Community Sustainability
Anyone who knows me knows that I am not big into anniversaries, events or annual recognitions of any kind, mostly because I have no lasting memory and prefer to just focus on what is happening in the here, and now. I have to count to remember how old I am. I honestly can’t remember the date I was married or when I lost – or gained – special people in my life, much less other people’s special events of significance. I visit graves any old time – including old cemeteries that hold no one I hold dear and would prefer to have no schedule at all.
Still, when year one of Owl Light News rolled around I wanted to do something to mark our progress over the past year. Given my desire to, well, not plan well, I am definitely not a party planner. As I watched the paper calendar move closer to the one-year mark, I threw around several different celebratory locations and options – quite overwhelmed just thinking about it. One of the places I thought about was the Little Lakes Community Center – it is close to our office and the people working endlessly to revitalize the Old Hemlock School building speak so clearly to what we are trying to do as a free press community publication. They are focused on the community surrounding Hemlock Lake and Canadice Lake (our publisher’s namesake) and are an army of a dozen or so people.
When I mentioned my desire to have some kind of Owl Ya Whooo to LLCA President MaryAnn Thompson, she mentioned that the 21st, our anniversary date, was near Earth Day. Thus, I was swept into a tide as this amazing team moved forward with Earth Dance 2018. Their energy and determination to work toward change and toward making the day a success left me in the proverbial dust.
As the date approached, Tawn Feeney – the group’s PR person and my contact for the event – kept me informed way better than I kept her informed as the pieces fell into place. As the day approached, I was able to pull in a couple special Owl-specific contributions: a delicious, fun , mentally healthful cake creation from Sweet Solutions in Canandaigua: some visiting raptors, including a Great horned owl, from Braddock Bay Raptor Research and a table to sell our local honey.
What made the event was that focus on sustainable community. All around us there are smaller towns looking to build and grow in ways that support people, in ways that sustain the environment and the historical remnants of our not so distant past. We recently sat in on an a community presentation and forum to discuss Letchworth Gateway Village’s 2018 Geotourism program launching – another regional initiative to preserve and share the richness of the Finger Lake’s lesser know treasures. The real wealth, as our recent Owl involvement with the LLCA has reminded me – love reminders – is the people who envision and work toward positive changes for today, and for tomorrow.
D.E. Bentley
Editor, Owl Light News