What is the common glue that can help our larger community thrive? What easy steps can we each take to make a difference?
Luckily, they made a film about it; Join or Die, based off the book Bowling Alone, by Robert Putnam. Join us for a night at the movies at the Sebastopol Rialto, Thursday, September 3 from 6-8!
Why attend?
Learn why belonging matters.
Explore surprising research on happiness, health and community.
Understand how civic participation strengthens the places we call home.
Meet representatives of local organizations and people who share your interests.
This is a historic collaboration like no other. Seven local service clubs and organizations, have come together to promote this event encouraging civic engagement, including Kiwanis Club of Sebastopol, Order of the Eastern Star, Rotary Club of Sebastopol, Rotary Club of Sebastopol Sunrise, Sebastopol Grange, Sebastopol Gravenstein Lions, and Sebastopol West 100. Please help spread the word about this event.
In this Emmy-nominated feature documentary, follow the half-century story of America’s civic unraveling through the journey of legendary social scientist Robert Putnam, whose groundbreaking “Bowling Alone” research into America’s decades-long decline in community connections could hold the answers to our democracy’s present crisis.
Flanked by influential fans and scholars — from Priya Parker, Pete Buttigieg, and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to Jane McAlevey, Hillary Clinton, and Eddie Glaude Jr. — as well as inspiring groups building community in neighborhoods across the country, join Bob as he explores three urgent civic questions: What makes democracy work? Why is American democracy in crisis? And, most importantly… What can we do about it?
On Sunday, June 28th, at the Sebastopol Grange, The Sonoma County Blacksmith Guild presented a day of demos showcasing hot-metal shaping techniques and information about Blacksmithing. Attendees could try doing some hands-on forging, they shopped at an artisan market and enjoyed food, music, entertainment, raffles, and more!
The event was organized by twin brothers Kai and Parker Litwin, whose Sonoma County-based artisan business, Litwin Productions, specializes in custom blacksmithing, woodworking, and bladesmithing. They create blades, home decor and furnishings, and accessories.
Reprinted with permission from The Sebastopol Times
The Grange’s Dena Allen is building food resiliency from the ground up
By Kavya Krishnamurthy
Dena Allen and her sunflowers. (Photo by Kavya Krishnamurthy)
Dena Allen has always known the value of growing one’s own food. “I remember having a garden as a kid with my parents, and as a grown-up, every house we lived in that had a yard, the garden just kept getting bigger and bigger.”
Her current home in Sebastopol, where she lives with her husband, has 14 garden beds, pollinators in front of the house, and a bundle of fruit trees they inherited when they bought the property.
“So my husband, Tor, he’s the potato farmer…The joke is kind of that he grows the potatoes, and I grow everything else. He likes the thrill of digging them up out of the soil. It’s like a treasure hunt.”
She grows rhubarb, tomatoes, winter squash and most toweringly, sunflowers. “I had them last year, and they just kind of seeded themselves!”
Allen’s home garden is large and prolific, producing far more than she and her husband can eat. So she came up with a way to make use of the surplus.
The Produce Exchange Eight summers ago, Allen and her friend Carol Henderson approached the Grange to ask about trading extra food from home gardens.
“We said, ‘Hey, can we have a produce exchange? You know, there’s a lot of people like us that grow extra things, and sure, we give them away to family and friends and donate them and stuff, but I don’t grow peppers, and maybe somebody else does.’”
The idea was just a seed until the pandemic came. “People were really hungry for socializing, and more people gardened in the summers of 2020 and 2021.” From there, the produce exchange established itself as an institution.
There is a set pattern every year. In February, there is a citrus exchange, where people can bring citrus, greens, winter squash and seeds. The April spring exchange is for plant starts, produce, seeds and herbs. May through October is the regular season for produce exchange.
Allen explained, “We just set up tables in the shade at the Grange, and people trade. Usually there’s something left over, so we can bring it to the Senior Center or the Sebastopol food pantry.”
Upcoming dates for the produce exchange are July 28, August 11 and August 25 from 5 pm to 5:45 pm.
The Virtual Farm Another project Allen has been working on is called a “virtual farm.” The farm is “virtual” because it’s decentralized—made up of the large gardens of several Grangers that, in theory, could add up to a small farm.
