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National Geographic's "Green Guide"

Sustainable Living
"A frequent entry point into a faith-based approach to caring for the Earth is through a recognition that a lifestyle of endless consumption denies us of the very satisfactions of life the marketing industry tries to attract us with . . . Once there is an understanding of the gravity of the crises, and a personal commitment to change, the next step is deciding just what action is necessary and most likely to be effective. This is the path of compassion and connectedness to other beings and is another critical link in developing a practice of environmental commitment . . ." ~ Green Sanctuary Program Manual


Sustainable Living image
General Information

The GSP Calendar of Events for 2008-09 is listed on the home page. We will be advertising event details on this page for sustainable living activities. Keep checking back for update information. If you have any ideas, suggestions or would like to help out, let a GSP member know. Ideas and volunteers are always welcome.

The Green Sanctuary Team has been selling two tools to help individual members of its congregation make wiser decisions about the products and services they purchase. Both books are available for purchase at the GSP table during the Grand Coffee Hour.
    "Where the Locals Go " coupon books produced by Sustainable Connections. This books provides coupons for a variety of products and services from participating local businessess. The Green Sanctuary has been selling these books for the past two years now.

    "The Better World Shopping Guide " by Ellis Jones. This book provides social and environmental ratings on many products, services and companies.

      Who gets an "A" in electronics? Apple, Sony, Aiwa and Kodak. Who gets an "F"? GE (General Electric)!

      How about Chocolate? Equal Exchange (A); Newman's Own (A-); Cadbury (B-); Hershey's (C+); Ghirardelli (C); Dove (D+); Swiss Miss (D-) and last but not least, Nestle (F).

    Before you shop, check this handy guide to ensure your decisions are supporting socially and environmentally responsible companies.

Green Building: New and Renovation

With the initial building designs completed, the Design Team is currently on hiatus, pending the activities of the Capital Campaign. The decision was made to temporarily suspend any further design work until the Capital Campaign provided a more realistic budget for the new addition. We are still condsidering following the LEED process as much as funding allows and we are very close to meeting at least the Silver LEED certification level. Click here for the technical specs of the LEED program.

The GSP still continues to have a strong presence in the design process. The GSP has designated the month of October topic as "Green Building and Renovation" for several reasons, but primarily to work in conjunction with the Capital Campaign activities during that time. GSP will be working towards making information available on what environmental considerations have been made so far in the design process and provide information on other design considerations, not only for BUF's new building, but for personal building and home renovation projects.

An article appeared in the Bellingham Herald concerning the "Green" building focus of the UU congregation in Fresno, CA. Click here to read the article and access the link for the original article.

Faithfully Green: Unitarian Universalist Church of Fresno builds a new church with an eye toward being eco-friendly.


BUF's Eating Ethically Cookbook


We are collecting local and organic recipes with the hopes of producing a "food book" that will contain a variety of recipes, cooking and food preparation tips, information on food consumption and practices which impact the environment, transportation and distribution -- and loads more information. It will be a good tool for providing ways to cook with the lcoal environment and economy in mind. If you have a factoid or a recipe or a cooking secret, let us know! Input and submissions are being asked from the congregation so be please contribute!

The original Simplicity Group hosted a potluck dinner recently and below are the recipes that people brought forward along with information on local food suppliers and other information.
Roasted Vegetables by Mary Gibson

Green Bean and Fennel Ragout by Jonna McConnell

Audrey's Spinach Quiche by Kathy Ing

Tequillaberry Salad by Kay Witter

Old-Time Buffalo Stew by Deb Cruz

Yogurt by Ro Donelson

Cucumbers & Yogurt by Ro Donelson

Blackberry Cobbler by Linda Fels

Blackberry Frozen Yogurt by Linda Fels

Eating Ethically Resources

Here are some other general resources for eating ethically.
Whatcom Farm Map & Guide 2007: Comprehensive Guide to local food suppliers, agricultural supplies and resturants.

Another listing of local suppliers and distributers can be found in the Sustainable Connections' Buy Fresh Businesses


Transportation Challenge

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, our choice of transportation mode is the most effective choice individual citizens can make toward improving the environment. Therefore, we challenged our members to learn to use alternative means of transportation such as walking, bicycling, riding the bus and carpooling during the summer of 20007. From Earth Day to Autumn Equinox, we challenged all members and friends to use alternative transportation to and from Sunday service as a first step. They recorded these trips on a poster in the foyer and recorded all alternative transportation trips on the local city website. WhatcomSmartTrips.org We are also reviewing bicycle safety workshops as well as bicycle and bus route workshop to help members find the right alternative form of transportation for their situation.

Reduce/Reuse/Recycle

Recycling at BUF
    GSP Chairs Linda and Deb meet with SSC and Erin and conducted a waste audit. As a result of that audit there will be a few changes being made to how we will be handling our waste. For starters, each room in the building should have two waste cans: one for paper recycle and one for landfill. All receptacles will eventually be relabeled and we ask that everyone pay close attention as to where you are throwing your disposables and to not remove the cans from the rooms. We will be adding new receptacles for bottles/cans and we've signed up for the FoodPlus program which recycles a variety of products like pizza boxes, paper towels, etc. We will be reducing the size of the big landfill receptacles out back so it'll be very important for everyone to place recycled materials in the appropriate receptacles. More information about these changes will be announced later as the changes are instituted, for now be aware of the following:

      Darker Blue receptacles: Mixed Paper - These receptacles are already labeled
      Brown receptacles: Landfill - These are for items that are not recyclable
      Black: Plastic and glass containers - These receptacles are already labeled.

