St. Paul and Minneapolis neighborhood volunteers are invited to attend the Neighborhood Environmental Sustainability Conference Saturday, January, 26, 2002, 8am to 1pm, at the First Unitarian Society, 900 Mount Curve Boulevard, Minneapolis MN
Registration The event is free and open to the public. Register to attend the workshop on line at www.center4neighborhoods.org or by calling the Center for Neighborhoods at 612-339-3480 Agenda 8:00am registration and refreshments 8:30am Welcome and Overview by Mayors R.T. Rybak and Randy Kelly and a local sustainability expert. 9:00am Concurrent Topic Sessions Safe, healthy and efficient buildings- Transportation Alternatives Watershed Protection 10:45 am Concurrent Topic Sessions Working for Win/Wins with Industries Gardening/ Urban Forestry/ Urban Agriculture/ Open Space Solid Waste Reduction/ Recylcing 12:15- Lunch - Volunteers will be encouraged to sit in tables in clusters of adjacent neighborhoods to talk about the projects they would like to pursue together. Over the past few years there has been a dramatic increase in activity to address environmental quality at the neighborhood scale. This conference will highlight creative efforts and partnerships in St. Paul and Minneapolis that have proven effective. Each case study will show how neighborhood leaders are creating win/win outcomes for neighborhood health, livability, economic vitality and affordability. Purpose- To link neighborhoods with environmental funders and resource organizations that can support neighborhood volunteers and staff to plan and implement projects to improve neighborhood environmental sustainability. Topics- The Saturday morning conference will offer six workshop topics: Watershed Protection- watershed education and clean ups, non-point source prevention, rainwater gardens, vegetative buffers, stream monitoring, creek day-lighting, creative storm water management, open space acquisition and reclaiming the Mississippi riverfront. Community Gardening, Urban Agriculture and Forestry - Community gardening, garden permanence, composting and youth entrepreneurship. Urban forestry, native landscaping, boulevard planting and habitat restoration. Preservation of open space and development of green corridors. Farmer's markets and community-supported agriculture. Solid Waste Reduction/ Recycling- education efforts to reduce solid and toxic waste production from homes, yards and businesses, materials re-use and recycling, composting, toxic waste reduction education, toxic and hazardous waste collection, junk-mail abatement, clean sweeps and working toward zero waste. Transportation Alternatives - increasing options and access, traffic calming, pedestrian and transit-oriented development, bikeway development, safe routes to school, encouragement of public transit, location-specific mortgages, integrated parking demand management, monitoring urban air quality. Safe, healthy and efficient buildings- integrating energy efficient design into new construction and rehab of residential, commercial and public buildings. Materials reuse, expanding the scope of home-owner education and rehab loan programs. Reduction of household environmental hazards including lead, mold & radon. Use of geothermal, solar and other locally-produced energy. Working for Win/Wins with Industries- Eco-industrial development and shrinking industrial "footprints." Developing good neighbor agreements to reduce air, noise and visual pollution. Supporting local businesses to save money by reducing energy and material costs. Monitoring urban air quality. Each workshop will feature neighborhood case studies that depict successful project ideas, and information by environmental resource groups and funders that are available to support neighborhood efforts. Participants will also receive resource binders containing information, contacts and guidelines for how to move forward with their own projects. Resource Groups that will be participating in the workshop as co-sponsors include the Alliance for Sustainability, Capitol City Traffic Calming Alliance, Center for Energy & the Environment, Community Design Center of Minnesota, Design Center for American Urban Landscape (CALA, U of M), Green Institute, First Unitarian Society Environment Committee, Farm in the City, Friends of the Mississippi River, Great River Earth Institute, Greater Metropolitan Housing Corporation, Minneapolis Committee on the Urban Environment, Minneapolis and St. Paul Park and Recreation Boards, MN Pedestrian and Bike Alliance, MN Environmental Partnership, Saint Paul Neighborhood Energy Consortium, Sierra Club, MN Chapter, Sustainable Resources Center, Transit for Livable Communities, Trust for Public Land, and the Youth Farm and Market Project. Neighborhoods that will be making presentations during workshops- Macalester-Groveland, St. Anthony Park, Greening the Great River, Mississippi Corridor Neighborhood Coalition, Harrison, Holland, Longfellow, Nokomis East, Seward, Southeast Como, Standish Erickson, and other neighborhoods. Environmental Funders who will be attending and sharing their application guidelines include- The Bush and McKnight Foundations, Reliant Energy, Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board, Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, Metropolitan Council, the MN Office of Environmental Assistance and the Metropolitan Council. Written Materials - to be provided for conference participants include a List of participating neighborhoods with contact information for networking and a Neighborhood Environmental Tool Kit/ Resource Guide- organized under 6 topic areas. Each section will include background information/ principles, resource organizations, listing of current projects in Twin Cities neighborhoods, useful web sites and metro, listing of funders for the topic and project planning templates. Directions & Parking (Could a map be made using the leadership breakfast map as a guide?) The First Unitarian Society, is located at 900 Mount Curve Boulevard, directly South of the Walker Art Center, one block North of the Hennepin Avenue exit from Highway 94. From Hennepin Avenue go West one block on Douglas Avenue (for on-street parking), or West one block on Groveland (for the Parking lot above the Walker Art Center.) Event Sponsors This conference is made possible by the generous support of Reliant Energy, Metro Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board, Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, Minneapolis Solid Waste, St. Paul Public Works and Hennepin County Environmental Services. These organizations will also be participating in the conference as resource groups. Founded in 1994, the Center for Neighborhoods is an organization that connects citizens, neighborhoods and community groups, allied organizations and government officials to forge partnerships for progress. _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
