Grangers and friends enjoyed our September General Meeting and Potluck in the setting autumn sunlight that streamed with an ethereal glow across our spacious hall.

The Grange served an assortment of Thai dishes and the tables were laden with delicious side dishes and desserts (including lots of apple pies, apple crisps, and more apple-goodnesss!) brought from home by attendees. As always, it was great to enjoy conversation with old friends and new ones!

President Lawrence shared his observations about the impacts of AI. Our chaplain Barton Stone inspired us with a poem. Our Grange musicians, led by Peter Schurch, entertained us.

Granger Carol Henderson, also a member of The Community Seed Exchange, shared a presentation about that valuable community resource. The Community Seed Exchange is an all-volunteer group of local gardeners and seed savers. They maintain a grassroots community seed library that supports Sonoma County gardeners with free, locally grown, open-pollinated, pesticide- and GMO-free seeds! In their seed garden, they grow many of the seeds available in the library. All gardeners, with or without seeds to share, are welcome. Gardeners are encouraged to grow out and donate back to the Community Seed Exchange. The goals of The Community Seed Exchange are to cultivate a network of seed savers in the region, support each other and the seed library as a resource for the expanding community of gardeners, and strengthen our local food system.
Carol and Dena Allen are the long-time organizers of the Grange’s popular Produce Exchange program.

At our Sept. 14th Community Free First-Aid & CPR class, 16 Grangers and 3 prospective members reviewed and practiced first aid and CPR skills with the instructor provided free of cost by the county program, Sonoma Ready. For those interested, the Sonoma Ready program will present a free Emergency Preparedness talk Oct 12 (2-3:30pm) at the Sebastopol Library.

Grangers and friends had a great time at our August General Meeting and Potluck on Aug. 26th.

Our Chaplain Barton Stone presented an inspiring benediction (See below.)

Our Grange band entertained us with a performance of the song, “Day-O” by Harry Belafonte, representing the struggle and strife of the banana pickers of the United Fruit Company.

President Lawrence shared a story about a man who, during the Nixon administration, burned a candle outside the White House every night, not to change policies, but in hopes that he would not be changed.
Lawrence also informed us that stress can temporarily lower IQ and diminish empathy by disrupting the brain’s ability to focus and process information. Gathering as a community, he explained, directly counteracts the effects of stress by reducing cortisol levels and releasing oxytocin, the “bonding hormone.” This social support frees up cognitive resources, improving focus and problem-solving, while also fostering a sense of shared experiences that enhances empathy and connection. Stress relief is real when people gather. We gather so that WE do not change. We gather for US. Go home and light a candle tonight.

Peter S. awarded Grange scholarships to Libby Jaffe, attending Western Washington University; Sakiko Pizzorno, attending Cal Poly SLO; Miako Pizzorno, attending Cal Poly SLO; Jimena Santos, attending Roseland University Prep.
Jim and Janet from the Bodega Bay Grange told us about that Grange’s effort to create a commercial kitchn at the hall, and Janet’s Coastal Garden Group, created to help the Bodega Bay community learn how to grow vegetables along the coast.

Shawn Patterson, from Good to Grow Garden Teas shared his methods for ‘farming worms’. Worm castings, aka worm poop, are the key to a healthy, productive garden. The nutrients and micronutrients are made bioavailable for the plants. Good bacteria! Castings will not burn your plants. He demonstrated how we can turn kitchen scraps into “black gold”.

We welcomed new Grange members Chris Harnish, Mary Ely, Joan Birch, Adele Diehl, Caroline Jenkins, Kent Jenkins, Clayton Creager, Beth Acosta, Penny Bellus, and Richard Murphy.

Dear Human:

You’ve got it all wrong.
You didn’t come here to master unconditional love. This is where you came from and where you’ll return.
You came here to learn personal love.
Universal love.
Messy love.
Sweaty Love.
Crazy love.
Broken love.
Whole love.
Infused with divinity.
Lived through the grace of stumbling.
Demonstrated through the beauty of… messing up.
Often.
You didn’t come here to be perfect, you already are.
You came here to be gorgeously human. Flawed and fabulous.
And rising again into remembering.
But unconditional love? Stop telling that story.
Love in truth doesn’t need any adjectives.
It doesn’t require modifiers.
It doesn’t require the condition of perfection.
It only asks you to show up.
And do your best.
That you stay present and feel fully.
That you shine and fly and laugh and cry and hurt and heal and fall and get back up and play and work and live and die as YOU.
It’s enough.
It’s Plenty …

—Courtney A. Walsh

Grangers and friends had a great time at our June General Meeting. Following our Produce Exchange, we enjoyed a delicious potluck dinner and music by our talented Grange musicians. Longtime Grange member and officer Gary Abreim shared a presentation about his recent trip to the American South where he was inspired by the courage of those who suffered through slavery and led the Civil Rights Movement.
We welcomed seven new members: Robin Factor, Jon Strider, Barbara Harris, Sandra Degan, Amy Sparrow, Ken Crittenden, and Lauren Darges!

