One of the ways that we try to “give to what matters most” is to serve our community, to help build a better future.
On January 11, 2017, Mayor Javier Gonzales officia
lly appointed me to the Sustainable Santa Fe Commission during the evening’s City Council meeting. As a volunteer advisory commission, we are charged with advising the City’s governing bodies on matters related to sustainability programs, projects, and policies. The long-term goal is to create a 25 year Sustainability Plan which will address the City’s renewable energy plans, energy efficiency, land use, water use, food security, and many other areas of sustainability.
Currently the Commission is working on revising the current Sustainability Plan, with the aggressive goal of making the City of Santa Fe carbon neutral by the year 2040. The public is always welcome at our monthly meetings, so you can stay up-to-date on the process. Soon, there will be a public rollout of the plan, culminating in a series of city-wide meetings asking for community input and feedback. Please stay tuned for those community meetings — and plan to attend and participate in this vital process!
This isn’t my first taste of participation in local sustainability efforts, of course. I served on the Board of the Santa Fe Green Chamber for the last four years, including as its Board President for the last two years. Part of our work has been to promote local green businesses — and to lobby the Legislature to support green businesses all over New Mexico. We have also had a series of successful events, our annual Green Festivals. This year, the Green Festival will include a regional Water Conference, and will take place the weekend of June 4 – 6, 2017. Check the Green Chamber’s website for more information as the Festival gets closer.
We believe it is vital to give back to our communities, not only in areas that are important to the work we do, but also to the things we are passionate about. So volunteering for these things is in our blood, and we spend many evenings and weekends giving to what matters most. Change begins within our communities. We hope this inspires you to get involved as well.
May better days come ahead for the good works that we all do together!
