Category Archives: This ‘n’ That

Help to raise more than $35 million for charitable causes

Enjoy the photographic exhibit of David Mirisch.

Hollywood publicist David Mirisch will share stories about his five decades of working with celebrities, helping to raise more than $35 million for charitable causes, 11 a.m., Aug. 8 at the Museum of Ventura County, located at 100 E. Main. Enjoy the photographic exhibit of David and many of the celebrities he has worked with, now on display Wednesdays and Saturdays and by appointment in the Museum’s Martin V. and Martha K. Smith Pavilion. Free for members, $5 for nonmembers.

The Museum of Ventura County celebrates, preserves and interprets the art, history and culture of Ventura County, the California Channel Islands and the surrounding region through its collections, exhibitions, events, educational programs, publications and its research library, and serves as a gathering place for the community. The Museum is open Tuesday – Sunday 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. For more information, visit venturamuseum.org or call 805-653-0323

Ventura Water celebrates a New Water Wise Landscape Project

Approximately 1,100 square feet of turf replaced with water wise landscape.

Ventura Water, in partnership with the Surfrider Foundation’s Ocean Friendly Garden Group (OFG) and Ventura High School’s Greener World Action Team (GWAT), replaced approximately 1,100 square feet of turf with a water wise landscape at the corner of Main and Catalina streets. This student-led initiative will save water, prevent storm water pollution, and act as a demonstration garden for the public.

The OFG program applies “CPR” – conservation, permeability, and retention – to landscapes. Ocean Friendly Gardens support healthy soils, retain rainwater, and incorporate climate-appropriate plants. Landscape experts from Surfrider Foundation’s local OFG chapter worked collaboratively with the Ventura High School students to design the sustainable campus garden.

In April 2018, the City Council recognized Ventura High School as the 2017-2018 Watershed Hero Award winner for their efforts. Be sure to stop by and admire the hard work of a passionate group of students and volunteers.

Warped Tour gives back to Ventura via River Beautification Project

“They cleared out 8 tons of garbage”

by Adrienne Stephens

After twenty-four years of bringing punk and alternative bands plus thousands of enthusiastic music fans to the Ventura County Fairgrounds, the Warped Tour wrapped up its final stop in Ventura by undertaking a huge community service project working in collaboration with the Ventura Land Trust, the California State Parks and the City of Ventura in restoration efforts at the Ventura River estuary.

On Monday, June 25, the day after their final Ventura County concert, more than 250 musicians, roadies, vendors and community partners joined staff and volunteers from Ventura Land Trust and the City of Ventura to clear trash and invasive plants from the Ventura River estuary.

Matt LaVere, Deputy Mayor, helped to put the plan in place. “When I first met Kevin Lyman, founder of the Warped Tour, we were working together to produce last February’s Thomas Fire Benefit Concert,” said LaVere. “He told me that Ventura has always held a special place in his heart and very generously offered the services of the Warped Tour bands and crew members to help us clean up the beach and Ventura River bottom.”

Giving back to the communities and charities along the tour has been central to the Warped Tour’s mission since the very beginning. Twenty-five cents of every ticket sold goes to charity, nonprofits line the festival grounds, and in select cities, Warped Tour employees gather together to provide community service manpower. This year’s Ventura River restoration project, the 12th “Give Back Day” in the festival’s history, was a way for the Warped Tour to lend a helping hand after the Thomas Fire.

“It’s amazing what a difference the Warped Tour crew made for the environment in just one morning,” said Kate Furlong, Ventura Land Trust Stewardship Manager. “They cleared out 8 tons of garbage that would have otherwise ended up in the Ventura River and eventually in the Pacific Ocean.”

Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman helped kickoff the festivities by thanking his volunteers, reminding them that the hills behind Ventura had been black just six months ago and encouraging them to “pay it forward” to the city by visiting the pier, local restaurants and shopping in the downtown that “even includes a record store.” The small army of volunteers donned gloves and shovels and traversed the beach to Emma Wood State Park where they proceeded to collect and haul out hundreds of bags filled with trash. In a second location, they cleared invasive bamboo-like Arundo donax plants that invade wetlands, degrade wildlife habitat and increase fire risk.

