What Is Sustainable Norcross?

Do you recycle, compost, xeriscape, use rain barrels? Would you like to learn how? Are you interested in organic and locally grown produce but cannot find it? Do you admire the fabulous tree canopy in Norcross? Ever wondered how to certify your yard as a Wildlife Habitat? Are you concerned about the quantity and quality of our water? Is it better to use paper or plastic bags at the grocery? What natural products are safe but effective? Ever considered sustainable alternatives for flooring, clothing and other products? Where can you discard old electronics?



Well, let’s learn together.



Starting a new organization can be a daunting task. Then an online training manual advised:



"Don’t wait - Get started without funding, expertise, or fear of adverse consequences.



Seek useful resources - Information on the web, in literature, in the community, in person, from experts.



Seek ways to scale up - Transform successful solutions into a movement of local significance.



Have fun projects – enjoy doing. Your efforts can result in important benefits, and you can have a good time while you’re at it!"




And that is exactly what a group of like minded citizens did. The organizational meeting was held June 1, 2008 and we've been busy ever since.



Learn more about us here on our blog or contact us now.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Happy Birthday!

January 28, 19 something, something did not begin like any other day. My water broke and we were on the way to the hospital for the birth of our first child. Thus started the amazing journey of parenthood - an odd mix of joy and pain, discovery, new beginnings and a whole new world of possibilities.

Today on my son’s birthday I cannot help but think of the parents, OK the mother especially, of the octuplets. Can you even imagine? Think of how many people will become an integral part of the lives of these 8 kids and their parents in the coming years. It took a team of 46, well 48 if you count the parents, just to bring them in to the world. Nannies and neighbors, teachers, soccer coaches, ballet instructors, Scout leaders, preachers, politicians, public safety personnel, bus drivers, well the list is endless of who will be needed to help raise these kids. It really takes a village but the outcome is worth it.

All this birthin’ babies stuff has me musing about how similar the experience is to bringing a new organization like Sustainable Norcross in to the world. I cannot really say when the idea was conceived, but the organizational meeting was held June 1, 2008, a birthday of sorts. 16 people were in attendance and many more sent well wishes. Since that time our baby has grown like Topsy.

In less than eight short months all these wonderful people have pitched in to give our baby a name, the sound foundation of a mission, goals and priorities, and then has quickly gotten down to business. We discovered the top two areas of interest among the participants are recycling/waste reduction and improving the local food supply. Sustainable Norcross earned a grant for the city that includes special recycling containers and a trailer to transport them to events. Volunteers successfully implemented their use at the fabulous Art Fest in October.

Sustainable Norcross devotees have actively participated in the planning of the Whistle Stop Farmers’ Market that is coming to town June 2 and each Tuesday through out the summer and early fall. There is lots of excitement about this first for Norcross and you will be hearing more about it as the time nears.

Early on we realized that we were not alone. Unbeknownst to us at the time we selected our name, other little Sustainables were being christened: Sustainable Dunwoody http://www.sustainabledunwoody.com/, Sustainable Peachtree Corners http://www.sustainablepeachtreecorners.com/ and Sustainable Alpharetta http://www.sustainablealpharetta.com/. All parented by truly amazing people.

Godmother to us all is Pattie Baker. She got the whole blog ball rolling and has molded us in to a loose family called the Sustainable North Atlanta Alliance http://sustainablenorthatlantaalliance.tumblr.com/. Thanks to my neighbor and former Peachtree Corners resident Julie Foster, we discovered triplets, Robin Fosdick, Judy Knight and Karen Ford. Well OK, they are not really birth triplets, rather co-creators of Sustainable Peachtree Corners. Incidentally Karen really is the mother of triplets. And where would we be without Logo Man, Mike Lorey, graphic artist, masters degree student, gardener, husband, oh and in his spare time Sustainable Alpharetta blogger. We have him to thank for taking our multiple goals and creating the great logo for Sustainable Norcross.

By November Sustainable Norcross Commission was officially named as a citizen advisory board to the Norcross City Council. These five folks have been busy, so stay tuned.

And I’m not even getting in to the Hopewell Healthy Living Run, Rivers Alive Stream Clean Up, Electronics Recycling Day, informational booth at Art Fest, meetings, well, you get the idea.

So I’m thinking it is time to celebrate our new beginnings and milestones with an open house. Get all our volunteers and supporters back together after our holiday break. Yeah, after a busy but satisfying fall we all needed some time off. It is time to talk over our aspirations for our baby and get our eyes back on the prize. Our toddler is ready for a Birthday Bash!

Watch the calendar at www.sustainablenorcross.org for details.

Oh, and Happy Birthday, Mike!

3 comments:

  1. Hey Connie,

    Wonderful start! Congratulations on all of the progress . . . very inspiring! Keep up the good work. The world is finally achangin' (for the better!)

    Judy

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gosh, Connie, was there ever a time when we all didn't know each other? Doesn't it feel like we've been together for years already?!

    Let's have a Sustainable North Atlanta thing soon!

    --Pattie

    ReplyDelete
  3. Gosh, Connie, was there ever a time when we all didn't know each other? Doesn't it feel as if we have known each other for years already?!

    Let's get a Sustainable North Atlanta meet-up together soon!

    --Pattie

    ReplyDelete