Minnesota Youth Take Action

Posted on February 26, 2013 by rubylevine

It’s 12:10 on a Sunday afternoon. I’m walking between two buildings at the University of Minnesota, carrying my carefully scribed flip-chart pages for the Next Generation Environmental Congress. We couldn’t get into the building where the event was being held until noon, right when registration started, and while I had promised to help with registration, I was running a little late. I was amazed to see, as I walked up the stairs, a line of people stretching back from the registration table. I quickly set up to help Abbie and Natalie check people into the event, and we were consistently welcoming new people until after the welcome speech started at 1pm.

This is the state of youth environmental activism in Minnesota, as I see it — fired up, ready to collaborate, and eager for opportunities. The Next Gen Environmental Congress was proposed by the state government in order to engage the youth voice in advance of the big Environmental Congress on March 15th. Organized by the MN Youth Environmental Network and the Young Environmental Advocates of MN, this conference brought together high schoolers, college students, and non-student youth from all corners of the state. I had the privilege of helping to plan the agenda for the day in order to create a positive experience while getting effective feedback to present at the Environmental Congress. Continue reading →

Alumni Spotlight: Emily Stiever

Posted on February 8, 2013 by hinahara

This post is from our Alumni Spotlight series, featuring stories and reflections from past Summer of Solutions participants. The 2013 Summer of Solutions programs are now accepting participant applications! Apply here!

Hi All! I’m Emily Stiever, a native of Minnetonka, MN. I was part of the inaugural batch of Solutionaries at Macalester during the summer of 2008. As I think back now, it’s difficult to remember exactly how I stumbled across the awesome group of people that morphed into Summer of Solutions (SoS). I think I had just come back from studying abroad in Nicaragua and I heard about the first January Gathering (in 2008). I have a vague recollection of showing up for a meeting at Macaleter’s Eco House over winter break and (since I got the time wrong) everyone was still sleeping. But once we got going, the January Gathering was really interesting and I was on board for spending the summer at Macalester and working on a number of the projects we’d dreamed up.

My experiences in SoS
One of my favorite experiences was riding back from a meeting at the Ford plant one evening. We’d just come from having a great discussion about ARISE (The Alliance to Re-Industrialize for a Sustainable Economy), “a coalition of local stakeholders, advocacy groups, and students seeking to create a sustainable redevelopment plan for the closed Ford factory in Highland Park, St. Paul.” (The Twin Cities SoS program will once again be working with ARISE this summer!) It was warm, and we all biked quietly home along the river trail on the Mississippi. It was one of the first times where I could see what my life could look like in the future: the ability to work on social issues that I cared about and to live sustainably in community with people who shared a similar passion. SoS helped me translate a general feeling of, “it would be cool to work on these issues at some point in my life” to a much more tangible, “this is how my life could look now.” The experience helped me clarify what I am looking for, both in my professional life and how I want to live personally, and has guided me as I’ve sought out living arrangements and jobs in recent years.

The other big take-away from my experience with SoS was the need to ground my activism and social justice work in extensive background knowledge about the issues. Throughout my summer in SoS, I learned a lot about climate change and renewable energy. Timothy, one of the program leaders, taught an ExCo (Experimental Community Education) class on climate, we met with multiple speakers, got into the nitty-gritty details of how to implement an energy efficiency program with Cooperative Energy Futures, and I borrowed a couple of great books from others in the program. I learned a lot of information that summer and I am surprised even now how often I use that technical and philosophical information even today. Continue reading →

Introducing Two New Twin Cities Program Leaders!

Posted on January 25, 2013 by patricialamas

Please help welcome our newest additions to the team, Aly and Elizabeth! They’ve arrived just in time for a massive transfer of information from last week at Chicago’s January Gathering. Though that’s a lot to digest over our long-distance Skype call meetings, they’ve already hit the ground running!

182590_4478390169950_1592946254_n Aly Young

I’m from Rochester, Minnesota, but I’ve made Northfield my home (I’m a junior at St. Olaf College). I love to ride and fix my bike, run, play music, ski, cook, build things, knit, read, write, draw, and make things in general. I first heard about the program from my friend and former RA, Patricia Lamas, who told me all about the awesome things she got to do in the summer of 2012. I’m passionate about helping create strong, supportive communities; when a group of people care strongly for each other and the land around them, that’s when social and environmental change happens! This summer, I’m really excited to help foster that community as part of Summer of Solutions; I’m especially eager to become a part of the active Twin Cities urban farming and biking scene. Prior to becoming a Summer of Solutions program leader, I’ve been a SustainAbilities Representative at St. Olaf, served actively in residence life, and studied ecology in the Boundary Waters and Costa Rica. Outside of the academic year, you’d most likely find me paddling up at my family’s cabin on Pelican Lake or playing banjo on the street in downtown Rochester. I’m thrilled to be a part of something great! Continue reading →

Looking Ahead to Twin Cities SoS 2013

Posted on January 6, 2013 by patricialamas

As a born and bred Minnesotan, there is nothing better than coming home to Minneapolis, especially in winter. I love the winter wonderland Minneapolis is transformed into aftera huge snowfall. However, as much as I have enjoyed the snow, relaxation, and copious amounts of tea that come with being home for winter break, I keep thinking about how excited I am for Summer of Solutions Twin Cities 2013.

2012 Solutionaries and a beautiful new wood chip path

Continue reading →

MN350 and Gandhi Mahal: Growing Energy Through Collaboration

Posted on January 5, 2013 by patricialamas

Gandhi Mahal staff, all dressed up for the 2013 New Year’s party co-hosted by MN350. Every Tuesday night, the restaurant donates 10% of its proceeds to sustaining the climate movement through MN350.

