COBB, Calif. – How can you use your time to get your needs met, contribute to the community, make new friends, and learn about a cool “new” alternative to money?

Come find out at Jellystone Park, 14117 Bottle Rock Road, Cobb on Saturday April 18, from 4 to 6:30 p.m.

Onsite babysitting may be available by a time bank member, with advance request.

Time banking communities have formed around the world. Members connect in practical ways – people helping people – and get necessary services by using time as a currency, exchanging time instead of cash. Every hour is valued the same, regardless of the service performed.

Time banking forms connections that strengthen a community and its local economy.

The Time Bank of Thrive Lake County began about four years ago, and has grown to 465 members with over 12,000 hours exchanged.

The Cobb event will feature fun and interactive activities designed to help you get started, learn more, and keep you going with time banking. The formal session will be followed by a yummy potluck and social. Everyone is welcome – from curious community resident to seasoned time banker.

The new Time Bank Special Events group will meet following the formal session. This group consists of vendors, musicians, technical support, event planners and site staff, i.e. anyone who would like to use or earn Time Bank credits through their participation at community events associated with the Time Bank.

At the meet up this month, the group is inviting Time Bank members new and old to assist with a rock concert planned for June 13 at Jellystone Park.

Time Bank membership is open to any Lake County resident, business or organization.

For more information about Time Bank of Thrive Lake County, visit http://timebanklakeco.org , email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or phone 707-413-0220.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Great Depression was in full "bloom" as were the patches of Yerba Santa that dotted the hills of Lake County.

A young couple and their two children were living on great-grandpa's 160-acre homestead in High Valley. An old run down shack, broken down Model T Ford, no money, they lived off the land.

It was a hopeless time for a young couple with dreams but Dad used to say, “At least we have a roof over our heads.”

One day Dad came back from a rare trip to town all excited. He said that some darn fools from back East were paying good money for dried and sacked Yerba Santa leaves – they say it's an herb used  to make cough medicine.

Let's go to work! Morning after morning we tramped up the hill to the Yerba Santa patch picking and sacking leaves – leaves that gave hope when needed but not riches.

You're invited to learn more about medicinal herbs and amending soil seaweed as presented by certified herbalists Veronica Cruz and Trish Gallagher at a meeting of the Clear Lake Trowel & Trellis Garden Club on Tuesday April 21.

The garden club meets the third Tuesday of every month except – July and August – in the Scotts Valley Women's Club house at 2298 Hendricks Road in Lakeport.

For more information call Marva Brandt at 707-279-1625 or visit www.clttgc.org .

Clear lake Trowel & Trellis Garden Club is a member of Mendo-Lake District, Pacific Region, California Garden Clubs Inc. and National Garden Clubs Inc.

Jerry Shaul is publicity chairman for the Clear Lake Trowel & Trellis Garden Club.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Calpine will host its annual Earth Day event on Saturday, May 2.

The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Calpine Geothermal Visitor Center, 15500 Central Park Road, Middletown.

During this free, fun-filled event, Calpine will host tours to The Geysers.

The focus of this celebration is the care and nurturing of the planet, people and animals.

Meet the baby animals from 4-H; have your picture taken in the photo van, buy plants for your garden through our schools and make art through the EcoArts tent.

In addition, learn about food with Lake County Co-Op and learn about the Cal Fresh program for those who are in need.

Keep pests away with advice from Vector Control, meet the forestry firefighters who keep us safe. Learn more about our environment through Redbud Audubon and the Sierra Club.

Adopt a pet through Animal Control and find out about the Hero Project, which provides tools for better parenting. And there will be much more.

The 10 a.m. opening ceremonies will feature this year’s poster winners from Mrs. Kies’ third grade class of Kelseyville Elementary.

Enjoy poetry from Lake County Poet Laureates, and listen to great music by Teardrop Trailer and others throughout the day.

The Middletown Senior Center and the Lake County International Charter School will once again provide food and refreshments for sale.

