©Joe Medieros
STANISLAUS CONNECTIONS
Working For Peace, Justice, and A Sustainable Environment
Living Lightly
By
LILLIAN VALLEE
9.
Lithuanian
regional traditions
By
LILLIAN VALLEE
Three
days ago we paid a visit to Seteniai, the birthplace of Nobel prize-winning poet
Czeslaw Milosz who will be celebrating his 93rd
birthday on June 30. It was in the Lithuanian heartland that the poet’s
grandparents had a modest manor with orchards and beautiful park overlooking the
River Nevezis. There was not much left of the buildings after the cataclysms of
World War II and Soviet collectivization, but a cultural center has been
established by the poet in cooperation with
Lithuanian academic and artistic communities in the one remaining structure. The
Nobel laureate returned after an absence of five decades and, with the help of
many other luminaries, replanted the oaks cut down to heat dwellings during the
long Lithuanian winters. In the poems Milosz wrote after his return, three about
this place have imbedded themselves in my memory: one devoted to his grandfather
and his enormous tolerance of others, another to his mother and her abiding
presence on the banks of the river, and the last to a hazel bush from which he
used to fashion arrows for his boyhood adventures
My
first trip to Lithuania in 1977 was prompted by the power of this poetry, its
primordial resonance, and also by the evocative photographs of Jan Bulhak,
master photographer of Vilnius (now capital of Lithuania) whose rare
photographic albums were in the stacks of Doe Library at the University of
California, Berkeley. I returned in 2001 to research the roots of Milosz’s
regionalism in family, academic and literary traditions, as well as in his
childhood readings, and now, in 2004, I am preparing a book based on what I
learned. But the book is just the pretext. I am drawn to spending time in
Vilnius because the city is emblematic of an idea, not necessarily an idea that
has always worked, but one which rouses
incessant aspiration: the idea of a Central European city at a crossroads of
various cultures, languages, denominations. The aspiration is especially
heartbreaking because the communities of Lithuanians, Poles, Jews, Belorussians,
Russians, Karaites, Tartars, and Ukrainians who managed to get along, however
imperfectly, and in some cases for four centuries or longer, were decimated or
displaced by the horrors of World War II and its aftermath. Long established
Jewish communities, for example, with splendid and intricate traditions of
learning and publishing in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Yiddish, were almost completely
destroyed within a few years. The historic Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which
prided itself on tolerance and just laws for all ethnic groups and religions,
persists as an idea, all the more poignant for the absence of those it had
nourished and those who embodied it. Yet in spite of their tragic histories,
some of the communities are returning and slowly rebuilding or reviving their
own cultural identities. There are lively Polish and Jewish cultural centers and
the University of Vilnius now offers programs in Yiddish and East European
Jewish Studies (in the summer and throughout the academic year) run by the
Vilnius Yiddish Institute.
We
are also here because my own understanding of regionalism, with all of its
potential pitfalls, derives from Milosz’s poetry, with a thin overlay of
California bioregionalism. At the center of Milosz’s regionalism is geopiety,
a reverence for the homeland of his ancestors, its rivers and trees, and an
acute sense of its constant vulnerability to various forces: military, economic,
cultural. As the child of displaced Polish immigrants, I have a good
understanding of historical upheavals and their disruptive, sorrowful impact on
succeeding generations, yet, as a Californian, I also understand that economic
factors can contribute to equally traumatic devastation of people, cities,
farms, and natural resources. As we pass through the well-tended Lithuanian
countryside, studded with lupine and fragrant with herbaceous plants in the
understory of forests, or buy fresh butter and cheese on one of the small farms
so lovingly cultivated, I worry about the economic impacts of a geopolitical
necessity: membership in the European Union. I gaze with wonder at all the small
streams and rivers that made it through so many historical cataclysms, at the
lush riparian vegetation, at beavers building their dams, at the beautifully
groomed horses hobbled in pastures, and I wonder what their chances are for
survival in markets competing with larger, more “advanced” economies. I
wonder this at a time when, in California, small farmers and organic farms are
heralding a return to small-scale agriculture and are struggling to make it
happen. The small-scale agriculture described by Wendell Berry in his books has
been the predominant way of life in the Lithuanian countryside: small plots,
rotating crops, family gardens with excess for exchange or sale in the cities or
along the roadways, and a suspicion of mechanization as a device for undermining
the independence of the small landowner.
