Participants Sought for Flood Focus Groups

Do you follow the weather during flood events? Have you experienced flooding in your home or community?

Nurture Nature Center (NNC) is recruiting participants for two focus groups as part of a research project with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration about the use of National Weather Service (NWS) flood forecast and warning tools.

Participants do not need to be familiar with NWS's tool already but should be willing to provide thoughtful feedback regarding these tools/products.

The two-hour sessions will be on  Friday, December 6 at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. at NNC, 518 Northampton St. Participants need only attend one session, and there is a $30 payment for participation. Each session is limited to a maximum of 15 people.

Those wishing to participate need to register in advance by calling NNC at 610-253-4432, by registering online, or by emailing NNC director Rachel Hogan.

The focus groups are second time such input has been gathered at NNC. The first round was held in June and the center says they were "tremendously successful".

Public Input Sought on Local Food Economy

A forum, "The Lehigh Valley Local Food Economy", will be held at The Nurture Nature Center this coming Thursday, November 14 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. as part of a series of public gatherings in the Lehigh Valley planned that will discuss strategies for policy, system, and individual changes that can lead to a stronger local food economy and ensure the availability of fresh, healthy, affordable, culturally appropriate food for local residents.

At the coming forum at Nurture Nature Center, Lynn Prior, director for Buy Fresh Buy Local of the Greater Lehigh Valley, will speak, and public input will be gathered to guide the creation of a Fresh Food Access Plan towards a healthier, more sustainable food environment in which fresh food is available to all Lehigh Valley residents, both now and in the future.

The plan will be used to update the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission’s Comprehensive Plan, "The Lehigh Valley … 2030."

A local foods reception will follow the forum.

This event is free, but organizers ask that participants register in advance by calling Brooke Kohler at 610-253-4432 or sending an email to info@BuyLocalGreaterLehighValley.org

Additionally, the newly published "Assessment Report:  Lehigh Valley Local Food Economy"  is available on the BuyLocalGreaterLehighValley.org website today. The report outlines the current state of the local food system, including both its challenges and opportunities for improvement.

Community Involvement Key to Safer Neighborhoods, Police Say

By Christina Georgiou

Lt. John Remaley, of the Easton Police Department, told
attendees at the city's quarterly Block Watch meeting
Wednesday evening that reporting suspicious activity
to authorities helps make neighborhoods safer.

Residents that see something amiss or that witness suspicious activity need to report incidents--even small ones--to authorities so they can better serve the community, police said  Wednesday evening.

Easton Police Chief Carl Scalzo and Lieutenant John Remaley, who heads the EPD's Problem Oriented Policing program, addressed a group of about 30 people from several city neighborhoods that gathered at the Nurture Nature Center to attend the Easton Block Watch's quarterly meeting.

Scalzo said the number and scope of recent drug raids, including some that shut down makeshift labs manufacturing methamphetamines, have put a dent in local illegal drug dealing, and the department will continue to put pressure on dealers and users.

But there are only 62 officers to the nearly 27,000 city residents, and to do the best job, police need community assistance and cooperation, Remaley said.

"You're our eyes and ears," he said. "The more you get involved in your neighborhood, the safer it will be for you."

Remaley praised the work of various local community organizations, such as Weed and Seed, the West Ward Neighborhood Partnership, the College Hill Neighborhood Association, and others, noting that while they are all separate groups, "you all have the same goals."

He said the various groups should work together and with police to continue to improve quality of life in Easton's neighborhoods.

"Pooling our resources, sharing information is a great way of working," Remaley said.

But private citizens should also be involved in helping to keep their blocks and neighborhood safe too.

"Chances are, if something raises the hackles on your neck, something's wrong," he said. "If you sense something's wrong, let us know about it, and we'll check it out."

The combination of vigilant residents and strong neighborhood organizations can improve the quality of life and increase safety, Remaley said.

"Let's pull all the resources into one barrel and make it a better barrel," he concluded.

While the meeting was less than a week following the homicide death of a woman found shot to death in a pickup truck in the city's West Ward neighborhood, police did not specifically address that or other recent violent incidents at the meeting, and authorities have not issued any further information since the murder that happened this past Sunday.

When asked about it after the meeting's conclusion, Scalzo declined to offer more details, saying that the investigation is still in a "delicate" stage, and that detectives are working diligently on the case, but to release more at this point could jeopardize the investigation.

Scalzo added that he expects more information about the homicide will be released"in the next few days."

