Alliance for Sustainable Communities Lehigh Valley – PHENND https://phennd.org We are a network of over 20 colleges and universities that strengthens service learning in Philadelphia, connecting academics with community involvement. Mon, 10 Jan 2022 22:41:51 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.3 Sustainable Lehigh Valley Booklet, Youth Voices Issue https://phennd.org/update/sustainable-lehigh-valley-booklet-youth-voices-issue/ Mon, 10 Jan 2022 22:35:15 +0000 https://phennd.org/?post_type=update&p=77996

The Sustainable Lehigh Valley booklet: Youth Voices Issue, Fall 2021 is a delightful mix of essays, short fiction, poetry, and visual art — and even a piece on a performance art titled ‘We, the Ocean’!  The vast majority of the writing is by high school and college students and young adults living in the Lehigh Valley!

This issue has an emphasis on youth voices. These are their thoughts on climate change, aspects of sustainability, and feelings about today and the future. The sense of urgency is striking, as is the sense that many of us feel that the time to act is long overdue, and our current political leaders are failing to properly address the atrocities leveled here and across the world—but we also see universal hope for a better system, way of life, and future. The emphasis on younger voices emphasizes the dire need for schools to integrate climate change education at every level and in every subject.

The PDF edition is available for download from the Alliance website.

]]> Call for Creative Submissions: Sustainable Lehigh Valley Booklet https://phennd.org/update/call-for-creative-submissions-sustainable-lehigh-valley-booklet/ Thu, 04 Mar 2021 16:39:18 +0000 https://phennd.org/?post_type=update&p=73289

Here’s a great way to use your creative abilities to help move us towards a more-sustainable world!  No matter whether your primary interest is the climate, environment, healthy food, social justice, public health, more-resilient communities, true democracy, or any other aspect of sustainability, this is an opportunity to make a difference!

We’ve restructured our Sustainable Lehigh Valley booklet so we can feature more writing and art.  One reason for this change is that while the sciences provide facts & understanding we need to make key decisions, all too many people ignore scientific writing or studies — and the sciences don’t usually help us grasp the ethical & moral dimensions.  One thing we do know is that good writing and art can catch people’s attention and help raise awareness.

We welcome submissions from all ages and backgrounds, and we’re looking for a variety of creative work:

  • Writing —  short stories, poems, descriptive features, and essays
  • Visual art — drawings, photographs, and other forms that reproduce well
  • Hybrids — including graphic stories or essays, editorial cartoons, and more

This is an open call, with submissions reviewed on a rolling basis for upcoming issues. It has to be related to sustainability, of course — but the Alliance’s view of sustainability has always been very broad, extending far beyond traditional environmental concerns. Most of our contributors have been people who live, work, or go to school in the Lehigh Valley, either now or in the past. We do accept other submissions, however, and we tend to be partial to work by young people!

Learn more.

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