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- KIVA National Day of Service event on Mill Mountain
Sep 11 9:30am - Sep 11 9:30amJoin the KIVA families as we give back to our community by helping out with general trash clean up and a few various projects on Mill Mountain. Wear gloves and bring plenty of water! - Second Annual Get Outside Expo and Radical Reels Film Fest
Sep 15 5:00pm - Sep 15 9:00pmThe region's outdoor related businesses will showcase the area's outdoor assets. Then comes the film expo - Radical Reels. Expo is free: Film Fest is $13 per person. More info at www.roanokeoutside.com - KIVA Goes Orange for Hunger
Sep 19 2:00pm - Sep 19 4:00pmOrange ya glad there are such great parks in Roanoke? Orange ya glad Feeding America is there for families in need? Wear your orange (color for hunger) and come out for a exciting game of KIVA Kickball at the wonderful Washington Park in Roanoke (on Orange Avenue).
- KIVA's Fall Waterways Clean Up 2010
Oct 2 9:30am - Oct 2 11:30amJoin KIVA families as we continue to help keep the Roanoke River an amazing place to play. We will join the Clean Valley Council and our pals from around the area to clean up around our favorite creekdipping spot at Green Hill Park. At 11:30, we will head to Wasena Park for a free picnic celebration. More info at www.cleanvalley.org. - KIVA Field Trip to Booker T. Washington National Monument
Oct 9 10:00am - Oct 9 12:00pmDate subject to change, but this is the plan at this point!
KIVA road trip, here we come!
Bring a picnic lunch and join us for a tour of the lovely farm surrounding the Booker T. Washington Monument. Take a short hike on the Jack-O-Lantern Trail.
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A KIVA parent shared with us a fun and incredible way to make a little change make a BIG change. The McCormick family is hosting a charity lemonade stand to benefit Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. Help the McCormick’s make a difference, “one cup at a time.”
What: Lemonade stand to Benefit Alex’s Lemonade Stand
Where: 2037 Sherwood Avenue, SW Roanoke
When 1-4, September 5th, 2010
We’d hope to see you there!
And, while you’re at it…bring your own reusable cup.–
Today, when someone asks these kids what they did at the KIVA meeting at Lakewood Park for National Eat Outside Day, what will they remember?
Will it be the beautiful scenery?
Will it be exploring the retention wall pond and the sights and smells that go along with it?
Will it be playing and having fun on the playground?
Will it be having a blast catching marshmallows as they flew through the air?
Or will it be listening to a story about how summer is coming to an end? (Jonathan London’s When the Fireflies Came)
I’m thinking they’ll remember all of that and more. Something along the lines of:
“That park is awesome! Can we go there again?”
Check out the rest of the pictures from the event at the KIVA Event Gallery: here. Thanks to old friends and new families who came along to play tonight. Man, that was fun!
Tuesday, August 31st is National Eat Outside Day. Get out there on the porch for breakfast or find an outdoor cafe for lunch. But for dinner, plan to join other KIVA families from around the area for a picnic in own of our favorite spots: Lakewood Park.
Bring a picnic for your family and come on out to play. There is a creek that runs through the park, but it is offset from the park. There is also a lovely pond to explore the banks. We will be reading When the Fireflies Come by Jonathan London. Great story about the closing of summer and the joys of staying outside after dark! 
KIVA (Kids In the Valley, Advenuring!) is a free nature club for families. We are just a family, encouraging other families to get outside and enjoy our natural resources along with us. We host a website at www.kidsadventuring.org to share our favorite stories, parks, gear, music and more. Check it out if you get a chance. Please remember, no childcare is provided at KIVA events. Stay and make a memory with your child(ren).
Chip and Ashley W. Donahue
Kids In the Valley, Adventuring!
www.kidsadventuring.org
KIVAinfo@gmail.com (e-mail us if you would like to receive e-mail updates about KIVA and other family events around the Roanoke area.)