Pros and Cons of Keeping Poultry Discussed at "Chicken Dialogues"

By Christina Georgiou

About 60 people attended Thursday evening's "Chicken Dialogues" at the Nurture Nature Center, a presentation and question and answer session on the practice of keeping backyard chickens, and most members of the public seemed favorable towards the idea of allowing the practice in Easton, but some city officials who attended the event seem unconvinced.

Two experts presented various aspects of what keeping backyard poultry entails. Brian Moyer, program director for the Penn State Extension, talked about the physical requirements of keeping a small flock of chickens in non-farm environments, while Stacy Yoder of Boucher and James discussed how zoning ordinances regulating the practice are crafted, using several examples of existing laws in the region.

Moyer said that keeping chickens in residential settings has been gaining popularity in recent years, and that with proper management and provided the small flocks are entirely comprised of hens with no roosters, they're fairly unlikely to cause problems in the neighborhood.

"I do a lot of backyard poutry classes, so this is a very popular topic," he said. "There are ways to mitigate the issues."

Chickens that spend some time outdoors need one square foot per animal, and those keep entirely indoors need at least three square feet per hen, he said.

Most chickens live up to 10 years, but are only capable of laying eggs for three to six of those years, Moyer noted, and a flock of 10 chickens will lay an average of nine eggs per day for about 260 days of the year.

"So we have to consider...what are you going to do when she stops laying?" he asked.

Keeping the coop clean and also having a well-constructed, aesthetically pleasing coop, along with placing it far enough away from neighboring properties are some of the keys to avoiding potential issues keeping poultry can raise.

Having a plan of what to do with chicken waste is also imperative, Moyer said, noting that while chicken manure makes good garden fertilizer, it can't immediately be worked into garden soil.

"If you don't have a good way of composting it, it will burn your plants," he said.

Storing chicken feed correctly is also important.

"Rodents can be a big issue if you don't store the feed correctly or keep the coop clean," Moyer noted. "But keeping the food in metal trash cans can solve a lot of issues."

The chickens themselves must also be protected from predators, such as hawks, raccoons, and weasels, and in addition to an adequate shelter, the property around the chickens should be well-maintained.

"If you've got weeds, you've got a place for predators to hide," he said. "Weasels are the worst because they don't necessarily kill their food."

Having a rooster in the flock is not necessary for egg production, he noted.

Stacy Yoder, left, of Boucher and James, with Penn
State Extension program assistant Brian Moyer, discuss
various aspects of keeping backyard chickens in urban
environments.

"You do not need roosters to have eggs. There's no good reason to keep roosters unless you're going to eat them," he said, adding, "Roosters are noisy. They aren't nice, but they aren't supposed to be nice. Their job is to protect the flock...Hens aren't going to make much noise."

Yoder, whose company specializes in creating ordinances for municipalities also said backyard chickens, and subsequently laws governing if and how they are to be kept, have gained popularity in recent years.

In most places, keeping poultry is a zoning issue, but some places, like Bethlehem, have chosen to make chickens and other livestock a stand-alone issue.

"When regulating for chickens, especially in an urban setting, it would be an accessory use," she said. "Zoning can regulate buffering, like landscaping to screen the chickens from neighboring property owners."

But however a municipality chooses to regulate the practice, "All zoning ordinances should be easily enforced," she said. "You want to keep it simple...something that's easy for code officers to get a quick look and verify that everything's in order."

Bethlehem, the nearest municipality on which she had specific information, allows the keeping of chickens by special exception only, which are approved directly by the city council, not the zoning hearing board.

"I can't say the City of Bethlehem is really pro-chicken," she said, noting that even with special permission, keeping fowl is limited to the "rural" districts and compliance with the law is checked by the animal control officer.

Also in Bethlehem, "The permitter accepts full responsibility for the capture of any animal that escapes his or her presence," she said.

Some of the attendees Thursday evening live in municipalities that allow the raising of backyard chickens for egg production and helped answer questions from Easton residents.

One noted that one of the example ordinances Yoder provided required a minimum of three acres for chickens to be kept.

"The requirement for three acres seems more appropriate for dairy cows, not chickens. That seems a little ridiculous," he said.

"There is no specific formula," said Yoder. "It depends on the municipality."

She noted that in a city like Easton, having a law that required a coop be set back a minimum number of feet from a neighboring property line might make more sense.

