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Historic "Lead the Way" Membership Campaign Launched

Back in the 1990's, a group of local citizens began a grassroots effort to help our communities become and remain places where people could live and thrive in a way that would allow their children and grandchildren to enjoy the same healthy, pristine, beautiful environment that we love today. In addition to protecting the natural environment, they wanted a stable economy where businesses could thrive and families could make a comfortable living right here in the Chequamegon Bay region.

The Alliance for Sustainability, the nonprofit organization that they formed in 1996, has grown from the conversations of their early meetings to an organization that has helped the Chequamegon Bay become a recognized state leader in sustainability. You've probably heard of or participated in Pie & Politics, The Natural Step Study Circles, and other programs that have deepened our individual and collective commitments to sustainability.

With a new sense of urgency about the environment, global climate change, and economic instability, more and more people are looking for ways to live and support more sustainable lifestyles. You can do that by becoming a member of the Alliance for Sustainability.

The Alliance needs your financial support to implement projects that benefit our community. Please become a member now as we launch our first "Lead the Way" membership campaign. It will help us remain a grassroots organization, supported by area citizens instead of relying so heavily on external resources. As a member you will receive e-newsletters and invitations to participate in our events, and you'll know that you have made a difference in your community.

You can become a member with a tax-deductible contribution of any amount-on-line at our website, www.allianceforsustainability.org, or by completing the membership form that is arriving this month by mail or by volunteer hand-delivery to all Chequamegon Bay residents and businesses. The contribution you make now will cover your annual membership through 2010. You can also make a gift membership for friends and family who love the area and wish to protect it.

Strong commitment, a good plan, and enthusiastic volunteers helped us make progress with projects like those mentioned in this October Quarterly Newsletter. Please become a Member and help us continue to Lead the Way! If you have questions, please call our office, (715) 682-1189, or any of the Alliance officers: President Irene Blakely, (715) 373-2907; Vice President Brandon Boys, (715) 331-9643; or Treasurer-Secretary Jack Beagan, (715) 779-3012. We would also like to thank our sponsors of this membership drive, Heart Graphics and Deep Water Grille.

Click here to become a 2010 Member of the Alliance for Sustainability.

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• New Strategic Plan Adopted in September
• The Green Team Network News
• Message from the President of AFS, Irene Blakely
• Update on Climate Showcase Communities Grant
• Volunteer Spotlight--Mike and Jo Bailey
• Green vs. Sustainable: Thoughts on Society
• Energy Independent Communities
• Real Life Sustainability--Hints, Tips, Stories for Living More Sustainably

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New Strategic Plan Adopted in September
A Message from Patty Dreier

The Board of Directors adopted the 2009-2012 Strategic Plan for the Alliance for Sustainability on September 8th. This is the first organizational strategic plan for the Alliance. The Sustainable Chequamegon Initiative (SCI) Strategic Plan 2006-2011 primarily sets goals and objectives for sustainability across sectors including transportation, business, government, housing, and others. Our new strategic plan is intended to guide the Alliance as it develops core organizational capacities that then can better support achievement of the goals, objectives and operating guidelines of the SCI.

I had the privilege and honor of facilitating the recent strategic planning efforts for the Alliance as we explored the organization's challenges and opportunities from a variety of "systems views." Of course, no plan is carved in stone. This strategic plan is a living document that will continue to be shaped as we grow into it. Input from many sectors, individuals (including the Alliance Advisory Board), and organizations must still be dovetailed into it, but we believe we have a strong core design in the plan that sets broad and lofty directions while being tangible and doable.

We'll have the plan posted at the Alliance website shortly for your review and comment and we will present the plan at 7 p.m. on October 15 during the Chequamegon Sustainability Update at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center Martin Hanson Theatre, but I'd like to highlight a few elements here:

The mission statement for the Alliance was revised to become:

The Alliance for Sustainability builds capacities to develop sustainable thriving communities in the Chequamegon Bay Region of Northwestern Wisconsin.

