Your Monthly News & Updates
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Community Partner Profile | Event Highlights | Good to Know | Trivia
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COMMUNITY PARTNER PROFILE
Niiohontesha Herne
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Name:
Niiohontesha Herne
Town of Residence:
Ahkwesasne, NY
Major:
Community Health, SUNY Potsdam
Role at GardenShare:
Intern
How Long:
Seven weeks
Why I do what I do at GardenShare:
I do what I do because I care about the health and wellness of the community and its people. Hunger is an issue that affects the most basic human need, which is food or the lack thereof. I believe that community's strength is only as good as its weakest link. When a person is missing one of the most basic human needs, this hinders the stability, health, and wellness of the community as a whole. So, addressing the lack of this human need, this is ultimately strengthening the integrity, unity, and productivity of the entire community.
What one word would you use to describe yourself?
Determined
If you could do or be anything else, what would it be? Why?
I would be a full time artist if I could be anything else besides a community health educator. Art is something that I love to do. Art is where I can truly express myself in ways that depict what feelings, thoughts, and aspirations I may have. I began my bachelor's degree as an art educator but my direction had changed because I had to make sure that I had a stable job possibility for my family. The job market for art educators is almost none at this economic time.
What are you most proud of?
I am most proud of my children. They have been such a life changing experience for me. They have pushed me to explore parts of myself and my limits that I would have never done on my own. In a way, my children are my inspiration and I am so proud of how far they have come in life.
What is your most recent accomplishment?
I am about to graduate this coming May. I have worked hard and long to get this degree in community health starting out as a freshman in the fall of 2015.
What is your role outside of GardenShare?
I am a role model, a pillar of information, an advocate for those who cannot defend or speak for themselves, I am a mother.
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EVENT HIGHLIGHTS
Canton Middle School Green Team
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Becky Allen and SUNY Potsdam Intern, Niiohontesha Herne, met with Canton's middle school's Green Team on January 22nd to talk about GardenShare and the value of local food. The students, under the guidance of teacher Megan Smith and co-advisor Kimberly Newman, were quite knowledgeable and asked great questions. They also gave us a huge surprise!! In the true, can-do spirit of local farming, they had taken it upon themselves to raise catnip plants, harvest it and produce a value added product by making cat toys. Lucky cats and lucky us! The students in their generosity donated their proceeds - $100 - to GardenShare to continue our important work. What a great bunch! Thank you Green Team for doing what you do and being who you are. Those proceeds will go straight to our bonus bucks program to help local families stretch their food dollars and have access to healthy local food!
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Look & See is a cinematic portrait of the changing landscapes and shifting values of rural America in the era of industrial agriculture, as seen through the mind's eye of writer, farmer, and activist, Wendell Berry.
There will be an optional discussion after the screening.
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This mid-winter FUNdraiser supports GardenShare's work to solve hunger!
GardenShare's annual "Cabin Fever Trivia Night" will be held on Saturday, March 2, 2019, 7:00 PM, at the Elks Club in Potsdam.
Admission is $25 per person (proceeds benefit GardenShare), with some light food included, and a cash bar. Students with an ID will be admitted for $12.50. Competition will take place in teams of four.
Prizes will be award for trivia, team name and team uniform!
Register
HERE
before the event sells out.
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“Democracy is not a spectator sport.”
I don’t know who said that originally, but whoever it was, they were wise indeed. I would only add that democracy does not begin and end in the voting booth. Certainly it is a start, but our responsibility does not end there. Almost every day of the year, there are policies, bills, laws, rules, ordinances, etc., passed or put in place that impact our lives. Sometimes in ways barely noticeable, and sometimes in ways that fundamentally affect what we do, where we live, who we interact with, how we make a living, what we eat, what we drive – basically how we live, day in and day out. These bills, policies, laws, ordinances, etc. are not decided on election day, they are decided on all the 364 days in between. The problem is, for many of us, staying informed and up-to-date about those bills, rules, ordinances seems next to impossible, unless we can add an hour or two to the day and then we would probably use those extra hours to catch up on sleep – finally. For others, knowing where we can get reliable, non-partisan, fair-minded information is a challenge. Luckily, there are some great resources out there that can address both of those issues. The one we are highlighting this month is called GovTrack.
It is an online, non-partisan, independent organization that tracks congressional legislation, provides information about our representatives and senators, including voting records, and offers bill analysis and background research to help understand both the intended and unintended consequences of a proposed bill. If you don’t have time to periodically visit the site, you can always sign up for bill alerts on topics that interest you. Check it out – it is a great resource for a busy democracy.
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However, you probably wouldn't drink a whole cup of maple syrup!
Maple syrup contains 20 mg of calcium per tablespoon.
You can also count on this delicious treat to provide you with potassium, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, vitamins B2, B5, B6, niacin, biotin, and folic acid!
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Jean Tupper with Tupper's Hilltop Maple Treats
at the Canton Farmers Market
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Jeff Shippee with Pleasant Valley Farm
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For every dollar we spend on food in
the US, how much goes to the farmer?
a) 52 cents
b) 37 cents
c) 21 cents
d) 16 cents
e) 5 cents
Stay tuned next month
for the answer!
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