Skip to main content

Good News About Collaboration


 

For those of you who’ve been wondering why it takes so long to count the votes, here’s the news you’ve been waiting for:


Image courtesy of Howard County Library


It's been a busy two weeks with vote counting at HCLS, but the results are in and we have a clear winner: DOGS. A spokesperson for the cats said they are "staying paw-sitive" and "will make sure next time our campaign is purr-fect".

Special thanks to the @leagueofwomenvoters of Howard County for sending us the materials to hold this fun election at our branches!

I was more than happy to cast my vote for dogs on one of my recent trips to the East Columbia Branch. That’s mostly because I am violently allergic to cats. I’m allergic to dogs, too, but hanging out with one won’t send me to the hospital. Nonetheless, if cats had won the election I’d have no trouble accepting the results, as long as I wasn’t obligated to have one in my home.

I love that this was a collaborative project between the Library and the League of Women Voters. I’ve become more and more interested in how institutions connect and collaborate. 

In news that has nothing to do with dogs or cats, the Columbia Association has awarded the very first Chewy award to Wild Lake CARES. The group was created as a committee of the Wilde Lake Village Board. CARES stands for Community Action and Resources for Environmental Stewardship .


Photo courtesy of Columbia Association 


Here's a touching tale we should all take a bite of! Last night Wilde Lake CARES was awarded the first ever CA Chewy during volunteer appreciation night. The Chewy is a volunteer award given to the most active village CARES or watershed group. The winner gets bragging rights and time with a beaver carving created by local chainsaw artist Evelyn Mogren. Congratulations to the Wilde Lake CARES group-we are so appreciative for all the work your team does to help keep Columbia clean and beautiful.

True confession: as I was scrolling through Instagram, my first impression of this photo was that the woman in the center was holding and enormous cake meant to resemble a roasted Thanksgiving turkey. That was before I read the text. If only I had swiped to the next photo, all would have been clear.


Photo courtesy of Columbia Association 


At this angle it’s obviously a beaver. Also, I’m a huge fan of sculptor Evelyn Mogren, who lives in Oakland Mills. You can learn more about her story in this article from The Beacon:

Lifelong carver prefers using chainsaws, Ashley Stimpson, The Beacon

Ms. Mogren is also the artist behind this piece, based on the story of the Bremen Town Musicians, which she created for the Children’s Garden at Freetown Farm.


Photo courtesy of Columbia Families in Nature


Here’s more connection and collaboration: the Columbia Association bringing in Mogren to create a piece to honor conservation-minded community members, and the Community Ecology Institute centering Mogren’s work in their Childrens’ Garden. (Ms. Mogren has also led carving workshops at the Farm, as well. Not the chainsaw kind.)

Have you ever had the opportunity to collaborate and seen that the end result was so much bigger than the sum if its parts? Or, conversely, have you been involved in projects where leadership was more territorial and collaboration was rejected or discouraged? What are your thoughts on this?

Also, does your Village (or area of HoCo) have an environmental advocacy and action group like Wilde Lake CARES? I’d love to learn more.







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

What Kids Are Thinking

  It’s a Monday in February, and if you guessed that a lot of Howard County students have the new cell phone policy on their minds, you’d be right. It will mean big changes and it will be stressful, no matter how much good we hope it will do in the long run. But on this particular Monday cell phones might not be top of mind, as amazing as that seems. Some kids will go to school wondering if they or family members will be seized by ICE. Some will fear that their parents’ employment will be purged by the ongoing rampage of Elon Musk and his cronies through Federal Government. Some fear heightened and renewed racism as programs that supprted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are vilified and destroyed.  Some worry that it soon won’t be safe for them to use the bathroom in school anymore. It goes without saying that some kids fear going to school every day because of the prevalence of school shootings.  And look! Here’s something new to fear. That old hate group, Libs of TikTo...
1 comment
Read more