“So far it’s just been mostly social,” Allen said. “We did a couple things where we had a potluck and talked about gardening. Whoever’s house it was, we showed the garden off and talked about what we can do as gardeners to promote more gardening and things like that. We also have taken our own harvest and made a community meal for the Grange a couple times.”
Allen said that the virtual farm could use some more participation, but largely speaking, “It’s just kind of a social concept place to share ideas and whatever else we have.”
Gleaning survey In the spirit of sharing, some of the virtual farmers came up with an idea for a home garden survey during a conversation at one of the potlucks. Allen explained, “If you look at the county Ag report, the information you get of what’s grown in the county is all commercial stuff. What shows up at the top is everything that makes the most money, which goes like wine, dairy, something like that.”
She was curious about how much produce home gardeners were growing, and because she couldn’t find any data, she and others at the Grange made a Google form to begin collecting information.
“The first couple years, my friend and I took it so seriously. We were weighing everything all summer that we were bringing in from the garden. In just my garden alone, it was over 4,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables.”
The second year of the survey, Laurel Chambers from the County took notice of the project. She offered her support and brought in statisticians who helped optimize the survey questions for analysis of responses.
The 2025 report is available here. It mostly collects data from West County, but for 2026, they are trying to get even more zip codes to participate in the 2026 survey.
In addition to tracking the amount of produce grown in home gardens, the survey also asks for qualitative information on what resources people need to support their home gardening. Based on these answers, the Grange was able to start a list of community resources that includes where to find free seeds, compost and learning opportunities.
The intention isn’t simply to support home gardeners, but to strengthen food resilience for Sebastopol and surrounding communities: “Part of local food security has to do with the food you can grow and eat and share and sell right in your own community that is not disrupted by supply chains or climate change,” Allen said.
“The central thing is food security, community, feeling good.”
Grangers and friends enjoyed a fabulous feast, great musical entertainment, and an informative talk about the Sebastopol Time Bank at our July general meeting and potluck.
Our meal included dishes from Khaosoi Thai Zen Restaurant provided by the Grange, plus a delicous array of appetizers, sides, and desserts brought by members and guests.
Joseph McIntyre took the Grange oath to become a member of our Grange. Welcome, Joseph!
The “Take Yer Medicine” band, featuring Patrick McCarty, Shauna McCarty, David McClary, and Grange Musician Peter Schurch,, entertained us with several well-loved folk and rock music selections. (See below)
David Gill, of the Sebastopol Area Time Bank (SATB), shared a presentation about this valuable community resource, explaining how you can get the help you need — and provide the help you can — with no money changing hands. “At SATB, the currency is HOURS, not dollars,” he said, “and with your free membership you’ll find how easy and fulfilling it is for neighbors to help neighbors, as this group has been doing for nearly 10 years.” David shared this information about The Sebastopol Time Bank:
The time bank is a free, member organization of neighbors helping neighbors where no money changes hands. Our currency is HOURS, not dollars, and everyone’s hour is valued equally. Our public website – www.sebastopoltimebank.org – has information about Sebastopol Area Time Bank (SATB) and a button to click to Apply for Membership. You’ll be taken to our private, Time and Talents website, to click Join and complete a brief form. The application and approval process can be completed so quickly that you can begin time banking on the same day … and you can be rewarded with 10 hours to get you started! Membership means participating. Your neighbors need your help, and you need theirs. Giving and receiving and building community. Just like the Grange. What could be more Sebastopol?! If you have questions or need help applying for membership, reach out to me directly at david@sebastopoltimebank.org. My admin team and I are ready to help our members be successful time bankers.
Any Granger who would like to volunteer to help with hanging posters, door sales, set-up, clean-up, or drink sales, please contact Laura Litwin at: secretary@sebastopolgrange.org -OR – 707-331-4400. Thank you!
