The Pie ON Politics GREEN Challenge
Local elected officials have stepped up to meet the challenges of sustainability head on by agreeing to be a part of this unique event. Each politician who meets their fund-raising goal has agreed to take a GREEN pie in the face on Saturday, June 13th at 11 a.m. on the Ashland County Courthouse lawn. Anyone present can enter a FREE drawing to be the lucky PIE THROWER! You can visit our website to vote ($1 = 1 vote) for your Mayor, Assembly Representative, or State Senator by visiting our website at: http://www.allianceforsustainability.org/pie-on-politics
13th Annual Pie & Politics
This year, Pie & Politics at Big Top Chautauqua will feature some great new additions: FREE disc golf on Mt. Ashwabay, an exhibit fair, a local foods picnic ($15 full or $8 half portion), live music, a Pie ON Politics GREEN Challenge Video and of course, FREE PIE! Special guest Wisconsin Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton will share her views on the sustainability movement, and Keynote Speaker Phil Berry will give a presentation on "Achieving Sustainability Out of Crisis". For more information, please visit Pie & Politics. Thanks to our awesome sponsors and exhibitors!
Sustainability Movement Advances in Chequamegon Bay Region
In December last year, the Alliance for Sustainability submitted a $60,000 grant request to the Wisconsin Office of Energy Independence on behalf the Chequamegon Bay Region. The goal was for our region to become one of ten "Energy Independent Communities" in a first-of-its-kind state-wide pilot project. The following entities partnered on the grant submission: City of Ashland, City of Washburn, City of Bayfield, Town of La Pointe, Town of Bayfield, Ashland County, Bayfield County, Red Cliff Tribe and Bay Area Rural Transit. The Alliance for Sustainability is coordinating local efforts with assistance from Ashland & Bayfield Counties UW-Extension and Focus on Energy.
The exciting news of our grant award came to us in January of this year. Ever since, the Alliance--especially Assistant Director Kelly Randleman--has been busy working with our local partners to gather three years of baseline energy and fuel data which will soon be submitted to the Energy Center of Wisconsin for analysis. Your local elected officials and their staff are to be commended as their efforts on this project have been significant. Hundreds of buildings and vehicles have been inventoried with their associated energy use data logged to establish a baseline for participating communities to work from. Focus on Energy's Bobbi Rongstad has been working with Kelly to clear up a variety of energy questions in this tedious process.
This information will soon be analyzed by energy experts to help guide our local officials in drafting wise renewable energy and energy efficiency goals for our region's 25 x 25 Plan--a plan that establishes priorities for generating 25% of our energy and fuel from renewable resources by the year 2025.
Of the ten grants awarded in Wisconsin for pilot Energy Independent Communities, our regional project represents the largest number of collaborative players in the state, with the largest award to any group involved in the project. We have been informed by the State's Energy Office that the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are getting regular updates on our region's progress--and they are watching us to see what lessons can be learned here to help other rural communities in the future.
While many of the benefits of this grant project will be reaped in the future, we're already experiencing amazing benefits of our collaboration on this project together. We've been told by the Office of Energy Independence that completing the requirements of this grant will position us for preference on upcoming state and federal implementation grants. This month, we're investigating the possibility of submitting joint grant applications ($225,000 per municipality) to implement energy efficiency initiatives already identified as "low hanging fruit" priorities to save money in our communities. This Energy Independent Pilot Communities grant "homework" will be key in helping our region win its next energy grants.
Stand by for more info on this exciting project--we'll soon be adding a special page on our website about our shared progress. Later this summer and fall, you'll have a chance to provide input on the draft 25 x 25 Plan priorities. And please don't forget to thank your public officials for the hard work it takes to be leaders on this effort.
Green Team Network of Early Adopters Organizes for Next Steps
Green Teams forge new territory for sustainability and teach others along the way. Thanks to a generous 3-year grant from the Otto Bremer Foundation, the Green Team Network of Early Adopters has set a strong course for its third year. The Green Team Network is a collaboration of teams from 18 business, government, and community organizations in our region. They continue to build their knowledge and skills while they advance sustainability goals in their respective organizations. There is great interest this year in mapping their waste streams to see where there might be opportunities for one organization's waste to become another's resource.
Exciting plans are also being developed this year to determine the most efficient and effective way to "grow" the next generation of Green Teams. Since much has been learned over the past 2+ years, the Green Team Network is discussing ways to share stories of success and challenge so that others may benefit. The Alliance's "best, highest role" in supporting the Green Team Network is also being clarified as we consider possible development of the Alliance website to serve as a clearinghouse that centralizes Green Team resource-sharing, training, and additional opportunities that can continue to build "green" synergies. More information will soon be posted on our website.
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.
Message from the Chair of AFS, Irene Blakely
I have only been part of the Alliance for Sustainability for four years, since 2004, when I was first elected Mayor of Washburn and I have learned so much about how the Alliance came to be the amazing organization it is. What impresses me is the continuing story of individual contributions of time and energy that people have been making for the past 14 years. You know, Torbjorn Lahti, the father of the eco-municipality movement in Sweden, called those who were passionate about the work of sustainable community development, "firesouls." It is such an apt term for those who have worked so hard to bring us to this crucial time in the life of the Alliance.