Here’s a little gem we found on a search this week. The Donahue kids have grown up listening to Pete Seeger’s Children’s Concert at Town Hall. We listen to it before bed, as the kids are drifting off to sleep. They always perk up though when Abi Yoyo comes along on the disc. What a fun, playful story. Great example of a folktale put to music. Thanks Mr. Seeger!
Steve Gosden has written an excellent short biography available on the web at http://ecotopia.org/ecology-hall-of-fame/pete-seeger/
This week, I would like to focus kidsadventuring.org to share the life and times of the iconic Mr. Pete Seeger, still changing the world, to this day.
His quote for our Monday Quote of the week blog is simple:
“Participation: That is what’s going to save the human race.”
I was introduced to this quote upon watching the documentary of Mr. Seeger’s life: The Power of Song.
Tuesday, join us for a cd review of the outstanding recording: Tomorrow’s Children. If you’d like a preview, check out song samples here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/peteseeger3.
I hope you had or will have a good laugh when you see this picture. It’s a picture from this summer. School starts for Mr. Donahue and my students tomorrow. Summer break has come to an end and as usual, I am revisiting the summer, considering the highs and lows.
An absolute highlight for me was the time the Donahue family spent splashing, swimming and exploring on Cowpasture River. We jumped off swinging bridges, canoed up and down the river and adventured throughout the lovely town of Clifton Forge. Rebuilding and regaining those close family ties is so important to our crew, and we grew together as we travelled.
We then headed south to Myrtle Beach and had a chance to stay at an amazing nature preserve. We saw alligators, turtles, jellyfish, fiddler crabs, deer and more. We hit the beach and enjoyed several days of kite flying. One particular memory is of a certain Donahue who lost her new kite deep in the brambles along the shore. Papa Chip got to put his gusto to the test, digging right into the brambles.
Just happened to be the same morning I visited the nature center’s library. There, I read a book of warnings concerning the site. One suggestion: stay out of the brambles off the beach…and there it listed the venomous and large-teethed animals that resided there!
But, I’m the dad…and it was (and still is) an awesome kite.
So big, brave dad saves the kite, and returns without any wild animal lashings. The multiple scratches and the poked eye, ears and multiple shin gashes were just gave me some bragging rights.
One particular low, mixed with a high point, was having to be away from my family for a week at a TTEC (Trails to Every Classroom) Conference with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. I had not been away from my amazingly beautiful wife Ashley this long since I first fell head-over-heels in love with her in 1992. Eighteen years ago! And not seeing my kids for a week…unbearable.
The fantastic TTEC program takes teachers from each state that has the Appalachian Trail running through it - Maine to Georgia and helps those teachers to build programs in their classrooms to connect the students to the AT. This leads to the the community being more aware of the benefits of using and maintaining the Appalachian Trail.
Here is a blog that details our overnight hiking trip during the conference. That’s where I found this “lovely” - ahem - picture of myself. Check out the story, here.
I returned from the conference with a plan to connect my own students with the AT, through the maintainance of a local trailhead kiosk and teaching the students about LNT - Leave No Trace principles. I am excited about this getting started in the coming weeks. I’ll post more about the progress as things happen.
So, all that to explain that crazy, nasty picture of me above. Why? Of all the pictures, why did they have to pick that one?
Explanations? I think they asked for a stoic shot. Stoic, that’s not me. I will remember this summer as a series of photographs. In one, I am covered in mud, another hanging onto a rope bridge for my dear life (I’m not very brave.), one could have been taken of me covered in paint and even shots of me scrubbing floors and working on potty training with my young nephew. Other memories include being covered in black raspberry stains and loving it. Stoic, I am not. Vain, no there’s no room for that when you’re a dad. 
I just realized why I look so goofy in this shot. My family is not in it. That’s the key, isn’t it. It doesn’t matter where we are, just as long as we are together. My lovely family balances out my geekness, my awkwardness. Man, how does my family put up with me?
I just wanted to share this note I received from Walkin’ Jim Stoltz. I was introduced to his music through the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and I started up some communication with him. I had planned on putting together some KIVA type stuff using his music and we even thought about trying to get him to come in to share and sing with our group.
