Living Lands & Waters, Chad Pregracke's not-for-profit environmental organization, is gearing up for acorn collection for the MillionTrees Project. The organization is asking community members to collect and donate their acorns to the project with a goal of collecting 300,000 seeds to plant in its nursery this fall. These acorns will grow for one to two years, and the saplings will then be transplanted back into their native communities. The MillionTrees Project was initiated in September 2007 with the goal of growing 1 million native hardwood fruit- and nut-bearing trees over the next five to 10 years. Send seeds to: Living Lands & Waters; c/o MillionTrees Project; 17624 Route 84 N; East Moline IL 61244. If you have specific questions about the MillionTrees Project, contact Denise Mitten at (309) 236-6279 or milliontrees@livinglandsandwaters.org. For more information on other Living Lands & Waters projects, visit LivingLandsAndWaters.org.
Media Camp will provide a hands-on opportunity for Quad Cities kids to learn the basics of professional movie-making. Participants will learn about pre-production, acting, camera operation, lighting, directing, and scene setup. Media Camp runs Tuesday evenings September 16 through December 2 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the North Family YMCA, 624 West 53rd Street in Davenport. The camp is designed for children ages 12 and up, and the cost is $125 per participant. For more information, call (563) 391-7771 or visit ScottCountyFamilyY.org or MySpace.com/3stonescamp.
Community members are invited to come to the historic Chippiannock Cemetery for a quick, easy volunteer opportunity on Saturday, September 13. From 8 a.m. to noon, volunteers are needed to clean up debris from more than 130 trees that were lost in July storms. Cleanup is imperative to prepare for tree plantings in October. Register online at Modern-Woodmen.org. If you have questions, contact the "Plant a Tree Quad Cities Registration Desk" at (309) 786-6481 extension 7427.
Scott County has received nearly $80,000 to fight crime from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program. The Byrne Grant Program is the only source of federal funding for multi-jurisdictional efforts to prevent and fight crime.
Iowans seeking to be nominated to the classes entering U.S. military service academies in the summer of 2009 must have their application materials submitted to Senator Tom Harkin's Cedar Rapids office by Tuesday, September 30. Harkin can nominate up to 10 Iowans for every opening he has at the four academies - the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, and the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point - with final selection for admission made by the individual academy. A copy of the service-academy application can be found online at https://harkin.senate.gov/student/academy.cfm. For more information, contact a high-school guidance counselor or Tom Larkin at (319) 365-4504.
The Moline Centre Partners Trivia Night Fundraiser will be held on Saturday, September 20, at River House Bar & Grill, 1510 River Drive in Moline. Tickets are $15 per person with team tables of 10. Team registration is at 6 p.m., with the first questions at 7 p.m. For more information or tickets, call (309) 762-7463 or visit MolineCentre.org and click on the "Trivia Night" headline.
Habitat Restore has calculated that it has diverted 3 million pounds of usable building materials for use in homes around the Quad Cities. In the process, Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities has received more than $242,000 in cash. For more information, stop by the store at 3629 Mississippi Avenue in Davenport, call (563) 391-4949, or visit RestoreQC.org.
Augustana College has announced a new name for its literary readings series, now in its second year, and the roster of authors for the 2008-9 year. "The River Readings at Augustana" will be launched at 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 18, in Wallenberg Hall with a reading by Augustana alumna and poet Farah Marklevits. (See "Fitting the Art In," River Cities' Reader #701.) Four writers will follow: bestselling novelist and memoirist Rick Moody, distinguished poet Li-Young Lee, award-winning novelist Aryn Kyle, and poet Marvin Bell.
The Iowa Department of Education will receive a $97,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education for the Iowa Deaf-Blind Services Project. The grant will fund the Technical Assistance & Dissemination to Improve Services & Results for Children with Disabilities program, which will focus on improving the skills of service providers and families through professional development, coaching, and mentoring.
