The primary conversation during the Saturday, May 18th registration for the Community Clean Up Day was the weather – and how perfect it was, and how miserable it’s been before. In prior years, dedicated locals have picked up trash along the three main highways in the rain, in high winds, and in freezing cold. This [...]
ReTree’s first planting is a huge success – 90 lilacs at the SSHS
May 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment
In cooperation with United Way’s Day of Caring and local teachers and students, YVSC/Sustainable Schools Program facilitated ReTree Steamboat’s first planting for 2013 yesterday. 55 students, members of the three public schools’ green teams planted 90 lilac shrubs on the Steamboat Springs High School front lawn in effort to make a green fence, replacing an [...]
Live Well CO’s Go Slow Whoa Program
May 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment
via Barb Parnell and Jeanne Parsons Go Slow Whoa is a simple and fun program designed for children but making its way to adults throughout Routt County. The program teaches participants to make healthier food choices. Go Slow Whoa is a simplified way of helping parents and children identify foods to eat every day. The [...]
Greenhouse for Sale
May 14, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Greenhouse for sale: Purchased as a kit and erected on their deck in 2012 8’x12’ Dual opening doors at one end Two roof vents Aluminum frame Price: $1200. (Retails for about $2000). Contract Judy at 879-8498 if interested
ReTree 2013 is just one month away! Register now!
May 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Registration went live this week for ReTree 2013 - Sunday, June 9th ReTree Steamboat is a one-day planting event to replace trees killed by beetle kill and help increase the diversity of the forest. As with last year, we are planting less trees this year (2000) to focus on the survival and maintenance of the [...]
Group gathers in name of the Green Car
May 3, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Buying your next Green Car This past Tuesday, 20+ YVSC members and interested parties heard a presentation from Mike Ogburn of CLEER (Clean Energy Economy for the Region) about Buying your next Green Car and most specifically What works in a mountain community? If you missed this event, you can view Mike’s presentation here (PDF). [...]
The Colorado Climate Festival: Uniting Against Climate Change
May 1, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Join us Saturday, May 11th in Civic Center Park Denver for an afternoon of Live Music, Local Beer and an Eco-Village of Colorado businesses uniting against Climate Change and it’s impact on Colorado. Special guests will be on hand to discuss the issues, and bring together new and old friends across the snow sports, wildlife [...]
Taking political sides… a wise woman once told us… and SB-252
April 24, 2013 By 7 Comments
Typically, the Yampa Valley Sustainability Council doesn’t advocate for political issues – it’s not in our mission statement, and often times the waters are never as clear as some think they are. A wise woman recently stood up at one of our community meetings and shared, “Educate yourself thoroughly: know both sides of an issue [...]
Happy Earth Day from YVSC!
April 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Earth Day always falls on the week when Steamboat’s pretty empty, but that shouldn’t stop all of us from doing our part for Mother Earth! When you travel, we urge you to still conserve – we’re all connected, and our water and energy consumptions and our carbon output are all still important things to maintain [...]
Routt County Riders wins Bell Built Grant for $33,000
April 18, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Routt County Riders won their $33,000 grant from Bell Built by a very narrow margin! A big thanks to everyone who voted and all those who volunteered to bring in votes at the base area! Bicycle Retailer news article Bell Built Announces on Vimeo (video, 2:19) From RCR: Thanks to everyone involved. Bell & IMBA [...]
“Prescription Drug Take Back” days hosted by SSPD
April 15, 2013 By 2 Comments
In honor of Prescription Drug Take Back Day, Steamboat Springs Police Department is hosting collection sites throughout the county to “recycle” unwanted medications. For the safety of our water system, please dispose of these unwanted or expired medications safely by handing them in to these locations (program is anonymous). Items that can NOT be accepted [...]
Tower Gardens make growing in condos and small spaces a breeze
April 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment
The local food movement has spawned talks of “growing your own” and while this hydroponic system does require an up front investment, it’s great for condo dwellers, those without their own outdoor growing options, or living in small places or rental units. All you need is a small south-facing deck, or add grow lights and [...]
Welcome home Cranes!
April 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment
(reprint from Bud Werner Memorial Library) Yampa Valley Crane Festival ~ First Crane Sighting Contest Winners! The Sandhill Cranes are home! Community-wide Throughout March, you’ve spotted them all over the Yampa Valley. Thank you to all who participated in the Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition’s First Crane Sighting of the Season Contest! The earliest sighting reports [...]
2013 Recycling Guidelines
April 5, 2013 By Leave a Comment
The 2013 recycling guidelines from Yampa Valley Recycles are live! Look for them today in your Steamboat Pilot newspaper! Learn what, where, and how to recycle all types of items as well as the schedule of our local Green Machines (public, free, recycling dropoffs) in this handy one-page guide. Hang it on the fridge or [...]
