Happy change of seasons!

With the abrupt change in weather this past weekend, we start to adjust by changing our menus, our dress, and our daily routines.  We also start looking for activities that help adjust to the cooler weather which will bring us indoors more and more as the days go by.  See below for interesting sustainability activities.


Upcoming Events:




Slow Money Webinar: (This week!)

The next topic in the Slow Money webinar series is: Local Investment Clubs and will be open to the public at noon on Tuesday, September 6 in room 110 at the Trainer Natural Resources Bldg. on the Stevens Point university campus. 

The speakers, Eleanor Kinney and Christopher Hallweaver, founders of the No Small Potatoes Investment Club, will describe how to establish similar investment clubs in communities around the United States.

The No Small Potatoes Investment Club is a group pooling funds and making micro-loans to farmers and food businesses in Maine since the fall of 2010. The club provides working capital in the form of low-interest loans, and meets three times a year to evaluate loan applications. Initially, the club made individual self-directed loans, but since April of this year has been pooling funds and making loans as a group. Loans thus far have ranged from $2000 to $15,000, with $5000 as the investment commitment to join the club. Loan recipients have included organic vegetable growers, a composter, a butcher, and tofu and goat cheese producers.  Though this investment club is focused on micro-loans to producers and processors of sustainably grown food, the model is replicable in many other sectors of a local economy.

Call Mary at 715-592-4051 with questions or for more information.








Next film presentation:
Thursday, September 15  7:00 pm at the Midwest Renewable Energy Association in Custer.

No Impact Man, a Sundance-selected film, is a breezy, funny and informative reality show/documentary that chronicles the Beavan family’s adventures as they go “off the grid” for one year to reduce their negative impact on the environment. 
Parents are advised that strong language is used throughout the film.

In their effort to reduce their carbon (emissions) footprint, Colin Beavan and his family change their lives to generate no trash, to buy nothing new, to bicycle and walk as their primary means of transportation, to only eat food grown within 250 miles of NYC (no coffee) and to turn off the electricity (no TV, refrigerator or air-conditioning) for one year.  In the end, Beavan and his family realize their combined effort to reduce their negative impact on the environment has led to a more content and more connected life.  Beavan’s reflections over the year lead him to conclude that the most important lesson he learns is the value of working together with others, in community, to make this a better world.

The film is co-sponsored by Sustainable Stockton and the Midwest Renewable Energy Association.  Call Mary with questions at 715-592-4051.




News from Central Wisconsin Sustainability:
Please use the link below to learn about sustainability-related news in central Wisconsin for August and September:  (copy and paste the address below)
http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/landcenter/cweco-news/Sust_News_AugSept11.pdf.pdf

Highlights include:
•    description of a pilot-project, house-hold focused, energy-saving program implemented in Plover and only two other communities across the state.  It’s apparently possible for people in Plover to still enroll in parts of the program    
•    news of the newly mobilized hybrid public buses in Stevens Point               
•    a brief description of the “small house movement” that includes a profile of a woman living in Nelsonville who intentionally built a 750 square foot house designed to reduce carbon emissions

There are many other listings of local sustainability initiatives in the Sustainability Newsletter wrapping up with news of local events with a sustainability focus including book discussion groups, eco-themed documentary film showings, events such as the Moving Planet Expo on September 24th, Climate Change Impact workshops, local farm tours, garden walks and much more.



Events Sustainable Stockton would like to highlight:


September 6, 5:30 pm Vegetable Walk: (This week!)
Mary Bratz/Dick Stephens, 8108 County Road GG, Almond, 54909

Directions: From Plover: Travel east on Hwy 54. Turn right/south on County Road EE. Turn left/east on County Road GG and drive ¼ mile to curve in road to garden on left. From Amherst: Travel south on County Road A. Turn right/west on County Road GG 3 miles to curve in road to garden on right.

Visit this conventional organic garden on an old farmstead. This is our 27th year growing a 1/6th acre vegetable garden surrounded by a perennial rock garden on one side and a first-year prairie garden on another side. Rhubarb and winter onions from the old farmstead, asparagus, strawberries, blueberries, currents and apple trees added. Issues of topography, deer, rabbits and voles. Built-in root cellar in the house basement. Sponsored by Portage County UW-Extension and Central Rivers Farmshed.


September 10, 10am Local Farm Tour:
Hidden Creek CSA, Dan Scott 715.387.1161 2406 E. 21st Street, Marshfield

In the spring of 2010, Opportunity Development Center (ODC) in Marshfield developed a one quarter acre garden on a parcel of land that includes a variety of fruits and vegetables. Workers at ODC were and continue to be involved in all aspects of operation including planting, weeding, harvesting and packaging the produce. The garden provides training and job opportunities for people within the facility who are interested in learning more about healthy lifestyles and gardening. In its second year it has sold out its CSA shares.


September 24, noon Local Farm Tour and Harvest Party:
Whitefeather Organics, Tony Whitefeather715.252.2051 2239 Sky View Road, Custer

Whitefeather Organics has a holistic approach to agriculture. Their mission is to be a local, healthy, and sustainable option for the community, offering a connection to the food experience. They offer summer and winter vegetable shares, pasture raised chickens and turkeys. They also plant perennials and grow many types of specialty mushrooms. This tour will include field walks as well as a potluck meal, please bring a dish to share. Many fun farm games for the family like sack races, bobbing for apples, apple cider pressing and much more!



WCEE BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:
Looking for a good read? Don’t forget to visit your local libraries. The Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education (WCEE) recommends the following titles:

Children’s Book
An Egg Is Quiet by Dianna Aston and Sylvia Long (2006) This is a great children’s book with wonderful illustrations of all types of eggs that come in different colors and sizes. Learn about the variations in eggs and the animals that lay them. 

Youth Book
The Green Hour: A Daily Dose of Nature for Happier, Healthier, Smarter Kids by Todd Christopher (2010) Written by the creator of the National Wildlife Federation’s greenhour.org, this book is written for teachers and parents to aid them with ideas of activities and information to take kids outdoors each day for one hour. 

Adult Book
A Return to Common Sense by John Ikerd (2007) After reading a brief description of the state of the United States, Ikerd offers us a sense of hope for a better future. He documents his personal transformation from being a “bottom-line” economist to seeing the world a whole new way. He offers a vision, not a dream or utopia, of a better world through practical and common sense ideas.

These books are available for check out at the Wisconsin Environmental Education Resources Library in room 403 LRC, UW-Stevens Point