#ReasonsRuralRocks Top Ten Aug 1-5

I am very happy to present this weeks Top Ten #ReasonsRuralRocks list. There are some wonderful new commentators on this trend. I encourage those of you with Twitter accounts to consider following these lovers of rural. An important part of rural sustainability/development is highlighting the positive features of rural settings. Yes, there are challenges. Anyone working in this field can tell you that, and they are big challenges. However, there is value in discussing what makes rural great. There are no better reasons to celebrate rural than these:

10. Laboring in the soil as the sun sets over a corn field on a one hundred degree day soothes the soul. @NERenaissance

9. the quiet and the sounds of the birds, crickets, and frogs, the dark nights, the Milky Way @ripplenw

8. Full Service Gas Stations @KendraKerrigan

7. Bacon & eggs are a way of life. @brentnathaniel

6. Children in rural schools often receive more personal attention from their teachers because of small class sizes @Michael_Knutson

5. My crazy commute is 10 miles in 10 minutes @return2rural

4. A great sense of Community! @JanaeHansen

3. Kids in rural schools learn how to coexist with those who aren't friends. Like 'em or not, you're together for 12 yrs! @abruralgirl

2. Locavesting investing in main street instead of wall street @Cre8tiveDanT

1. 5 minutes to work, lake, dinner, & nearly everything else @veelhoeden

Obviously, this list could have been re-ordered in an endless variety of combinations. The order, I’ll admit, is rather arbitrary. I’m just so glad that people are excited to share their favourite things about rural. Please continue to spread the trend. A big thank you to those who have been working hard to get people talking about #ReasonsRuralRocks 

Trending: The Movie

A story of how the #ReasonsRuralRocks trend came to be. Please share with other lovers of rural.

#ReasonsRuralRocks Top Ten July 25-29

I thought I would compile a Top Ten from the responses to #ReasonsRuralRocks (see previous post for background info) that showed up in my timeline this week.


10. You can dance like no on is watching because no one is!! @abruralgirl
9. Keeping your windows at home open and hearing the sounds of nature! @KendraKerrigan
8. Going to your neighbors' and surprising them for coffee and it isn't considered breaking in @return2rural
7. Open starry skies, flowers on dirt roads, fragrant fresh air, abundance of wildlife, commUNITY, escape... @dizzyraerae
6. Family-run restaurants that still serve REAL, fresh, home-cooked food. @ACSRC
5. Lower cost of living allowing me to work less and play more! @plind
4. Watching a storm roll in and smelling the scent of rain in the air. @MyRuralRoots
3. Water that tastes like water. @karla_kerrigan
2. Rush minute instead of rush hour. @ARDNpaul
1. Coming back home after years of being gone and hearing people call you by your first name. @onepercentyello


Thank you to all who sent in your ideas! I was totally impressed by the diversity and sheer number of comments. Let's keep this trend alive. Stay tuned to see who will make the Top Ten next week.


{In the spirit of #followfriday, I'm sure all of these tweeters would love to have some new followers!}

Starting a Trend

For someone who used to be opposed to the whole idea of Twitter, I can safely say that I am a Twitter convert. It truly is a wonderful networking tool. Every time that I check my timeline I find interesting news articles, updates on local events, and new people/groups with whom I share interests.

According to Return2Rural, where my fellow intern Larae is spending her summer, what was once the Wild West has become the Wired West. So many people and organizations interested in rural sustainability are making use of Twitter and other social networking sites to collaborate and share ideas.

If you are reading this post, chances are you have an interest in rural sustainability. I would love to hear the reasons why you believe that rural is great. Wouldn't it be great to see #ReasonsRuralRocks trend on Twitter? Help start the conversation and send me your thoughts @sherbani (be sure to use the #hashtag above).

If you love rural, let people know!



Resources
www.returntorural.ca
www.dizzyraerae.tumblr.com (Larae's blog)

Intern Article

My posts tend to be biased towards the medium of video. Here is an article that does a great job of explaining the internship http://bit.ly/pBWO29 (starring Amy Wilhelm, Ellis Agbenyega, and Jeremy Smith).

When Life Gives you Lemons

As some of you already know, the Creative Video Retreat (mine and Kailyn’s Participatory Video project) did not go as planned. In fact, it went as little to plan as something can possibly go while still being vaguely associated with the original plan. If my university education is to be believed, perhaps I can best illustrate this point by making use of comparison and contrast.

INTENT

Bring together a diverse group of students to work on the Creative Video project, in an attempt to get the participants to expand their social circles.

REALITY

The students that attended the retreat were all friends and knew each other very well, making out “icebreaker” and team building activities awkward and forced. (The only reason that we went ahead as planned was because as facilitators we felt that there was still value in us getting to know them and vice versa).

INTENT

Complete a video to at least the beginning stages of editing within three days, with a group consisting of 8-10 high school participants.

REALITY

Due to challenges recruiting students during the summer, we agreed to do the project if we could get a minimum of 4 participants. While 5 were registered, one cancelled roughly an hour before the first session. With only 4 recruits everything that we had planned took about half as much time; we ended up only having activities for 1.5 days.

INTENT

Teach basic video skills to a group of students with varying skill levels thereby increasing their confidence in this creative process.

REALITY

The students that we worked with were Video Junkies, this is their hobby and passion. At age 15, they have invested over $1200 into equipment and software. There was very little (if anything) that I could teach them technically.

INTENT

Encourage participants to use video as a medium to tell a meaningful story. The process is ideally meant to be empowering for everyone involved.

REALITY

Given that the participants regularly make videos together they were quite set in their ways in terms of process and video content. While they briefly considered making a “serious” movie (due to our prompting), they ultimately decided to do what they always did and made a comedy/action film.

As you can see, basically all of our expectations with this project were crushed by the circumstances that we found ourselves in. Frustratingly, aside from starting recruitment earlier, there was very little that we could have done to prevent the challenges that we faced. 

So how can we take all these lemons and make us some metaphorical lemonade?

Kailyn and I struggled as we thought about what benefit, if any, came from all of our efforts. After much thought, we feel that it is safe to say that, if nothing else, we did validate these young men’s pastime. Throughout the sessions they kept mentioning how no one cared about their videos. It is my hope that, by showing an interest in their skills and talents, we have encouraged them to think of their hobby as a legitimate creative outlet.  Though it is a bit of a stretch, this could be considered to be empowering for them.

While it was challenging to stay positive after encountering barrier after barrier that prevented us from achieving our intended outcomes, I truly feel that we made the best of the situation. Generally, people learn more when they fail than when they succeed. Certainly, there is much to be learnt from this attempt at a participatory video project. 

Hobbema: Moving Beyond Tragedy

Given the sad events this week, it is important to acknowledge hope. If you haven't done so already, please read my colleague's response to the Hobbema tragedy http://bit.ly/nFsEKf

Alison's words give me courage to believe that the community will grow stronger in light of this heartbreak. The Maskwascis Justice Society with whom Alison works, is offering inspiring programs that can show us all that there is a tomorrow worth believing in.

Just prior to this loss, Alison had made a video about one of the Maskwascis programs http://bit.ly/p9ugQ0 It is even more important than ever to hear positive stories about Hobbema.