If you are not aware of Walkin’ Jim, let me encourage you to check out his website at www.walkinjim.com.
In the meantime, check out this update. Our thoughts and prayers are with you Walkin’ Jim!
A NOTE FROM WALKIN’ JIM
Hello Friends –
This isn’t my usual Wild Wind newsletter, but I’ve wanted to let many of you know of some recent challenges. I returned home to Montana in mid-May intent on planning my next long trek and doing all kinds of projects I’ve had my heart set on. But almost immediately I started experiencing breathing and fatigue problems. The long, difficult ordeal of dealing with our health care system began, and I saw doctors in Helena, Seattle, and Billings with no good answers as to what was happening to me. In July I started getting daily fevers that knocked me further down. Finally, I had a doctor who checked me into the hospital where I stayed for 12 days as they did test after test to halt the fevers. It was there in the Billings hospital a couple days into my visit that I learned that my cancer had metastasized, reappearing in my liver.
Needless to say, things aren’t looking real good. I’ve canceled my touring and am going through chemo treatments here in Helena. I’m hoping (and planning) on getting some quality time returned to me after going through these treatments, but it looks like I’ll be on chemo the rest of my life. I would love to have my energy back and be able to do some things I’d like to do in the months (and perhaps years) ahead. After all, I do have l lots of songs I’d still like to record!!
I’m sorry to share this sad news, but I know how important it is to have thoughts and prayers and energy coming my way right now. You all have helped me in that department before and I hope you’ll hold me in your light once again.
I also wanted to get the word out about my Medical Fund. This is something I set up several years ago but has been a great help with all the medical bills. A big THANK YOU who have supported me in the past with contributions. Since I won’t be working again it is something that will really pull me through with the dealings with health care. You can access it at the NTAF site here or go to my website page about it here .
I’ll try to send out a more traditional newsletter next month, but for now I leave you with a quote from a Leonard Cohen song…
“There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” My life has given me a lot of cracks….and thus, a lot of light to guide my way wherever I may go.
Love and Happy Trails,
— Walkin’ Jim
==============================================================
Wild Wind Records
PO Box 1512
Helena, MT 59624
Phone: 406-449-6252
Walkin’ Jim’s Web Site: http://www.walkinjim.com
Sometimes you just feel the rhythm.
And it takes over. Wish I had a video camera to capture our youngest
really experiencing the music. Here you can see him “drumming” along with a lovely Thelonious Monk
tune at the dinner table. The song was “Well, You Needn’t” from the album Monk’s Music.
I wonder if Art Blakey (simply amazing drummer on the tune) started out playing fishsticks too?
Kids and Parents,
Are you bored?
The National Wildlife Federation has added a neat-o contest to their website. Might be something nice for your family to do on these muggy, wet August days!
Here is the info from the NWF’s website www.beoutthere.org :
“Beat summer boredom and get little minds ready for their return to the classroom. Enter National Wildlife Federation’s Nature Haiku Contest!
It’s easy and fun! We’re looking for any and all nature-themed haiku poems your family and kids can create. Whether it’s about a summer vacation at the lake or bird-watching in the backyard, we want to hear about it.
A haiku is a simple poem, just like the one above. This Japanese art form consists of three lines, the first of which contains five syllables, the second contains seven syllables and the last line contains five syllables. It doesn’t even need to rhyme!
Winners will be featured on the National Wildlife Federation website! We’ll announce the finalists in the upcoming September Be Out There™ e-newsletter, so be sure you’re signed up to receive this informative and helpful email.
Help your kids experience the outdoors this summer as well as explore their creative side – submit a nature haiku today! But hurry, the deadline for submissions is August 31.”
We’ll give it a try and post ours tonight.
Here’s the link:
http://online.nwf.org/site/PageNavigator/BeOutThere_HaikuContest_2010
“We are joined in a responsibility together make this world a good one for all of us. Each of us warms the world or chills it inasmuch as we offer or withhold respect, hospitality, encouragement, love or truth.” Rich MullinsTake a moment to hear Rich Mullins’ wonderful song, The Color Green - here.
keep looking »