Greening our neighborhoods

On a spring-like Saturday in early March, nearly 500 volunteers from across the city and beyond converged on the Augsburg College campus to learn about ways their communities can respond to environmental issues such as global warming.

The Neighborhood Sustainability Conference featured a number of workshops, presentations and exhibits that were geared around energy, transportation, greening, watersheds, waste reduction and locally-produced food.

Sean Gosiewski, an organizer from the Alliance for Sustainability, which coordinated the all-day event, said he was pleased with the turnout. The purpose of the conference, he said, was to “help communities become more resilient and thrive in the face of climate change,” through grassroots community organizing.

He and other presenters talked about achieving that by way of community-wide sustainability plans; energy conservation and renewable energy; green buildings, businesses and careers; community gardening and greening; watershed restoration and other initiatives.

To take it a step further, a Local Government Sustainability Workshop is slated for April 16 at the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center for Community Building in St. Paul (for more information or to register, visit www.afors.org). That workshop will focus on how government leaders can look to city ordinances to advance sustainability, according to Gosiewski.

All in all, he deemed the recent conference a success; he hopes it continues to motivate people to “get out of their cars and be more reliant on each other, while also helping the environment,” he said, citing momentum especially in community gardens, water quality, walking and biking, energy conservation and renewable energy.

Throughout the various sessions, community members networked, developed action plans for all kinds of projects and learned about resources, including funding opportunities. Among the highlights, Mayor R.T. Rybak, along with St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin, delivered keynote speeches in the morning, about “connecting city and citizen efforts for sustainable communities.”

Climate change grants

The 20-plus workshops ran the gamut from transit-oriented development to the psychology of sustainability. Gayle Prest, manager of environmental services for the City of Minneapolis sustainability initiatives, led a workshop in the afternoon that promoted climate change grants.

For the second year in a row, the city is offering $1,500–$10,000 climate grants, available to various community organizations, as a way to reduce its carbon footprint. Deadlines for the two types of micro-grants are March 20 and 24. For more information on the program and other city initiatives, check out the city’s website. Hennepin County also has a website devoted to environmental issues and practices.

The city’s climate change program acknowledges that, “Global warming is a real issue and we need to do something,” said Prest, pointing to its accomplishments last year, including the leveraging of hundreds of volunteer hours and services, according to the city’s website.

In the end, over 2,500 businesses and residents in Minneapolis agreed to slash $1.4 million in energy costs and 20 million pounds of carbon emissions each year, according to city information.

Some representatives of the 25 groups that received grants last year (which included the Longfellow and Seward neighborhood associations) were on-hand during Prest’s talk, providing valuable feedback for audience members — one of the biggest advantages of the conference. “Neighbors got to talk about what worked and what didn’t,” Prest said.

For green inspiration, look to nature

A couple other workshop presenters stressed a more philosophical approach to solving environmental problems. Thinking along sustainable lines is partly psychological, according to Christina Manning, a visiting assistant professor in the area of environmental psychology from Macalester College, and Elise Amel, an industrial/organization psychologist from the University of St. Thomas.

The two led an afternoon workshop called “Are we seeing green? Tips from psychology to foster sustainability.”

“Many people who care about the environment don’t think of themselves as environmentalists,” said Manning. One way she suggests inspiring change is by encouraging people to interact with nature. In general, “We’ve stopped using our senses,” Manning said. “Our mental health is better when we have contact with nature.”

That concept sunk in during the afternoon’s project planning session. Carol Greenwood, a Seward resident who was part of Southeast Minneapolis group brainstorming discussion, said the block clubs in her neighborhood are “looking at doing monthly projects, trying to improve water infiltration, vegetation in yards and rain gardens.”

Another idea is to identify affordable ways to insulate and weatherize homes, she said, while clothing drives, buckthorn removal, mini farmers’ markets, bike paths, composting and many more ideas were discussed. Those neighborhood plan ideas will soon be posted at the Sustainable Communities Action Network website, where people can register for whichever community projects they would like to undertake, while staying in communication with each other.

Clyde Cutting, a Prospect Park resident who is interested in getting youth involved in habitat restoration along the Mississippi River, said he left armed with plenty of pointers, as well as contacts to turn to for advice. “It’s always inspiring to talk to and meet people who share your values and goals,” he said.