From today's inbox:

Evergreen’s 2016 Daniel J. Evans Chair Lecturer in Liberal Arts is Dr. Donna Haraway, Distinguished Professor of History of Consciousness at UCSC. She will speak April 13th from 11:15AM–1PM as part of the Anthropocene Lecture Series, a coordinated studies series with multiple participating programs in the sciences and the humanities. 

Drop by the Tumwater Timberland Library to get free comic books, play games, make personalized superhero insignia necklaces, and other super-hero related activities! Enter a family cosplay contest to win super-cool prizes from local comic and game stores. Ask at the library’s information desk for a schedule of events or for more information. Sponsored by the Friends of the Tumwater Timberland Library.

Location: Tumwater Timberland Library, 7023 New Market St SW, Tumwater WA 98501. 

Phone: 360-943-7790. 

Intercity Transit route 12/13. 

Can’t find your phone? Can’t remember names? Do you consider yourself a multi-tasker? Linda Terry can help you train your brain to sharpen focus and lengthen your memory. Come and learn about the strengths of the brain, practice science-based activities, and develop your own brain plan to grow older with grace and vitality. Linda is a Brain Health Trainer and certified geriatric specialist.

Location: Tumwater Timberland Library, 7023 New Market St SW, Tumwater WA 98501. 
Phone: 360-943-7790. 
Intercity Transit route 12/13. 

In the spring of 2012, Dr. Margaret Noel, founder of MemoryCare.org, put out a call for one-act plays that would portray the complex realities of dementia. She sought material that would deepen understanding and compassion for everyone engaged in this difficult journey. Out of 91 submissions, three were chosen. “Readers Theater Unlimited” will perform these three plays at the Tumwater Timberland Library on Tuesday, April 19 from 5 to 7 p.m. “Steering into the Skid,” tells of a couple in their 60’s. The husband experiences early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease as demonstrated in 12 progressive scenes of driving together. “In the Garden” presents the Monsetin family in crisis. Recently widowed Arthur, a retired professor and artist, is fighting a losing battle with Alzheimer’s disease. His three adult children have gathered at the family home to decide what to do. “Riding the Waves” is a story of 60-year-old Isabel Epstein, whose memories are slipping away, and the struggles her son and daughter experience as a result. Sponsored by the Friends of the Tumwater Library. Location: Tumwater Timberland Library, 7023 New Market St SW, Tumwater WA 98501. Phone: 360-943-7790. Intercity Transit route 12/13.

Children and families are invited to celebrate Arbor Day at the Tumwater Timberland Library by making some simple tree-related crafts. While supplies last, the City of Tumwater will also give away free tree seedlings and other Arbor Day memorabilia. Location: Tumwater Timberland Library, 7023 New Market St SW, Tumwater WA 98501. Phone: 360-943-7790. Intercity Transit route 12/13.

(NB. The time for this event is not known - see below....)

The state is starting to think about creating a new district energy system for the Capitol Campus, generating electricity and using the heat that would be wasted otherwise for buildings. (Councilmember Nathaniel Jones is actually the lead staff for this, as part of his day job.)

Here’s the announcement of workshops, with visiting European experts and big Seattle energy users like Amazon. There is also a public event on April 11th about carbon pricing and more general district energy issues, if you’re interested - down the page some.(It doesn't give the time or location for that, but there's contact info for finding out.)

Best wishes,
Thad

Combined Heat and Power and District Energy—Overcoming the Obstacles, Realizing the Benefits

Through our April 11-12, 2016 Climate and Energy Convening of Washington State, Danish and Swedish professionals, i-SUSTAIN is providing an opportunity to do something different and meaningful — a bi-directional sharing of actionable knowledge between influential public, business and NGO leaders from Washington state, Denmark and Sweden who are pursuing climate and energy goals. Our approach is collaborative and interactive and the content reflects tangible real-life experience that is meaningful in comparison.

The convening theme is “Combined Heat and Power and District Energy—Overcoming the Obstacles, Realizing the Benefits.”

Maggie Kast will read from from her new novel, "A Free, Unsullied Land.""

Nineteen-year-old Henriette Greenberg takes her first steps away from an abusive home on the dance floor of a Chicago jazz dive in prohibition-era Chicago and is enraptured by this new music. Struggling to escape a mother who doesn’t like girls and a father who likes young women all too well, she submerges herself in bad sex and political action. She meets and falls in love with Dilly Brannigan, a graduate student in anthropology. Ignoring his warnings, she travels to Scottsboro, Alabama, to protest the unfair conviction of nine young black men accused of rape. A powerful funeral ritual gives her hope of re-writing her family story but tempts her to violate an Apache taboo, endangering her life, her love, and her longed-for escape from home.

Maggie is also the author of "The Crack Between the Worlds: A Dancer's Memoir of Loss, Faith, and Family".

Olympia, WA 98501

Grab your warm winter gear and join WSU’s Native Plant Salvage Project for another exhilarating morning of salvaging small native trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants from forthcoming development sites slated for clearing.

Community volunteers work under WSU staff’s direction to recover small plants that are used for revegetation projects to benefit water quality and habitat. The work is done during winter months when plants are dormant and more likely to transplant successfully. Native plants are an essential part of maintaining the delicate ecosystem of the Northwest. They promote healthy soils, support birds, fish, insects and wildlife, and recharge our watershed with clean, unpolluted water. We need them to survive!

Plant salvage activity occurs between 9:30 a.m. and noon, when hot lunch is served to volunteers. After lunch, volunteers transfer plants to the native plant nursery in west Olympia and put plants in pots until about 3:30 p.m.

No prior experience is necessary, as volunteers are trained on site.

Sign up and receive details/directions to the salvage site by contacting nativeplantsalvage@gmail.com or (360) 867-2167.

All library progams are free and open to the public.  Feel free to call the library with any questions.  360-352-0595.

Join us at the Tumwater Timberland Library for a return performance of the Scoil Rince Slieveloughane Irish dancers who will perform a lively mix of traditional and modern Irish dances. Slieveloughane is the largest and most renowned Irish dance troupe in the Pacific Northwest. Sponsored by the Friends of the Tumwater Timberland Library.

Location: Tumwater Timberland Library, 7023 New Market St SW, Tumwater WA 98501.

Phone: 360-943-7790.

Intercity Transit route 12/13.