Where the Sidewalk Ends, Community Begins--Two Related Stories, and An Announcement

Story #1

This is Mike Berry (right), a Civics teacher at Dunwoody High School, and Graham Goldberg, a rising senior and member of the Student Government Association, and a seemingly insurmountable mound of mulch. They were among the handful of people who turned up Saturday morning to finish building a path on Barclay Road by Peachtree Middle School so that the cross-country track team would have a place to run.

As Bruce Anderson swung an ax at tree roots in the way, Kevin Cameron told me how they had a PowerPoint presentation all ready to show the middle school principal about why it was important to provide a safe path for running, but also how they had noticed that walkers had taken to walking in the middle of this winding road so that cars would see them.

They never had to show the presentation because once they shared their intention, the principal said, "Okay." And in a shockingly short amount of time, wheelbarrow-after-wheelbarrow full of free wood chips, raked by a team of two at the end of the path, was spread, its composting heat warm on our feet.

So now, where there is no sidewalk, there is a safe, wide path for walking and running. Thanks to people who saw a need and simply made it happen.

Story #2

I wasn't even going to tell you this story, but it is so heartwarming to me. It involves three very special people in our city. The first is a man named Bob Lundsten. I crossed paths with this man many times in the past year although I had yet to meet him personally. Bob was vehemently opposed to the farmers market at St. Patricks, not because of the farmers market but because of its proposed location in a residentially-zoned neighborhood. The fact that Bob was against this location carried tremendous weight, I noticed. Also, I saw his passion and purpose on display many times at City Council, Planning Commission, Dunwoody Homeowners Association and Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee meetings. When I needed advice recently about the best way for me to help our city when faced with a particular roadblock that almost had me packing my bags and hightailing it out of civic involvement, I couldn't shake the thought, "I wonder what Bob would suggest."

And so we met, and within about six seconds I realized this man is the absolute salt of the earth. Bob gave me advice that may just change my life (oh, forget the "may"-it already has). And he also told me that what he likes to do best is hear an objective and figure out how to make it happen.

At the same time, there is a City Council member named Robert Wittenstein who shares my . . . okay, let's call it obsession for urban agriculture (although he may just want to ride a golf cart from farm to garden!). We have been emailing and talking about community gardens since the first time I met him way back before he was even elected. (Danny Ross and John Heneghan have been in a number of these conversations as well.) For every idea I've had, Robert has shot back five.

Enter Rebecca Barria, an absolutely lovely young mother and a high school gifted program teacher, who had never been to a City Council meeting. She emailed me to say she wanted to start a community garden.

Long story short, although it all happened within mere weeks. All these people, plus others, got together. Several locations were explored, but all roads led to Brook Run (past the dog park, on the other side of the street, where the sidewalk ends), where we as a community have been told over and over that we can do nothing new until we gain stewardship of the parks as a City.

Yet . . . these people of positive intention pushed on, adding their particular expertise and influence to the equation (enter the Bills--McCahan and Robinson--of the Brook Run Conservancy, and Don Converse of Citizens for Dunwoody). Documents were written. Diagrams sketched. Phone calls and face-to-face meetings occurred in Dunwoody and elswhere in DeKalb. And last night, Rebecca, who was seated next to Bob, stood up at her first City Council meeting and said, "I'd like to encourage you to support the resolution to start a community garden at Brook Run Park." This resolution is important because it lets DeKalb County know that the City is in agreement with this proposed initiative and it therefore won't become an issue during park ownership negotiations if the garden is allowed to happen (although the garden may eventually need to be moved).

The resolution passed. Will DeKalb approve it? We'll know soon. We've heard they've halted four other plans for community gardens as they establish a county-wide policy, so there's reason to think they won't. Yet Bob is involved. And that makes me feel like anything is possible.

And that brings me to my point, about both these stories. As the Goethe quote hanging in my office states:

Whatever you can do, or dream you can,
begin it.

Boldness has genius, power,
and magic in it.

What is it that you want to accomplish? With whom do you need to get together? What first step can you take today?

