Big River, A King Corn Companion & HealthyTown
Wednesday, May 19. 2010 – 7-9p
Eastern Market’s Shed 5

Detroit has been alight with discussions of and proposals for large-scale Urban Agriculture projects. In addition to land use, local economic and community engagement concerns, large-scale Agriculture in an urban setting provides us an opportunity to look into the environmental impact of farming. After the screenings we’ll discuss the films and share info on local groups working in Environmental Health.

On the third Wednesday of every month Eastern Market Corporation, Great Lakes Bioneers Detroit and Detroit Evolution partner to present DETROIT ABIDES – A FREE Movie Night in Eastern Market. Detroit Abides screens a movie on a sustainable topic, explores the topic at the local level through discussion and support from regional groups and businesses, and creates a space to meet like-minded people from all walks of life & grow an active, healthy community. For this casual event, please bring a comfortable seat. Shed 5 is located at the corner of Russell and Alfred St. Parking is available in the lots adjacent to the Shed.

Big River – A King Corn Companion
http://www.bigriverfilm.com
Following up on their Peabody winning documentary, the King Corn boys are back. For Big River, best friends Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis have returned to Iowa with a new mission: to investigate the environmental impact their acre of corn has sent to the people and places downstream. In a journey that spans from the heartland to the Gulf of Mexico, Ian and Curt trade their combine for a canoe––and set out to see the big world their little acre of corn has touched. On their trip, flashbacks to the pesticides they sprayed, the fertilizers they injected, and the soil they plowed now lead to new questions, explored by new experts in new places. Half of Iowa’s topsoil, they learn, has been washed out to sea. Fertilizer runoff has spawned a hypoxic “dead zone” in the Gulf. And back at their acre, the herbicides they used are blamed for a cancer cluster that reaches all too close to home. Run-time: 27 minutes

HealthyTown – Detroit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIYASqPAF6g
Bill Couzens, the film’s Director, will join us for this screening. HealthyTown – Detroit documents organizations working to bridge the numerous Environmental Health gaps in Detroit through prevention. The film features Earthworks at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, Local Motion Green, Childrens Hospital of Michigan, the Kresge Foundation and Kids Kicking Cancer. Run-time: 25 minutes

NEXT MONTH: join us in Shed 5 on June 16th when we will feature the full-length documentary Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action. “Fierce Light is a journey around the world looking at a vast range of people protesting social issues and examines the notion that social action is most effective when it is deeply rooted in some form of spirituality.”

For more information or to get involved call Detroit Evolution at 313.316.1411