Seats are limited for Geysers tours and reservations are strongly recommended. Please visit www.geysers.com or call 707-987-4270 to reserve your seat.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The community is invited to the Lake County Library’s Book-to-Action: Cooked series of free events, featuring “Cooked: A natural history of transformation” by Michael Pollan, to be held during April and May at library branches and other venues around Lake County.

Sign up to participate and get a free copy of Pollan’s book, as long as supplies last.

Participants will be asked to challenge themselves to get into the kitchen and cook meals themselves during the program and discuss their experiences at the program's conclusion on May 30.

Pollan is the author of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” “The Botany of Desire,” “Food Rules” and other books about food, cooking and plants.

“Cooked” is Pollan’s exploration into the four classical elements – fire, air, water and earth – and how they intersect with cooking. Fire is barbecue, air is bread, water is braising and earth is fermentation.

Through these elements Pollan explores the philosophical side of cooking and eating. He contends that not only has modern food taken us away from eating properly, but that our modern life takes us away from eating with family and community.

Pollan believes that reclaiming control of cooking is an important step in improving one’s life

The Book-to-Action program is a variation on the traditional library book group – it offers participants not only the opportunity to collectively read and discuss a book and meet an author, but also to put their newfound knowledge into action by engaging in a community service project or activity related to the book's topic

Book-to-Action is a project of the California State Library in partnership with the California Center for the Book, and it is being implemented in libraries throughout the state.

The project was supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.

The Lake County Library, in collaboration with the Lake County Hunger Task Force and the Lake County Public Health Department’s SNAP-Ed program, is sponsoring Book-to-Action: Cooked with an array of events.

Readers can read Cooked, join a book discussion, create a meal for themselves and volunteer at one of Lake County’s agencies that fight hunger. The library will have a list of agencies where people can volunteer such as food banks and free kitchens

Volunteers will participate in an array of free events around Lake County during Book-to-Action: Cooked.

April 15 at Redbud Library, 14785 Burns Valley Road in Clearlake, at 5 p.m. Dana Kent of SNAP-Ed will present a healthful recipe demonstration and product sampling.

April 22 at Lakeport Library, 1425 N. High St., at 5 p.m. Amy Patton from the library will demonstrate Michael Pollan’s sourdough bread recipe.

April 25 at Lakeport Library, at 2 p.m. Desiree Todd of the StableFood Farm Buyers Club will demonstrate how to make soft cheeses.

April 29 at Middletown Library, 21256 Washington St., at 2:30 p.m. Dana Kent from SNAP-Ed will demonstrate how to “Rethink your drink.”

May 2 at Lakeport Library, the Lake County Hunger Task Force at 2 p.m. will demonstrate nutritious crockpot cooking.

May 6 at Lakeport Library, the library’s book club invites the public to discuss Pollan’s book “Cooked” from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. with book club members and other local residents. The book tells the story of Pollan’s exploration into the previously uncharted territory of his own kitchen and how he learned to transform the stuff of nature into delicious things. Share with other readers your favorite aspects of the book, and pose questions you'd like to discuss.

May 9 at Lakeport Library author Claire Splan will be at Lakeport Library at  2 p.m. to present her books “California Fruit and Vegetable Gardening” and “California Month-by-month Gardening.”

May 13 at the Lakeport Senior Center 527 Konocti Avenue in Lakeport at 5 p.m. Dana Kent from SNAP-Ed will present “Healthy options away from home.”

May 20 at the Lakeport Senior Center at 5 p.m. “Grow your own salsa garden” and recipe demonstration.

May 23 at the Steele Wines Farmers’ Market, Thomas Drive and Highway 29 between Kelseyville and Lakeport 8:30 a.m. to noon the Hunger Task Force will offer tips on shopping wisely at the farmers’ market.

May 27 at Lakeport Library Amy Patton will demonstrate Pollan’s sauerkraut recipe at 5 p.m.

