The exhibit is small, confined to a single wall panel, but features wonderful mixed media drawings and paintings by young artists. The Duck Stamp exhibit is part of a statewide initiative to bring awareness to local wildlife and its ecosystems.

The Duck Stamp exhibit is located on the lower level of the Custom House Museum

All entries for this annual Tennessee art competition are due on March 15 each year. There are two key rules. First, the species of waterfowl you draw must be a native North American duck, goose, or swan. Second, all entries must be drawn horizontally and be 9″ high by 12″ wide.

Soon after the annual entry deadline, the artwork is judged by a panel of experts. The judges change each year, but the panel typically includes a combination of waterfowl biologists, artists, and natural resource professionals. The art is separated into four grade groups (K-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12), and each group is judged independently. Once the first place winners for each group have been selected, they are viewed again to select a single Best of Show for the state.

The contest was sponsored by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in partnership with Tennessee Wildlife Federation, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and Bass Pro Shops. Judges were Steve Middleton with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Julie Schuster of Bass Pro Shops, Sarah Welker past state coordinator of the Tennessee Jr. Duck Stamp program, Brian Elkins of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and Matt Varino, Field Representative for Senator Alexander.

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I’ve written Governor Bredesen and my other TN representatives opposing MTR. I’m proud to say that our Clarksville Senator, Rosalind Kurita, was ranked as one of the top three Tennessee senators for her voting record on protecting the environment. If you’d like to know how other Tennessee legislators voted on environmental issues in 2008 see http://www.tnconservationvoters.org/.

I first heard about MTR around 6 years ago from Dr. Joe Schiller, a Biology professor at APSU. He’s been educating people about this horrific practice and battling against it for many years. I’ve seen video and pictures of MTR but this will be the 1st time I’ll actually see this destruction in person. I’m a member of Save Our Cumberland Mountains (SOCM) and other organizations which oppose MTR.

United Mountain Defense, Mountain Justice and Three Rivers Earth First! ask you to march with us for Appalachia. This is a call from the Mountains of Tennessee to those who understand the value of a living forest, clean water and a place to call home. This is a call for you to take a Sunday out of your life to help preserve some of the oldest mountains on Earth.

National Coal is blowing up the three peaks of Zeb Mountain for the coal beneath even though there are other methods of mining that are less destructive and at the same time create more jobs for local residents. National Coal has a terrible record of over 50 violations on Zeb Mountain – including illegally mining through two streams. National Coal has wrecked the watershed of Zeb Mountain – and the New River Watershed is next if we don ’t stop them. There’s a story on Channel 5’s web site detailing some of these issues.

Email call (865) 689-2778 for more information. If you’d like to carpool with some other Clarksvillians, contact me at .

Does it get any better than this?

Looking for a scenic bike trail, horse riding trail, or a walking trail? What once was a railroad bed running between Nashville and Clarksville was turned into a beautiful, fairly level and almost completely paved trail. It is perfect for biking, hiking, power walking or a leisurely stroll with the intent of observing nature’s best offerings. You can find it all on the Cumberland River Bicentennial Trail.

Local enthusiasts, Kitty Madden (l) and Beverly Fisher (above) invited me along for a early spring flower identification walk. We walked approximately four miles, though the trail runs at least 7.5 miles. With flower guidebook in hand, Beverly Fisher identified many of the spring flowers that we spotted along the trail.

The Cumberland River below gives a home to many species of birds, from native bluebirds and bright yellow goldfinches to ruby hued cardinals, several species of woodpeckers, bluejays and owls, and shore/marsh birds including heron and cranes.

It is a bit difficult to see the Chapmansboro Road turnoff so you may want to note that when I map quest searched it, it said that it is 21.5 miles from the start of Ashland City Road (Hwy 12) to Chapmansboro turnoff. (maps at end of this article)

For more information, visit http://cumberlandrivertrail.org/

Photos by Debbie Boen

While in Roosevelt High School in St. Louis, I worked at lee’s Drug Store, where prescriptions were filled , medical advice given to customers who couldn’t afford a doctor, and sundry items such as toothpaste and tobacco were sold. Lee’s had an ice cream bar where we served dipped cones to our customers. It was my job to staff this bar. I still remember the sad evening when Pat, a girl friend who ordered ice cream days before Lent, announced she was giving up ice cream for Lent. That’s a long time for the teen-aged boy who had a crush on her. That was my introduction to Lent and heartbreak.

Now Lent is taking on a more significant meaning; it is recognized as a ritual accommodating spiritual growth and activating our spiritual resources. It is a spiritual enabler for recognizing, surfacing, and activating our inner spiritual resources. It is an ally in releasing our God-like inner nature.

Laila Thompson became creative and relevant in her observance of lent. Her thinking and commitment merits attention and emulation. Following her example propels us to spiritual enrichment as individuals and as a community. What did she do that was so outstanding?

