BANCBlog

Jessie

After asking around at yesterday's meeting, Betsey Foster, our new representative from the District Exchange, got right back to me asking for help finding students to help with a gardening project at the DE's new location.  What a great idea!  If anyone else has a project that would be appropriate, get in touch with me via email or call 754-8158. 

Lots has happened since I last blogged - though we haven't met formally in awhile, the wheels are in motion. Here's an update:

* We received partial funding from EFN for 2012, with the rest contingent on us creating a detailed work plan and submitting it to EFN by the end of February.  That'll be based on the results of our visioning retreat back in November, when we discussed all kinds of exciting goals surrounding true collaboration, sustainable funding for BANC and its members, and volunteer support and development. Big dreams that will hopefully yield big results!

* We had an excellent Volunteer Social on December 1.  I posted some photos here.  I hope you met some people and strengthened connections. I'd love to hear your reactions either via email or in the comments below.

* We've welcomed the Hope Association and the Bethel Library Association as members, bringing us up to 18 total.  We're always open to more, so send potential new members my way! 

* Our next meeting is January 17th at 3 pm at the Mahoosuc Land Trust offices.  There's lots to talk about and hopefully we'll see new members and new representatives from existing members.  

Looking forward to seeing you all again and kicking off an exciting year!

Jessie

For this meeting, we had homework.  The meeting organizers gave us two readings, Collective Impact and Transformer: How to Build a Network to Change a System, that examined two real collaborations and how they became successful. One thing we have always struggled to find is other examples upon which to base our work.  The collaborations in our readings are of a much larger scale, but there are still plenty of lessons to be learned.  The real a-ha! moment for the folks in the room yesterday was the definition of certain terms for aspects of our work. For example, the authors of Collective Impact define the collaboration they profile, as a "backbone organization," meaning their whole organization is designed to support the work of other members of the collaborative. Sound familiar?  Until now, I hadn't thought to define what BANC is so simply, but upon hearing the term, it makes a lot of sense. In the meeting, I expressed that I wished they had given us Collective Impact back in February at our first meeting. The response to that was that it wasn't even published until March!  So rest assured that this information is current and ongoing.  I like to think we're pretty cutting edge.

What I took away from the readings is that we are really onto something, we're not alone, and in fact, we are doing a GREAT job, but it's going to take time.  I encourage you to read the articles, especially Collective Impact, and I think you'll have a few a-ha! moments of your own.

Collective Impact - a case study of an education collaboration in Cincinnati

Transformer: How to Build a Network to Change a System - a case study of a network dedicated to clean energy in the Midwest

Ron Fournier and Susan Jennings talk to Telstar freshmen about service learning at the recent FACT workshop in Bryant Pond. 

We had a meeting last week and it is just stunning how much everyone is doing these days.  Amy Scott gave an update of where the local foods group is these days.  They are trying to send feelers out to local nonprofits, business owners, schools, and growers of all sizes to see where the needs are, and will invite people to a meeting sometime soon to network and talk about where this currently informal group can go from here. 

Everyone else has been busy too! Here's a quick rundown...

The District Exchange is open in its new location - they need clothing donations, which support the food pantry! Recently, the new Reachout Club at Gould (more on that in a minute) helped them move to their their location, sending lots of stuff to Vermont for hurricane relief efforts, and following up with a bottle drive to benefit the food pantry.  

The Bethel Chamber of Commerce invites everyone to the Oxford County Business Expo & Taste of Oxford County on October 29 at Telstar High School. Should be tasty.  

The Androscoggin River Watershed Council and the Mahoosuc Land Trust have worked together recently on a couple of projects. They worked on a paddling trip with the River Valley Growth Council to host a paddling trip from Hanover to Rumford, which attracted 40-50 people despite a rainy forecast.  They have also been working with Maine Audubon to put on a series of workshops about Beginning With Habitat, a non-regulatory approach to conservation starting with mapping critical habitats. There's one more workshop in the series, coming up on October 24 at the Bryant Pond 4H Camp & Learning Center.  

Congrats are in order for Mahoosuc Kids Association, Bryant Pond 4H Camp & Learning Center, SAD 44 and SAD 17 (Oxford Hills) - they just won over $600k to improve physical education and nutrition in the schools.  WOW! 

