On the evening of this year's Earth Day, scientists gathered to read poems of lament -- or "keening" -- with poetry speaking for endangered species. The poems were written by local Island poet Bobbie Morgan. 

The word “keening” comes from the Irish and Scottish Gaelic term caoineadh ("to cry, to weep"). It is a lament for the dead customarily for women to wail or keen at a funereal (source: Wikipedia).

In this 10-minute video podcast, we see an excerpt from the event, including the readings of four poems for four endangered animal species. During the program on that Earth Day evening in April, twenty poems were read by 20 current (and future) locally-resident scientists, depicting threatened animals from 20 biological regions (“biomes”) of the world.

Bobbie hopes that this poetry will enhance our experience of science and bring us to a stronger vision of a healthy future for our natural environment and earthly home.

This event was publicized by Earth Art Bainbridge -- a project of Sustainable Bainbridge -- which sponsored a series of explorations of climate change by artists and writers in our community, which were presented prior to, and on, Earth Day weekend.

The evening was made possible by Bobbie and the scientists who volunteered to read her poetry. John McKenzie, who is the volunteer cinematographer and executive editor of this video podcast, also voluntarily created a slideshow that played during the readings. Marcus Lang and Dusty Collings performed music that enhanced the experience of the evening.

Sue Steindorff and Jeny Vidal made the Dayaalu Center available for the event, in the heart of Winslow. Additional partners and sponsors included: Artopia Creative, OfficeXpats, Arts and Humanities Bainbridge, Sound Repro and Sustainable Bainbridge.

The 66-minute video of the full event can be viewed on the Art for Climate Change website. You can also visit Art for Climate Change on Facebook.

Credits: BCB volunteer cinematographer and executive video editor: John McKenzie; BCB social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 5-minute video podcast, meet Andre Pomeroy, a sculptor who quarried, sculpted, polished and installed a remarkable boulder-sized rendition of a family of four sea lions. His art is now a favorite climbing object for children at play at the innovative and inclusive "Owen's Playground" on Bainbridge Island.

The park's name is in memory of the son of Kelsey and Stacy who passed away at age 6 in 2013, of complications associated with cerebral palsy. 

In his video conversation with BCB's Channie Peters, Andre explains that he had the four-member Marshall family in mind when he rendered the four sea lions in the boulder -- representing mom and dad (Stacy and Kelsey), plus Owen and his brother Elliott. As he explains to Channie, when he showed the work to Stacy and told her about her four family members being represented in the stone, she cried ... and he cried.

Andre explains that the suggestion came from Stacy that he create a sculpture large enough for children to climb on. As you'll see in this video, during our filming of the interview, one child after another approached and was drawn into the massive sculpture. One after another, they climbed on the sea lions, embraced them and played on them -- all in an entirely spontaneous and unrehearsed way.

The animals depicted by the artist are Steller (sometimes called Northern) sea lions, with large strong facial features. The artist named the work "Love's Safe Harbor", and you can find those words carved into the hard striated patterns of the beautifully patterned Serpentinite stone that came from the sculptor's own quarry in Marblemount, Washington.

Andre estimates that the physical chiseling and carving of the massive boulder involved at least 100 hours of physical labor, but the hours devoted to envisioning the design and other preparations and subsequent installation are many times that number. Andre reports that this is his largest work, although he mentions that he created a large sculpture some years ago for John Denver depicting a whale and a giant squid in a dramatic encounter.

In this podcast conversation, you can hear Andre's happiness at being able to bring his artistic work to such a joyful public place where it is being enjoyed by so many children and people of all ages.

Credits: BCB videographer and video post-production: John McKenzie; BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 4-minute video podcast, meet Barb Trafton, a long-time islander who has supported many projects for parks, and is the current executive director of the Bainbridge Island Parks Foundation that coordinated the fundraising for the "Owen's Playground" project on Bainbridge Island. This is a chapter of a multi-part BCB video podcast series.

As Barb describes in her interview, the project to create an inclusive park, designed to be safe and accessible for all, was supported by a very wide-ranging set of individuals and organizations who made the creation of this remarkable play space a true labor of love.

Funding of the project started with donations from friends and family at the time of the October 2013 memorial service for Owen. 

As noted on the playground's website: contributions and donated time came from "community members, local organizations, educators, parents, caregivers of those with disabilities, pediatric occupational and physical therapists" and many others. Design was donated by Studio Hanson|Roberts, and laborious hands-on construction work and building of the park's artistic features came from a combination of paid and donated time from the staff of the Parks District. Further funding was provided by Bainbridge Island Rotary Club, the BI Parks Foundation itself, red buckets of collections given at local businesses, the Goldberg family of Harper's Playground, family and friends of the Marshall's ... and many kids! Some children set up lemonade stands. Others competed in a climbing-wall fundraising event.

The park's name is in memory of the son of Kelsey and Stacy Marshall. Owen passed away at age 6 in 2013, of complications associated with cerebral palsy.

In this podcast conversation, you can hear Barb describe the remarkable range and diversity of funding sources that culminated in the joy and excitement of the opening day, on Saturday, June 16th.

