ECOACTIONS PARTNERS: SPRING IS SPRUNG

18 Apr ECOACTIONS PARTNERS: SPRING IS SPRUNG

Springtime in the Rockies. Ah yes. We go from toasty warm, shorts and tank top weather to eight inches of snow, from dry roads to muddy ruts to icy pavement and back again in the blink of an eye.

Telluride is quiet, but certainly not dead. And this is the first time in three years that I haven’t been on a college visitation trip. It’s quite nice to hang out, though many ‘left behind’ would note there really isn’t much of a lull in the work load.

Part of that load this week is getting ready for the Ouray Agricultural Symposium coming up Friday night and all day Saturday at the 4-H Center just outside of Ouray. It’s going to be a great event – FREE to the public – and filled with great information. On Friday night the Transition Ourway – not a misspelling of the town name – group will start things off at 7:00 p.m. I’ll do a brief, hopefully inspiring, introduction about the power of dreaming, designing and creating the future we want through the Transition process. Susan Maybach of Earth, Wind and Rock Landscaping will then lead a discussion of basic design processes for capturing and constructing a thriving local goods economy. The heart of the evening will be a group brainstorming effort: What does the future we want for the region look like? And how might we take the first steps towards getting there?

On Saturday, we’ll continue with the Ouray Agricultural Symposium at the same location, featuring Tony and Barclay Daranyi of Indian Ridge Farm and Bakery and Carol Parker of the Valley Food Partnership. That event runs from 9:00 am  –  4:00 pm. and highlights past and present successes and includes a panel discussion and q & a session before lunch. (Kate’s Place will bring a catered lunch available for purchase, created with as much locally grown food as possible from the slightly less than abundant early spring harvestables.)

The afternoon will give folks an opportunity to visit roundtables and spend a few minutes on specific topics like permaculture, greenhouse growing, backyard chickens, basic gardening, and much more. We’ll have vendors and demonstration greenhouses to check out as well. The event is sponsored by the Black Canyon Regional Trust, CSU Extension Service, Ouray County Ranch History Museum, Transition Ourway, The New Community Coalition, (soon to officially be EcoActions Partners), and the Colorado Governor’s Energy Office. All this would not have been possible without the very dedicated, hardworking folks of the Ouray Agricultural Committee.

If you’re in front of your computer in the middle of the day and interested in sustainability there’s an amazing free series of live, online and tele-seminar events.“The Spring of Sustainability” is a 3-month program of virtual and live events that runs March 26 – June 22, 2012, five days a week at noon mountain time. Leaders from all walks of sustainable living – from green activism to green lifestyles – will share the latest insights and best solutions to help make home, workplace, and community sustainable. Produced by The Shift Network in partnership with the Sustainable World Coalition, “The Spring of Sustainability” is the world’s largest-ever sustainability events program. Easy on-line registration is all that is needed to begin receiving a free, daily dose of Green Insights & Inspiration.(Spring of Sustainability, 2012, http://springofsustainability.com/). I’ve been able to listen in on a few of these programs and they are well worth your time. Many relate directly with the ideas and projects happening regionally from local food to local investing to creating the future we desire. Hmm. Sounds familiar!

As mentioned above, The New Community Coalition will be changing its name this spring. We’re becoming EcoAction Partners! We feel the new name is a better reflection of what we actually do. We’re involved in ecology and economy through our work in energy, food and recycling. We encourage citizens to take action and sponsor actions ourselves. And perhaps most importantly we believe strongly in the power of partnerships. So look for more about us as the month unfolds.

If you have any questions or feedback, as always, please contact me at coordinator.tncc@gmail.com or leave a comment on this TIO thread!

Happy Spring!

And on your way out of this post, chant this with a hokey accent:

Spring is Sprung
The grass is Riz
I wonder where the Birdie is
The Bird is on the wing
But that’s absurd
The wing is on the Bird