This summer has really driven home the need to make some changes in an effort to beat the heat. As we segue into fall, the weather has been relatively gentle here–a continuation of the right amount of precipitation, and the right amount of hot summer and fall days–though hotter thanContinue Reading
What is Green Tier? Green Tier empowers leading organizations to align their environmental management system with business objectives and strategy for continual improvement in their environmental performance. Green Tier recognizes that each organization’s purpose to strive for superior environmental performance is unique; many find that, no matter their reason,Continue Reading
Editor’s Note: Impressive. Taking in all these initiatives, in waste management, energy production, great design for the human scale, community building, and education, Rochester MN can be proud of their innovation. Read on… Olmsted County Waste-to-Energy Facility The Olmsted Waste-to-Energy Facility (OWEF) is making garbage useful by burningContinue Reading
Editor’s note: One of the buildings benefiting from Rochester’s extensive green project is the Mayo Civic Center. This sort of full circle recycling and waste processing is an innovative and cost effective solution to major issues that plague larger communities–finding ways to deal with waste, pollution, addressing the fragile karstContinue Reading
The following provide a wealth of resources for use by educators desiring to enrich learning about the Driftless Region through hands-on or place-based learning. School field trips may no longer be an option due to funding and recent pandemic challenges but parents may seek to visit nature centers and refugeesContinue Reading
Based on presentations from the virtual online Restoring the Driftless sponsored by TU Driftless Area Restoration Effort (TUDARE) The overt signs of climate change inundate us daily with extreme weather events such as the tornadoes that killed more than ninety people in five states in December 10-11, 2021 and theContinue Reading
Tell us about your background I have an unusual background due to the variety of roles held in public education. I have a BS- Secondary Education with double major in the sciences (earth & natural sciences) and a master’s in educational media. I was a public-school educator (science teacher andContinue Reading
Who are you? Professionally, I’m the Program Coordinator for Crawford Stewardship Project. I was born in the barn and largely raised in the hills and valleys of the Driftless region at Dancing Waters Permaculture Cooperative in rural Crawford County. I’m an avid drinker of spring-water, pig-walla, homesteader, paddler, communityContinue Reading
It’s easy for humankind to think they’ve seen it all. We’ve traveled to the moon, scaled the world’s highest peaks, and cataloged some of its wildest flora and fauna. And yet, so much of the world remains unexplored, so much unknown. Almost 95% of the oceans remain uncharted, and hereContinue Reading
Building resilience—the ability to adapt and recover from adversity—within ourselves, our relationships, and in our communities matters. When we find healthy ways to cope with trauma and toxic stress, especially during the tough times, we take a step closer to becoming more resilient. Coping with life’s challenges Taking care ofContinue Reading
In 1896, a lone Civil War veteran, making his way back home to his farm located in what is now Onalaska, WI., was one of many war weary soldiers coming home. I imagine he sought solace returning, to the fragrant fields, to the warmth of his young family, away fromContinue Reading
It’s often assumed that loving, married couples will eventually be buried next to each other for eternity. However, that will not be the case for Mineral Point’s Hollywood connection, Allen Ludden, and his wife of 18 years, the recently departed Betty White. Ludden was born Allen Packard Ellsworth in MineralContinue Reading
“One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds. Much of the damage inflicted on land is quite invisible to laymen. An ecologist must either harden his shell and make believe that the consequences of science are none of his business,Continue Reading
Smaller communities of hunter and gathers, then larger communities of towns and cities seeking Sustainability or “to sustain” is the ability to continue over a prolonged period of time. Do we have what it takes? Is there enough time and will to correct the course to achieve sustainability? Do weContinue Reading
Just like our computers at times in our culture , as well as in our lives, we just need a “reset”—to start fresh, to operate better, to function properly. These moments of awareness that “something is off”, or “we can do better” signal a huge opportunity for positive change. ForContinue Reading