Weekly Weave - Everyday Civics

Hello fellow web weavers and welcome to the weekly weave!

This last Tuesday was election day, where in Boulder we voted on a number of issues, most notably deciding on our next mayor and on four open city council seats. While one race is still too close to call, you might tune in to the Boulder Reporting Lab’s report on the results and the conversations being represented in this election. You also might enjoy reading my recent essay, exploring some of the patterns I was observing through this election in the broader context of human conflict and decision-making.

Last week I spoke here about civic engagement in relation to voting in the election, and also about collaboration, specifically between CU and Naropa. With the election over, it’s a good time to consider what civic responsibility looks like beyond just being engaged in the election process. What is our responsibility as a resident of our city, of our state, of our country, and at a larger level, of our planet, and how are these connected? And what role does effective collaboration play in that?

Everyday Civics & Next Mixer

Modern science now agrees with ancient wisdom; relationship and connectivity is fundamental to the nature of the universe and life (see “Fritjof Capra: The World is a Network”). It seems that if we are to help the world, we have to recognize our place within all of these nesting social networks, such as the ones defined by the city of Boulder, the state of Colorado, and the country of the United States of America. What does effective participation or everyday civics look like in that context?

Civics is about more than just voting. It’s about participation in community. It could mean knocking on your neighbors door and seeing if they need any help shoveling their driveway. It could also mean planting a garden that will bring more beauty and create a home for the bees and butterflies. Civics is about helping our society to both survive and thrive, and it’s worthwhile looking at the role we play in our society in our daily lives. CoolBoulder is a great example of this, where partnerships have formed between the city, local organizations and community members; working together to benefit our local landscapes.

In the spirit of everyday civics, our next mixer will have this as a topic of focus. We will be meeting at Myco Cafe this next Wednesday (11/15) at 530pm, and we will be engaging in some round-table discussion as well as inviting lightning talks for those who wish to share a talk around this topic. If you have a talk to give, reply to this email or talk personally with a Woven Web organizer and we’ll make sure to add you to the schedule.

Coming Up in Boulder

There are so many ways to be involved in Boulder, to connect with community, connect with land, and help to make this a better place for all.

Tomorrow (Saturday 11/11) morning (830-12) there is a volunteer opportunity at growing gardens. It’s also the second to last farmers market of the year, so a great time to go and support local food producers, and maybe sign up for the Winter market share!

On Sunday (11/12), there is a Symposium on Spirituality and the Environment at Congregation HarHashem, from 12-3pm. There is also a harvest celebration fundraiser for a local non-profit, Community Fruit Rescue, at BoCo cider, from 1-4pm.

For more events like these, you might want to keep an eye on the boulder.earth calendar and the CoolBoulder partners calendar and maybe subscribe to their newsletters.

And one more reminder, join us at MycoCafe on Wednesday (11/15) for our next mixer! We’d love to connect with you more in person and explore together how we can more effectively show up for our world here.

Stay connected by subscribing to our calendar, and joining our discord!

I look forward to seeing you around the community this week.
Thanks for weaving,
-aaron gabriel & woven web