How to offer hope to earth’s youngest stewards about climate change
“You can’t save a place you don’t love. You can’t love a place you don’t know. And you can’t know a place you haven’t learned.” – Baba Dioum, a Senegalese environmentalist
Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo’s name is so distinctive strangers around the world have been known to break into song at hearing the name. With such a recognizable moniker you’d think Kalamazoo wouldn’t need nicknames, but through the years changing names have reflected the city’s refusal to stand still. The Zoo, Celery City and the Mall City are a few. The innovative thinking that brought downtown K’zoo the nation’s first pedestrian mall in 1959 continues to work today. Innovators have developed thriving life sciences, biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms. They build on the expertise of Kalamazoo’s universities. Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo Valley Community College and Davenport College all are centers of research, development and technology. They surround a downtown vibrating with condos, apartments and homegrown, top-notch restaurants. The universities are woven into the city’s social fabric and contribute to a cultural scene that Kalamazooans love to boast about. The Kalamazoo Symphony, Kalamazoo Institute of Art and a vibrant local theater community are a few of the offerings. Locals also love their festivals that fill the air with music and the scents of ethnic foods wafting over the Arcadia Festival grounds and the Kalamazoo River. Outdoor activities from biking on the Kal-Haven trail to disc golf and standard golf on a nationally-acclaimed course in Milham Park are the start of the city’s leisure side. Sports fans have competitive college teams, minor league baseball and hockey to follow. And it all comes with a Promise. All high school graduates who live in Kalamazoo qualify for a scholarship that pays 100 percent of their tuition at any public university or community college.
Day Tripper: The Gilmore Car Museum is a jaunty trip down memory lane — car person or not
Whether you come from Kalamazoo or Battle Creek, the Gilmore Car Museum delivers on a scenic, country drive and a rewarding destination. The 90-acre campus features over 400 pristine, well-cared-for automobiles, affordable diner fare, and to top off the visit, a choice of ice creams — custard or Plainwell.
Kalamazoo Lyceum: Hope for the Planet inspired by creating relationship with the earth
A youth climate activist, an eco-spiritually focused Catholic nun, and a sustainability and tiny home advocate had a lively discussion at a recent Kalamazoo Lyceum. The upshot: Engage frequently with nature and welcome inconveniences that benefit the earth.
Family fun will be in focus at Kalamazoo’s 4th Annual Anti-gun Violence Community Carnival
Rev. Lenzy Bell, Vice President of the Northside Ministerial Alliance, speaks on the importance of community involvement to change the tide of the epidemic of gun violence among youth. A day of family fun, he says, lets youth and city leaders see the joy and community spirit.
City and County are strategizing for better housing in Kalamazoo area
The City of Kalamazoo is working with Kalamazoo County to develop strategies to fund projects to help struggling families to find good housing. The intent is to use $1.2 million in federal funding to connect and amplify existing community resources, and to inspire additional investment in them in order to help struggling families to find good housing.
As teens experience mental health crisis, music therapy is one way they are finding help
With its nonthreatening familiarity and connection to the human brain, music gives therapists a door into teens’ emotions. Music therapy helps teens identify, verbalize, and study their emotions, empowering them to change the way they act and feel.
Adolescentes en crisis mental encuentran alivio en musicoterapia
Con su familiaridad no amenazante y su conexión con el cerebro humano, la música ofrece a los terapeutas una puerta a las emociones de los adolescentes. La musicoterapia ayuda a los adolescentes a identificar, verbalizar y estudiar sus emociones, permitiéndoles cambiar la forma en que actúan y sienten.
Unsung heroes: Two faces behind Kalamazoo’s recycling efforts
Republic Services truck driver Dale Mentor and Kalamazoo’s Solid Waste Coordinator Chris Broadbent are integral in the recycling system for the community, managing waste collection and advocating for sustainable practices.
Kalamazoo’s Healthy House for Women offers women in recovery a loving place to stay
"Our core values are to be sober, safe, and self-sufficient. I think there is a balance between self-sufficiency and community. I don’t want the women to think they can do everything by themselves."
Conrad Kaufman: Drawing from the land for nourishment and art
“I live an organic lifestyle, but I’m not overzealous. It is all about the quality of life and the quality of death. I enjoy being alive — and I respect life forms; I don’t step on a spider if I can help it. I didn’t study ecology. I lived it. My landscapes in my art represent that.”
