2016 Meeting History

October 2016 (Hidden Valley Camp) 14 new and existing KWEN members spent the afternoon at the Hidden Valley Camp. The volunteers helped out through: burning accumulated brush, cutting back and stacking invasive honeysuckle shrubs, collecting native wildflower seeds from established pollinator gardens, as well as with the fall clean up of the butterfly garden. The afternoon was wrapped up with refreshing snacks and great company.

July 2016 (Ecumenical Campus Ministries) KWEN members gathered on Tuesday, July 26th, 2016, at the ECM for a mini-workshop potpourri, which included a meal and networking. A total of four environmentally-themed workshops were offered. Each workshop was offered two times, enabling attendees to participate in two of the four. The workshops were: Birds, Feeding, and Feeders presented by Joyce Wolf, Convening for Natural Cleaning presented by Olga Khakova, Using Your Phone for GIS: Mobile Mapping Made Easy presented by Dr. Cynthia Annett,  and Prairie Gardening: Growing From Seed presented by Courtney Masterson

April 2016 (White School House): The Kansas Women’s Environmental Network celebrated its third anniversary with a potluck gathering at the White School House on April 19, 2016. We welcomed several new faces at this gathering. The celebration included lots of delicious food and plenty of time for networking. During the meeting co-chairs, Jenny O’Brien and Jenica Nelson, announced changes in leadership. The co-chairs will now serve staggered two-year terms. Jenny O’Brien stepped down and Chavis Lickvar-Armstrong began her term as co-chair. Julie Coleman was appointed secretary. Dawn Buehler will continue to serve as our treasurer.

February 2016 (Carnegie Building): On February 23rd KWEN held the 3rd annual Forum on Environmental Issues. Four esteemed panelists lead us through a question-and-answer session, with questions provided from the KWEN membership. Dorothy Barnett, Executive Director of the Climate + Energy Project, discussed efforts to address the Heartland’s energy future. Mrs. Barnett shared how CEP’s common ground, solutions-based approach was essential in projects such as legislative work (RPS), Take Charge Challenge, Water and Energy Progress. Helen Schnoes, Food Systems Coordinator for Douglas County, KS, described her support for the Douglas County Food Policy Council with projects ranging from urban agriculture policy development, local food promotions, and technical assistance support for food hub, farmers markets, and farm to school programs. Margaret Fast has more than 30 years of work experience with the State of Kansas in water resource planning and management. She has been with the Kansas Water Office since 1984, she currently is the water resource planner responsible for the Kansas and Missouri regions.  Margaret shared her leadership experiences in public water supply planning efforts for the Kansas Water Office. Peggy Schultz  joined the University of Kansas and Kansas Biological Survey in August 2015. She is currently teaching Global Change, the Environmental Studies introductory course with colleagues in sociology, English and history. Mrs. Schultz shared local initiatives such as the Free State High School prairie restoration and community ecology experiment as opportunities for engaging future generation in conservation.
Raven Naramore catered a delightful dinner, enjoyed by all!

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