Institute plans showing of ‘Once Upon a Forest’
Mountain Studies Institute hosts a showing of Once Upon a Forest as a kickoff for the Southwest Old Growth Forests Conference at the Smiley Building on Sunday, Aug. 3. Doors will open at 6 p.m., and the film will start at 7 p.pm. Food, drink and alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase. A raffle will follow the film.
Written and directed by Luc Jaquet, Once Upon a Forest invites the spectator into a never-before-seen world of natural wonder and staggering beauty. For the first time, we will be able to watch a rain forest growing before our eyes.
The film is open to the public, and all proceeds will go to Mountain Studies Institute to promote research and education in the San Juans. Purchase tickets in advance at Pine Needle Mountaineering, 835 Main Ave. Durango for $10 or $12 at the door on Aug. 3. A panel discussion by forest scientists, to immediately follow the film, will explore connections with the film to old growth forests in the Four Corners. For more information, visit www.mountainstudies.org or call 970-382-6908.
Mancos schools near Aug. 19 registration
Parents and guardians can register students on Monday, Aug. 4, 2014, from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. or Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2014, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
One-stop pre-kindergarten to grade 12 registration will be set up in the high school. Each school secretary will be able to update information for returning students, streamline the registration process, and answer any questions. Janet Fogel, food service director, will also be present to assist in filling out free/reduced applications and to reconcile any outstanding balances. The school nurse will also be in attendance to make sure your child’s immunizations are compliant with state requirements.
There is an online version of registration available only to secondary returning students. You can either download and fill out the paperwork and bring it in on one of the above days or complete the paperwork online and e-mail it back to the school secretary no later than Aug. 15, 2014. You will not need to be present for registration if you complete the registration online.
Supply lists for students are available on-line or at the Cortez and Durango Wal-mart stores.
All new students must provide a birth certificate and immunization records. secondary students will also need to provide copies of school transcripts.
The first day of school for all students is Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014.
K9 team plans pancake fundraiser on Aug. 9
On Saturday, Aug. 9, the Dolores-based K9 Search and Rescue Team will hold a community celebration to honor the 30 years of service in the form of a pancake breakfast and silent auction. The annual fundraiser coincides with Escalante Days and begins at 6 a.m. at the Doghouse, at 35 Railroad Avenue.
K9 Search and Rescue depends on professional volunteers for its operations and has a $10,000 annual budget. The money is used for equipment, dog training, day-to-day operations, and expenses to and from rescues.
The Dolores group is one of three independent K9 search and rescue operations in Colorado that are not part of a taxing district.
On Saturday, for a $5 donation, enjoy pancakes, sausage and cup of coffee.
Course offers immersion into seeds
The Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance, along with the Mancos Seed Library, the Mt. Lookout Grange and Laughing Wolf Farm announce Seed School in a Day, an innovative workshop that will offer an overview of the history, science, business and craft of seeds in an engaging format appropriate for all skill levels and backgrounds.
This one-day course will be presented in Mancos on Saturday, Aug. 9 at the Mt. Lookout Grange from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost for the course is $60 and includes lunch. Scholarships are available.
Seed School in a Day is a condensed version of the popular six-day Seed School program developed in 2010 by longtime seed educators and alliance co-founders Bill McDorman and Belle Starr. As former co-directors of the seed conservation organization Native Seeds/SEARCH, McDorman and Starr produced nearly two-dozen Seed School courses nationwide and graduated over 525 students from around the world. .
Now under the mantle of their newly formed Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance nonprofit, Seed School in a Day will instill participants with the knowledge, resources, and inspiration to develop more sovereign and secure seed systems where they live.
Seed School in a Day workshops are scheduled in Mancos, on Aug. 9; Colorado Springs, Aug. 16; and Boulder Aug. 23. More dates and locations will be announced in the coming weeks.
Information: Belle Starr: belle@rockymountainseeds.org, or 928-300-7989.
The Cortez Journal