YOUR ELI: Spring into writing for ELi

Thanks to our donors, Eli is looking forward to a spring and summer filled with stories that educate, inspire and enrich our readers. (We may also infuriate and disturb you; sometimes that comes with the privilege of a free press).

For starters, there will be a regular gardening feature (we’re still brainstorming a name – ideas are welcome) starting in May. We want pictures of East Lansing gardens, and we want to write about everything from growing herbs on shady plots to creating container gardens in tight spaces. Whether you’re an experienced green thumb or (like me) a wannabe with a wheelbarrow full of tomatoes and basil, there will be a rich assortment of content to make everyone yearn for a spade and some quality compost.

Once the EL Farmers Market opens in June, we’ll begin a weekly feature focusing on an individual vendor, what they have that’s hyper-seasonal, and at least one way to use their freshest and best in a recipe. From the first lettuce and asparagus to the last tomato of summer we’ll have you covered (with some fresh bread and granola along the way).

Finally, and this is huge: we want you to write for us.

For Eli to fulfill its mission, it should reflect the interests, knowledge and passions of the East Lansing community. You can suggest story ideas, but it’s even better if you let us know you want to tell the story.

You can write about a person or organization working to make East Lansing a better place, an event, the East Lansing Public Schools (maybe a phenomenal teacher?), a special place, local history, birdwatching, astronomy, development, local government, theater…the only limit is your imagination. An Eli writer can be a high school student, a retiree, and MSU student, a professional writer or anyone with a heart for communicating what they see.

Best of all? You have a forum to speak to the community, you get the benefit of skilled editors, and we pay our writers.

We hope you enjoy the first signs of spring. While you’re raking, biking, bagging, kayaking, hiking and dreaming about what you’ll plant, water and weed in the next few months, please consider doing a little writing, too.