Don’t miss this two-man one-man show featuring cosmic comic Swami Beyondananda and his slightly-more-serious alter ego Steve Bhaerman. Enjoy the Swami’s playful and hilarious take on events of the day, the human condition, and of course, our human conditioning. And…not only will the Swami answer your questions, YOU will question his answers. At a time when love and laughter are most needed, Swami Beyondananda will help you wake up laughing –and leave laughter in your wake. You’ll laugh…you’ll learn…you’ll laugh…and you’ll laugh some more. Doors open at 7pm. Show starts at 7:30pm. $20 pre-sale tickets; $25 at the door. Sebastopol Granger discount at the door = $20. We will sell drinks and snacks before the show and at intermission.
At our June general meeting, Grangers and guests enjoyed a fabulous potluck feast that included entrees provided by the Grange from Inca’s Peruvian Cuisine in Sebastopol.
Following our meal, we heard from our Worthy President, Peter, who expressed our deep gratitude to two people; Rick Theis for his generous donation for improvements in the kitchen, including an induction oven, and Michelle Price for contributing her time and knowledge on our Scholarship Workshops. Rick and Michelle are pictured above.
Grange musician Peter Schurch and “The Sugar Bomb Blueberries” entertained us with George Gershwin’s “Summertime”.
Our speaker was Barbara McChesney, from the Rotary Club of Windsor, who represents a global environmental initiative called End Plastic Soup. Barbara shared a presentation about plastic pollution, including stories of hope and resilience. She encouraged us all to take transformative action steps and rethink daily decisions.
Announccements included a call for someone with design skills to help us improve our Sebastopol Grange logo. Contact Peter at president@sebastopolgrange.org if you can help with this. Also, we would benefit from a Grange member who wants to volunteer to head up the Tend & Befriend gardening program, where a group of volunteers visits another member’s home garden to help with the yard work. We need someone to coordinate, please, which entails taking the names of people who do need the help. Scoping out the work that needs to be done and soliciting volunteers.
Two new members were inducted tonight: Pamela Augustine and Suzel Deer – Welcome!
Everyone is invited to join us for our monthly Potluck and General Meeting, which is on the last Tuesday of every month.
Attendees at The Mycological Association’s Mushroom Art Fair on Sunday, June 21, enjoyed local mushroom art, hands-on activities and workshops, food, and more! Wilder Herbertson talked about mushroom dyes and where to find the mushrooms that contain these magical pigments. Watch our website to find out about other events at the Sebastopol Grange! If you’re not already getting our newsletters, sign up here, so you never miss anything!.
The hour of labor calls us. Tend and Befriend our Grange’s own backyard hedgerow. Those who can lend a hand the next two Sundays, June 7 and 14, 9:30am to 10:30am, please join us!
Planted in 2020, tended by many of us these past years, the Pollinator hedgerow has experienced benign neglect this past season. The grass is tall and demands our attention. Many hands can make fast work of the weeds. We begin to prep for fall planting with regular work days now. And keep fire-safe.
The front metal containers also need TLC and some new plants. We have consulted with the Sonoma County Beekeepers for most of our plant choices. The containers in front are more accepting of garden box plants.
Bring your own gloves and favorite hand tools. Anyone with a weed whacker who is up to that chore could help clean up where Jorge hasn’t reached yet on back ditch. The Grange has some shovels and tools, but much of the necessary work is pulling tall grass out of the planted area.
Sunday works for this month for some of us. We plan to schedule a monthly Tend our Grounds on days that work for many.
See you at the Grange Laura Shafer on behalf of the Grace Flora and our Grounds Committee
As part of the ongoing upgrades to Sebastopol Grange Hall, and to honor the service of worthy Granger Lawrence Jaffe over the years, bench maker and woodsmith Marc Lepp donated two redwood slabs to top the entryway benches at the front doors to our Hall. Our worthy maintenance man, Juan Herrera finished the west side base to match the eastern side built by Sebastian Collet many years ago and attached the fire blackened slabs. Be sure to admire the benches and give thanks to the hands that built and inspired them
At our May General Meeting, our Chaplain Lawrence began the meeting with a beautiful blessing. Grangers and friends enjoyed a fabulous potluck feast that included dishes from Turmeric Cuisine of India, arranged by Meryl . Craig Mason from Love Choir and The Hubbub Club lead us in song, and reminisced about Hello Dolly at SRJC. Local historian Steve Thomas gave a detailed talk about the history of land ownership in our county and useful information about all climate related facts for our unique and beautiful Sonoma County..
