Autumn Gratitudes
Sequence:-
Seasonal Welcome
Project info.
Related events
Gratitude
A Warm Hello before the November charm fades.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving season, we would like to extend our gratitude to everyone who has been a part of our projects directly or indirectly. Wish everyone the Warm November festivities with your near and dear ones! This November, we also welcome you to the next phase of our Inquiry project.
Hope everyone enjoyed the spectacular Autumn grace!
Now, the trees have almost shed their colorful leaves
and life around gets ready for Winter's slower pace.
It's a wonder of Nature,
How tiny Leaves spring out after dormant periods
Then mature into Green grace
and end their life cycle
with a colorful vibrant display.
For this Thanksgiving,
don't forget to include in your prayers,
the gift of Trees and all our Natural resources
About Project:
On ARD 2025 we began the phase- 3 of C Designing Inquiry project that will explore Interconnectedness.
Though ARD celebrations have been an important part of our work in the past, we are now redirecting attention to Nature and Natural phenomenons while exploring 'Interconnectedness'.
Collaborations are welcome for events to take place in Spring-Summer of 2026. Submit the form on this Prep page to get the process started. Thank you to members who have already shown interest.
Aren't we interconnected? It seems to be a fundamental phenomena of life's web!
Some quotes we might ponder on-
When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.
- John Muir
Ubuntu- “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu”, meaning “a person is a person through other people”. - Zulu proverb
Material highlight- Paper
We will work on 'Paper' to explore Materials in relation to Water project,
For creative works- we chose 'Paper' as a Material, in connection to the ongoing Water project
Though a compostable material, we are using hundreds of millions of tons of Paper every year and the demand is growing. But it might be a better waste than plastic or lithium? Here is an ongoing count of paper production impact on world resources.
Like most of our consumer goods, everyday Materials used in one corner of the world might be affecting natural resources of entirely different geographical regions of it Do I / we need to be concerned about it?
Group Updates-
We take this opportunity to announce our transition as a 'Collaborating' group instead of volunteer based. More info will be updated on our 'mission page' before the end of this year.
Heartfelt Thanks to everyone who has supported, encouraged and helped shape our projects in numerous ways!
Boardwalk at Busey woods
Fall Hike at Busey woods, Urbana
Related events and links:
As a culminating event of the previous phase, we came together for a hike in Busey woods, Urbana.
A huge Thanks to Julie Nieset for leading this hike and orienting us about the Flora-Fauna and the local ecosystems.
Also Thankful to Julia Spainhour from SECS for joining us with their group and adding joy to our event. Some snapshot can be enjoyed on SECS photo album here.
Thanks to Julie Nieset for sharing the following info and links with us.
Resources about INHS / PRI
INHS Wetland Science Program: https://wetland.inhs.illinois.edu/
Prairie Research Institute: https://prairie.illinois.edu/
Yesterday someone mentioned they were in studying sustainable engineering: https://prairie.illinois.edu/centers/joint-initiative-on-sustainability-engineering/
Someone also mentioned studying environmental economics: The Center for the Economics of Sustainability through ACES has a weekly seminar about this topic: Seminar Schedule | program in Environmental and Resource Economics - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Like other research facilities at UIUC we have taken a hit with all the fed policy changes; here is a link to the jobs board:https://prairie.illinois.edu/about/careers/
Open invitations are shared from friends at Volo bog. See their program details in fliers below.
Winter events at Volo bog
We had a slower pace this quarter but not a dormant one. There might not be much to show and tell but underlying has been a current of organic change. CHANGE might be the present highlight of global events. May it be Wars or Space travels or Quantum leaps or AI trends, change might also be happening in micro-world's organic occurrences?
To discuss, chat, debate, joke, ponder, express, on these subjects we might restart our virtual meets. Stay tuned for updates.
Exhibits and events are in planning for Spring- Summer 2026. We will be delighted to hear from interested Collaborators. Thank you to all who have shown interest.
Gratitudes:
We can say the main purpose of this Newletter is to express our Gratitude while sharing updates.
As we carry on with our works, underlying is the sense of gratitude for whatever we know and we don't, for whatever is worked upon so far, and what is yet to come, for family and friends- of our species and of other, for relations to our lands and to the waters, though they don't belong to us or others, for these are shared resources shared lives and joys, shared Thanks that inter-connect each of us.
Thank you to all our Members, Advisors, Collaborators, and Guests for bringing in their optimistic energy.
Special thanks to senior members who graciously permitted us to bring their valuable works as an Inspiration to our project.
We hope to continue working on this inspirations and are curious to see what comes out of this Collaborations.