In
Trakai, a necklace of lakes and islands that were one of the early capitals of
Lithuania and the residence of the Grand Duke, some business owners are
beginning to clear the ground for houses or restaurants right on the lakes. You
notice these initiatives because the approach seems non-traditional: everything
is removed from the piece of property—plants, trees, etc.—and the building
begins. Traditionally, because of Lithuanian regard for the sacredness of
nature, buildings tended to be set within their natural surroundings. Vilnius
was often praised, before the era of Soviet apartment house building, for its
balance of urban and natural features; it is set in the depression between two
rivers and surrounded on three sides by hills.
Not
far from the place of his birth, in the small village of Sventybrastis, is the
hilltop church in which Czeslaw Milosz’s parents were married and he was
baptized. To the left of the church is a typical Lithuanian cemetery, full of
old trees whose crowns toss and groan in the fierce winds whipping up dark,
Baroque clouds. A path through the cemetery takes you past five very old oaks, a
well on whose lid sits a tin bucket, and then a view of a bend in the river so
lovely you feel you have entered the realm of myth. Wind, dappled sunlight, new
lily pads on the slower side of the river, and, then back, to the top of the
stairs, to a statue of the Virgin whose hands have been broken off repeatedly,
then plastered back on and painted over, so they are thick, dense with their own
history and vigilance, swollen with mercy.
Lillian Vallee is a Professor of Literature and Language Arts at Modesto Junior College.
By CAROLINE MITTON
A public meeting was held on
May 26, 2004 to discuss the latest plans for the Gateway Parcel. The consultant
has been working with experts to find out what is buried in the ground, what the
river would do here if left to its natural condition, etc. One found elderberry
bushes on Dry Creek and raptor nests on the west end of the parcel. Another
worked on methods to save the oak trees right on the edge of Dry Creek. There is
also downtown run-off channeled right to the river through the park.
With their information, the
consultants drew up a vastly different plan from the one we've been discussing.
There will be swales to catch the run-off and another one to protect the oaks.
The loop road is shorter, narrower and curved. The paths are all in lovely
curves, with some solely for pedestrians. The amphitheater is closer to the
bluff and the access road. Altogether a very elegant design.
My concerns are the
maintenance; we don't have enough staff to keep up the parks we now have
and to handle the numbers of people they are still planning to attract
for festivals. Festivals do not seem compatible with an informal park and
riparian habitat. Recreation in the park is supposed to be oriented toward, and
compatible with, the river. The festivals now held at Legion Park have nothing
to do with the river. Another activity suggested for under the new Ninth Street
Bridge is a farmers' market. And while I'm all in favor of having more of them,
they also aren't related to the river.
So between having lots of
people trampling vegetation during festivals and farmers' markets, and not
having the staff to keep the park looking nice, this very nice plan may be
ruined. Let's hope I'm wrong.
ACTION: Attend the next public meeting in September (no date yet)
Representative Pombo is attempting to get $2 million to study putting a highway through Del Puerto Canyon. A Sierra Club member wants to form a group to work on opposing it. If interested, call Kelly Skultety, 521-0924.
By
ALLISON BOUCHER
The Tuolumne River, as it
flows from La Grange to the San Joaquin River, is a beautiful asset to our
community. It provides habitat for many birds and mammals including Bobcat, Fox,
raptors, game birds, song birds, and many other species that are dependent on
riparian habitat.
The Lower Tuolumne River
flows into the San Joaquin River and ultimately the Pacific Ocean. It is an
important stopping point on the Pacific Flyway for many migrating birds.
The Tuolumne provides
recreational opportunities for canoeing, picnicking, fishing, walking, and bird
watching. The river provides drinking water for Modesto and irrigation water for
Eastern Stanislaus County. Because of the population growth pressures on this
area, it is important to bring public awareness to this important resource.
The Friends of the Tuolumne
is sponsoring and seeking entries for a photo exhibition to highlight this
beautiful and valuable resource. A juried photo exhibition will be shown in
Richard’s Custom Framing and Art Gallery this November. There will be two
“hosted evening events” on November 5 and 18, 2004.