STEMbassador Kids Kick off STEM Workshop Series with Ventura teachers

Teachers, STEMbassadors students and Alex Wulff love what they are doing.

Beginning Monday, June 18, 2018 STEMbassadors taught a 3-day workshop to train 16 teachers from several Ventura County schools ( De Anza Academy of Technology and the Arts (DATA), Junipero Serra elementary school, Rio and Elmhurst elementary, along with Oxnard elementary school ) in the use of their CNC router “spark carts.”

The spark carts were designed and constructed by the STEMbassadors and include mobile CNC routers, laptops, dust collection, and materials.  This workshop was taught by the STEMbassadors crew, comprised of eight Ventura students in grades 8th-10th and led by their STEM elective teacher, Alex Wulff, from DATA.

The teachers attending the training workshop were instructed on safety, operation and trouble-shooting of the CNC mills, and guided through a number of standards and project-based classroom lessons.  Teachers will use these lessons to teach Ventura County elementary and middle schoolers about STEM technologies, such as CAD skills, in a fun and hands-on way. Now that the teachers have received the necessary training, STEMbassadors will donate one spark cart (each valued at $5000) to each of the participating schools, which will be used in classrooms during the 2018/19 school year.

STEMbassadors is a Ventura, non-profit company comprised of 8 highly motivated high school and middle school students who are having a direct impact on STEM education in K-12 classrooms in Ventura County.  The company was recently awarded 1st place in the Ventura County New Venture Challenge and was featured on KCLU radio in a piece by Lance Orozco on June 19, 2018.

STEMbassadors’ mission is to enhance the education of K-12 students by providing and engaging them with applied, state-of-the-art STEM materials, curriculum and skills, and to create opportunities for them to share their acquired knowledge with others.

Student interest and expertise in highly desirable STEM skills and technologies often outpaces the rate at which these technologies and skills are integrated into our public-school system. Teacher credential programs, and most undergraduate programs, lack suitable training for teachers on how to integrate and maintain STEM technologies within a classroom setting. The vast majority of students receive either limited or no exposure to highly engaging and relevant tools. The few students who are fortunate enough to receive exposure to applied STEM technologies find their skill sets evaporating as they progress through the school system, since they have limited opportunities to apply and expand their knowledge and expertise.

For further information contact: Alex Wulff: [email protected] or (805)746-2960.

Ventura angel store closing- Over 34,000 prayers need a home

Do you have space for 34,000 prayers?

For nearly a quarter of a century Heaven’s Gallery has been a destination store for people vising downtown Ventura. According to store owners Keith and Francesca Richardson the store is now scheduled to close September 30, 2018.

One of the main features of the Richardson’s store has been its prayer wall. Started by accident in 1995, the prayers now encompass the store’s original display case at the back of the store and has been gradually creeping towards the front of the store for nearly 24 years.

The prayers on the wall come from people from all faiths and all walks of life.

According to the Richardson’s, the most commonly answered prayer in recent years has been for women told by their doctors that they cannot have children.

Heaven’s Gallery and its prayer wall have been featured in numerous news stories including: ABC’s “Good Morning America,” KCBS News, TNN’s “The Life and Times of Angel Encounters” and Fox Televisions “Miracles in the Making.”

Keith has published five books in three languages (English, Portuguese and Japanese). These books have sold thousands of copies and have brought numerous visitors from all over the world to Ventura to see Heaven’s Gallery.

Keith and Francesca have decided to close their store due to recent economy changes which favor large online merchants over small business retailers.

Keith and Francesca now plan to retire. Their only concern is for the fate of the more than 34,000 prayers on the walls of their store.
Heaven’s Gallery 365 E. Main St.(805) 648-5689

Couple kick-scooting to help build a school in Africa

Bex and Gil stopped in Ventura on the way to Tijuana.

