Accomplishments:

Environmental and Business Working Meetings

In March 2006, CRD convened two working meetings with over a dozen Marin County environmental non-profit organizations and green businesses. The objective of these meetings was to discover in what ways CRD could best assist these groups in their work and to develop viable partnerships between CRD and these organizations to promote sustainability education and business opportunities with COM and the community. Organizations attending these meetings included: Bank of Marin, Environmental Education Council of Marin (EECOM), Marin Community Foundation, Environmental Forum of Marin, Marin Sanitary Service, SPG Solar, Good Earth Natural Foods, Green Builders of Marin, Dominican University, Marin Academy, Marin Agricultural Land Trust, Marin Consortium for Workforce Housing.

The outcomes from these meetings included a commitment from these organizations to work with CRD in promoting sustainability programs in the county. Participants highlighted a unique opportunity for CRD to play a significant role as a catalyst in supporting the work from these groups by providing educational programs and activities that promote sustainable practices.

CRD Round Tables

Following the Environmental and Business working meetings, CRD set up five Community Round Table events at the College of Marin’s Kentfield campus from March through May 2006. These events, open to the public, covered the following topics: Transportation, Green Economy, Ecoliteracy, Natural Capital and Sustainable Community. These evening events included a panel of community leaders and experts in their respective fields. The speakers made brief presentations and were followed by active question/answers from participants. Each event had from 40 to 70 participants from a range of sectors including: students, faculty, community residents, business owners, non-profit leaders and government officials. The organizations represented included: League of Women Voters, Novato Schools, Environmental Forum, MarinLink, NBA Engineering, Swinerton Construction, Sun’s Energy, Sustainable Marin, Marin County Community Development Agency, Rana Creek Habitat Restoration, Alta Planning and Design, Marin Grass Roots Commission.

The comments from participants at the Round Tables highlighted the significance of these events as valuable educational experiences and a way to network with other community leaders. Participants were enthusiastic about the CRD and its potential to be a hub of sustainability for the College of Marin and for the larger community. participants were very supportive of continuing the Round tables in the coming year.

All of the Community Round Tables were videotaped and these programs are available at the CRD blogsite: marincc.blogspot.com. In addition, Round Table participants were interviewed about the Round Tables they attended and their comments are available on the CRD blogsite.

Fall 2006 - Spring 2007 Speaker Series and Ecoliteracy Workshop

CRD’s Fall season of Community Round Tables was launched in September 2006. The theme for this season’s series is Sustainability Stories. CRD has invited leaders from the sustainability field as well as local community members to share their stories of how they became interested in environmental issues and how they incorporate sustainable practices in their daily lives. The schedule of upcoming speakers includes: The Blunk/Barnet family from Inverness, CA; Michelle Kauffmann, architect of green modular homes; John Francis, ‘planetwalker’ who lived car free and silent for 17 years; former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich; founder of Pax Scientific, Jay Harmon and writer and entrepreneur Paul Hawken, among others.

In Spring 2007, CRD is also organizing a workshop at the College of Marin for faculty and administrators to outline strategies for introducing ecoliteracy into the curriculum. Geoffrey Chase, one the nation’s leaders in implementing sustainability education into colleges and universities will lead this event.