CSA returns to Steamboat
April 2, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Steamboat’s seen a couple Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) groups come and go in the last five years, from Cameron Place (Palisade) to Grant Family Farms (Fort Collins); being in a remote part of Colorado lends its difficulties to getting produce – a hot topic as seen at our last Talking Green event. This summer, locals [...]
TG3-13: Local food momentum continues to catch waves
March 28, 2013 By Leave a Comment
The food topic is a hot one – over 90 community members tuned into this week’s Talking Green event – potentially our largest turnout in the program’s 6 year history. The evening commenced with its usual networking session where attendees could tour nearly twenty booths of local farmers: Community Ag Alliance, Yampa Valley CoOp, Yampa [...]
Eco kids inspired at Green Team Summit
March 27, 2013 By Leave a Comment
This past Saturday we had an amazing afternoon with our youth green teams at the 1st annual Eco Summit. Over 25 representatives from green teams at Soda Creek and Strawberry Park Elementary schools showed, as well as a representative each from the middle and high school teams, and two from the college team. Students, parents [...]
Support Local Ag Week
March 21, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Support local agriculture during National Ag Week by visiting one of these great restaurants that buy local and who are running specials, highlighting local products and promoting agriculture: Bamboo Market Big House Burgers Cottonwood Grill Creekside Cafe Johnny B Good’s Diner La Montana Lil’ House Biscuits & Coffee Mambo Italiano Mazzola’s Ore House at Pine [...]
The lights WILL go out this Saturday!
March 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment
YVSC honors Earth Hour 2013 for 4th year When: Saturday, March 23, 2013 - 8:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Where: Celebration on 6th Street, lights out everywhere! Thanks to a partnership with the City of Steamboat Springs, this year the downtown lights WILL go out! YVSC is hosting a celebration on 6th Street, so bring [...]
Mark the date: movie and discussion on Climate Change
March 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Community Cinema ~ The Island President with INSTARR Director James White Wednesday April 3, 6:30pm, Library Hall A free screening of the PBS Independent Lens documentary The Island President, a film by Jon Shenk, Bonni Cohen, and Richard Berge, with a discussion led by Prof. James White, director of the Institute for Arctic and Alpine [...]
YVSC listed as finalist for AI funding – please vote!
March 13, 2013 By 1 Comment
The Alpine Initiatives Grass Roots Grants contest is now live through April 2nd, please vote for YVSC! http://www.blackdogdigi.com/apps/ai/grassroots_grants/ The three finalists who have received the larger number of votes after three weeks (by Midnight April 2nd), will each be awarded $5,000!! Please share with your friends, and please vote for YVSC!
Have YOU seen the Greater Sage Grouse do its thing?
March 12, 2013 By Leave a Comment
From our friends at Conservation Colorado: Learn more and support our work to preserve public lands in Colorado that provide habitat for Greater Sage Grouse habitat by joining us for a Sagebrush Safari. Greater Sage Grouse are found only in North America. They are on a path to extinction. In 2010 they became candidates for [...]
$100,000 Bell Built Grant Finalist needs our votes!
March 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Sharing this for our friends at Routt County Riders! Please pass this around to your bike loving friends!Vote to fund trails in Colorado! Have you VOTED for the $100,000 Bell Built Grant yet? http://www.facebook.com/BellBikeHelmets/app_469747409753569 Pump Track Finalist: Bear River Bike Park Steamboat Springs, Colorado More Details: http://www.steamboatspringstrails.com/public-poll/bell-built Thanks for helping to fund biking. Hopefully a project [...]
How Universities are Going Green
March 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment
As the global population increases and more countries become industrialized, resource consumption has skyrocketed. Natural resources by their very nature are finite and this exponential development has made it necessary for the most advanced nations to research methods to conserve resources and develop a less wasteful future. As the centers of research and thought in [...]
March 6th Energy Roundtable Event a huge success
March 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Yesterday’s numbers showed the obvious local interest in the topics of Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, and Sustainability, as over 50 participants showed for the Northwest Energy Roundtable event with YVSC and the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado. Participants included individuals and business representatives, as well as government and utility directors and officials, and experts throughout the [...]
The Big Picture
March 3, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Sarah’s Letter to the Editor makes today’s news: Last week, the Steamboat Today’s editorial board, in response to a poor environmental rating Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp. received from the Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition, cited a Yampa Valley Sustainability Council blog post. Our intention in that blog was to highlight the hard work of select [...]
Transition 2.0 brainstorming
February 27, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Last night’s Transition 2.0 movie spawned a great (too brief!) brainstorming session with about 30 locals on three key topics of Food, Energy and a Time Bank. Here are the key points that came out of the evening. If you’d like to be included in on the future meetings of these grassroots groups, please email [...]