May 30 at the Lakeport Senior Cooked culminates in a community meal where participants come together to share a meal and a discussion of their cooking experiences.

A printable list of Book-to-Action: Cooked events can be found on the library’s Web site at http://library.lakecountyca.gov .

For more information about the Book-to-Action: Cooked program and events contact Lakeport Library.

The Lake County Library is on the Internet at http://library.lakecountyca.gov and at www.facebook.com/lakecountylibrary .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Protect yourself from identity theft by safely and securely destroying documents in the “Info-Shred” truck sponsored by Umpqua Bank and Strong Financial Network on Monday, April 27.

Invite friends and family to take advantage of this free shredding service.

You may bring up to three boxes/bags of documents for destruction.

The service will be provided from 4 to 6 p.m. on Monday, April 27, at Umpqua Bank, 805 11th St. in Lakeport.

Please be sure documents are free from binders, although staples and paper clips are acceptable.

Assistance to unload your documents will be available and you are welcome to stay and watch the actual shredding of your documents.

Immediately following the shredding, there will be an identity theft workshop from 6 to 7 p.m. inside Umpqua Bank.

Seating is limited and reservations are required, please call 707-262-1880.

If you are unable to attend on April 27, Umpqua Bank locations in Lakeport and Kelseyville, 4280 Main St., will have shred bins available during the month of April until they are filled.

Please limit your deposit to three boxes/bags per drop off.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – When Laisné Hamilton says she loves volunteering, brain chemistry is at work literally producing a pleasure chemical in the body called dopamine.

According to David J. Linden, professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University, “Your brain’s pleasure circuits are activated by acts of charity.”

The London School of Economics examined the relationship between volunteering and measures of happiness in a large group of American adults. They found the more people volunteered, the happier they were.

“If I can help people feel they are not alone and feel valued, I will be happy,” said Hamilton.

A retired school teacher, Hamilton makes time in her life to give back to the community she loves by volunteering.

She is one of a group of singers who entertains the residents of Rocky Point Care Center in Lakeport weekly.

She volunteers to work at bereavement camps and visits home bound patients for Hospice Services of Lake County. She is active in her church, sings in the choir and likes to garden.

Hamilton finds that her efforts to give back have become a “paying it forward” experience.

“It is amazing that with all the volunteering with clients, office help and camps, the more I give, the more full I feel,” said Hamilton. “My fellow volunteers are encouraging and uplifting.”

And that’s another benefit of volunteering: the interaction with others helps develop a solid support system, which in turn protects against stress and anxiety.

In addition to the happiness effect, the act of volunteering has multiple mental and physical health benefits.

Volunteering can provide a healthy boost to self-confidence and life satisfaction. In doing good for others and the community it makes a person feel better about themselves and more likely to have a positive view of life and future goals.

Having regular activities with other people also prevents social isolation which is a key risk factor in the development of depression.

Volunteering is a fun and easy way to explore your interests and develop new ones.

Doing volunteer work that you find meaningful and interesting can be relaxing and an energizing escape from your day-to-day routine.

You will have a richer and more enjoyable experience if you take some time to identify what you enjoy doing and are capable of doing.

A good match benefits both the volunteer and the organization, and you don’t have to limit yourself to one organization.

At Hospice Services of Lake County there are many volunteer opportunities. Our volunteers donate their valuable time making it possible to hold family bereavement camps and bereavement groups that benefit the community.

Volunteers provide home visits to patients to give caregivers a break, many times developing lasting relationships with the families.

Our thrift store volunteers help process donations, stock shelves and make change at the cash register.

The staff at Hospice values and appreciates Hamilton and all its volunteers.

April 12 to 18 is National Volunteer Week. If you know someone who is retired and happy, chances are he or she is a volunteer. Thank them. They deserve it.

Christine Hutt works for Hospice Services of Lake County, www.lakecountyhospice.org .