Sustainable Fairfax

Bringing people together to support a vital environment and thriving community

Accomplishments

Our Accomplishments for 2015

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Sustainable Fairfax was successful in bringing important programs and events to the community this year including the following accomplishments:

Fairfax Zero Waste by 2020

  • Fairfax Take Back Day (May 2, 2015)- 3.6 tons of medications, batteries, electronics waste, and paper were collected from residents and diverted from the landfill.
  • Backyard Composting & Mulching Workshops- these workshops educated over 50 people on how to turn household scraps into garden gold
  • Fairfax Festival/EcoFest & Fairfax Town Picnic–we provided zero waste education and coordinated the collection of recycling and compost at these events
  • Public Recycling Receptacles- we identified and successfully advocated for new public recycling receptacles in downtown Fairfax
  • White Hill Middle School-  We participated in the planning stages of one of the two pilot Zero Waste Schools initiatives in Marin County. We served as a liaison, connecting Zero Waste Marin, Marin Sanitary Service and the White Hill administration. This program will allow a significant diversion of the school’s waste from the landfill.

Alternative Transportation– we launched our new alternative transportation campaign, Reduce By Two (Car Trips Per Week)- ReduceX2

  • Fairfax on Foot- we led two walks from downtown to discover the historical easement paths throughout Fairfax
  • Led a bike ride to the Larkspur ferry to show people the safest on scenic route
  • Held an alternative transportation focus group
  • Released the beta version of our new texting-based ReduceX2 Challenge
  • Transit Alley- we provided alternative transportation education at our Transit Alley feature at Streets for People, including an opportunity for people to load and unload a bike on a Marin Transit buss.

Water Conservation Program

  • Water Stewardship Panel–an educational event on water conservation featuring five expert panelists and attended by 60 people and filmed by the Community Media Center of Marin.
  • Home Rainwater Catchment & Greywater Systems Bicycle Tour– a  bicycle tour of local homes and businesses to learn about home rainwater catchment techniques and greywater systems
  • Laundry-to-Landscape Greywater Workshop- we held two sold out workshops that provided hands-on experience on installing a laundry-to-landscape greywater system.

Sustainable Fairfax Film & Speaker Series– we hosted five film & speaker events, attended by over 200 people

Community Events

  • Fairfax Craft Faire– this has become a popular annual zero waste event in December, and supports our local economy by featuring goods from local artisans & crafts people
  • Streets for People– we coordinated our fourth annual Streets for People event, a rare opportunity for hundreds of community members to enjoy a car-free afternoon in downtown Fairfax

Getting to Our Roots

  • Sustainable Garden at the Women’s Club–continued development of an educational garden demonstrating the use of natives and low-water plants in the home-scale garden, designed and implemented by Sustainable Fairfax volunteers as a gift to the Town
  • Community Seed Exchange at the Fairfax Library– we initiated this wonderful addition to the library in partnership with the Marin County Free Library and Branson High School graduates
  • Fall Into the Garden Event- we held this daylong event featuring a community seed exchange, a garden sale, informational tables and speakers

Community Council events

  • We held three community council events which provide the time and space for people to discuss matters relating to sustainability in a quiet and supportive circle led by two facilitators

Youth Program

  • High School Interns- We mentored two high school students from the TEAM and program and two from Drake High School’s Sea-Disc program
  • White Hill Zero Waste

Events Sponsored by Sustainable Fairfax

  • Green Chautauqua Speaker Series- The San Anselmo First Presbyterian Church hosted five informative talks on addressing climate change in collaboration with several environmental organizations in Marin County
  • Time to Lead on Climate- Sustainable San Rafael and Organizing for Action were the lead organizers of this event that drew over 800 people
  • The State of Our Coho- Turtle Island Restoration Network held several talks to address the importance of taking action to save the endangered salmon in Lagunitas Creek Watershed

Awards

We are busy planning are programming for 2016!  We excited about continuing many of our favorite programs and adding some new focuses as well.   Stay tuned!

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Looking Back – Sustainable Fairfax 2014 Accomplishments

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2014 was a great year for our organization. We made progress on a lot of fronts, and could not have done it without our partners, members, volunteers, and sponsors. We are honored by the support and input we have received from our community, which made our accomplishments possible!

Over the last year, Sustainable Fairfax was successful in bringing important programs and events to the community including:

  • Film & Lecture Series – we hosted five film & speaker events, attended by over 250 people
  • Take Back Day – 5 tons of materials were collected and diverted from landfill
  • Fairfax Craft Faire – this zero waste event supports our local economy by featuring goods from local artisans and crafts people
  • Fairfax Festival/EcoFest – we provided zero waste education and coordinated the collection of recycling and compost
  • Streets for People – a rare opportunity for hundreds of community members and local businesses to connect and enjoy our town without cars
  • Free Backyard Composting Workshops – educating over 70 people on backyard composting techniques and turn household scraps into garden gold
  • Backyard Beekeeping Workshops – workshops on sustainable hive management to encourage and support backyard beekeeping
  • Water Stewardship Panel – an educational event on water conservation techniques attended by 50 people (part of our “Go Blue! Take Action on Water” program)
  • Fairfax History Talk – this wonderful talk by local culture expert Rebecca Burgess of Fibershed was attended by 60 people
  • Rainwater catchment Bicycle Tour – a bicycle tour of local homes and businesses to learn about home rainwater catchment techniques including rainwater harvesting and greywater systems (part of our “Go Blue! Take Action on Water” program)
  • Sustainable Garden at the Women’s Club – an educational garden demonstrating the use of natives and low-water plants in the home-scale garden, designed and implemented by Sustainable Fairfax volunteers as a gift to the Town.
  • Community Council events – a new monthly program that provides the time and space for community members to discuss matters relating to sustainability in a quiet and supportive circle led by two experienced facilitators

Thank you for a great 2014. We hope you join us for an awesome year of new initiatives and progress in 2015!