Sustainable Fairfax

Bringing people together to support a vital environment and thriving community

Education

2010 Accomplishments!

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Each year we are profoundly happy to find what dedicated citizens are capable of doing in one small town.

Education: Sustainable Fairfax Community held 25 Education Events in 2010

  • Back to Basics: (held at the Center)
  • Make Your Mom a Worm bin
  • Non-toxic cleaners
  • Herbal workshop
  • Seed saving/sharing
  • Cultivating Culture with Crafts
  • Book signing with Andres Edwards and Annie Spiegelman
  • Hands on Workshops and Bay Friendly Classes (in collaboration with MMWD held at the Center)
  • Gardening Basics, From the Ground Up, Go Native, Rain Garden installation and Cover Your Grass workshop at Town Hall

Sustainability Series:· Zero waste, Toxins, Food, Advocacy

Field trips and outings:

  • Regenerative Design Institute-Bolinas
  • Indian Valley College Farm-Novato
  • Sense of Place walk-Fairfax
  • Wildflower Walk
  • Fairfax Summer Film Festival with Permaculture Marin (held at Drake High Little Theatre)
  • Sea to Summit
  • A Simple Question
  • Dirt: the Movie
  • A Lot in Common
  • Garbage Dreams

Fair Events:· Spring Festival, Green Halloween, Holiday Craft FairOur Community Education Chair Rachel DeMicco worked so hard to bring these events to the community.

Advocacy:

  • Final push and celebration on Marin Clean Energy and promotion of Deep Green
  • Voter Education on Prop16, 23, and Measure S/T
  • Toxin flyer
  • LBAM spray campaign
  • Methyl Iodide signature collecting
  • Collaborated with EarthJustice over cleaning labels transparency of ingredients
  • Worked with MOMAS on Pesticide ordinance· County Wide Plastic Bag Ban· Collaboration with Environmental Forum of Marin
  • Provided education and links on Smart Meters
  • Our President Stacy Weinberg Dieve has been taking on Toxins in the community with great collaborations and education.
  • Projects Chair Renee Goddard has continued to be a loud voice in the county to eliminate plastic waste.

Water project:

  • Developed satellite MMWD site by staffing our Center 5 days/wk
  • Distributed surveys to nearly every business and over 600 residences
  • Hosted Blue Wednesdays at the Farmer’s Markets
  • Water Film in our Summer Film Festival
  • Bay Friendly Garden classes, Rain Garden and Cover your Grass workshop at Town Hall
  • EcoFest became host to a Water Fest
  • Entered our Fairfax Water Heroes float in the Fairfax Parade
  • Board members Kathleen Lanpheir and Rachel DeMicco dedicated their year to bringing water conservation to Fairfax.

Participated in local Events and Festivals:

  • Eco Garden tour
  • Marin Earth Day
  • Fairfax Festival Parade and Ecofest
  • Marin County Fair
  • Good Festival
  • Body and Soul Festival
  • Sustainable Marin Chautauqua
  • Community Resiliency Conference with Marin Economic Forum and Dominican College
  • Our entire board has been active in making sure we have a presence all over the community.

Volunteer Training:

  • Trained 12 new Sustainability Corps volunteers
  • Finalized planning on Certification program for volunteers
  • Launched monthly Volunteer Days
  • New board members Kristen Coffey and Chelsea Donovan have launched work days and ready to put our Certification program into action.

Center:

  • The Sustainability Center has been a tour destination for groups such as the Ross Valley Seniors, Camp Earth, CittaSlow Intl. certification committee, Super Hero Riders, MMWD conservation staff, FEMA staff, Surfrider staff, various Town and City Dept of Public Works staff, and classes from Manor School and Cascade Canyon School.
  • Noted individual visitors included: activist-Julia Butterfly Hill and Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond author-Brad Lancaster.
  • New life has been breathed into our center with increased attention to new retail, rotating art work, new inventory system
  • Garden map for visitors
  • Open Garden Exchange harvest
  • Bay Friendly Garden certification
  • Nominated for Heart of Marin Award for Excellence in Innovation
  • Center Co-chairs Jen Jones and Sheila McNulty have our space looking better than ever and still bringing best practices inside and outside a home.

Projects:

  • Education at Green Wednesdays all summer at the Fairfax Farmer’s market
  • Lorax campaign bringing awareness to students biking and walking to school
  • Chair Renee Goddard keeps our face in the public with up to date activism and projects in the community.

Development:

  • Hired Part time Development Director Wendy Baker
  • Membership drive with Scoop and Women’s Fitness coupons included
  • Rose Foundation Grant
  • Rotary Club outreach
  • Annual fundraiser
  • Wendy Baker has brought renewed energy to our fundraising efforts.

Communications:

  • 33 newsletters sent to a list that has grown to 1,478 people
  • More than 50 mentions in the press and on websites
  • Brochure and corresponding sponsorship
  • Longtime volunteer, Julie Dashiell, has stepped in to the Communications Chair to keep the public informed on our actions here at home and sustainability news from around the world.

Executive Director: Pam Hartwell-Herrero has been the E.D. of Sustainable Fairfax since 2004, last year she was elected to the Fairfax Town Council, she has chosen some pet projects and been recognized for her work

  • CittaSlow status-worked with Chamber of Commerce and Town of Fairfax to be named the 2ndcommunity in the US to meet criteria of international slow city movement
  • Grassroots Sustainability coauthored by our E.D. is in the final stage of editing
  • Edible Marin Magazine- through our education on raising chickens, our E.D. earned a role in a feature story; Home to Roost
  • Environmental Forum of Marin honored Pam with the Joe Kohn Scholarship to take the 18 week long Master class
  • Local currency project has been developed and is being pitched to collaborators
  • Nominated for Heart of Marin Award for Excellence in Leadership
  • Board is full!!!
  • Collaborations, partnerships, sponsors and community people we could not do without: Fairfax Town Council, Fairfax Chamber of Commerce, MMWD, O’Connell Plumbing, MCSTOPPP, Strategic Energy Innovations, California Youth Energy Services, Marin Clean Energy, Sustainable Marin, Permaculture Marin, Environmental Forum of Marin Mill Valley Film Festival, SPAWN, Chamber, Town of Fairfax, CittaSlow International, CittaSlow USA, Dominican College, Marin Economic Forum, Marin Sanitary Service, Fairfax Lumber, Avatar, Good Earth, Marin Agricultural Institute, MOMAS, Earthsite.net, Mental Insight Foundation, Rose Foundation, Larry Bragman, Supervisors Hal Brown and Charles McGlashan, 123 Bolinas, Arte Café, Coffee Roasters, Fairfax Scoop, Marin Women’s Fitness

Our current Board of Directors are outstanding citizens, if you see them in town please thank them for all their hard work!

  • Stacy Weinberg-Dieve-President
  • Elizabeth Baker-Vice President
  • Mark Dieve-Treasurer
  • Kathleen Lanphier-Secretary
  • Wendy Baker-Development Chair
  • Renee Goddard-Project Coordinator
  • Rachel DeMicco-Community Education
  • Jen Jones and Sheila McNulty-Center Co-Chairs
  • Kristen Coffey and Chelsea Donovan-Volunteer Coordinators
  • Julie Dasheill-Communications Chair