Being a part of the community means a lot to us. We want to be useful and supportive to the people around us.
Here are a few things we’re involved with currently:
Freeville Farmer’s Market
We’ve been selling vegetables and helping to organize this farmer’s market in Freeville. It’s local, with great produce that is grown with organic practices, and with good prices.
Freeville Farmer’s Market Website
Freeville Farmer’s Market Facebook Page
Action against Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) for Natural Gas
The issue of fracking is of utmost concern for us in New York State, as well as for folks in other areas where land is being leased and drilled. We are concerned about how this would affect our water, air, wildlife, town roads, and general health. Everything that we have researched so far points to the disastrous effects drilling might have for us. We have been involved in a number of ways surrounding this issue.
We are supporting our local officials in a ban against fracking in our town. We support a local group called DRAC (Dryden Resource Awareness Coalition) which is working with the issue. DRAC is comprised of a group of local citizens who meet to discuss news, policies and strategies, and who recently played a part in helping pass the ban on fracking in the town of Dryden.
A few of us helped out with the Dryden Listening Project, in which we went door-to-door in town and asked people about their feelings about the issue and recorded their answers. You can find out more about the benefits of a Listening Project here. You can request an email of the report by writing to drydenlisteningproject@gmail.com.
On a lighter note the Dacha Project co-produced Frac Attack: Dawn of the Watershed, a short zombie-thriller film about the possible effects of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas. The film is 18-minutes in length and was created by over 80 volunteers in the community, who came together to take action in a creative and fun way. The entire film can be watched online, at the link above. A fun fact- much of the action was filmed on our property and every single member of our community played a big part in helping produce this film.
Ithaca Freeskool
The Ithaca Freeskool is an all volunteer effort to bring free classes by the community to the community. Some of us are organizers and teachers for the Freeskool, and the Dacha Project has hosted a number of classes including Make Your Own Hula Hoop, and Do-It-Yourself Power Plant.
You can even watch one of Freeskool’s distance learning videos featuring our own Lily Gershon and dacha friend Tori Galatro:
Juggle, Spin, Hoop with Lily and Tori – Ithaca Freeskool Distance Learning from Shira Golding on Vimeo.
Or check out our post on a Freeskool class about inoculating logs with edible oyster mushrooms.