Green and Resilient Neighborhood Initiative

If you would like to know how to make your home, street and neighborhood more green, resilient and prepared, you will want to know about the G and R Neighborhood Initiative.

The Green and Resilient Neighborhood Initiative is a series of presentations, site tours, skill share and work parties.  Its all free and takes place in the River Road Neighborhood this summer.

Presentations will touch on earthquakes with overviews of CERT Training, Map Your Neighborhood, Neighborhood Watch and creating Green and Resilient Neighborhoods. The presentations will explain how these programs can help neighbors meet and work together.

The site tours will feature edible landscaping, rain water catchment, solar design, front yard gardens, examples of neighborhood collaboration and much more.  The skill shares will include food storage, permaculture, edible landscaping and more.

The first presentation is June 13, 7 PM at the River Road Rec Center, 1400 Lake Drive. Josh Bruce, Director of the Oregon Partnership for Disaster Resilience will explain the implications of the overdue Cascadia Earthquake.

For more Green and Resilient Initiative information, please link to www.suburbanpermaculture.org or like us at https://www.facebook.com/Green-and-Resilient-Neighborhood-Initiative-118633518687247/

Community E-Waste Recycling Drive

Help your neighborhood schools keep electronics out of the landfill.

Southeast Neighbors

The following schools are participating in an E-Waste competition with the support of NextStep and Partners for Sustainable Schools. From Friday, April 22 through Friday, April 29, each school will collect as many unwanted electronics from the community as they can. Results will be weighed at the end of the month and the school who collects the most wins. Be part of the re-use/recycle solution this Earth Day and help these schools keep electronics out of the landfill.

Adams
Bertha Holt
Camas Ridge Elementary
Corridor Elementary
Edgewood Community Elementary
Edison
Guy Lee
Irving
McCornack
Ridgeline Montessori Public Charter
Roosevelt Middle
The Village School
Yujin Gakuen

Recyclable items include toys, television sets, computer monitors and CPUs (desktop computer towers), flat screen monitors, printers, computer cables, cell phone and stereo equipment, slow cookers, hair dryers, phone chargers, blenders…everything from coffee makers and toasters…anything that has a cord or takes batteries! Light…

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City of Eugene Fellowship Opportunity: Urban Sustainability

Southeast Neighbors

The City of Eugene was selected as 1 of 7 cities to host a 12 week paid summer fellowship position in partnership with the Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN). The Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) is a peer-to-peer network of local government professionals from cities across the United States and Canada dedicated to creating a healthier environment, economic prosperity, and increased social equity.

The recipient of the fellowship will focus on researching and assessing diversity, equity and inclusion in community emergency preparedness and climate resilience planning efforts in Eugene. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through April 30th, 2016. All applicants will be notified of selection decisions. Applications should be sent to Mia Arter of USDN at miaarter@usdn.org . You can find more information and the application at  http://usdn.org/public/page/82/Employment-Opportunities.

If you have questions about the City of Eugene fellowship, please contact Rene Kane at 541-682-6243 or rene.c.kane@ci.eugene.or.us…

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Creating Green and Resilient Homes, Neighborhoods, Economy and Culture

The presentations will be the third Monday of the month at the River Road Annex, 1055 River Road, a block north of Goodwill on March 21, April 18, May 16, June 20.

Southeast Neighbors

by Jan Spencer

You are invited to attend a four part series of presentations and site tour – “Creating Green and Resilient Homes, Neighborhoods, Economy and Culture.” The presentations will be the third Monday of the month at the River Road Annex, 1055 River Road, a block north of Goodwill on March 21, April 18, May 16, June 20.

Jan has been an advocate of economic and culture transformation for years. The presentations will be a product of sixteen years transforming his own suburban property, ten years on the board of his neighborhood association, a Permaculture design course, organizing many events, speaking tours, travel and taking the time to assess the human condition.

The series is far more about taking action than explaining the challenges and trends. A core ideal of the presentations is to show and tell allies, assets, opportunities and actions that already exist – our homes, friends, neighbors…

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Northwest Green Neighborhood Summit

The Green Neighborhood Summit can be a break through event for greening homes, neighborhoods, communities and the entire Northwest.

The GNS will be a unique opportunity for eco active neighborhood leaders to meet, greet and compare notes. The Summit will include site tours to see impressive examples of transformed suburban properties that feature grass to garden, edible landscaping, water catchment, solar design, reclaiming automobile space and green building.  Tours will also visit public locations where city programs have empowered citizen initiatives leading to safer, healthier and more resilient communities. We will also visit two locations that have many characteristics of Block Planning.

We want people to say “Wow! We have the tools to do that here!  Let’s get started!”

Imagine a new concept called “green preparedness.”  Thats producing more food, water, energy and social cohesion at home and throughout the communty.  Then imagine if NAs, Neighborhood Watch, CERT, emergency preparedness programs, Mapping your Neighborhood and other community players came together to promote and teach those ideas in a syncronized way.  The result would be a whole new “green” approach to benefit public safety, public health and more resilient communities.

The potentials are enormous for greening our homes, cities and the entire region. There are more assets and allies for greening our communities, already in place, than most people are aware of. Neighborhood associations are perfectly placed to take the lead.

I was on the board of my NA for ten years and I know there is a huge amount of potential to attract more people into “civic culture” when NAs expand their agendas into the realms of local food, water catchment, solar energy, front yard gardens and green preparedness. Turning these ideas into reality would also create many many new jobs in a “repair” economy.

An important outcome of the Summit can be the beginnings of a Northwest “green neighborhood network” that can facilitate the sharing of “how to experience.”

The green neighborhood network can also help set up additional occasions such as conference calls, skype or google hangouts, and in person meetings.  Perhaps another Summit could be hosted by a city or ambitious Neighborhood Association.  Please contact me for more info. I can help.

The Summit is a companion to the Northwest Permaculture Convergence. The Convergence alternates each year between Oregon and Washington. This is the first time a Convergence has been hosted in a suburban neighborhood. The Convergence features panels, presentations, plenary sessions and a free to the public educational Expo.

Permaculture is a design system for taking care of human needs in ways that are friendly to people and planet. Permaculture principles can be applied at any scale from home to neighborhood and region.  Permaculture can be applied to any topic of interest including food production, economics, education, social cohesion and more.

Please fill out the survey so you can help move these ideas forward,  Thanks!

Please have a look at the rest of the Convergence website.

Please check out the Participate page and the Stories page. These are specific to the Green Neighborhood Summit.

Here is more information about Block Planning