UK based couple, Bex Band and Gil Dori, will be bravely attempting a 1500+ mile journey travelling the full length of the USA west coast using kick scooters – stand up non-motorized scooters that are powered by leg muscles alone. The expedition, named ‘Kicking the States’ began on May 17 in Vancouver, Canada and will end 3 months later in Tijuana, Mexico. This route has never been attempted on kick scooters before so it will be a world first!

The couple are completely self-contained, carrying all their own gear in modified panniers that they adapted especially for the kick-scooters.

Band and Drori are no strangers to adventure. They both keep adventure blogs and have enjoyed getting outdoors the last couple of years, finding challenges that test them to their limits. Previously they have hiked the length of Israel, sailed across the North Sea and kayaked the width of the UK, but this will be their biggest adventure yet. They hope to inspire others to go on like changing adventures of their own.

Drori says, “We decided to do this journey on kick-scooters because it is the most fun way to travel. It allows us to really see the places we pass and is great for meeting people along the way. When people see the scooters, they want a go too!”

Band is looking forward to the journey ahead, “I’m nervous about this expedition because it has never been done before and I know it is going to be tough reaching the long distances we need to cover each day. We don’t know where we will be sleeping each night and some days will be reliant on kind strangers allowing us to camp in their years. Mostly though I’m just excited about the people we will meet along.”

Band adds, “When we tell people what we are planning, the first thing they ask is ‘are you going to use just one leg?’……We will be switching legs!”

The aim of this expedition is to raise money for Africa’s Children in Education who support some of Africa’s poorest children through school. Band, who used to be a teacher says, “We visited East Africa last year and since then have wanted to do something to give back as we feel we are so fortunate in many ways. We met many children living in extreme poverty and we believe that Education is key to them being able to change their circumstances. Our hope is to raise $10,000 which will go towards building a school which will help hundreds of children for years to come ”.

The couple will be giving free talks along the way in exchange for donations. People can follow or sponsor the couple at www.kickingthestates.com.

Prof. David Pellow to connect social justice and environmental sustainability

Recently featured on NPR, Dr. David Pellow is Professor of Environmental Studies.

Sharing highlights from his 2018 book, “What is Critical Environmental Justice?,” Dr. David Naguib Pellow will speak at the Ventura Unitarian Universalist Church at 5654 Ralston St. on Sunday August 26, 2018 from 11:30am to 12:30pm on the compelling case that social movements to benefit vulnerable people and environmental activism must be integrated, as the problems and the objectives of each are inextricably interconnected. Pellow argues that the battle for global sustainability cannot be won without addressing the ecological violence imposed on many human populations, thus justice for humans is inseparable from environmental protection.

Using examples such as the Black Lives Matter movement, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and others, Pellow traces the complex power relationships that result in violence and marginalization for the many and environmental privileges for the few. He explains how hope for humanity and for the planet requires a broader understanding of environmental injustice—its causes, consequences and potential solutions and offers a framework (Critical Environmental Justice) that views “racism, ageism, speciesism and other forms of inequality as intersecting axes of domination and control.”

Pellow focuses on inequality and on environmental impacts that cross geographic boundaries and also explores the role of the state. He explains why broad involvement in the decision-making process is imperative to workable solutions—no one is expendable. A big “Aha” from listening to him is recognizing that environmental justice struggles exist within spaces of conflict and collaboration that are not always typically defined as “environmental.”

Recently featured on NPR, Dr. David Pellow is Professor of Environmental Studies and Director of the Global Environmental Justice Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara. A respected scholar, teacher, thought leader and author, Pellow helps audiences to connect the dots between social inequality and damage to ecosystems in brand new ways. His vision of what an environmentally and socially just and sustainable future might look like at a local, regional, national and global scale will leave the audience feeling hopeful.

This presentation is free and open to the public, and is sponsored by UUCV’s Adult Programs Department and Seventh Principle Environmental Action Team. More information about the Unitarian Universalist Church and its programs are available at uuventura.org.