Four members of Easton's city council were present Thursday--Jeff Warren, Roger Ruggles, Ken Brown, and Sandra Vulcano. None of the four indicated their position on the matter directly, but comments from two indicated that if the city changes the ordinance, many still may not be able to keep chickens.

"One of the things we need to think about is what can happen in a neighborhood. We can write a code, but to enforce that code can be a big issue," Ruggles said. "In a good situation, there's not a problem. But in a bad situation, you're impacting the neighbors and the neighborhood. It's not the good people; it's what happens when things start to slide."

He added,"As a councilperson, one of the things I have to think about is, how do we distribute our resources?...Implementation is a big deal."

Ken Brown said it's important to "look at the total picture" when considering changing Easton's chicken laws, and that keeping chickens would be more suited to owner-occupied properties over rental situations.

"I think everyone needs to work together for this to work well," he said. "I think it will work well in College Hill much more than in Downtown or the West Ward."

"I think this could be done with a bit of forethought," countered on resident. "If we took the worst case scenario, we wouldn't have dogs. Certainly there will be irresponsible people, but do we want to base our laws on the lowest common denominator? I think it's doable."

Another presentation attendee suggested that "a volunteer chicken delegate" might act as a go-between chicken owners and the city, which would help with enforcement and eliminating potential problems and issues.

It was also suggested that a co-op could be formed to allow people who live on properties unsuitable for keeping chickens to still do so and also get the benefits of having fresh eggs. The program could be run in a similar fashion to the city's community gardens.

A young attendee pets "Firecracker" a
Silkie/Cochin mix chicken, held by Nicole
Kilhullen, 11, of Stewartsville, NJ. Firecracker
and another unnamed chicken accompanied
the Kilhullens to "Chicken Dialogues" and
uttered not so much as a peep during the
presentation.

 "My understanding is that the chicken ordinance is fairly recent, but that before there was a chicken ordinance, the city wasn't overrun with chickens or chicken smell," said another attendee, who added that she's in favor of laws governing the practice as long as it's allowed. "I don't think there are huge numbers of people that will be interested."

About five people indicated in a hand poll that they'd actually be interested in keeping chickens themselves, and about 10 said they might be interested in joining a chicken co-op, but some were the same people.

Ruggles said the city council planning committee will likely hold a discussion of the matter in city council chambers on either Tuesday, Sept. 10 or Tuesday, Sept. 24.

Thursday's presentation and subsequent discussions expected to take place next month at city council committee meetings were precipitated by a request by a College Hill resident in May that the city reconsider its ban on keeping fowl. She has suggested Easton allow up to six hens, but no roosters, to be kept for egg production.

Forum to Address Backyard Chicken Questions

A public discussion forum to talk about the pros and cons of keeping backyard chickens in urban areas will be held on Thursday, August 8 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Nurture Nature Center, 518 Nothampton St.

"Chicken Dialogues" will include a special presentation and ensuing discussion about raising backyard chickens in urban areas, an announcement about the event says.

The forum is in response to a College Hill resident's request to Easton City Council in early May that the city reconsider its ban on the keeping of chickens within city limits.

Resident Annie Porter requested that city ordinances be changed to allow residents to be able to keep up to six hens, but not roosters, at their properties to provide accessible, affordable fresh eggs.

After Porter's request, Easton Mayor Sal Panto and city council members promised to consider the matter and take public input.

City council banned the keeping of all small livestock in 2009, after numerous complaints from a College Hill resident about their neighbors' three chickens, one of which was a rooster.
For more information about the "Chicken Dialogues" discussion, call 610-253-4432 or visit www.nurturenaturecenter.org

Nurture Nature Center Kicks Off Urban Garden Project

By Christina Georgiou


Donors for the Nurture Nature Center's Urban Recycle Garden gathered

for a celebration party at the Downtown center Thursday night.



Nurture Nature Center topped its Kickstarter goal only a week ago, but the organization is already working towards making its Urban Recycle Garden a reality.

Inviting the 107 donors who gave a total of $9,500 toward the project, along with a number of other donors who contributed approximately $1,500 more, to a celebration party Thursday evening at its Downtown Northampton Street educational center, NNC director Rachel Hogan and master gardener Kate Brandes said the garden will be a reality this summer.

And, with $3,000 more than NNC's original goal of $8,000, along with an offer from local engineer Rich Herschlag to do a formal structural analysis of the building's back roof to ensure it's strong enough to bear the weight of it, the project will not only encompass the small back parking lot of NNC, but extend up along the wall and over it to the roof itself.

