Cathy Tuttle writes:
Sustainable Wallingford is growing into a group of friends and neighbors who are looking ahead to the time when we will need to live more locally and care about each other more compassionately. Welcome to 2010!
Sustainable Wallingford friends and neighbors will gather this Saturday, Jan 9, from 10-noon at Mosaic Community Coffeehouse at 4401 2nd Ave NE.
When we hear the words climate change, peak oil, food security, downsizing, and local economy, we want to be part of a community that is not overwhelmed. Instead, we want to use these changes as opportunities to live more meaningful lives in our local neighborhood and develop aware, healthy lifestyles within our own community.
Where do you fit in? What do you care about? In 2010 we will use some of the ideas developed in the Transition Handbook by Rob Hopkins, and start work on our Energy Downscaling Action Plan or EDAP. An EDAP calls on the collective genius of all of us to evolve our own low energy future. We’ll spend an hour or so of our meeting this Saturday discussing how to build real food security in Wallingford. Where does our food come from now and how can we ensure adequate food supplies for our community in the future?
We have a multitude of people in Wallingford who have expertise in what we need to feed our community in the future. Let’s start talking about what we need to do now to plan for a sustainable future. (note that Sustainable NE Seattle, Sustainable Greenwood/Phinney, and many other local SCALLOPS groups are starting similar EDAP discussions).
Some of the groups in Sustainable Wallingford that are already directly involved in our food and energy future are:
- Wallingford Community Kitchens. This group is teaching more about healthy local eating every month at community meals starting up again January 22. (RSVP required)
- Growing Food Growing Community will again plant thousands of vegetable starts this year for food banks and low income residents as well as support learning about growing local food
- Sustainable Wallingford groups Friends of Fruit Trees and Wallingford City Chickens support our local food security
- Food security and emergency communication are the basis of Wallingford Community Preparedness
- Climate Action Network of Sustainable Wallingford, while not a food group, is a political action group that keeps us informed and directs our attention to climate legislation at the regional, state and federal levels.
- Likewise, Wallingford Green Blocks and Wallingford Solar are actively changing our local energy use
- Solid-Ground, Family Works, Seattle Tilth, and the Cascade Harvest Coalition are all Wallingford-based groups working on regional food security issues.
- and last but not least, Wallingford Meaningful Movies will feature a Transition-related movie every month!
What can you offer to develop a more Sustainable Wallingford?
Meet your sustainable friends and neighbors this Saturday and find out!
Cathy Tuttle (206)547-9569, www.greenWallingford.ning.com