I leave you with the first stanza of Shel Silverstein's famous poem, Where the Sidewalk Ends, because from what I've seen recently, where the sidewalks ends, community begins.

Where the Sidewalk Ends

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Email Rebecca at dunwoodygarden@gmail.com if you want to be involved with the Dunwoody Community Garden if it is approved by DeKalb County--especially if you have materials you can donate for a deer fence!

An Announcement

And that leads me to where I am on my own personal and professional path. This week is the one-year anniversary of when we voted to become a city--and when I started this blog, intended as a front-row seat to reporting decisions the newest city in the United States of America makes about sustainability (I never intended to actually get involved--funny how things happen).

Recently, several intriguing opportunities have emerged for me. I need to hear my calling more clearly in regards to these potentially life-changing opportunities, and will be taking a hiatus from writing this blog until September 1. I will continue to write FoodShed Planet each Sunday, to post little updates on Twitter, which run in the sidebar of this blog (click here if you are getting this via email), and to write my monthly column in New Life Journal (here is the latest). I also write a small business marketing blog for Kudzu.com twice a week, if you are (or want to be) a small business owner. (Local businesses, by the way, keep about 45 cents out of every dollar circulating in the local community, as opposed to about 14 cents of every dollar for national companies.)

I'll be back on September 1 to share where the path has taken me--and to find out where it has taken you.

Three Very Short Videos that Feature Sustainability Highlights Around Dunwoody

Wildcat Creek at the Dunwoody Nature Center from Pattie Baker on Vimeo.

(I think the apartment complex below is just over the Sandy Springs line)

Community Garden at Dunwoody Station Apartment Complex from Pattie Baker on Vimeo.

Children's Garden from Pattie Baker on Vimeo.

The Dunwoody PowerPark

The idea of having a bike path cutting across Dunwoody under the power lines was tossed aside pretty quickly last night at the Comprehensive Plan community meeting because the land is privately owned by homeowners. Ken Thompson then posted this comment on Rick Callahan's new blog:

We could buy it. Ya see, CoD snuck in an additional "Cost of Living in Dunwoody" tax, otherwise known as franchise fees. Now these here franchise fees are a significant part of the city revenue justified by the Georgia Municipal Association as a cost of doing business in the cities that simplifies utility company RoW acquisition yet addresses citizen concerns.

I digress...

Let us suggest that some of this money we collect as franchise fees be used for the GMA stated purpose. Let's purchase either the property under the lines or just an additional easement, or perhaps use the $1-100yr lease approach. If we really have to, we could use our newly minted power of imminent domain...

It is also not unheard of to use these areas. I believe Sandy Springs has some of the Morgan Falls golf course under them (of course that was a land fill and probably not private property). There are also grant programs like Project WINGS--converting rights of way into wildlife habitats.

I wouldn't give up so easily.

So, of course, this got me thinking yet again about that power line space. The Dunwoody PowerPark (or Power Parkway). A multi-use path for bikes, golf carts and pedestrians, with charming neighborhood-based community gardens along the way, and maybe a sand volleyball court at one big spot for our teens and a playground at another spot for our little ones. Benches along the way for resting and visiting for our seniors.

Could we actually work together to do something like this?

And Speaking of Stream Buffer Variances

So, what about the stream buffer variance being sought by the Goddard School applicant? I am not an expert in that area, so I reached out to my counterpart in Norcross, Connie Weathers, who is the chair of that city's sustainability commission. She is a water and recycling guru and has dealt with stream buffer variances several times. Smart lady that she is, she requested a recommendation on this particular situation from Jason Ulseth, Technical Programs Director at Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. Jason was already familiar with this particular situation.

Here is Jason's assessment:

Any project that is removing impervious pavement and replaces it with a pervious material is a good thing, as long as it is done properly as you indicated. I looked at the plans included in the application and they really seemed to be inadequate and incomplete. It is unclear by looking at the plans what the new footprint for the playground will look like compared to the existing parking lot footprint.

