i donate some money every year to the land stewardship council, and as such, i become a member and get their mailers. i got one a couple weeks ago for “land ethic at work”, a day-long workshop at eagle bluff in lanesboro with speakers from the aldo leopold foundation*, a bunch of breakouts on different conservation techniques, and finishing off with dinner on the bluff. 
on the one hand, i love things like these. i love learning about more things i can do to expand my tree-huggerness and how to help out the earth. on the other hand, i HATE things like these – facilitated small group discussions?? lunch with people i don’t know**? a bunch of strangers that might stare at me because i’m not a (large) landowner, am relatively young, and don’t own any (useful) animals? (although i do garden regularly and collect rainwater from my roof; maybe that will help.)
but i decided i wanted to do it, and i applied for a scholarship to go. i got approved and it paid for my entire registration fees – $90! so now i HAVE to go. i’m gonna tweet about it and blog about it and maybe take some pics while i’m out there. april 2, i’ll be both uncomfortable and excited, and i guess that’s what life’s about, right? if you don’t step outside your circle occasionally, you can’t really experience things worth knowing. here goes nothing 🙂
*this dude is pretty cool. he noted birds’ migratory patterns in his wisconsin vacation home for his whole life, and pretty much documented that climate change is real by noting that birds that migrate based on temperature versus light have been returning to the area sooner and sooner. (i went to a speaker at rctc a couple years ago. one benefit of working at a college!)
**at least the food is included!