Crescenta Valley Group

The Sierra Club/Crescenta Valley Group meets the second Tuesday of each month except during the summer. The meetings will be held at the County of Los Angeles Public Library located at 2809 Foothill Blvd in La Crescenta, corner of Foothill and La Crescenta Ave. Phone 818-248-5313. All programs start at 7:30 PM. There are no programs scheduled for the months of July and August. For the month of July, our annual July 4th picnic which includes a brunch is scheduled for July 9th at Deukmejian Park in La Crescenta, starting at 9:00 AM. Call 818-353-4181 for further information.

Work Day

A photo from the Deukmejian Big Cone Spruce planting on Jan. 15. The last photo is of the Crescenta Valley Sierra Club group planting the "Nadia" tree. Participants included John Lajeuness, Andrea Lim, Wayne Fisher, Bob Thompson, Silvia Darie, Jeff Wilson and Nadia

The Crescenta Valley Group will present, Mongolia, Tibet and the Gobi Desert, with Fred Dong and Bruce Hale on Tuesday November 8 at 7:30 pm at the Los Angeles County Public Library, 2809 Foothill Boulevard, La Crescenta, California. (Please enter on La Crescenta Avenue for the meeting room and parking.)

Expect visits to Mongolia's capital Ulaanbatar and places as Gandan Khiid Temple and the Winter Palace of Bogd Khan during this evening's journey, and to monasteries and pagodas and the breeding center at Chengdu where Pandas live. See also Potala Palace and the 1,300-year-old Jokang Temple, Tibet's holiest shrine.

Our program begins following news of Outings and Conservation. This is a free program for the community. Please contact Wayne Fisher for further information at 818 353-4181.

Michael Beck will present “South by Southwest,” his latest in a series of fast-paced, photogenic slide shows that celebrate America’s less-visited but stunningly beautiful national and state parks and monuments. This presentation sweeps through an arc from Arkansas to Arizona to include Arkansas’ lush Ozark-like Ouachita Mts., the stunning color of Arizona’s Organ Pipe Cactus Nat’l Monument, and the Texas Hill Country’s exceptional spring 2010 wildflower bloom. Other stops: Bandolier Nat’l Monument (Pueblo ruins), craggy Wichita Mts. Nat’l Wildlife Preserve, and a brush stoke of the Painted Desert.

Expedition Artist Aboard Phoenicia

The Time Machine ? Sustainability and Culture

What is more sustainable than sailing a wooden sail boat built using ancient techniques?

Sometimes we have to step back in time to realize what sustainability means and how important it is to us. Sustainability is a cultural concept: to sustain aspects of culture while earning a living in the modern, global world.

I will talk about my involvement as Expedition Artist with The Borobudur Ship Expedition ? it was UNESCO approved, the Ministry of Culture for Indonesia sponsored the recreation of the 800ACE vessel. It was the first time a boat like this was built in 1200 years. It took the enormous efforts of Philip Beale, an Englishman, to get the Indonesians reengaged with their own history. I will tell the story of the 16,000 mile expedition, how the boat was built, where she sailed, the people it benefitted, and its legacy through schools, paintings, and a Museum at Borobudur in Central Java. I will bring up what we need to improve: what things are NOT green, or culturally sustainable on a voyage like this too.

I will share what it is like to be an Expedition Artist with my second expedition, The Phoenician Ship Expedition ? It was a 600BCE sailboat built in the ancient lands of the Phoenicians, Syria, and circumnavigated Africa as originally reported by Herodotus in 500BCE. I will tell the story of how it was built, where it sailed, the sustainable methods used in sailing it. How the story of its sustainability lessons are continuing to be told through my paintings (made in a sustainable method). What we need to improve with regards to sustainability. How different cultures talking can help each other make more sustainable cultures. The Phoenicia Foundation is being set up now to use the ship ?Phoenicia? for port visits along the Phoenician coast, so that school visits can inspire young peoples? interest in the history and culture of the Phoenicians as well as creating an interest in modern day maritime activities and cultural projects.

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