The 2010 edition of the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour will return to Austin’s Paramount Theatre for the fifth consecutive year this coming April. Whole Earth Provision Co. is proud to be hosting this unique event once again. Below is the Introductory video created to open each night of the upcoming tour. It is but a tiny taste of the beauty, adventure, and culture that is the Banff Mountain Film Festival. Look to this site for more details as they become available.

The latest work day at Austin’s Pease Park occurred on November 14th: a beautiful day with bunches of volunteers. Check out the photos below depicting some of what transpired that Saturday morning.  Many new trees were given homes in the Park to replace ones that were lost to heat, drought, and wind storms this past summer. Other folks spent their time mulching the freshly planted trees and the various trails throughout the park. Lots of downed branches were repositioned to prevent erosion or were ground up to make that vital mulch. After the work, refreshments and live music were enjoyed by the hard-working volunteers. Thanks to all who joined in the work day, it is wonderful to see so many people pitch-in to return Pease to its former glory.

Another way to participate is to visit any of the Austin Whole Earth locations where you can make a simple donation 0f $1, $5, $10 or more at the check-out counter. (This fund drive has been extended through December 11th.)

Whole Earth would like to encourage everyone in the Houston area to consider some great up-coming events hosted by the Legacy Land Trust.

From the Legacy Land trust:

Trailblazing Day

Join us as we bring new life to the LLT City of Cleveland Preserve.  We will be working to establish new nature trails within the 5 acre site, for all who would like to enjoy their local public preserve. We will meet from 8:30 am until noon on Saturday, November 7, 2009. This preserve is located on the east side of the 105 bridge on the east fork of the San Jacinto River within the city of Cleveland. Our partner in this project is Keep Cleveland Beautiful, who has graciously sponsored the lunches. We encourage you to bring your gardening equipment such as gloves, loppers, clippers, shovels, and wheelbarrows.  Please wear pants and closed-toed shoes! For questions or to RSVP, please contact sprosser@llt.org.

Mushroom Walk

Join LLT staff member, Teri MacArthur, who is a mycologist, for a mushroom walk through the Montgomery County Preserve nature trails on Saturday, November 28, 2009. Meet at the Nature Education Office at 1118 Pruitt Road (Spring 77380) at 9 am and plan to walk through the preserve for about two hours to learn about the mushrooms that lurk alongside the trails. Bring water, snacks, or lunch (if you wish) to enjoy following the walk. Wear long pants, closed shoes, a hat and bug spray. Contact tmacarthur@llt.org for questions.

Now underway at all Whole Earth stores is our annual drive to collect gently worn outerwear. Please bring us a clean coat with useful life left in it and receive one of our $5 gift certificates in return. No doubt, you’ll also get lots of warm fuzzies knowing that your old clothes are being put to good use by someone who really needs them.

Drop off your extra coats before December 11^th, please, because that’s when we will be transporting all of them to very worthy charity organizations in San Antonio, Houston, Austin, and Dallas.

Note that you may bring as many coats as you have to spare and you will receive in return that $5 gift certificate for every one – but these coupons may not be combined, but must be used on separate transactions.

Please help us help those in need. Thank you.