Every two weeks, members have the opportunity to meet at our networking lunch. The past year, we’ve been working to shape these meetings as not only a time and place for members to get to know each other and share resources and ideas, but also to bring valuable educational opportunities and information. In September, we accomplished this with joining with the City of Eugene.
Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy greeted members at the lunch, and spoke about the city’s focus on sustainability. GreenLane members then broke up into four groups and met with representatives of Eugene’s Sustainability Initiatives. Each group focused on a particular topic.
Ethan Nelson focused on green building, and outlining the city’s new Green Building Incentive Program for commercial and residential properties.
Mia Cariaga and Amanda Nobel Flannery focused on Sustainable Purchasing and Business Loan Programs. They discussed the city’s policy for procuring goods and services from local vendors who have sustainable business practices, as well as outlining the city’s support of local economic development.
Matt McRae lead a discussion about the Community Climate & Energy Action Plan. He shared the city’s efforts to create a plan to reduce fossil fuels by 50% by the year 2030.
Anne Donahue focused on food & soil which included food security, compost training, OSU Lane County Extension Services, Oregon Green Schools Program & Community Gardens, as well as an overview of the current Food Security System Scoping Project.
We believe It’s important to keep the discussion going between our local businesses and organizations that support sustainability, and the city. We are looking forward to scheduling more opportunities for an exchange of information.