Additional plans should required showing exactly what is existing on the site and what is proposed, including a limits of disturbance. In addition, a proper Erosion, Sediment, and Pollution Control Plan should be developed that shows that they will protect the stream from potential pollution during the demolition and construction phases. We would also recommend that the applicant prepare a buffer planting/restoration plan as mitigation for this project. This can just include some details for planting some native species to enhance the buffer area around the stream, behind the proposed playground. I would not recommend requiring any work within the stream channel as that is really under US Army Corps of Engineers jurisdiction and not the jurisdiction of the LIA (Local Issuing Authority). I don’t think that all of this would be asking too much, and I think these plans could be easily drawn by a design professional and would not add an unreasonable cost to the applicant.

Our Sustainability Commission has not taken a group position on specific issues such as this as of yet. Whether or not we will is up for discussion at our next meeting. However, as a concerned citizen of this city, it is my hope that decisions such as variances not be made lightly nor without appropriate expert evaluation regarding the effects on the environment.

Where We Are with Green Community Certification: a Six-Month Update and Strategic Refocus

Warning: Big, fat newsy detailed blog post ahead! (I tried to make it as skimmable as I could, for your reading enjoyment.)

When I started this blog almost a year ago (July 17, 2008, the very next day after we voted to become a city), my intention was simple:

To bear witness to the formation of a new city, and to ask that sustainability be considered in the policies and procedures that were being adopted by our government.

The City Council's embrace of pursuing the Atlanta Regional Commission Green Community Certification, plus the creation of the Sustainability Commission, formalized the role sustainability would play in the development of this city. All exciting news. The ambitious goal at that time (December 18, 2008) was to achieve the Bronze level of ARC Green Community certification within a year. That's 175 points (most measures earn 5 points, with some earning 10). I'm all for ambition. It all sounded good.

During these last six months, we've achieve a good deal:

Phase 1: Measures achieved between January 2009 and June 2009:

• Measure # 10: LED Traffic Lights (5 pts)
• Measure #11: Lights Out/Power Down (5 pts)
• Measure #13: Energy Codes (5 pts)
• Measure #36: Green Fleet Policy (10 pts)
• Measure #46: Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Policy (10 pts)
• Measure #49: Recycled Paper Purchasing (5 pts)

(There is talk about claiming Measure #34: Farmers Market, but I question this since the farmers market is currently on federal land and will lose that location at the end of this year, and we currently have no allowable location for it in our City.)

However, several measures on which we've been working have raised questions for me about our strategic approach. It increasingly didn't make sense to me to pursue measures that require new rules for our citizens or businesses (can you say Night Sky Ordinance?) before we've even completed our Comprehensive Plan, which will give us a better picture of our shared future and will help to underscore and support the reasons why many of the ARC measures make sense for our community.

In the meantime, there is still much work to do for our government to serve as a role model in sustainability, and truly "walk the walk and talk the talk." Therefore, I recently recommended that we limit our focus to government measures (and things already in the works in the community such as Safe Routes to School) for the rest of 2009 as Phase 2 of our pursuit of Green Community certification. (I may be the only eco-concerned citizen who has ever asked a government to slow down on positive improvements related to the environment!)

Phase 2: Measures to pursue July 2009-December 2009:

• Measure #7: Energy Audits (govt) (10 pts)
• Measure #19: Water Audits (govt) (10 pts)
• Measure #28: No Net Loss of Trees Policy for govt property (10 pts)
• Measure #37: No Idling Policy (govt) (5 pts)
• Measure #42: Safe Routes to School (5 pts)
• Measure #47: Traditional Recycling* (5 pts)
• Measure #1: LEED policy for new govt buildings (10 pts)
• Measure #3: Energy Star or Earthcraft Light Commercial for new govt buildings (5 pts)
• Measure #4: Energy Star or follow LEED guidelines for govt building renovations (5 pts)
• Measure #8: Become a local govt Energy Star partner (5 pts)
• Measure #9: Energy Star equipment purchase policy (govt) (5 pts)
• Measure #20: Require WaterSense cert.toilets/urinals/faucets-new govt buildings (5 pts)
• Measure #35: Adopt a commute options program for govt employees (10 pts)
• Measure #57: Educate staff on green community initiatives (5 pts)