For Lent, Laila usually gives up chocolate or other indulgent sweets. but after talking with her religious leader this year she decided to slim down with something different: her carbon footprint.

Her Lenten resolution concentrated on caring for God’s creation. For the 40 days before easter, she did without plastic bags, she conserved electricity and curtailed her driving. Such sacrifices merged with meditation on the suffering of Jesus, profiting both the community and the individual.

Lent or any of the Christian seasons, are excellent times to integrate stewardship of the earth into our daily lives. This form of stewardship is contagious; there are many small ways we can “take care of God’s creation.”

Spiritual organizations, whether liberal or conservative in theology, are flying the banner of environmental responsibility as characteristic of the faithful. Even evangelicals are announcing a similar message to “abuse of the environment is against God’s will.”

I was raised in the spiritual realm of the Church of the Nazarene, and became a teenager of great faith. In this evangelical denomination, the concentration was on being saved and sanctified or filled with the Holy Spirit, and living a Holy Life. Today, their message also includes environmental responsibility.

Dr. Loren Grisham, president of Southern Nazarene University, said:

“In Genesis 2:5, man is entrusted by God with the responsibility of ‘tending and keeping’ the earth. Today the renewed charge to protect the environment is one that Christians embrace in growing numbers.”

It is not too late for us to develop and to protect our environment. In our family, we are now recycling cans, plastic bottles, boxes and newspapers, thereby casting our vote for a cleaner environment. This personal commitment. I’ll confess, is easier for us since we live within minutes of a recycling center.

Because of my present dependency upon polluting materials, technological developments and require fossil fuels, “the simple task to be stewards of the earth is a greater challenge than could be foreseen a hundred years ago.

I am delighted that my alma mater is dedicating its resources to educating youth on stewardship of the earth. Our “ecological footprints” directly produce the kind of earth we leave as a legacy to our grandchildren.

The Vatican [Rome] encourages us to be more intentional in the stewardship of the earth. Bishop Gigotti in speaking of sins says “you offend God … by ruining the environment.” Protecting it is a component of our faith.

Created in 1995, this non-profit has a microscopic bare bones administrative staff and a core of dedicated sponsors and volunteers promoting the best performing artists of the region and most importantly, the building of sustainable, earth friendly communities.

Solar Works is the war cry of SolarFest organizers, who offer proof positive that we can power the world with renewable resources. But it does take conscious effort. Public awareness. Visibility. To that end, SolarFest organizers offer the Solar Roller and the Lightning Bug are custom trailers with solar arrays, batteries and inverters, and have helped power festivals throughout New England.

SolarFest combines “superb family entertainment with presentations by some of the region’s most knowledgable renewable energy experts. We thicken the mix with workshops on sustainable living, a special children’s activity tent, and an assortment of craft, food, energy and sustainable living vendors. There is much room for ’serendipitous encounters,”‘ learning, relaxation, and celebration of the sun.”

Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature, one of the first books addressing climate change, and Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future, which challenges the “growth economy” and visions a return to local economies, is one of two keynote speakers at this summer’s event. He organized the largest national demonstration to date on climate change, which placed demands on Congress to support legislation to reduce carbon emissions. (info at stepitup07.org).

Joining McKibben is Middlebury College Professor John Elder, author of Mountains of Home and The Frog Run. His works also also published in Vermont Life, Orion, New Literary History and Wild Earth. he is a board member of Vermont Land Trust and is currently writing In Hardwood Groves, on maple sugaring.

Workshops offered include sessions on generating electricity for your home trough solar and wind power, including assessment procedures and technology options; photovoltaic home energy systems, micro-hydro systems for your home, alternative fuel transportation (electric and hybrid vehicles), “green” building practices, straw bales construction and timber framed construction, recycling building materials, biofuels and climate change, community supported energy, waste treatment systems, and historic preservation.

The program also offers discussions of “human health as it relates to the pursuit and development of secure and sustainable communities” with emphasis on the role of women in promoting sustainable communities. Peace activists join the discussions, taking the stand that peace and sustainability are irrevocably linked. They will also view the impact of climate change on sustainability.

Other discussions will look at nutrition, passive food storage, and a trend to buying locally grown produce and food products, and the sustainability of the family farm.

Performances range from folk and acoustic solists and bands to the performances of the interactive, vibrant and colorful Jeh Kulu Dance and Drum Theater with its music from Senegal, Mali, Guinea, and West Africa, the magical Young Performers Creative Dance Company (pictured at right), the Celtic music and storytelling of Jennings and Ponder, and Puppet Pageantry (All Species Puppet Troupe).

Jennings and Ponder

Jeh Kulu Dance and Drum Theater
For more information on SolarFest 2007, contact .