editor@yourmonthlypaper.com
Lafayette Today ~ January 2014 - Page 25
October 2014 Sustainable Lafayette’s Vision Benefits All
Serving the Lafayette Community
By Fran Miller
Imagine a community with pollution-free air. Imagine this same community enjoying toxic-free parks and schools, very little garbage, and an abundance of fresh, organic, locally grown foods. A local group is not only imagining such a community, but they are also working diligently towards making this sort of community a reality. Sustainable Lafayette is a grassroots non-profit organization working to transform Lafayette into a highly sustainable community that enhances the quality of life for current and future residents. The group’s mission is to provide the
Troop 204 Scouts—John Shepherd, Jackson Reilly, Jared Steuber, Matt Shepherd, Isaac Evans, Arlo Evans, Quinn Elle and Scoutmaster Tom Steuber recently visited the historic Boy Scout cabin to view the renovation work in progress.
Historic Boy Scout Troop 204 Cabin in Lafayette Undergoes Renovations Sustainable Lafayette's 2014 board, left to right, Tina Goodfriend, John Eaton (front), Steve Richard, Erika Pringsheim- Moore, Linda Riebel (front), Nanette Heffernan, Alison Hill, Kim Overaa, Bart Carr, and Brad Crane.
community with the information, inspiration, tools, and assistance to facilitate the adoption of sustainable practices. As models and mentors, Sustainable Lafayette board members and volunteers work collaboratively and constructively with the community to build on current local environmental successes. “Sustainable” means to live in a way that can be continued indefinitely without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. This requires a stable relationship between everyday human activities and the natural world – a relationship which in no way diminishes the prospects for future generations to enjoy a quality of life equal to the current generation’s. This requires that people take no more from the environment than can be replenished, and give no more than it can absorb. In other words, it means adopting lifestyles that respect and work within the earth’s natural limits and maintain the health of the eco-system that all depend upon. Steve Richard and Bart Karr partnered in 2007 to create Sustainable Lafayette. Both were inspired by the film An Inconvenient Truth, which became the impetus for both of them making positive environmental changes in their own homes and in their own lives. The two friends found each other’s stories inspiring, and they sought to create a venue where they might share environmentally inspiring information throughout the entire community. What started as a small website featuring sustainability success stories (i.e. biking instead of driving, reducing blue bin garbage, using aluminum water bottles instead of purchased plastic) has flourished into a wide array of initiatives featuring educational programs, school greening plans, waste diversion, green transportation, sustainable and local foods, inspirational events, and more. Richard
Local Postal Customer
The log cabin at the corner of School Street and First Street in Lafayette has been home to the Lafayette Boy Scout Troop 204 for over 66 years of the Troop’s 84-year-old history. In 1948, funds were donated in memory of Morris Hunt Slater by his sister to the Troop to build a cabin as a place for the Troop to meet, plan, and grow. And that is precisely what Troop 204 has been doing. The rustic cabin has been a symbol and integral part of Troop life.
See Cabin continued on page 8
Chrysanthemums Set to Take Center Stage at the Gardens at Heather Farm By Jody Morgan
Aspiring to upstage the neighboring roses with a performance unlike any previously witnessed by the majority of area garden enthusiasts, chrysanthemums newly installed at the Gardens at Heather Steve Dawkins is committed to replicating this chrysanthemum Farm (GHF) are display in his own garden for the community to enjoy at GHF. getting set to open. (Photo courtesy of Steve Dawkins) Thanks to Walnut Creek resident Steve Dawkins’s generous gift of specimen plants, expertise, time and labor, visitors will see many of the thirteen classifications recognized Volume VIII - Number 10 3000F Danville Blvd #117 See Sustain continued on page 18 by the National Chrysanthemum Alamo, CA 94507 Society blooming side-by-side. Telephone (925) 405-6397 Typically peaking toward the end PRSRT STD Fax (925) 406-0547 U.S. Postage of October, these dramatically editor@yourmonthlypaper.com PAID distinctive mums often take up to Alisa Corstorphine ~ Publisher Permit 21 30 days to open completely from The opinions expressed herein belong to the writers, and Lafayette, CA the time their buds begin to dis- do not necessarily reflect that of Lafayette Today. Lafayette Today is not responsible for the content of any of the adECRWSS vertising herein, nor does publication imply endorsement.
See GHF cont. on page 20