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The Project
April Journal
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Riding on Hope
The Otesha Project's Monthly Journal
April 2010
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UPCOMING EVENTS
| May 3-10 - Training week in Ottawa
Read below for details
May 9 - Tour Kickoff Performance
Watch www.otesha.ca for details
May 25 - Hopeful Home Tour
Join us for a tour of Otesha's digs at 7pm.
Contact jennifer@otesha.ca for
details
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Spring Changes at the Office
There
is a lot of excitement in the office at this time of year, with the
bike tours a-buzz with anticipation! This spring has also sprung up a
few new arrivals - and a surprising change.
Flying in to save us from all of our tech grievances, the new tech savvy office intern Lavi has arrived. We also have a new Katimavik volunteer, Misha,
feeling right at home with the Otesha crew. Misha has jumped in with
both feet tapping and his hands strumming the banjo - he recently
created the soundtrack for our new video. We are glad to have him them both on board!
Long-term employee and admin-HR-finance guru Genevieve is sending herself on a 6 month sabbatical this summer. Genevieve be teaming up with Jess Lax and Vegetable Patch to redefine local food in Ottawa - from 100 miles to 100 meters! You can email the group for more info at greenbeans@vegetablepatch.ca. We are going to miss her, but look forward to munching on her food.
Work opportunity!
Speaking of new joiners, we are seeking a Programs Team member to join us in September. Check out the opportunity here.
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Cruise with Coast to Capital (of Saskatchewan!)
There are still a few spots on our Coast to Capital (of
Saskatchewan!) tour. Live in a mobile sustainable community, hit the
stage and mobilize Canadians as you rock the rockies, beat the badlands
and pedal through the prairies. Tour hits the road June 25!
Joel Robinson of Vancouver will be there. Joel tells us why is he joining the tour:
"I believe everything that Otesha stands for. It
is hard to find an organization like Otesha that offers opportunities for
environmental education, theatre performance, and biking all in one."
What about this tour are you excited about? "I'll
be travelling through BC - and this is where I live! It's just a great
opportunity to make an impact in my own community. And I'm excited to
meet the
rest of the team, new faces and old." If someone was on the fence about going on tour, what would you say to him/her? "Going
on an Otesha bike tour will change
your life, and the way you look at things! For me, after my first bike
tour, I definitely changed. I'm more happy and comfortable with myself
- and more confident. This experience can open so many doors, and you don't know here it will take you." Photo credit: Joel Robinson. He and his bikes are pictured above
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A Wild Success
 In
March Otesha gathered a group of enthusiasts and new friends to
celebrate Otesha's achievements in 2009 at the Organic Affair in
Toronto (aka Wild OAT). In total, 150 community members came together
to raise $6,500 this year for the Project, bringing the grand total of
$13,000 for the next five years!
To all that attended, we are
tremendously grateful for your generosity. We couldn't have pulled it
off without the aid of Denison High School's Triple H team who helped
with set-up and take-down, Karma Co-opwho
donated organic ingredients for our scones, and T.Otesha who performed.
Thanks to you, and to all of the other amazing volunteers who helped to
make the Wild OAT a wild success.
And we'll be back in Toronto soon -
look for our Ferocious Farm Tour weaving their bikes through Toronto
& spreading their love of dirt between June 5th and June 8th.
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Back on the Road!
Bring them
to your school, camp or other community for a performance, offer them a
place to stay, have them over for dinner and show them the amazing
things happening in your area. That's right, soon Otesha teams will be
back on the road, and we are asking your help to find them performances, accommodations and learning opportunities.
Please take a look at the tour stops below and think about people and places
you know in or around those communities. Coast to Capital (of Saskatchewan!) Tour - June and August
British Columbia: Vancouver, Langley,
Chilliwack, Hope, Manning Park, Princeton, Keremeos, Summerland,
Kelowna, Vernon, Siccamous, Revelstoke, Glacier National Park, Golden.
Alberta: Lake Louise, Banff, Bow Valley/Canmore, Cochrane, Calgary,
Strathmore, Bassano, Brooks, Ralston, Medicine Hat, Maple Creek, Gull Lake, Swift Current, Chaplin, Moose Jaw, Regina. Highlands and Islands Tour - September and October
New Brunswick: Fredericton, Oromocto, Cambridge-Narrows, Sussex, Petitcodiac, Moncton, Sackville.
Prince Edward Island: Summerside, Elmsdale, Kensington, Charlottetown, Souris, Montague and all points in between!
Nova Scotia: New Glasgow/Stellarton, Antigonish, Truro, South Maitland, Windsor, Wolfville/Kentville, Mount Uniacke, Bedford, Halifax.
Know some people who we should connect
with? Get in touch with Samuel: samuel@otesha.ca. Want to book a performance? Try our online performance request form it's fast, it's a form, and it's fun!
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Volunteer and be Part of the Magic
Do You Like Tents? ...Sunrises? ...Cooking?
If
you've answered yes to any of the above three questions then we expect
to see you out at this year's Ferocious Farm Tour Training!
We're looking for volunteers to come out during the week of Monday May 3rd to Monday May 10th to Riverglen Farm to help cook meals for the team, be a part of the fun of training week
and get to see and learn about the magic of making Otesha come to life.
Come for a few days, an evening or a whole week.
Email Kelly, kelly@otesha.caor call 613-237-6065 as soon as you get this to let her know when you could come out to visit and volunteer.
2009 team pictured at Riverglen Farm, above
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Lunch and Learn
We're looking
for people who would like to host a Lunch & Learn presentation
about The Otesha Project in their workplace. You organize a group of
people, and we'll give a presentation that will raise awareness,
inspire your socks off and explore opportunities for involvement in the
work that we do.
We have our sights set on building new connections with people and
organizations in Ottawa. So if you've got a group of interested
co-workers, go ahead, have us for lunch! Contact Jen at jennifer@otesha.ca to get more information or book a presentation.
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We're Lovers, Not Haters
Thanks to reader feedback, we've changed the name of our Hydro Challenge to Hopeful Hydro Lovers! We think that the context and power of the word
"hate" was not taken as strongly as it should have been. As an
organization we're trying to demonstrate that we're actively working
toward decreasing our electric consumption and the choice of words in
this case was not the best.
Our latest challenge? Stove-Top Savings:
When heating up our lunches, we put our food on the stove in advance.
Once the element gets hot, we turn the element off and let it sit until
it's time to dine - even though it has been turned off, the element
continues to give off heat and you know what that means: major
electricity savings.
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Website of the Month
We love how these youth have turned off their television sets to star in their own lives!! This group calls themselves The Winking Circle. They are "...a circle of creative fools committed to the redemption of everything!". Their amazing bikes created out of scrap parts have us drooling. For a visual, a fun YouTube clip is here.
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Postcard of the month
After every Otesha
presentation, we invite our audience members to change the world by committing
to one new hopeful action. Each individual receives a postcard, writes the
action on the back, and if they complete the action, they mail it in to our
office. We now have thousands of postcards from across Canada, and they are our
proof that we are building a movement. Here's one of our favourites from this
month:
"I'm going to turn the computer off when I'm done with it instead of leaving it on all day." Alissa, 14, AB.
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Wish list
We like re-using! And taking other peoples' trash! Here's what we are in need of right now:
- Laptop and desktop computers (contact samuel@otesha.ca)
- Digital camera
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