A new vision statement was also developed:

Sustainable thriving communities where we live.

Five Strategic Goals were developed to guide the direction of the sustainability movement in the Chequamegon Bay Region. I sum them up in this way: We begin with "walking the talk" as we develop a strong, sustainable, thriving organization aligned with the mission of the Alliance. Then, the Alliance demonstrates leadership as a capacity-building agent and collaborates with regional partners to develop, position, and sustain our community's model of sustainability. All along the way, the Alliance plays a central role in facilitating education about and promotion of the model.

Part of the Strategic Planning process also involved clarifying HOW the Alliance can best go about its work in a strategic way to accomplish its mission. Here's that excerpt:

The Alliance for Sustainability in Ashland, Wisconsin...

• Facilitates a regional approach, building capacities that result in regional progress toward established goals.
• Builds a citizenry across all sectors in the region that is knowledgeable about how to help create a sustainable, thriving regional community, and is skilled and motivated to take action.
• Gathers the regional story and shares it as a means to continue to build momentum to enhance sustainability in the region and so that others may learn, advancing the movement across the globe.

We clarified that the cornerstones of the Alliance's values and beliefs are: Shared Ownership, Responsiveness, Innovation, Accountability, and Balance.

Our next steps are to develop implementation plans for volunteer and board committees to get involved, a logic model with regional tracking tools, and a strategic grants plan. We will also continue to develop our website and other organizational capacities to support our plan.

These are incredibly exciting and busy times! I hope you'll get more involved by completing a volunteer interest survey so we can match you with the best volunteer opportunities to suit your needs and interests. Your participation can help us take the sustainability movement in Chequamegon Bay to even greater heights!

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The Green Team Network News

Chequamegon Bay's Green Team Network's story is about to be told. Thanks to Nick Bisley's Sustainable Community Planning Class at Northland College, students have begun preparing to gather the Green Team stories so that lessons learned can be shared with others in our community and beyond. Northland students will compile the case studies in an e-book that will be available for download from the Alliance website in December or shortly thereafter. Proceeds from e-book downloads will go to support Green Team capacity-building initiatives through the Alliance-including support for the new Green Team Network communications forum (see below).

Last June, Green Teams asked for an efficient, centralized way to communicate with each other-to post questions, share information, and get the word out about solutions they've discovered to improve sustainability in their own organization. Their request is being answered! Alliance staff recently demonstrated a new Green Team Network communications forum that is being developed at the Alliance's website. Green Teams are excited to experiment with the new tool and assist in refining it.

Chequamegon Bay Green Teams are planning for their December 9 capstone event, "Green Teams Share Their Story," 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Martin Hanson Theatre, Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center. Green Teams will "tell all" as they present their successes, challenges, and lessons learned through a poster session, panel presentations, and discussion. They were the first Green Teams in the U.S. Please join them in making history as they share their story on Dec 9. Be prepared to be inspired!

Members of the Green Team Network of Early Adopters of Sustainability include: The City of Ashland, the City of Bayfield, the City of Washburn, Chequamegon Food Cooperative, Wal-Mart, Washburn Iron Works, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center, Northland College, WITC-Ashland, Bay Area Rural Transit (BART) Bad River Tribe, Lac Courtes Oreilles Tribe, Deep Water Grille, Memorial Medical Center, Ashland School District, Washburn School District, and Ashland Industries.

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Message from the President of AFS, Irene Blakely
These Are Dynamic Times For Us

If there is one word to describe this quarter's activity for the Alliance, it would be dynamic! This may be one of the most dynamic times in the Alliance's history. Because of our early leadership for almost two decades, the Governor has recognized the Alliance for Sustainability as the rural model for sustainable community development. So we are in a unique position to respond to new challenges.