      One of the large receptacles in the kitchen has been designated a "Food Recycling" receptacle and has special biodegradable bags that are used in it. There are 3 5-gallon "Food Recycling" buckets available for use as well. All receptacles are labeled with the "Food Recycling" label. FoodPlus containers can be pulled out and used at all our social and programming events, for paper napkins, food scraps, bones, flower trimmings, coffee grounds, wax paper-lined food containers or cups (that don't include plastic or foil parts) - just read the yellow "FoodPlus" stickers to remind you what can and cannot go into these bins! The 5-gallon buckets fit into the dishwasher for sanitizing after use, and are great to spread around the kitchen for food trimmings next time you are cooking for a BUF event!

    We know it's difficult to keep the bins sorted out when you're running around either preparing for or closing down an event, especially the Food Plus items, but we're asking that everyone make a concerted effort to get waste materials in the right bins.

    Be on the look out for the Zero-Waste movement. It's the topic for this year's Sustainable Connections activities and events. The GSP will be watching for new ways to bring BUF as close to Zero-waste as possible.

Education
    Using a wide variety of media (pamphlets, website, Order of Service inserts, forums, workshops and bulletin boards), team members will engage the congregation in an ongoing, educational conversation on the many ways to reduce how much consumer goods we use and effective ways to reuse and recycle. We will be working with a local non-profit organization in our neighborhood, RE Sources, which is building a sustainable living center and has any number of resources for us to draw upon. Details on topics and their presentations will be worked out this summer and posted here. Also any RRR activities and events will be posted here.
Environmental Audit
    Kay Witter and Deb Cruz, along with the church administrator Erin Malone, performed the main portion of an audit that was required by the GSP. The audit showed us the church has been fairly good at recycling a variety of materials, with, of course, room for improvement. Our use of products with recycled content paper above 30% recycled material and environmentally friendly cleaning supplies and landscaping products, needs further examination and proposals. Although we are good about conserving electricity and energy, we need work in our transportation and water conservation efforts. Switching to compact fluorescent bulbs and installing ceiling fans in the sanctuary are already showing reductions in our energy costs. We have gardens, located on church property that are used for growing vegetables that are donated to Maple Alley Inn, a local soup kitchen that uses our facilities twice a week. One area that greatly needs attention is environmental education. This will be one of the primary focuses of the Reduce/Reuse/Recycle team and will be incorporated into other team efforts, as well. A review of the church's resources (church library) will be conducted at a later date. As part of the Earth Day Celebration, the GSP audit was modified for personal use. Personal audit sheets were distributed and included an insert on memberships and books to be completed and submitted to the GSP team. A detailed review of the audit results will be conducted and then proposals to correct any deficiencies will then be explored.

Past Activities/Events

Local Food
    The theme for the months of March and April was Local Food. A variety of information on local food was made available during the Grand Coffee Hour throughout the month. Some examples of the information displayed can be viewed here. We were also fortunate enough to have a few CSA members available to talk with congregational members and answer questions about the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.

    Whatcom Farm Map & Guide

    Whatcom County Community Supported Agriculture Farms

E-Waste Education & Collection Drive
    On February 3 and 10, 2008 at 9:30 a.m. in Rm 1, GSP and Lifelong Learning co-sponsored the film "Digital Dump: Exporting Reuse and Abuse to Africa" as part of the Inquiry Sunday series.

    On February 24, 2008, the Green Sanctuary sponsored an E-waste drive. Sanitary Service Company (SSC) ran a pilot program through March for its Bellingham customers. The program collected electronic waste which was then taken to Genesis Recycling located in Aldergrove, BC for reuse and recycling. Members were encouraged to bring in all their unused electronic devices and components for recycling.
New Building Breaking of the Bread
    On October 16, 2007, several groups put together a "Breaking of the Bread" gathering with the design of the new building as its focus. The prospective plans were drawn up and presented to attendees. The plans were generally very well received. Modifications are yet to be made and will hopefully be finalized by the middle of January 2008.
Imagine This! Home and Landscape Tour
    On June 30, 2007, several members of BUF got together in the church's van and headed out on Sustainable Connections annual tour. This annual tour showcases homes and businesses and their efforts to be come environmentally friendly. Vendors and contractors are available throughout the many, many sites on the tour.

New To You" Sale on May 19th
    The Women's Alliance sponsored a sale of goods donated by members of the congregation. This activity helped us to meet our GSP goals and encouraged everyone to reduce their consumption of new products and increase reuse of existing products. Goods not purchased by the end of the sale were donated to an organization in need.


Other Resources And Information
    RE Sources, Inc. empowers children and adults in the Pacific northwest region to do all we can to protect our home. By providing key information, citizen trainings and workshops, and volunteer-led field programs, RE Sources helps community members actively safeguard our marine waters, rivers, lakes, beaches and air. In fact, RE Sources now oversees a number of programs designed to reduce air and water pollution and encourage waste reduction and recycling throughout the region.

    RE-Sources.org ~ 1155 N. State St., Suite 623 ~ Bellingham, WA 98225 ~ Phone: 360-733-8307~ Fax: 360-715-8434

    Sustainable Connections works with local, independently owned businesses that have the autonomy to make any transformational change in their business that they can imagineÉ reexamining where we buy goods and services, how we consume energy, grow and distribute our food, build homes, and even, how we define success in business.Ê Sustainable Connections is supporting a community of innovators in green building, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, supporting independent businesses in town centers, and mentoring a new breed of entrepreneurs that have designed their business with a sustainable vision.

    http://sustainableconnections.org ~ Bellingham Towers, 119 N. Commercial Street, Suite 350, Bellingham, WA 98225 ~ 360.647.7093