EcoJustice
Along with trips that we might plan around the previous groups’ trips in the past, we are also attempting to increase coordination with Haskell University student groups including the Wetlands Preservation Organization, WPO, which meets Monday evenings at Haskell University at 6:30pm. Location is in the Haskell Library with the room to be announced.
Coordinators:
Jason Hering, Jason711@ku.edu (785) 341-4911
England Porter, Englandg@ku.edu (620) 332-9420
We meet Thursdays at 4pm in the ECM lobby
We are currently involved in a lawsuit against that South Lawrence Traffic Way and are working closely with Haskell's WPO in the effort to protect and improve the wetland, through civil action, and raising public awareness. We are additionally working with WPO to construct a walkway to allow access to the Haskell portion of the Haskell-Baker wetland.
We are currently planning on the following trip:
March 27-29 Trip to Galena Kansas, an area that is continually affected by lead mining that was done previously. which will include tours, information, and a tour of other sites around South East Kansas
April 3rd from 6-10pm at the ECM, we will be hosting wine and cheese party to raise funds for the wetland preservation effort, rally and legal fund, formal event with a silent auction of wetland themed art form a variety of artists for the area and beyond. (if you would like to submit art please contact Jenn Hunt at 316-641-8422)
April 4-5 Prairie Chicken Boom at K-state (for more info contact Jason Hering)
April 11-12 Canoeing trip through a cave in Columbus Missouri. Leaving Saturday evening.
April 21 Gardening workshop all day on the patio of the Kansas Union
April 25th Green Burial at the Relays room of the Burge Union from 2-6pm. This will be a panel discussion about the practice of 'green burial'.
May 2 Rally for the wetland 10am- 3pm on the west side of South Park. We will have speakers on native rights, wetland preservation, and environmental justice. This will be a celebration of the wetlands. There will also be food and music!!!
Konza Prairie
Prairie Chicken Boom and Bison Field Trip
Prairie chicken on the Konza.
Anyone who is interested in going on a tour of the Konza to see bison and the "booming" of prairie chickens can participate in fall date TBA. The ECM van or carpool will leave Lawrence on a Friday afternoon and return around 2:00 p.m. or earlier on Sunday afternoon.
Wakarusa (Haskell-Baker) Wetlands Immersion Trips
The Wakarusa Wetlands Immersion Trips in fall and spring provide an opportunity to reflect on our actions and to "connect our hearts with our heads" as participants learn through experience.
It is said that several hundred American Indian children, the victims of sexual and physical abuse are buried at the site of the Wakarusa wetlands. These children were mostly escapees from when Haskell was a Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding school and ran a child-labor farm program at the site of the wetlands in the 1920's. Some of the children died of exposure while running away, some committed suicide as a last resort to escape the humiliating abuse, and others died of unknown reasons. The vast wetlands was once a sacred gathering place where the Kaw, Pawnee, and Osage collected white egret feathers and white milkweed tassels among other important plants and animal items which they traded. Today the wetlands houses sweat lodges and the great Medicine Wheel, a monument to the spiritual link between the wetlands and the people. Also, school children come from all over Lawrence every fall to tag the migrating Monarch butterflies which flock to the wetlands because of its abundance of milkweed. For many native cultures butterflies represent the souls of the dead, especially children. Considering the terrible history of the boarding school this event is both very meaningful and joyful.
In terms of biodiversity, the wetlands is home to bobcats, migrating Texas salamanders, numerous rare bird species, and a plethora of plants unique to the wetlands.
The trip will give us a chance to enjoy and learn more about the Wakarusa wetlands which are being threatened by the South Lawrence Trafficway proposal; a plan crafted by the Kansas Department of Transportation that would put a traffic-way through the wetlands to ease traffic on 23rd Street. The proposal raises several questions: Is it worth a few minutes of reduced commuting time to bury the history of Haskell and the biodiversity of the wetlands under a highway? Are there underlying motives to minimize or ignore the history of human rights offenses against American Indians in our area? Are we prepared to let developers take something from us that is this special and unique?