Our Alliance for Sustainability is at a tipping point, exciting and challenging at the same time. We have been building on a tradition of awareness raising, education, and outreach, so that now we are in a position to offer real leadership in facilitating sustainable community development throughout the Chequamegon Bay. The changes in the Alliance role began when communities in the Chequamegon Bay began to take resolutions to become eco-municipalities, committing to make governmental decisions based upon The Natural Step. Now Washburn, Ashland, Bayfield, Town of Bayfield and La Pointe have joined the eco-municipality network, and are some of the first in Wisconsin and the Nation to do so. The Alliance has been facilitating sustainability in these communities, as well as fostering it in others.
I have been making presentations in LaCrosse, Stevens Point, Monona, Marshfield, Madison, Fond du Lac, Lac Courte Oreilles, and River Falls about the work the Alliance is doing. I've also spoken in Red Wing, MN, and Houghton and Hancock, MI. Everywhere I go they are looking to us to share our experiences and our advice, especially about our eco-municipalities. And I can tell you that sustainability organizations see us as the natural leaders in the sustainability movement. So do state officials. I expressed to the Director of the Office of Energy Independence that I envisioned the Alliance for Sustainability as THE rural model for sustainable community development for the State. The response was, "I think you already are." It is a serious challenge to keep working on our own vision, while inspiring others to begin theirs.
In order to meet this challenge, the Alliance Board of Directors has been working on building an organizational structure that will sustain all the good work that we are capable of doing. The new "infrastructure," if you will, is based upon sound principles for success. In our case, the Alliance steering committee has evolved into a true governing board, with members whose knowledge, skills, and experience ensure that we function at our best as an organization. We have hired our first Executive Director, Patty Dreier, after a search that brought us candidates from around the world. Her leadership and experience in business, government, and community sectors is already moving us forward. There is a new advisory board on the horizon that will represent local government, relevant agencies and institutions, and key participants in the sustainability movement. They will help us to have an accurate perspective on the needs of the communities and goals of the Alliance. And in order to move forward, we are working on a dynamic strategic plan that will chart the course for our future. Six new committees bring us full circle by implementing the programs that we envision. Things are happening fast--as they must.
There is so much to do, and we are in such a great position to get it done. So, can I ask for your help? I'd like to invite you to join me for a cup of coffee at Chequamegon Book and Coffee in Washburn (2 E. Bayfield St.) on Monday, June 15, 10 a.m. to talk more about the possibilities we have, and to gather input on strategic directions we can take to become THE rural model for the Nation. We are the "firesouls"--so let's make history together.
Strategic Steps for Alliance
To the credit of so many across all sectors in the Chequamegon Bay Region, the Alliance for Sustainability has grown exponentially over the last five years--in its volunteer base, in its "organization" as it has become more formalized, and in the scope of sustainability-related support and coordination services provided to an ever widening circle of partners. State, national, and global trends have generated increased interest and opportunity. The Alliance sees this as a prime time to prepare for the future. Strategic planning efforts are now underway to determine the best ways forward in these amazing times as we prepare for our next generation of leadership in the sustainability movement. Watch for more info and opportunities for your input!
Volunteer Spotlight
"I am proud to have been part of the Alliance when it was growing from an incredible grassroots organization to a larger non-profit with staff, a growing budget and new programs that will have not only real effect on the Chequamegon Bay area but the entire state as well as the world."
--David Eades
David Eades was born in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. His undergraduate work at UW-Madison was in engineering with particular interest in and hope of doing research in fusion technology in nuclear engineering. That vision was to change when new interests were ignited after he took a job in college as a research assistant studying forest genetics. David switched career paths to Biological Aspects of Environmental Conservation so he could focus on forestry and higher level genetics (Madison did not offer an undergraduate degree in genetics at that time). As part of his graduate curriculum, David traveled to Sweden for the summer of 1990 to prepare for a PhD in forestry genetics where he worked on an educational project in Stockholm called Natures House as well as a project that focused on using willow trees as a source of renewable fuel.
When some personal issues took him out of college, David was hired at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation in the Technical Services division as a "photologger." This job was designed to save the DOT money by taking digital images of highway systems so crews and engineers could do preliminary roadwork in the office by viewing the images on a computer using digital maps and other data collected instead of sending people into the field. From then on, David's work has centered on developing, using, and promoting technologies to benefit people and the earth. One example included working for a startup business in the 1990's giving people access to digital images and maps--a relatively new concept on the relatively new internet. The point was to give people access to viewing real estate without driving out to see it. This saved people money but also reduced environmental impacts by letting people view homes via the internet instead of driving to a house they did not want when they saw it. Today, David uses his technology expertise for the Bayfield Area Chamber of Commerce to help promote tourism and communications. He chairs the Alliance for Sustainability's Communications Committee.
How did David get to Ashland? After getting married to his wife, Wendy, in 2001, the new couple spoke of moving back 'north' to raise a family. When a job for Wendy came up in 2003 at Northland College in Ashland, they decided to do just that. David's best friends had already moved here as well as Wendy's...so the move seemed like the correct one even though they initially wondered, why Ashland? A year and a half later, their daughter Xan was born and the move to Ashland has been the best move David and Wendy have ever made.
Within months of moving to Ashland, David learned of the Alliance through his friends who were involved in the organization and he says he "knew instantly" that it was something that he wanted to get involved in. Once life settled down with a new house, new child and new job, David started attending meetings of the Alliance for a year before he was elected to fill a vacancy on the Board of Directors. He has been happily on the Board ever since.
Real Life Sustainability
James and his family turn off their breakers in their electrical box at home (except the refrigerator's breaker) every Sunday for a few hours. This new "tradition" has created family time of a different nature. They now spend quality family time together in ways that don't depend on electricity. This energy conservation strategy has inspired creativity in family time, and resulted in great memories and reduced energy costs at home!
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