YVSC makes the news, twice
February 26, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Links this last week include: 2.23.13 Our View: Grading on the curve for ski area sustainability (Steamboat Pilot) 2.22.13 Sustainability up for discussion at Talking Green Event (Steamboat Pilot) For more stories or to keep up to date on what is posted for YVSC, view our In the News page
Our response to Steamboat’s low sustainability rank on recent report
February 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment
On February 12th, Powder Magazine reprinted a sustainability report from a study done by the Ski Area Citizens Coalition that ranked the Steamboat Ski Resort low against other ski resorts in the areas of Habitat and Watershed Protection, Addressing Climate Change, and Environmental Practices and Policies. Since then we have been getting bombarded with questions [...]
What we learned from Sustainability Manager Peter Brandom
February 16, 2013 By 1 Comment
During his short tenure as Sustainability Manager for the City of Hillsboro, Oregon, a rural, growing community just west of Portland in what is nicknamed the Silicon Forest, Peter Brandom has been working hard to achieve attainable goals, set higher standards, and praise the work that the city departments have already done. Brandom’s two sessions [...]
Come network and pick the brain of Sustainability Expert Peter Brandom
February 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Yampatika and YVSC are excited to introduce a guest speaker who lead an inspiring luncheon today with key City, County, and Community representatives. Join us this evening!! What: Happy Hour with Peter Brandom, Sustainability Manager for the City of Hillsboro, Oregon When: February 15, Friday, 5:00pm – 6:30pm Where: Steamboat Smokehouse, 912 Lincoln Ave, Steamboat [...]
Easy, local food solution
February 14, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Check out the Yampa Valley Co-Operative The on-line local foods marketplace whose primary goal is to “bring fresh, healthy, locally grown food and products to consumers in a cost effective and easy manner” $10 membership to buy local and no cost for producers! 2 easy pickup locations (Oak Creek, Steamboat) Eggs, produce, meat, bread, coffee, [...]
Are you an Energy Ninja?
February 12, 2013 By Leave a Comment
All last week there were “Energy Ninjas” in the public schools that are taking part in the Two Weeks to Take Charge Energy Challenge, slicing their swords through energy consumption! How? By turning off lights when no one is around, and making sure natural light is being used when possible on those bluebird days, by [...]
Strawberry Park Elem makes headlines for sustainability
February 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Report: Environmental Literacy in Schools: Success Stories across Colorado Successful environmental education programs at schools throughout Colorado are getting students more engaged in learning, enhancing interest in science topics, improving scores in reading, math, writing, and social studies, and preparing students with skills and knowledge for 21st century careers. Learn how nine ordinary public schools [...]
Turning Valentines Day from Red to Green
February 10, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Candy, sugar, cut flowers, consumerism, paper… any way you look at it, Valentine’s Day isn’t very green. But it doesn’t have to be like that. Here are some of our ideas and insights on this Hallmark Holiday. Live plants vs. poisoned flowers Roses are typically shipped from South America where they are heavily doused with [...]
YVSC announced one of 4 beneficiaries for Tour de Steamboat!
February 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Thank you Eriksen Tour de Steamboat for choosing YVSC as a beneficiary of the July 20th 2013 event along with Routt County Riders, Reaching Everyone Preventing Suicide, and Partners in Routt County. We’re excited to work with this group on a great fundraiser – look for more information to follow on how to help make [...]
Town Hall Meeting with Representative Mitsch-Bush
February 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment
When: Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013; 3:30 p.m Where: Bud Werner Library Hall What: Discussion on the 2013 Legislative Session Please join our new District 26 Representative Diane Mitsch-Bush for a “town hall” session focusing on the 2013 legislative session. This is an opportunity for constituents to openly share their ideas, questions and comments with their [...]
Local Food Movement in Motion
February 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment
At our monthly community meeting yesterday, Karen Massey of the Routt County Extension Office for CSU and Barb Parnell of LiveWell Colorado presented the findings from the LiveWell Food Assessment survey. There are some surprising statistics in this study, you can find a copy of the assessment and the powerpoint presentation below. LiveWell Food Assessment [...]
The Challenge is on!
February 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment
[Larisa Woycio, student of sustainability, Colorado Mountain College] Today marks the start of the 2nd annual Two Weeks to Take Charge Energy Challenge in four Steamboat Springs schools. For the next two weeks kids from Strawberry Park and Soda Creek Elementary Schools, and Steamboat Springs Middle School and High School have been tasked wit the [...]
Green Building Products: Panacea or Oxymoron?
January 28, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Last Tuesday David Adamson of EcoBuild Inc in Boulder Colorado gave a thorough and informational presentation on Green Building Products. If you missed that presentation, you can view his slideshow (powerpoint, PPT) here: http://www.yvsc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/GB-products-Panacea-or-Oxymoron.pptx For more about David’s expertise and history, view the blogpost on him here: http://www.yvsc.org/green-building-products/