Photos must be about the
Lower Tuolumne River from La Grange to the San Joaquin and can focus on the
beauty of the river, its history, it economic impact on our community, the value
of restoration, or its wildlife.
Deadline is September 15,
2004.
Adapted from an article by CLAIRE HOPE COMMINGS in World Watch, May June 2004
Literally hundreds of millions of migratory wildfowl come to California's Sacramento Valley in the winter. These days, the birds are feeding on experimental rice fields that are planted with genetically engineered (GEO) seeds, including some containing human transgenics. In particular, genes present in human breast milk have been inserted into the nucleus of the plants.
The intrusion of transgenic rice into the Sacramento Valley presents significant risks to wildlife and to the delicate ecosystems on which it depends. ["Transgenic" means the insertion human or other genes into plants.] It threatens the $500 million California rice industry.
So far, California's food crops have been free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Until this intrusion into the rice crop, the main crops being grown from GMO seeds have been corn, soy, and canola (more commonly grown in Canada and the Midwest).
While they await approval for full speed ahead, the companies (Monsanto, Aventia, Ventria Bioscience, etc.) are planting the experimental fields with no thought of protecting or even informing the farmers and wildlife experts around them. Proteins inserted into the seed act as pesticides or weed-resistant. Ventria is testing a new crop in the rice which incorporates proteins found in human breast milk, a new experiment.
Responsibility for testing new crops falls to the US Dept. of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). It does not look at the larger ecological effects but is concerned only with protecting agricultural plants and animals from pests and diseases. APHIS depends on the manufacturer to volunteer information about its new crops. The Food and Drug Administration regulates drugs, but these crops have been ruled not to be drugs.
Ventria Bioscience is contending that their crops do not pose a risk to the public or to other growers, because rice, unlike corn, soy, and canola, is self-pollinated and thus the genes, they say, will not spread around to other fields of rice. In conventional corn, soy, and canola, contamination from GMO plantings has become rampant. The Union of Concerned Scientists has reported that at least two-thirds of these crops have now been contaminated with genetically engineered DNA. Contamination of the food supply with biopharmaceuticals is a fact (these GMOs are called "biopharmed").
In California, the possibility of biopharmed contamination is causing concern. Millers say they won't touch biopharmed rice because they have no way to keep it separate from other rice. Organic farmers are feeling particularly threatened. Nothing in the regulations requires the experimenters to take precautions to protect the farmers surrounding them. Other countries, including Europe, are more concerned. Brazil, for instance requires protective netting over test plots of pesticide resistant plantings.
The dismal lack of research on how GMO crops will affect wildlife demonstrates just how inadequate the government regulatory system is. Insect resistant crops can create resistance to commonly used pesticides in the insects they target, as well as devastate useful insects.
California sells rice all over the world. Will economic pressure from the market be the solution to the problem?
Edited by Myrtle Osner who notes: Long ago, Rachel Carson pointed out, in "Silent Spring", how unwittingly we destroy other forms of life, such as birds, with our greed. The old practice of taking a canary into the mine to test whether the air was safe can teach us something. Must we wait for the decimation of bird life to realize that something is wrong? We are all travelers on one planet, all dependent on each other, whether we know it or not.
The California Wonder Garden: teaching respect for
the Earth and each other
By KAREN RETFORD
The California Wonder Garden is an organic garden project that is unique in its function as a hands-on, cross-cultural instructional tool that complements the fourth-grade teaching standards in math, geography, and history, as well as the physical and social sciences. The project's overarching goal is to teach students in this culturally diverse, high-poverty area that they have a role in the well-being of their community that extends to the future health of our planet.
The California Wonder Garden is truly a unique experience for the Empire Elementary School students and the surrounding community. Here, youth are drawn into the natural world where they witness life cycles and the importance of healthy soil to grow healthy food so that they can be healthy people. Through donations of time, services, and items, the community shows its support to the goals of the garden; to promote good citizenship and social values. In turn, the community benefits through the education of a generation of active, involved citizens prepared to care for themselves, the Earth, and each other.
Education breeds confidence,
Confidence breeds hope.
Hope breeds peace.
ACTION: Stanislaus Connections welcomes articles on other school gardens in Modesto or surrounding communities, let us know. We would like more stories of this unique way of teaching.
Karen Retford is a teacher at Empire Elementary School.