Credits: BCB videographer and video post-production: John McKenzie; BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 5-minute video podcast, meet Terry Lande, our island's longtime Executive Director of the Bainbridge Island Metro Park and Recreation District. Terry's staff gave their all -- and then some -- to the hands-on creation of this inviting and inclusive "Owen's Playground" at Rotary Park on Bainbridge Island.

In his conversation with BCB's Channie Peters, Terry explains that his team at the Parks District were so inspired and attracted by the idea behind Owen's Playground that several of them worked on the project long beyond their paid hours.

Terry invited his whole Parks District staff team to come to work at the playground on the last day before the grand opening event, correctly realizing that the hands-on experience would be memorable and fulfilling.

The Parks District played a key role in bringing the project to realization. The Owen's Playground project found a home in the park thanks to a unanimous vote of the commissioners of the Bainbridge Island Metro Park and Recreation District ("Parks District") to earmark 13,000 square feet at the existing Rotary Park (which also includes two ball fields).

The project to create an inclusive park, designed to be safe and accessible for all, has been embraced by hosts of individuals and organizations who made the creation of this remarkable play space a true labor of love.

Design was donated by Studio Hanson|Roberts, with the laborious hands-on construction work and building of the playground's artistic features coming from Terry's Parks District team, including, for example, Dan Hamlin and David Harry.

Further funding was provided by Bainbridge Island Rotary Club, the Bainbridge Island Parks Foundation, buckets of collections at local businesses, the Goldberg family of Harper's Playground, family and friends of the Marshalls ... and kids!

See the prior chapters of this BCB community video story, here:

Owen's Playground - Meet Stacy Marshall

Owen's Playground - Meet Ann Lovejoy

Credits: BCB videographer and video post-production: John McKenzie; BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 7-minute video podcast, meet Ann Lovejoy, our island's much-beloved advocate for organic gardening, who brought her passion for plantings to the innovative and inclusive "Owen's Playground" on Bainbridge Island.

Ann is the author of 18 books about organic gardening and the winner of the American Horticultural Society's award of excellence in writing. She heard that Owen's Playground had space for a sensory garden, and she proceeded to create an expansive wonderland of plantings that delight the senses and that extend far beyond the modest initial plans.

In this podcast conversation, you can hear Ann's insights about the types of blossoming and fruiting plants that she chose, and the reasons why.

The park's name is in memory of the son of Kelsey and Stacy Marshall who passed away at age 6 in 2013, of complications associated with cerebral palsy. This is chapter 1 of a 7-part video series.

The project to create an inclusive park, designed to be safe and accessible for all, has been embraced by hosts of individuals and organizations who made the creation of this remarkable play space a true labor of love.

See the prior chapter of this BCB community video story, here:

Owen's Playground - Meet Stacy Marshall

Credits: BCB videographer and video post-production: John McKenzie; BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 6-minute video podcast, meet Stacy Marshall, the visionary behind the innovative and inclusive "Owen's Playground" on Bainbridge Island. The park's name is in memory of the son of Kelsey and Stacy who passed away at age 6 in 2013, of complications associated with cerebral palsy. This is chapter 1 of a 7-part video series.

The project to create an inclusive park, designed to be safe and accessible for all, has been embraced by hosts of individuals and organizations who made the creation of this remarkable play space a true labor of love.

Funding of the project started with donations from friends and family at the time of the October 2013 memorial service for Owen. 

Four months later, the project found a home thanks to a unanimous vote of the commissioners of the Bainbridge Island Metro Park and Recreation District ("Parks District") to earmark 13,000 square feet at the existing Rotary Park (which also includes two ball fields).

Design of the playground began in March 2014. As noted on the playground's website: contributions and donated time came from "community members, local organizations, educators, parents, caregivers of those with disabilities, pediatric occupational and physical therapists" and many others. Design was donated by Studio Hanson|Roberts, and laborious hands-on construction work and building of the park's artistic features came from a combination of paid and donated time from the staff of the Parks District. Further funding was provided by Bainbridge Island Rotary Club, the Bainbridge Island Parks Foundation, buckets of collections at local businesses, the Goldberg family of Harper's Playground, family and friends of the Marshalls ... and kids!

In this podcast conversation, you can hear the joy and excitement as Stacy looks around on opening day, Saturday, June 16th, at a dream come true.

Credits: BCB videographer and video post-production: John McKenzie; BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB social media publisher: Barry Peters.

To help us get in the mood for Bainbridge Island Grand Old Fourth celebrations, BCB is pleased to offer our local Amabile Choir's renditions of songs about America by American composers.  Here, we offer a 5-minute video podcast of excerpt's from the Amabile Choir's Spring Concert 2016: "From Sea to Shining Sea".

These excerpts include, for example:

• "Route 66"
• "42nd Street"; and
• a refreshing arrangement of "America"

In this video, Amabile Choir is seen in the dramatic space of St. Barnabas church.

Performing with the choir are local jazz musicians.

At their Spring Concert, the Amabile Choir performed songs about America, written by American composers. They took a musical journey across America, with songs celebrating our heritage and our American dream, including spirituals, patriotic songs, jazz, and old favorites. Amabile's website describes their approach to be "choral music expressed with love."

Conducting the Amabile Choir is Anne Pell.

Credits: BCB video producer John McKenzie; BCB social media publisher: Barry Peters.