A mock-up of what the new garden will look like behind Nurture Nature
Center, from Pine Street. The green space will extend up and over the roof too.
Contributed photo.

The wall that leads to the roof will be resurfaced by Rob Wozniak of Preservation Works, NNC's next door neighbor, who also offered to donate his services, Brandes said.

Giving a tour to some of the donors during Thursday evening's celebration party, Brandes described the project in detail.

The current parking lot against the back wall of the building will be transformed, she said, with a fence and gate, along with raised garden beds. A trellis will be added along the building's back wall, and an existing one near a back entrance to the building will finally get use.


Nurture Nature Center master gardener Kate Brandes
describes what the new garden will look like to donors on a
tour of the space Thursday evening.

"A lot of it will be a container garden," Brandes said. "The garden is meant to demonstrate how people can grow things in very small spaces, even fire escapes."

She added the center is looking for both input on the types and styles of containers to be used, as well as donations of various types of containers themselves.

"We can use anything--old garbage cans, pots, whatever," Brandes told guests, noting NNC has a wish list of items to be donated on its website.

While the project will bloom this summer, completing the roof garden may take a little longer, though the center plans to begin work on it immediately.

"What the roof will exactly look like, we're not sure yet," she said. "The engineer coming to us was a bit of a surprise."

The ground level garden will feature all sorts of plants, with an emphasis on those that are edible.

"We want to do themed gardens, like a salsa garden," Brandes said.

The instructional and inspirational nature of the project will be highlighted too, for both in-person and on-line visitors.

"Everything we do...we're going to have instruction worksheets," she said. The sheets will be available as handouts to those who visit NNC, and as downloadable copies via the web.

An automated watering system that will make use of runoff from the center's expansive roof  will ensure plants are optimally watered at all times, "so that when we're not here on the weekends, things will still get watered."

The garden's produce will flow with the seasons, and the center hopes to keep it running year-round, as the weather allows. Hardier plants, such as kale and maybe some herbs, will be cultivated in the colder months, she said.

A garden board has already been appointed to oversee the project, and it will convene for a meeting next week. Members, all chosen from the local community are:

• Lynn Prior Director of Greater Lehigh Valley Chapter of Buy Fresh Buy Local
• Emelie Swackhamer, Horticulture Educator, Lehigh & Northampton Co. Cooperative
• Barbara Hinkson, owner of Compost (an urban garden center located in Easton)
• Joe Judge, Master Gardener and Bushkill Stream Conservancy representative
• Sarah Edmonds, Garden Manager and Metzgar Environmental Projects Coordinator at Lafayette College
• Kristin Jasionowski, Owner, Lunaria Gardens, a Permaculture consultation, design, & education service
• Pat Janssen, Easton Environmental Advisory Council
• Sophia Feller, West Ward Community Gardens

One of the board's first tasks will be to discuss what will be done with produce from the new garden. Suggestions include donating it to local food pantries and/or using it for further instructional opportunities, such as holding canning workshops.

Plans for the garden's first full season next year, are already forming too.

"We are in touch with a beekeeper about putting a hive on the roof next year," Brandes said.

About 90 of the donors were on hand for the party celebrating the garden fundraiser's success Thursday evening.

In addition to enjoying refreshments donated by local restaurants and shops, including Two Rivers Brewing Company, the Philadelphia Pretzel Company, Sweet Girlz, Weyerbacher and the soon-to-open coffee shop Briva, the Easton School of Rock's Bank Street Band filled the air with some blistering rock-and-roll tunes.

Guests were treated to packets of organic seeds to help green their own gardens, and were invited to offer suggestions for the space, as well as vote on a number of container gardening ideas that will be utilized in NNC's new space.



A raffle for a Trek bicycle donated by
Genesis Bicycles was won by local artist
and Urban Recycle Garden donor Patricia Delluva.



A raffle for a Trek bicycle donated by Genesis Bicycles was won by local artist and Urban Recycle Garden donor Patricia Delluva, whose work is part of one of NNC's current painting exhibits.

"With your help, we've successfully funded this project and are already working on first steps to get the garden built," NNC Director Rachel Hogan Carr told guests.  "We're really grateful for the community support. Thank you."

To learn more about Nurture Nature Center's Urban Recycle Garden, click here.

Focus Group Participants Sought to Discuss Local Flooding Issues

Do you live in or very near a flood plain in the Easton area? Do you rely on flood warnings and alerts to know when to prepare?