We’re skipping July, but join us for our August General Meeting on Aug. 26, 6-8pm. Watch our website and our newsletter for details.

AmeriCorps is a national service program, founded in 1993. Fellows serve full-time for 11 months and receive a modest living stipend ($2200 a month), health and dental insurance, food assistance, mental health support, loan forbearance, and an education award at the end of service. I plan to use my award to enroll at Santa Rosa Junior College and earn a Child Development Certificate, so I can bring environmental storytelling into schools — sharing the stories of climate activists and asking kids under 10 to help imagine real solutions.

There are two main climate-focused AmeriCorps programs in California: California Climate Action Corps (CCAC) and GrizzlyCorps, which launched at UC Berkeley. GrizzlyCorps focuses more on rural and agricultural resilience, while CCAC works across urban and rural communities on projects ranging from wildfire readiness to edible food recovery. Fellows are matched with local schools, nonprofits, or conservation organizations, who serve as host sites and help train them throughout the year.

In my case, that learning extended far beyond my placement. I spent time meeting nonprofits, reading environmental justice books, watching documentaries, and joining Farm Trails to visit small-scale farms. I went to farmers markets to understand what drives people to stay local — and I traveled to Ukiah, Mendocino, Orr Springs, and Comptche to see how different communities approach sustainability. Along the way, I met local growers and educators I now see as mentors.

Fellows can serve up to two terms, deepening local relationships and building long-term partnerships across the region.

At the Grange, the CCAC and GrizzlyCorps fellows spoke about their service, what organization they worked with, and what that work entailed. Here’s a brief summary.

“I worked with another fellow to build a curriculum on fire safety,” said Alena Brammer of Fire Safe Sonoma. “Our last presentation reached our Spanish-speaking community and young students.”
Her voice, like many others that evening, cracked not with fear but with determination. Because they know what’s coming.
Rose Antaki from Goldridge RCD echoed this sense of grounded action. “During my fellowship, I learned how to conduct a defensible space assessment. This skill is important as we work toward wildfire resilience in Sonoma County.”

Emma Guzy from Conservation Works, found herself in classrooms with kids who had never talked about fire safety before. “I worked hard to create a hands-on, safe space for them to explore wildfire. We even played wildfire bingo. It sounds simple, but it worked.”
Others spoke of climate grief — and the antidotes they’d found in storytelling, goats, gardens, and rainwater tanks. “The program allowed me to reconnect with storytelling — a superpower I’ve cultivated over my career, now aimed squarely at climate resilience,” I shared during my talk, reflecting on my journey from flood-prone Pakistan to the redwood-rich lands of Northern California.

Lily Roberts smiled as she described second graders eating veggies straight from the stalk. “We had over 400 students come through our water conservation workshops. The best part? A few days later, we were tabling in Windsor, and the kids came running up with their parents, telling us everything they’d learned.”
These were not interns fetching coffee. They were designing wildfire curricula, hosting bilingual community events, planting hundreds of trees, and teaching kindergarteners why salmon still matter.

Melia Zimmerman put it simply: “Climate anxiety sparked my interest. This project let us put our hearts into something real — something that might just change the world.”

And that’s what hurts. Because even as they speak, the programs that trained and supported these fellows are being quietly dismantled. In April, federal funding for AmeriCorps-backed initiatives like Grizzly Corps was slashed. No headlines. No protests. Just the slow erosion of one of the few things that’s actually working.
So here’s a wild thought: maybe instead of budgeting for billion-dollar bailouts and war machines, we invest in the people planting trees and teaching 8-year-olds about water conservation. Maybe we let the ones who still believe in change lead the way.

Saba Khalid is a former California Climate Action Corps fellow who worked with John Muir Charter School. Originally from Pakistan, she’s a writer, educator, and social entrepreneur whose past work has focused on reproductive health, youth education, and climate justice

Grangers Carol, Nancy, and Laura joined with Beekeepers Frannie, Kim, Suzanne and Sean on first Friday in June to tend to the Hedgerow at the Grange Hall!