I'm excited to report to you that we have now completed the Alliance's first strategic plan (2009-2012) for the organization-not to be confused with the Sustainable Chequamegon Initiative (SCI), a strategic plan crafted by many Alliance volunteers to build sustainability in the community. Last year, Carter McNamara, a strategic planning consultant helped the Board of Directors understand that we needed our own organizational strategic plan to complement the SCI, and that's what we've spent the greater part of a year doing. Our new Strategic Plan will help us build infrastructure to support achievement of SCI objectives.

As we implement our new plan, we will rely increasingly on an advisory board that we are establishing to represent a broad range of viewpoints on sustainable community development in our area. And now, more than ever, we seek your direct input. Look for upcoming community programs or talk with any board or staff member about our efforts to continue to lead the region and the state in sustainability.

One of the strategic actions we have chosen to take immediately is to launch an historic membership campaign. For years, many hundreds of us have been calling ourselves "members of the Alliance." Now, for the first time ever, we will have a membership program that will create the chance for citizens and organizations to sign up with a contribution of any amount each year to be a Member of the Alliance. Membership contributions will directly support the activities of the Alliance to continue to grow the sustainability movement. While membership dollars help us build a more sustainable, regional funding base for the Alliance (rather than depending so much on outside grant dollars), your membership will help us in other ways, too. When we seek outside grant funding, we'll use membership funds to represent local and regional support-critical in giving us a winning edge. Also, we will be able to report exactly how many people and organizations are Members of the Alliance and how we are growing year to year-other important ways we can demonstrate our organization's strength and the strength of Chequamegon Bay's regional sustainability effort.

SO...Your annual membership will lift us up and help us continue to lead the way. I hope you'll become a Member of the Alliance today if you haven't done so already. Thanks to all of you for sharing this exciting journey!

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Update on Climate Showcase Communities Grant
From Patty Dreier

In collaboration with many regional partners and the City of Bayfield, the Alliance facilitated the submission of an $870,000 three-year grant to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in July-hoping that our region could become a "Climate Showcase Community." Unfortunately, we recently learned that our proposal was not funded-and that there were no awardees in the State of Wisconsin. Over 450 grant applications had been received from across the country. The Governor's Office of Energy Independence was as surprised as we were to learn that none of the applicants that were Energy Independent Pilot Communities in Wisconsin (like our region) were awarded the grant.

While we are continuing to gather grant evaluator feedback to learn how to improve our competitiveness for this kind of federal grant submission, there were many benefits of this grant experience. In fact, many of the concepts clarified through this grant writing experience have now been integrated into the 2009-2012 Strategic Plan for the Alliance. For example, we proposed in the Climate Showcase Community grant that there would be regional tracking tools created to capture data about what impacts our work in sustainability would have on the economy, environment, and community. The need to work with Chequamegon Bay partners to develop regional tracking tools to measure sustainability efforts is now noted in the Alliance's Strategic Plan.

Whenever I teach grant writing classes, I always mention that one of the greatest benefits of APPLYING FOR grants is how they help us build new capacities-regardless of whether or not we win the grant. That's exactly what this grant application did for us. We clarified goals and methodologies. We did research and learned more. We rallied the troops around a common idea and made our alliances stronger.

Credit must be given to Mayor Larry MacDonald and the City of Bayfield (including City Clerk Billie Hoopman) for stepping up to become fiscal agent on this grant application which required a municipal applicant. Had they not created an open door for the project, we couldn't have reaped the positive benefits timed perfectly with our strategic planning process. Ted May at WITC also played a pivotal role by offering extraordinary organizational commitment in proposed matching funds and education/green job concepts, methods, and support. Many thanks to everyone who made this huge grant submission possible. (Wasn't this the largest grant undertaking ever for sustainability in our region?) You worked hard on letters of commitment, reviewing the proposal, agreeing to volunteer in support of the project, and you went to bat to coordinate on its development. There is no doubt in my mind that the 2009 Climate Showcase Grant APPLICATION has significantly advanced the Sustainability Movement in the Chequamegon Bay Region-even though we didn't win a dime of the EPA grant itself!