Two focus groups to discuss flooding issues will be held at the Nurture Nature Center in Downtown Easton next Monday, June 10 at 2 and 6 p.m., in collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration about the use of the National Weather Service's flood forecast and warning tools.

Participants, who will be asked to answer questions and provide input, must meet the above criteria, and also be 18 or older. Fifteen people are needed for each two hour session, and those that participate will each receive $30 for their time.

Coffee and light refreshments will be provided during the sessions.

The Nurture Nature Center is located at 518 Northampton St.

To register or find out more, visit socialscience.focusonfloods.org, or call Rachel Hogan Carr at 610-253-4432 or email her at rhogan@nurturenature.org

Film Screening to Promote Awareness of Food Insecurity

The Peanut Butter Project will present the documentary film, “A Place at the Table” on Thursday, June 6, at 6:30 p.m. at the Nurture Nature Center, 518 Northampton St., in Downtown Easton. 

Doors open at 6 p.m., and the event includes a local food reception catered by Balasia. 

"This film presents the true portrayal of what it is like to be 'food insecure' in America today," says Nancy Walters, a Forks Township resident and the founder of the Peanut Butter Project.  "The movie is powerful, and all too true; the hidden reality is that hunger is local.  Over 500 families, 1800 people, rely on our downtown food pantry, and Easton has several other neighborhood pantries serving others. Hunger is not just an urban issue; our suburbs are also in need of food assistance programs, and access to healthy food is a critical issue."

Attendees are asked for a $10 donation to cover the cost of the reception and film and to bring a jar of peanut butter (any kind, any size) or jelly (plastic jars) to be donated to ProJeCt’s interfaith food pantry.

All are welcome, but seating is limited. RSVPs are appreciated. Please call 610-253-4432 or email Nancy Walters at "nancywalters" at rcn.com to RSVP. 

The Peanut Butter Project was founded in June of 2012 to respond to an emergency need for peanut butter at the ProJeCt food pantry in Downtown Easton.  It has evolved to promote hunger awareness and improve community understanding of local hunger issues, which includes poverty, inadequate food assistance and the high cost and availability of healthy food, which affects child development, education and health. 

The Peanut Butter Project has established additional food pantry collection locations, organized food drives, provided speakers on local hunger issues, partnered to create a “backpack” program for schoolchildren, organized collection of priority staples and will be announcing an app for Android phones in the near future to provide real time information about food pantry needs and collection points.

For more information about the Peanut Butter Project, contact Walters via email at  "nancywalters" at rcn.com or call her at 610-253-0726.

Nurture Nature Launches Fundraising Campaign for Urban Garden Project

By Christina Georgiou


Rachel Hogan talks about Nurture Nature Center's plan for
an "Urban Recycle Garden" Friday evening.



It's been part of the Nurture Nature Center's (NNC) plan from the beginning to incorporate urban gardening and an educational program to go with it into their facility on Northampton Street, and now after five years of operation, it may finally happen.

The Center launched with a Kickstarter campaign party Friday evening, attended by nearly 100 people, to highlight its plan to create an "Urban Recycle Garden", which requires $8,000 to become a reality.

"We're really excited about this program," said Rachel Hogan, NNC's director. "We have a really beautiful vision of how we can use that area and demonstrate how people can grow their own food."


Works by Pat Delluva, Jody Matthews, Sydney McGinley,
Patti Tinsman-Schaffer, Kay Stauffer, and Todd Stone,
Nurture Nature Center's latest art exhibit, were on display
during the fundraising campaign launch. Additionally,
"Riverview" by Easton artist Isadore LaDuca, which
he donated to the center, was also on view.

 The initial phase of the garden will be at ground level just off of Pine Street behind the NNC building. The majority of the cost will go towards building a system to collect rainwater from the roof of the center, which will also be useful towards mitigating stormwater runoff. Other costs include building a trellis along the center's back wall to grow vegetables and vines, basic supplies such as soil, and to create handouts and other educational materials about the garden so visitors will be able to recreate some of the ideas.

"One of the things we're going to do is leverage it as an educational tool," Hogan said. "We want to demonstrate things people can do at their own homes."

The majority of the garden's containers will be recycled, and the emphasis will be on practical gardening, said NNC's Kate Brandes, who is a licensed professional geologist, certified floodplain manager, and a Penn State Master Gardener.

"I think the bottom line for me is this is a project for regular people. It's different from a community garden or a green roof," she said.

Kate Brandes looks out over the roof and area behind
Nurture Nature Center, which the organization hopes to
transform into a blooming garden this summer.