They say the first year out of college is usually a tough one. As many of my peers will testify, one of the biggest frustrations is seeking the security of that ever-elusive “full-time” work situation. But, all things considered, a handful of occupations can certainly have its perks. One of the best parts about juggling my part-time jobs and activities has been the rare opportunity to get so deeply involved in inter-organizational collaborative projects. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that everything I do right now is practically joined at the hip.

Through connections made as participant of the 2012 Twin Cities Summer of Solutions program, I began my Sustainable Community Organizer position with MN350 in September. At about the same time, a connection through MN350 led me to an additional position as a server at Gandhi Mahal Fine Indian Cuisine. The match couldn’t better! The close working relationship between restaurant owner Ruhel Islam and MN350 director Julia Nerbonne has created a dynamic that adds layer upon layer of enrichment to each organization. Gandhi Mahal has developed into much more than the home of the best Indian food in town, while MN350 has found a supportive partner and and a lively outlet for reaching out to the community.

Continue reading →

Do the Math: Author Bill McKibben Visits Minneapolis

Posted on December 4, 2012 by patricialamas

Do_the_Math_family_photo_Minneapolis_copy

The turnout was astounding: 1296 in attendance (fire code limit: 1306).

This post is by sustainable community organizer Patricia Lamas. You can read her last post here.

This past Friday night, environmentalist, author, and founder of 350.org Bill McKibben came to Minneapolis as part of his Do the Math tour through twenty-one cities across the country. His message? A call to action in response to his July 2012 article in Rolling Stones Magazine, “Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math.”

In his article, McKibben pieces together a stark picture of our present reality. To summarize, the fossil fuel industry has in its total known reserves five times the amount of coal, oil and gas we would need to burn in order to cause a global climate catastrophe. The numbers are fairly simple. Though not much else was decided at the Copenhagen Climate Summit in 2009, it was agreed that a 2ºC rise in global temperatures is the absolute highest that we can “safely” allow (see a breakdown of scenarios here). We have already raised the global temperature by 1°C. To raise it one more degree, we would need to emit 565 gigatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Sounds like a lot, but we already have 2,795 gigatons at our taking. So much for peak oil, right? Continue reading →

Unifying Aquaponics at Unity

Posted on November 20, 2012 by s0luti0naries

This post is by sustainable community organizer Carey deVictoria-Michel. You can read her previous posts here and here.

I started my positions with YEA in September when I helped launch one of our programs at Unity Minnesota Internship Center (MNIC) in lively North Minneapolis. Yea Corps’ mission is to provide hands-on sustainable education to youth empowering them for life, education, and employment. This is what YEA has been gradually implementing at Unity MNIC students during this school year into the Spring.

The YEA Unity field trip to an aquaponics business in Minneapolis.

YEA program managers, including myself, arrive at Unity MNIC most every Wednesday. Usually we get to the school, greet our regular students at the entrance when they are hanging out and taking one of their breaks. Our program is based out of the top level of the school in the upper-class classrooms in a shared two room space. Students work in this space with teachers, scattered at different tables and working on various assignments, or taking one the required standardized tests. Students at Unity come from diverse backgrounds, and have the opportunity of alternative education at MNIC, where they are given flexible classes and assistance in getting their diplomas. Continue reading →

Alternative economies in the Twin Cities

Posted on November 8, 2012 by rubylevine

This post is by sustainable community organizer Patricia Lamas. You can read her first post here.

With the MN350 Barter-to-Cash Network project well underway, we’re now beginning to reach out to the community in search of talent, time, and underused belongings here in the Twin Cities. We have set November 30th as the official launch date for the online platform, just in time to give it a publicity jumpstart when Bill McKibben comes to town for his “Do the Math” Tour on the same day. (He’s touring the whole country! Do you have your ticket yet?) Continue reading →

Solutionary energy business up for $5000

Posted on November 1, 2012 by rubylevine

Cooperative Energy Futures (CEF) is a cooperative that has co-developed with the Twin Cities Summer of Solutions program over the last five years. Developing the legal structure and community organizing for CEF was one of the three projects that participants in the first Summer of Solutions collaborated on. The organization currently in the running for a $5000 online voting grant from Green America. Read about the project and then vote for CEF once during the month of November! The top three vote-getters win.

If this is the first time you’re hearing about CEF, it’s an energy efficiency cooperative helping Minneapolis neighbors work together to make energy efficiency and clean energy accessible, easy, social, and fun. CEF helps communities make the biggest positive environmental impact possible by working together to lower energy bills, generate energy revenue, improve home comfort, and create a healthier community and planet.

Continue reading →

North Minneapolis Youth Visit the Urban Farm Project

Posted on October 17, 2012 by rubylevine

Chad (L) sharing his knowledge with the students (R).

This is Carey with some updates from the YEA Corps program at Unity high school in Minneapolis where YEA is teaching sustainability and entrepreneurial education. YEA Corps is a month into our school programs, and recently we took students on a field trip. We got to the Unity campus last Wednesday prepped and ready to bring students to the Urban Farm Project. The first thing I heard once we got to the school was a couple students making jokes about churning butter and petting the cows at the ‘farm’. This was pretty funny, because there would be no cows, no farm animals, and no butter churning on this farm visit (although that would be fun). The Urban Farm Project is not your classical farm on the countryside. The Urban Farm Project is a for-profit operation in South Minneapolis that produces perch and a plethora of fresh vegetables, and they grow all of this through aquaponics systems in a large converted warehouse space. Continue reading →