CivNet: One Thing Leads to Another

I finally sat down to explore the Civnet website. CivNet is a locally grown endeavor. I had signed up as a beta user not long ago and I've been getting regular email updates as people post their project needs on the site. Yesterday, I went through my emails and started clicking on all the links in each CivNet message. I found many wonderful things. 

Green bike lanes

One of the first projects I noticed posted was for green bike lanes. What did that mean? Is this a project to put in bike lanes that follow sustainable, environmentally safe practices? Turns out, no. It means what it says -- this project needs people to help them paint the bike lanes on the Lead and Coal bridges green. I could help with that. I didn't sign up for anything, though, not yet. 

Identify learning labs

Instead of putting it in my own words, I will quote the purpose of this project. 

"This initiative will enhance the learning experience by pairing "learning laboratories" with nearby schools and/or community programs to form mutualistic relationships."

This one sounds great to me and I think L&LNM could fit in nicely. I took a look at some of the learning labs that had signed up and found the  Sanctuary in Abq. The Sanctuary is a lot of things. One that I especially liked was their Urban Repurposing program -- Rebuilding derelict urban environments can improve commerce and cultural exchange while simultaneously preserving the distinct feel of a neighborhood.

I've moved twice in as many years, and as I drove back and forth and back and forth, loading up the car and unloading it, I was truly dismayed to see so many out of businesses and empty buildings. It is the saddest thing -- a sure sign that capitalism really doesn't work anymore. 

I have always thought, why can't we do something with those empty building to address the homeless problem or for senior housing? I am not the only one thinking these things, as I discovered when I found the Sanctuary. 

Community supported agriculture (CSA) and local food projects

There are several projects on CivNet regarding organic gardening. local food, even one to convince APS to buy 1% organic food for their school food programs. 

One that caught my eye was La Cosecha CSA, community supported agriculture. I love that they specifically mention senior citizens and veterans in their mission statement. I will be signing up with them at some point, I'm pretty sure.  

Mission Statement

To create social enterprises which provide sustainable access to organic foods and affordable housing for senior citizens and veterans.

Vision Statement

Our mission is to inspire and facilitate sustainable positive changes in our world, through the creation of responsible social enterprises designed to overcome the challenges in society.

So what is a CSA? The way I understand it is that a person invests in the Sanctuary and the Sanctuary will provide a weekly delivery (or you can pick it up) of organic food from their farm. Pretty nifty idea.

There is so much more on CivNet that I haven't covered but you can check them out yourselves. Their message, like L&LNM's, seems to be go local, go organic, build stronger communities. 

Let's end this post already. Have a super great weekend! Go out and do something New Mexico-y!