If the Kickstarter campaign exceeds the $8,000 goal, Nurture Nature plans to apply the money to continuing the green space, creating a rooftop garden just above the back wall of the building.

That part of the project has also been in the works from the beginning, Brandes said, but is more costly.

Needed are a structural certification from a licensed engineer stating the roof can hold the weight of the garden, as well as modifications to the fire escape balcony to make it safer for visitors. Additionally, the center would like to replace the heavy fire doors that lead to the fire escape with paned-glass ones so the garden will be visible from the  third floor "Science on a Sphere" room above.

Friday evening, a number of people were seen donating toward the project, some through the Kickstarter campaign, and others writing checks directly. By the end of the evening, $2,500 had been garnered for the project, in addition to NNC's Kickstarter campaign.

The online effort runs through Saturday, May 25 at 10 p.m. and had garnered $440 in pledges from 11 backers as of late Friday night. By mid-Saturday afternoon, the amount had grown to $765.

If Nurture Nature Center reaches it's goal, the garden project will be implemented immediately and yield its first crops this summer, Brandes said.

Additionally, the center is planning a campaign closing party for the backers on Thursday, May 30.

Brandes said she's very much looking forward to making the garden a reality.

"We've been waiting to do this for five years," she said.

To contribute to the Nurture Nature Center's Urban Recycle Garden or view more details about the planned project, click here to visit their page on Kickstarter.

For more about Nurture Nature Center and its mission, visit the organization's website.

Updated at 1:57 p.m.

80s-Themed Prom Aims to Assist 21st Century City Street Beautification

Maybe you had the time of your life at your high school prom. Maybe you didn't, and you'd like the chance to reinvent those memories.

Or, maybe you just like the music of the 80s and dancing.

But whatever reason you can come up with to attend this upcoming event, it's probably a good one.

Sponsored by the Elucidator, "Easton's like totally radical Eighties Prom" set for Friday, July 7 at Nurture Nature Center, 518 Northampton St., will benefit the West Ward Neighborhood Partnership's Street Beautification program.

The "prom" will feature live 70s and 80s soft rock hits by Soft Focus--Doug Hawk, Jon Braun, Nick Levinos and Matty Love, and DJ Marty McFly will spin records between sets.

Hors d'oeuvres and desserts will be provided by West Ward food purveyors Black & Blue, Ashley's and the Easton Baking Company. Also included will be Weyerbacher's brews, wine and all-you-can-drink punch.

A prom court, to be voted on at the event, as well as prom king and queen, is planned.

A silent art auction will also be held, with works donated by local artists.

Tickets for the event are $20 per person--come with a date, your friends or single. Big hair, shoulder pads and skinny ties are encouraged attire.

For more information, including where to buy tickets around the city, contact Dawn Nixon of the Elucidator via email.

COPS & Community Workshop Happens Monday

A "COPS & Community" workshop will be held Monday, June 18 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at Nurture Nature Center, 518 Northampton St.

One in a series of such events around the city that have been held since last year, the purpose of the meetings and this program is to better facilitate communication between city residents and the Easton Police Department with the stated aim of creating a safer environment for both citizens and police.

From a flyer seen posted in various locations around the city:

"The workshops will provide a unique opportunity to develop new relationships and seek collaborative solutions to interactions between law enforcement and the community. Together, police and residents will do the following:

• Recognize triggers and other obstacles that prevent building relationships with community members
• Appreciate the power of personal stories from community members and police to gain insight into their experiences
• Listen for and respect the emotional content in what community members express
• Use practical conflict resolution process to find common ground in dealing with an issue that would otherwise lead to continuing tension
• Acquire a tool box of ways to improve interpersonal communication by decreasing defensiveness with particular attention to tone of voice and body language
• Help increase safety for community members and law enforcement"

The event will be facilitated by Guillermo Lopez, of the National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) and will be used towards the development of a training program designed to help the EPD improve its relationship with community residents through the Easton Community Policing Program. It is open to and intended for residents of all four of the city's neighborhoods.

The culmination of the workshops will be the formation of a resource team of both residents and police, who will undergo a three-day training course later this year in November.

Those planning to attend must pre-register, online here, or by emailing program facilitator Guillermo Lopez. Alternatively,  call Lopez at 484-450-6224 or contact the Easton Weed and Seed office at 610-438-2680.

The effort is supported by a $50,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, in addition to the EPD, Weed and Seed and the Greater Easton Development Partnership.