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Volunteer Spotlight
Mike and Jo Bailey

"We have 14 grandchildren who we want to love the Earth as much as we do..."  --Mike and Jo Bailey

Ask Mike and Jo Bailey of Bayfield why they volunteer for the Alliance for Sustainability, and one is quickly reminded of some of the best things about living in the Chequamegon Bay/Bayfield Peninsula area-the chance to share a passion for the land and water with others.

For the last 8 years, Mike and Jo have been generously involved with the Alliance-leading a study group (Mike, 2007), being on the Board (Jo, 2003-2008), serving on the Program Committee (Jo, 2009), fundraising and volunteering for special events (Jo and Mike), and even opening their cottage on Madeline Island to Oregonian Phil Berry, the 2009 Pie & Politics speaker, to explore the wonders of the region with his wife and daughter.

Sailing in the Apostle Islands on vacation one year sealed the deal and Mike and Jo moved to Bayfield from Racine, Wisconsin, when they retired. Mike, a psychologist and now Director of Special Education in the Hurley area, and Jo, MidWest distributoress for Green Bags, Crisis counselor for Northland Counseling, and local columnist, became connected with Sustainable Bayfield working to try to improve the sustainability of the Applefest event. Their group's work laid the foundation for the sustainability initiatives that continue to be part of the Applefest tradition each year.

"When I look around and I see the beauty, I want to keep that beauty-so having a hand in maintaining it is one reason I volunteer for the Alliance," says Jo who adds, "There is much work to be done-with water quality, clean air, and sustainable practices."

Before moving to the area, Mike was interested in ways to conserve natural resources. "I was particularly interested in alternative energies-especially biofuels. This continues to drive my interest in volunteering for the Alliance today," he says.

What does Mike have to say to others considering volunteering for the Alliance? "It brings a person closer to an understanding of their impacts on the Earth and how they can share it with others." For Jo, it is "gratifying" volunteer work that can easily be integrated into her lifestyle. "AFS has been streamlined and restructured, so there is a variety of possibilities for volunteers," Jo says.

Thank you Mike and Jo for your dedication, generosity, and inspiration! We'll watch for you on the North Country Trail, sailing or kayaking the region's waters, at the next Alliance event, OR at "Grandma/Grandpa Camp" on Madeline Island where you offer your grandchildren the chance to grow into their love of the Apostle Islands and their passion for the Earth.

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Green vs. Sustainable: Thoughts on Society
By Nick Bisley

The other day I used the power of the Internet to check up on the latest strategy for marketing in our world of excess. I typed in the words, "green products." It shocked me, although I was not entirely surprised, to see the search engine come up with over 150 million hits. Given that we live in a society that fuels itself on exponential economic growth, it is no surprise that the general public would be fooled into thinking they can help the planet by simply buying solar-powered plastic lawn ornaments instead of those that run on batteries. It is true that more and more Americans are beginning to understand the challenges faced by the current socio-economic trends. However, many businesses are cashing in on this by creating a marketing scheme that offers products that make a person feel as though they are doing their part, but in actuality are continuing the one-way flow of plastic do-dads and dollar store trinkets. Many businesses make no mention of how the raw materials were extracted, processed, and delivered or the amounts of energy used and waste created throughout the process. One cannot point blame at the consumer eager to help or the businesses trying to stay afloat, but still there is a missing link: A realization that helps people and businesses to understand the complexity of consumerism and cut through the mirage of some green products. That realization is sustainability.

One strategy that helps to combine people's efforts to work toward a vision of a sustainable future is The Natural Step Framework. It was developed to deal with complex situations by providing a common language, a shared understanding, and a robust definition of sustainability. The framework is the brainchild of Dr. Karl-Henrick Robért, a Swedish cancer scientist. Dr. Robért, in conjunction with hundreds of international scientists, spent years debating and testing ideas until eventually creating The Natural Step Framework. The framework is being implemented in communities, organizations, and businesses around the world to help integrate systems thinking and strategic planning into a long-term vision. The framework consists of 5 levels: System, Success, Strategic Guidelines, Actions, and Tools. Each level is designed to help people cut through the complexities inherent in organizational and community planning and help them to take steps to ensure compliance with socio-ecological sustainability.