Gould and Telstar are both experiencing a resurgence in community service and service learning - representatives have been meeting with each other and are trying to come up with joint fundraisers and other ongoing service learning opportunities.  In addition to helping out the DE, Gould students also recently helped out at the community supper at the Bethel Alliance Church and they are planning a toy and book drive for the Rumford Group Home.  If you've got ideas about how to harness this youthful energy, don't hesitate to contact me! 

That's really just scratching the surface - this collaboration stuff is really snowballing. Can't wait to talk future plans at our visioning retreat on Nov. 9th - see ya there!

Jessie

Happy Mollyockett Days!

Jessie

Maryvonne Wheeler wrote a letter to the editor in the Bethel Citizen outlining the needs of the District Exchange.    Their only requirements are that they need 5000 square feet, a bathroom, and parking.  Can you help? If not, can you share this request with someone who can?  This is an opportunity for BANC members to get creative to save a valuable community service.  There will be a meeting at Crescent Park School this Wednesday, July 13, at 4 pm.  If you have any ideas, please contact Maryvonne Wheeler at 836-2330, Cathy Newell at 875-2116, or Dave Bean at 890-4022.  

Last week there were a couple of excellent articles out there highlighting the work of BANC members and I wanted to share them with you.  These are some great examples of what we can achieve when we work together and stay connected!

Mahoosuc Pathways is just getting off the ground, so it's pretty cool to see its name already in print in the Portland Press Herald article by Carey Kish titled "Hiking" Wandering Away From Ski Trails in Bethel."  Although it doesn't say so by name, the article mentions several parcels of land conserved by the Mahoosuc Land Trust.  I also understand that the article was a result of the intrepid Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce bringing a group of reporters here to familiarize them with all Bethel has to offer.  Good work all around!

The nationwide movement towards growing and eating more local foods is strong, and many local organizations are doing exciting things in that department.  This article by Eileen Adams in the Sun Journal, Gardening craze prompted by economy, health, includes work done by several BANC all-stars, such as River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition, UMaine Cooperative Extension of Oxford County, SAD 44's GOT Farms? project, and the Bryant Pond 4-H Camp & Learning Center.  

It just goes to show ya - the more we work together, the easier it gets and the more we get done.  What else is on the horizon?

Jessie

Collaboration was a big buzz word.  We had a discussion about our "silos" that we feel restrict us from being more creative and collaborative  - in this case, people mentioned the rigidity of the school year, the burden of standardized testing, working with people set in their ways, lacking time or money.  Those particular things may not apply to you in your job, but we all have parallels in our own lives. The challenge is to figure out how to find the people who are willing to work together with you so you can help each other escape from this tunnel vision.  The conference attendees worked to generate ideas for curriculum that will weave together the traditional school day, after-school, and summer program experiences and relate learning to real-world problems.  That's where I think other BANC members can come in. THS Principal Dan Hart referenced our BANC Forum as a great starting place for giving kids a voice in the community, and as we grow, I believe we can find many ways of getting our kids involved in nonprofits and service learning.

Pat Carson, a teacher from Oxford Hills, gave the crowd an excellent overview of a model for collaboration.  He partnered with the Western Foothills Land Trust, which owns an easement on a local farm, to have his students create a garden.  They did all the research and math about what and when to plant, budgeting, planning, building, planting, sourcing materials, recruiting advisers and volunteers, and then went to the farm and made it happen.  When they harvest, they'll donate much of it to Maine Harvest for Hunger, a UMaine Cooperative Extension program that encourages people to donate their surplus garden vegetables to local food banks. The kids divided themselves into groups with different jobs, such as engineers, financial managers, researchers, and media and technology masters.  As you can imagine, the kids loved it and learned a ton because the project was so hands-on.  Mr. Carson's presentation was a strong reminder of what can be accomplished when we look for ways to work together!

Congrats to Susan and Julie for pulling off the conference and modeling collaboration to so many people.  It makes me want to be a kid again so I can be one of the students who this summer gets to "test"  the curriculum ideas generated at the conference.

Smiling faces looking forward to collaboration in our schools

Pat Carson of Oxford Hills Elementary School presents his students' farm project.

Teachers and staff review study materials as they generate ideas for STEM curriculum.

Bryant Pond 4H Camp staff demonstrate the robots their students are using to identify invasive milfoil in local lakes.