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At the ARK in BEREA Eco-Museum everyday is a green EARTHDAY.
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rjak-@sbcglobal.net
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Apr 17, 2009 09:49 PDT
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At the ARK in BEREA Eco-Museum everyday is a green EARTHDAY.
At the ARK in BEREA, Ohio, the first thing a visitor encounters is a
frontal landscape covered in food plants: apple, nut, cherry trees,
grapes, raspberries, strawberries with organic vegetables and flowers
grown in season. The grounds are an official wildlife habitat of both
the Ohio Wildlife and National Wildlife Federations, not only providing
food and shelter for all nature’s creatures, but setting an example of
urban sustainability - adding Michele Obama in the White House as the
newest convert!
On this Earth Day 2009, confronting society are problems of mankind’s
own making, solutions to which we, if we are to be responsible citizens
of the Earth, must dedicate ourselves to. Humanity is daily destroying
its rightful place in God’s universe with industrial pollution and
violent acts against itself and its surroundings. Modern technology,
more often than not, brings us closer to the assumed facts of these
problems, promises to help us figure out solutions to them, yet creates
a more complicated network of issues to confront than before.
Since its inception in 1987, the International Center for Environmental
Arts (ICEA) has played a pioneering role in finding solutions to issues
of contemporary urban life that will enhance our human-made environment,
manage our natural resources and create works of art to delight the eye
and the mind. Our environmental artists are central to each level of
human existence, from the basic provision of food and shelter to issues
of community, manufacture and governance. Berea, Ohio is the home of the
global Environmental Arts Movement that is indigenous to North East
Ohio. ICEAlity defines what it is to be humane in any natural endeavor.
ICEA’s mission statement is: “ ICEAlity….to assist an understanding
between humans and their environment through the arts, ultimately
supporting a sustainable Culture of Peace“.
This sums up what has been the right catalyst in the past decade for the
interaction between technology and human expression to foster. ICEA’s
responsible community programs and cultural projects will always be
dictated by positive human values, and rooted in people’s sense of place
on this Earth Day and the 364 days that follow.
Works of ICEAlity are models for holistic solutions to problems, rich in
values, casual relationships between the parts of the composition and
the whole, concerns for the quality of the product of the complete life
experience.
"It’s possibly one of the most important things we (ICEA) can give to a
child - teaching them the impact they have on the environment and the
difference they can make just by themselves in the world," said Renate
Jakupca, founder of ICEA. The future into which young people today will
be launched is already at hand in many respects. We know that it will be
technology-driven for communications, visualization and information. We
know that resources will be ever more scarce, and the options for using
them constrained by the long-term effect of politics. Already the second
generation of ICEA students are making use of the knowledge that they
have acquired through our annual youth programs:
COASTWEEKS: http://www.coastweeks.com/
Worlds Children Peace Monument: http://www.wcpm.info/
The depth of character, both individually and as a community, is tested
not by actions in good times, but by the quality of decisions in
difficult times. The Arts will always stand shoulder-to-shoulder with
each member and facet of society to face whatever challenges emerge. At
ICEA, we will be seeking opportunities to partner with the business
community and social agencies, to sustain a high local quality of life
for all. We will also work diligently to showcase our local community in
attracting cultural tourism and new sustainable business developement.
Communities that pull together in hard times emerge as the future
leaders in better times. The investment by ICEA sends a signal to the
cultural sector – it is time to lead through these difficult days ahead.
In uncertainty, let us all work together to build a community we will be
proud to pass on to our children.
Peace Friends,
David and Renate Jakupca
Berea, Ohio
Links:
http://grassrootsonline.org/
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/
http://www.wiserearth.org/
http://greenersearchengine.com/
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