usual nothing worthwhile is easy, but we are back on the right track toward global recognition!
This week, we have also begun to develop an even larger nursery site. Our annual tree order is out and the days are getting longer by the day, so we foresee plant-ins starting up again in the very near future. We have one or two requests for major plantings. We are also excited about a long-term supporter who has pledged thousands of dollars for our programs over the next few years. It has been a few years since a major donor has stepped up, but as they say, Times they are a changin'!
There was a wonderful water walk here in Green Bay, bringing together those who honor the Earth, a display and presentation of the Beehive Collective that continued to speak in very plain terms of our reliance on Mother Earth and that is just part of the build up to Earthweek. The trash collection after the long cold winter had also begun in earnest. Whenever we walk the trails or take forays into possible planting sites, we keep an eye out for trash that needs to be picked up. Plenty of opportunities exist to make positive change, don't let a single one pass you by! There has never been a better time to change the world in a positive way.
Last evening, we had a visit from a Solidarity Singer who shared with us a few of his recent works and we made arrangements for our website to have some of his powerful and moving music on our website. The Earth is waking up and the time for us to move beyond the confines of our old ways is upon us. Reach out, touch the Earth, make connections and you will find, that nature's abundance will provide. It always has and always will, we just need to learn how not to poison or strangle the flow of energy and resources that abound in nature.
This particular Spring has seen us restart our ECO-Tours website. Since we cannot afford a special person to be our wed guru, we have faced several challenges regarding our web presence. Originally, we had a computer in our basement that hosted the site. We had a bang up website that included our history, structure, bios of our board and reports on our work, but whenever we would have cars running into power poles or thunderstorms that would take out our power, we would have to reestablish the site and it would fall off the grip so to speak several times each year. My tech prowess is limited and if we were not home when the lights would go out, or if we were asleep when it happened, I wouldn't realize or notice. Needless to say, it was not the ideal situation. More recently, it was hosted elsewhere, but there too we had problems keeping it updated with our limited all-volunteer staff. Several of our members have computer savvy, but everyone seems so busy that we can go weeks or months without getting the site updated.
A recent search found that the site had been highjacked to a server between Madison and Milwaukee and I'm not sure how that can even happen. So this week we began development on the third incarnation of our website. ecotoursofwisconsin.org should be up and running again! It will need lots of hours of development and our current tech helper says that the dream I have about the design of the site will take a lot of work...As usual nothing worthwhile is easy, but we are back on the right track toward global recognition!
This week, we have also begun to develop an even larger nursery site. Our annual tree order is out and the days are getting longer by the day, so we foresee plant-ins starting up again in the very near future. We have one or two requests for major plantings. We are also excited about a long-term supporter who has pledged thousands of dollars for our programs over the next few years. It has been a few years since a major donor has stepped up, but as they say, Times they are a changin'!
There was a wonderful water walk here in Green Bay, bringing together those who honor the Earth, a display and presentation of the Beehive Collective that continued to speak in very plain terms of our reliance on Mother Earth and that is just part of the build up to Earthweek. The trash collection after the long cold winter had also begun in earnest. Whenever we walk the trails or take forays into possible planting sites, we keep an eye out for trash that needs to be picked up. Plenty of opportunities exist to make positive change, don't let a single one pass you by! There has never been a better time to change the world in a positive way.
Last evening, we had a visit from a Solidarity Singer who shared with us a few of his recent works and we made arrangements for our website to have some of his powerful and moving music on our website. The Earth is waking up and the time for us to move beyond the confines of our old ways is upon us. Reach out, touch the Earth, make connections and you will find, that nature's abundance will provide. It always has and always will, we just need to learn how not to poison or strangle the flow of energy and resources that abound in nature.
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