Grangers and friends enjoyed our May meeting!
We enjoyed a delicious potluck dinner with food from King Falafel. Our potluck meetings are a great place to make new friends and visit with old friends.
Our Grange musicians performed Bill Withers’ classic Lean on Me.
Our speaker was Zeke Guzman, who operates the community garden JardÍn del Pueblo (The People’s Garden) and, with other volunteers, works to fight food insecurity and support job training.
We welcomed new members Michael Wagner, Jessica Hwang, Rachel Main, and Deanna Williamson!
Everyone is invited to join us at our monthly general meeting and potluck. Check our website for dates and more information.

On April 29th, Grangers and friends celebrated the unveiling of our vibrant new exterior murals and the student artists who created them with a festive reception.
After hors d’oeuvres and drinks, we were treated to a lively performance by the Apple Tree Morris dancers. The mural artists shared with us their experiences of the creation of the murals.
The art was created by Artstart Sonoma County youth and Analy High School, with guidance from Art Instructor Asherah Weiss. They display the creativity and skill of our local young artists. The art brings new life to the historic Grange Hall. This project reimagines the classic symbolism of the Grange’s Three Graces – Pomona (fruit), Flora (flowers), and Ceres (grain) – into vibrant, contemporary works of art
Artstart fosters artistic growth by mentoring and educating Sonoma County youth through hands-on work experience, creating impactful art that enriches our community.

Dozens of eager home gardeners came to the Grange on April 29 for our “Starts Exchange”, the kick-off to our Home Gardeners Produce Exchange season. Hundreds of starts were given away! Learn more about our Produce Exchange.

Equinox Garden Box Build April 13, 2025

by Carol Henderson

The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and busy bees were humming around everywhere. It was not just the insect variety that was active, but rather a vibrant community of people who came out to the Sebastopol Grange on Sunday, April 13 to participate in the first ever Equinox Garden Box Build Day. To encourage more folks to experience the delights of home gardening, to share building skills, and to enhance bee habitat, members of the Sebastopol Grange and the Kiwanis Club of Sebastopol collaborated on this service project to provide a hands-on experience of building redwood garden boxes.

All ages and skill levels were invited to share proficiencies and resources to make something useful and beautiful. People signed up to either be a builder, a helper, a recipient, or to help with deliveries. Understandably, some people took on more than one role as people wanted to learn how to make their own box and donate money to help cover the costs.

Throughout the day, around 40 folks–teenagers to an almost 86-year-old juggernaut, gathered from Sebastopol, Santa Rosa, Forestville, and Cloverdale, and joined together in small groups to work. Because of the talented group of skilled builders, many of the materials were arranged in pre-cut kits with sample boxes and dimensions ready to replicate. After a brief safety meeting, skilled builders guided helpers who learned how to assemble and fasten the boxes. The boxes were then finished with a bottom of hardware cloth (“gopher wire”) with participants working together to cut the wire to length and staple it to the bottom of the box.

Materials had been gathered in advance of the day. The redwood was a combination of newly milled wood (thanks to Full Circle Mill and Sturgeon’s Mill), purchased redwood (thanks to Sebastopol Ace Hardware for helpful pricing) and reclaimed redwood fence boards (thanks to Daniel O. Davis). The fasteners and hardware cloth were also from Sebastopol Ace Hardware.

Recipients could donate and receive a box. Many of these people also needed help receiving their boxes, so willing volunteers with trucks, loaded up finished boxes and took them to people’s doorsteps, grouping the deliveries by geographic location. It was quite a sight seeing people working together to load and strap the trucks with three or four boxes that had just been assembled moments before. It was an all-service production line.

From noon to four, folks worked, took shade and water breaks, and ate veggie burritos that were provided. At the end of the time, 36 boxes had been finished and 23 had been delivered or went home with their builders. This was a fantastic accomplishment for a first-time event.

This project was made possible because of seed grants of $500 from both the Grange and the Kiwanis Club. People have made donations online and with cash and checks. To be able to replicate this event again to give even more people a chance to grow food and learn skills, we need more donations. If you would like to help, you can make a tax deductible donation online or write a check made payable to Kiwanis Club of Sebastopol. Because of the outpouring of response, we know there is a need in the community. In these uncertain times, what we can count on is our community and the food we are growing in our own backyards. Like bees in the hive, we all have our part to play for the greater good.

Event organizers Dena Allen, Carol Henderson, Craig Litwin, and Brad Smith would like to thank the generosity of all who helped make this possible through labor, materials, or financial support. Let us do it again!

Photos by Carol Henderson and Dena Allen.