I was fortunate enough to be selected for the Master's program in Strategic Leadership toward Sustainability at the Blekinge Institute of Technology in Karlskrona, Sweden, where students from all over the world are educated in and gain experience with The Natural Step Framework. This opportunity was made possible through The Rotary Foundation's Ambassadorial Scholarship program. This program provides support to young people who wish to help increase international understanding and act as ambassadors of goodwill to host countries. In return, scholars help contribute to The Rotary Foundation's commitment to global peace and understanding.

The Master's program included 56 people from over 30 countries around the world and was comprised of various cultures, ages, and professional backgrounds. Due to the unique composition of the class, much of the educational benefits came from the learning process, instead of solely the material. Almost every project involved writing a report and completing a presentation in groups of 3-6 people. In addition to gaining presentation and public speaking experience, this was a great opportunity to learn with and from people that have very different perspectives and approaches to problems. For example, I completed my thesis with two others; a young Korean woman and a middle aged Iraqi man. This was a great opportunity to fulfill my Rotary ambassadorial duties and foster more international understanding with people from very different cultures. It was also very interesting to work with an Iraqi that lived under Saddam Hussein's regime and hear his perspective on the ongoing conflict. He really gave me an insight that is not portrayed in the mainstream media's coverage of the conflict. My roommate was also a person with whom I have become good friends. He is a Palestinian student that has been living in Sweden for about 2 years. He was very interesting to speak with and gain insight into the conflicts in the Gaza Strip and the historical background unfamiliar to many Americans.

Now relating this back to the original topic, one may ask, "how does all of this international cooperation, insight, and understanding relate to the green vs. sustainability debate?" The international context of the program allowed for examinations and discussions of sustainability under the lens of many cultures and perspectives. This helped to exclude cultural predispositions and allowed us to explore root causes of global issues. Personally, understanding The Natural Step Framework helped me to realize the differences between green actions and truly sustainable solutions.

There is a need to place more emphasis and understanding on how supposed green products and actions fit within the larger context of sustaining the global society. Through this realization, the general public will then be able to make more informed decisions that truly help move society toward a more socially and ecologically sustainable future. The Natural Step Framework was developed to provide understanding and establish a base from which the true potentials of sustainability can be achieved. However, one does not need to travel halfway around the world to understand this framework. It can be learned, practiced, and integrated locally in your community and life. For example in the Chequamegon Bay region, the sustainability movement is being advanced by the Alliance for Sustainability. The Alliance is working along side of dedicated businesses, local and tribal governments, and passionate citizens to bring positive growth in the social, environmental, and economic sectors of the region. I encourage everyone interested to dig deeper into the sustainability movement and visit the websites listed below.

For more information on The Natural Step Organization, please visit www.thenaturalstep.org.
For more information on The Blekinge Institute of Technology, please visit www.bth.se.
Further questions and comments can be sent to the author at bisleyn@hotmail.com.
For more information on sustainability in the Chequamegon Bay region, please visit www.allianceforsustainability.org.

About the author: Nick Bisley, originally from Gresham, WI, is currently an adjunct professor at Northland College. This fall he is teaching Sustainable Community Planning and Systems Thinking for Sustainable Change. These courses focus on understanding how the current socio-economic systems are structured and realizing how these systems can encompass a long-term vision that allows human society to continue to thrive. Nick also has experience studying social problems of developing nations and has completed eco-tourism development work in rural southwestern China.

