Podcast with Erika Benson, co-owner, Gokce Capital LLC, about how to invest in vacant land in 2021 part two

Posted by Elena del Valle on February 22, 2021

Erika Benson, co-owner, Gokce Capital LLC

Photo: Gokce Capital LLC

A podcast interview with Erika Benson, co-owner, Gokce Capital LLC, is available in the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing and Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, she discusses how to invest in vacant land in 2021 with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast.

Erika, a former affordable housing director for the City of New York, is now a full-time land investor. The article and podcast with part one of this topic was published January 25, 2021.

To listen to the interview, scroll down and click on the play button below. You can also listen by looking for “Podcast” then select “HMPR Erika Benson” and or download the MP3 file to your iPod or MP3 player to listen on the go, in your car or at home. You can also find it on the RSS feed. To download it, click on the arrow of the recording you wish to copy and save it to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the February 2021 section of the podcast archive.

LEAD for Pollinators February to December 2021 Webinars

Posted by Elena del Valle on February 15, 2021

Information provided by Event Partner

LEAD for Pollinators February to December 2021 Webinars

Forty-plus Log-in To Learn Webinars to Inform and Inspire

Continue your beekeeping, gardening, farming, small business, and leadership education during 2021. Forty-plus presentations will inform, inspire, and invigorate listeners. Two series will be presented: Log-in To Learn series and Creating Pollinator Habitat series. Webinars will be held from 8 p.m.-9 p.m. eastern (7 p central, 6 p mountain, 5 p pacific), and feature regional and nationally recognized speakers who are experienced, knowledgeable, and engaging in topics important to beekeeping, pollinator habitat, healthy soils, clean water, community-supported agriculture, leadership, and small business. Registration fee is $10 per webinar. Group rates are available for member associations, clubs, and groups. Live presentations will be recorded and available for individuals on a pay-per-view. For more information about topics, dates, and group rates visit https://leadforpollinators.org/log-in-to-learn-webinars/ or email us at info@leadforpollinators.org

Forty-plus Log-in To Learn Webinars to Inform, Inspire, and Invigorate Feb.-Dec. 2021

New titles in English, Spanish for children from independent publisher

Posted by Elena del Valle on February 10, 2021

This Is How I Grow cover

Photos: Science, Naturally! 

In 2020 Science, Naturally! released This is How I Grow,*  a 51-page paperback book by Dia L. Michels for children ages seven to ten. A few months later Así Crezco, a 53-page paperback Spanish language edition of Dia’s book, was published. Full page color illustrations in both were by Wesley Davies. In the books Michels explores the growth process for mammals with short text and illustrations. The books are priced at $12.95 each.

This Is How I Grow was translated by The Spanish Group, LLC. According to promotional materials, This is How I Grow received the 2020 Book of the Year award from Creative Child Magazine a Tillywig Brain Child award.

Illustrator Wesley Davies

Dia L. Michels, author, This Is How I Grow

Science, Naturally! is an imprint of Platypus Media , LLC. Michels, author of 12 books for adults and children, is publisher of Science, Naturally!  This is How I Grow is her fourth science book. New England artist Davies specializes in illustration and comic art. These two titles are a book debut of his work.
_{*Print review copy and photos provided by publisher.}

Hawaii activist pens autobiography

Posted by Elena del Valle on February 3, 2021

Saravati’s Gift by Mayumi Oda

Cover photo: Shambhala Publications, author photo: Cindy Whitehawk

Born in Tokyo, Japan in 1941 Mayumi Oda grew up in a war ravaged country. In time she married an American and became an artist and activist. In Sarasvati’s Gift The Autobiography of Mayumi Oda Artist, Activist, and Modern Buddhist Revolutionary (Shambhala, $22.95),* a 136-page softcover book published in 2020, the Hawaii resident shares part of her life story. The book includes 26 of her color illustrations each on its own page as well as family and personal photos.

Mayumi Oda

In Chapter 1 she says she believes we are on the edge of disaster and at the same time poised for positive transformation. In the Afterword she shares her belief that toxicity is everywhere, that there is nowhere without pollution. She mentions having a stroke as she was completing her autobiography and as a result deciding she wants to dedicate the remainder of her life to writing and painting. She was unavailable to respond to email questions per a representative at the farm. A publishing company representative did not reply to email requests.

Oda, a painter, environmental activist, and Buddhist practitioner, describes her years in Japan, her marriage and the death of her son as well as her immigration to the United States, her inspiration and approach to art. In the 1990s, she started dedicating some of her time to activism pro women’s rights, antinuclear causes and anti genetically modified plants, and founded Gingerhill Farm on the Big Island of Hawaii, according to her biography.
*_{Print review copy and photos provided by publisher.}