Greener Footprints

Rachael & her greens make the press!

Megan — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 19:03:58 +0000

Photo Credit: The Rossland Telegraph

Congratulations to board member Rachael Roussin for being recently featured in the Rossland Telegraph! When not Skyping in to board meetings, coordinating the local Rossland farmers’ market or now working as the administrator for the Rossland Council of Arts and Culture, Rachael manages to find the time to tend to her precious greens on some land she leases nearby. Her venture isn’t quite large enough to pay the mortgage yet, but nonetheless, Happy Valley Greens sells about 20 bags of greens each week at the market! Way to go, Rachael! Keep the greens growing!

Sushi session

Megan — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 14:52:48 +0000

The latest planning session - a sushi picnic in the park!

The strategic planning process continues and the board is psyched with the progress! The past few Monday evenings have been filled with rousing discussions solely dedicated to this purpose. So far, the group has collaboratively drafted a mission statement, a vision, and core values! The emerging consensus is that Greener Footprints will continue to strive towards a “waste-free BC”, using innovative and relevant strategies to reduce the use of single-use items. Next up is the baseline assessment and scope!

Re-visioning for the future

Megan — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:31:44 +0000

Michiah guides us through the planning process.

From working with one community to sixteen in what seemed like a blink of an eye, Greener Footprints grew up fast. Now, at six years old, the Society has taken a momentary pause to reflect on the past and plan for the future. Hence, the strategic planning process begins. Last evening’s meeting marked the first in the series. Using strategies from Socrates and sticky notes from Jen’s drawer, Michiah led the directors through a thoughtful discussion. By the end of the session, after a bit of wordsmithing, the board had come up with a mission statement! Stay tuned for updates over the summer as the strategic planning process goes forward.

Two new board members

Megan — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 21:51:01 +0000

Well, sort of.

Tracey Saxbyis not exactly a new face, but rather one of the original faces of Greener Footprints. After founding the Society in 2005 and then serving as its Executive Director, Tracey has been advising the board for some time. Now that she has another day job, Greener Footprints becomes one of Tracey’s favourite pastimes, and now she will finally have voting rights!

Rachael with her beloved canine

As a volunteer since 2007, Rachael Roussin isn’t exactly new to the Society either. She lives in Rossland, the Society’s original stomping ground, and she helped with the plastic bag reduction campaign there. But her familiarity with the Greener Footprints story, isn’t the only reason for her appointment to the board. From her work with Rossland REAL Food and the Columbia Basin Trust, she brings extensive professional experience to the table, ranging from communications to project development to event coordination.

There will be no “bored” at our board meetings having these gals around!

A new recruit is on deck

Megan — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 19:17:15 +0000

With an ambitious list of tasks on the radar, the society has hired a summer student to help alleviate some of the workload.

Introducing our latest recruit, Megan Myles, an undergraduate student in Squamish, BC

Megan Myles is an undergraduate student at Quest University Canada, where she just completed her second year of studies. She is particularly interested in the role of collaboration in institutional development, which is what brought her to this position. Megan comes from a small Ontario town of Lion’s Head, located within the Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Reserve. She is excited to have her first West coast summer ahead, and when she isn’t busy working, Megan can be found lying in the sun or enjoying the Squamish live music scene.

Compostable is all the rage

Megan — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 21:35:07 +0000

It’s been over a year and a half since Greener Footprints started working with Ellen and the Hills Garlic Festival, and their efforts to reduce waste carry on! According to this year’s waste and recycling coordinator, the festival was much cleaner, and nearly half of all food vendors used compostable/biodegradable service items. Now, the organizers are considering mandating the use of these items, after 92% of vendors said they would be undeterred by such a policy! Not to mention, the garlic will love all that compost!

Hello, Goodbye

Megan — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 12:36:29 +0000

With great sadness, the board says goodbye to Anna and Tyler, as they both end their terms as directors and move on to other projects. To fill these empty seats, the board welcomes Tim Abercrombie and Adrienne Petersohn, who both hail from Vancouver. Each bring their own spark to the table – Tim works as an environmental consultant, while Adrienne works in marketing and advertising. They will fill the roles of secretary and treasurer, respectively. Our AGM next week on August 30, will be Tim and Adrienne’s first meeting, and the rest of the board can’t wait to meet them!

That’s a wrap!

Megan — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 15:09:38 +0000

Our documentary is now complete! Tyler has just handed over the final edition to Greener Footprints and we can’t wait to share it with the world! Not only does the film exhibit Rossland’s story, but it also provides simple tips about how you can use fewer plastic bags (the film even follows Tracey around the grocery store) and how to launch a similar campaign in your community!

Special thanks to Tyler, Andrea, and all the volunteers who gave stellar interviews and helped out behind the scenes. Also, a special thank you to the Columbia Basin Trust for generously funding this project and continuing to support Greener Footprints.

Watch the short film here on Vimeo! Then, share it with your friends and let us know what you think!

Tickled pink

Megan — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 19:41:59 +0000

A few months back, Megan and Jen completed a report for the West Kootenay Festival Assocation’s Waste Reduction Initiative. We’re so tickled pink by this fantastic testimonial from Ellen that we just had to share it with you!

“On behalf of the West Kootenay Festivals and Events group, I would like to thank Greener Footprints for providing us with a well-researched and presented report on how we might develop and implement strategies for waste reduction. The information was thorough; the report was extremely well-written…overall this was far beyond our expectations. We have shared the report with representatives of the Interior Health Authority and Regional District of Central Kootenay, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive in terms of the depth and presentation of information. Greener Footprints has been a great working partner in this project and we hope we will have the opportunity to collaborate in the future.”

Right back at you, Ellen! Thank you so much for involving us in the project. The dedicated efforts put forth by you and the rest of your group have been so inspiring.
Also, special thanks to the Columbia Basin Trust for helping fund the cause. Can’t wait to hear how this year’s festivals go!

And take twenty-three!

Megan — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:58:52 +0000

With funding from the Columbia Basin Trust, filming is officially underway! Tyler Bradley is on board as the film’s director, and the talented Andrea Vandenboer is in charge of cinematography and editing. Watch out for them as they roam the streets of Rossland, interviewing volunteers and local business owners involved in Rossland’s reusable bag campaign. And of course, none other than Tracey Saxby snags the leading role. Let’s take a sneak peek at Tracey in her dressing room…”Green M&M’s! My rider clearly states that I only want green M&M’s!” Ahem.