*If we are able to get credit for this (considering it is a Dekalb County program), we should pursue the possibility of getting credit for the new school’s cool roof under Measure #12: Government Cool Roof

As Phase 3, I recommended a communications outreach program so that you can see what your government is doing regarding sustainability, and how you can do some of these things in your homes and businesses as well:

Phase 3: Communications Outreach

Outreach should take a front-seat in first quarter 2010, following completion of the Comprehensive Plan. In the meantime, take a look at what we've been doing:

Outreach Update

• An established and active social networking site

• A presence on the official City of Dunwoody website (scroll down after you click) with a link to the social networking site

• An online branding campaign that was extended offline at the Comcast Cares event and includes promotional cards, a banner and a brochure

• Quick-glance 1-page Quarterly Reports (the new one will be up shortly)

• Several articles in the Dunwoody Nature Center quarterly publication

Additional ideas for 2010:

• Professional printing of the brochure with distribution at City Hall and the City of Dunwoody Chamber of Commerce

• Ads or articles in the Dunwoody Crier and/or other targeted publications

* Participation in events

• The potential formation of a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that could sell branded merchandise and solicit sponsor dollars to raise money for Dunwoody sustainability initiatives (such as a community garden, park benches, bike racks, etc.)

Phase 4 brings us to measures that directly affect citizens and businesses. Your involvement and support will be necesary at that time if we are going to truly become a certified Green Community. If folks don't rally around it, then we won't (but please realize, cities around us will). We have the ability to create a more sustainable city. We. You, me, our neighbors, our local businesses, our government. Together.

The Sustainability Commission voted yes on this. What this means, however, is that we will not achieve the 175 points by year's end (the maximum we could hit would be about 130). What it does mean is that we will continue our forward progression at the pace that seems right for our particular city's green journey. You know the saying: Aim for the moon; Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars. (Oh, goodness, not that Night Sky Ordinance again!)

This strategic refocus has been discussed in depth with our City Council sponsor and City staff supporters and will be discussed at the City Council meeting on July 20.

Word of caution:

This doesn't mean it's an environmental free-for-all until then. In fact, there are good, solid rules on the Dekalb books already which take into account the preservation of our environment.

I would strongly suggest as a City that we don't do things like issue variances to stream buffers, for instance, unless we have built in requirements so that whatever changes occur will improve the environment. We have the smallest headwaters to a watershed of any metro area in the United States. No matter what the media says about the drought, water is a major sustainability issue, and will prove to be far more important to our City in the years to come than we currently realize. We will be sorry down the road if we do anything additional to degrade or destroy our limited water resources, or if we miss opportunities for improvement.

I heard that years ago we presented a bunch of land parcels to Dekalb County for park preservation and only one was saved (the Donaldson Chesnut house and farm). The rest have been developed, and we are literally greenspace-starved in our city right now. (Come to tonight's community meeting to find out more about parks, facilities and funding.) Let's not lose or damage any other natural resources.

Who Says We Don't Have Transportation Alternatives in Dunwoody?!

Never Underestimate . . .

Introducing Citizens for The Dunwoody Community Garden from Pattie Baker on Vimeo.

Click on the video above and meet Rebecca Barria. Three weeks ago I didn't know her at all. As of today, I have stood in two different unloved, unused fields with her in the blazing sun for hours, along with a variety of other people from a city council member to non-profit leaders to a county government expert to a retired corporate exec and a U.S. serviceman. Dozens of emails among dozens of people have been exchanged. Much research and many conversations have happened. And a flicker of an idea has officially grown into a flame.