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Energy Independent Communities
By Tom Wojciechowski

What uses nearly seven million kilowatt hours of electricity per year? We recently learned the local answer to this question. A Chequamegon Bay partnership has been busy collecting data on their energy use as part of a state-wide Energy Independent Communities initiative. The partnership includes Ashland and Bayfield Counties, Cities of Ashland, Washburn and Bayfield, Towns of La Pointe and Bayfield, Red Cliff Tribal Government and the Bay Area Rural Transit Authority. The Alliance for Sustainability coordinated the local initiative and UW-Extension provided statewide and local support. The 7 million kWh sum is the combined total of governmental electric usage for 2008, it does not include citizen or business uses.

The Energy Independent Communities initiative has the goal of producing 25% of Wisconsin's energy use from renewable sources by 2025. In 2007, Wisconsin spent almost $21.5 billion on energy. Wisconsin has few instate sources of conventional energy. If we can produce 25% of that demand with renewable, regional resources, we could keep most of $5.3 billion dollars circulating within the state.

In December 2008, the Office of Energy Independence announced a grant opportunity for pilot communities willing to assess their usage and develop plans for achieving the 25x25 goal. The Chequamegon Bay partnership was one of ten government entities from around the state to develop a successful proposal. The Chequamegon Bay partnership is the only multiple-member group and is viewed by the state as a rural model in this effort.

The group's work through much of the spring and summer was to collect data on all their various uses of energy. This proved much more difficult than expected. Many of the partners have multiple electric meters and some are served by both Xcel Energy and Bayfield Electric; electricity is used not only in buildings but also street lighting, water pumping for municipal systems, traffic lights, parks, etc. Tracking heating and transportation fuels presented another challenge. Through several months of effort most of the data was retrieved or compiled and was then entered into a very large spreadsheet and analyzed by the Energy Center of Wisconsin. The results were recently received by the partnership. The baseline data and the analysis enables each partner to set conservation and renewable energy goals that will enable it to reach the 25x25 goal.

Partners are now analyzing options and developing plans. Many of the government buildings operated by the partners have had energy audits completed that identify the most cost effective opportunities for conservation. Examples of common problems include old, inefficient heating systems and lighting fixtures, leaky windows, insufficient insulation and wasteful equipment. The partners have implemented conservation efforts in the past, and this initiative has helped identify future projects and has opened the door to securing project funding from the state.

Opportunities for the use of renewable energy are also being explored. The new solar hot water system for the Bayfield County Jail is an example of a renewable energy system with a good payback. The Town of La Pointe is exploring the potential for commercial wind energy production on the island. Many of the partners are interested in cooperative purchasing of bio-diesel and a few are investigating the purchase of hybrid vehicles.

At quarterly meetings of all of the pilot communities, we're learning about efforts in other parts of the state. Communities are installing LED street lights, systems that capture methane from landfills, wind generators and solar panels, as well as changing energy consumption behaviors. Each community is approaching the 25x25 goals in ways that best match their unique circumstances, just as the partners are doing in the Chequamegon Bay region. As final plans are completed and analyzed, communities will continue work toward the overall goal of saving energy and dollars, and ultimately of becoming more energy independent.

For more information contact Tom Wojciechowski, Community Resource Development Educator, at the Ashland County UW Extension (715) 682-7017 or the Alliance for Sustainability (715) 682-1189. Watch for an Energy Independent Communities Showcase event in November 2009.

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Real Life Sustainability
Hints, Tips, Stories for Living More Sustainably

Su takes a long, hot luxurious bath...and then leaves the water in the tub. Not only does it help to humidify the air in the house during heating season, but she uses the water to flush her toilet. Su says that it is "almost effortless" to keep a bucket by the tub, fill the bucket with the used bathwater and then flush the toilet with the bathwater. Out of an average full bathtub, she reports that she saves 18 or more flushes of her toilet. "Sure," she says, "it's a bit more effort than just pushing the flush lever, but it's better than just pulling the plug and watching all that water go down the drain."

Do you have a hint, tip, or story that you would like to share in our "Real Life Sustainability" column?
Email us at info@allianceforsustainability.org.
Please write "Real Life Sustainability" on the subject line of the email.  Thanks!