You see, Rebecca Barria just wants a community garden. Yes, yes, she knows Dekalb County still owns Brook Run but wonders if it could still be created there anyway, and she is willing to do the legwork involved to make it happen. She already has more support than you can imagine (see list in first paragraph of people who have stood in fields with her). She now needs your support. Email Rebecca at dunwoodygarden@gmail.com to get involved with the Citizens for the Dunwoody Community Garden. This actually can happen this year in Dunwoody, if enough people believe in it enough to get involved. And, no you don't have to be a gardener. Lots of first-time gardeners join community gardens, plus many people get involved just to help get the garden going or because they have some materials they can donate (fencing, mulch, cedar for raised beds, tools, etc.)

But this post is not just about Rebecca and the Dunwoody Community Garden. It's about other people like Rebecca, who have unachievable ideas and set out to achieve them.

* It's about people who are tired of waiting for a walking/jogging path so they are making one themselves.

* It's about a person who almost lost his wife and committed to raise enough money to equip every police car in Dunwoody with defribillators, and is well on his way.

* It's about a group of moms who are spearheading the first organic vegetable garden at a school in Dunwoody. (That would be Vanderlyn--please email me if there are definite plans for organic vegetable gardens at any other school for this fall).

* It's about Independence Day tomorrow and how this country and this city were founded by people who had some new, innovative ideas and then made them reality.

* It's about a suburb of Atlanta, now the City of Dunwoody, that somehow created the largest Fourth of July parade in the state of Georgia.

* And, ultimately, it's about one of my favorite quotes in the world:

"Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has." (Margaret Mead)

This Independence Day, set yourself free. Dare to dream a little. And believe what is being proven as true, over and over again here in one of the newest cities in the United States of America: Together, we can achieve whatever we believe is possible.

From Waste to Wonderful--Teen/Tween Reporters Weigh In!

So this past weekend was the big Go Green Expo at the Cobb Galleria and for weeks people in my "green world" had been asking if I would be there. Frankly, I felt "greened out." There's a big green event every single week, and I pick and choose carefully which ones to attend because for a working mom in suburbia, going to these things means a logistics juggling act with the family, a time-management crisis with my paying work assignments, a stressful drive on highways, and frankly, a consumer-buying-focused atmosphere that contradicts where I'm trying to head in my life. Especially on a Sunday, I'd much rather be gardening, riding my bike, making a meal or reading a book in the hammock.

Yet, as the day came closer, I got a fresh idea. I'd ask the kids if they wanted to come and be "reporters" for the day. I told them that, ultimately, it didn't matter so much what I liked, but what they liked that would determine the future.

My older daughter brought a friend and the two of them headed off together happily. I caught glimpses of them deep in conversation with vendor after vendor. My younger daughter was my partner as we made our way around. We all met up for lunch and shared our favorite finds of the day.

All four of us agreed immediately that one of the best stories at the show was . . . . drumroll please . . . . the recycled glass trays and jewelry at Beca Designs. Here's why:

Not only were these products beautiful, but owner/designer Beth Carter collaborates with restaurants and bars in Athens, GA (where she lives) to collect their empty glass liquor and beer bottles. She then melts the bottles down and forms them into her hand-cut, kiln-fired products.

I love cradle-to-cradle, closed-loop stories like this and think businesses that work together to use resources creatively and sustainability are a true asset to a city. The teens found Beth's solution to materials-sourcing brilliant, and my younger daughter just thought the products were so beautiful. Wouldn't you love stories like this right here in Dunwoody?

I'll be sharing more from these teen/tween reports in the weeks to come. You truly won't believe the product that the teens thought was the very best, hands down, or the one my younger daughter zeroed in on. Not at all what I would have predicted!

In the meantime, check out Beca Designs and start thinking about how we can encourage more businesses here to go from "waste" to "wonderful."

UPDATE

I asked Beth how many bottles she has recycled, and here is her answer:

It's conservative but we estimate we've collected approx. 4000 - 5000 bottles since we began in late 2007. We collect every week from our regular locations plus friends, friends of friends, and family also donate to the cause. There's such enthusiasm from the people we ask to participate. It's evident people want to "go green" but many do not know how. Our program gives them the opportunity to green up, feel good about it and see an end result. Tangible evidence is sometimes the little push folks need to join.