Building the ‘Spirit’ of Spokane

Alli Riese wanted to start a community conversation. She wanted it to be easy and comfortable, inspiring and provocative. She wanted it to be without barriers or agendas yet geared towards a common goal: building the local sustainable community. Cassie Price (Taylor) was of a like mind. Cassie and Allie knew what they wanted – something they both experienced in Seattle. Although they didn’t know each other at the time, both had frequented informal monthly meetings there organized by a group called Green Drinks. The meetings were usually at a bar, maybe a business, and included a cool vibe of just hanging out with friends, even if you didn’t know them yet. No commitment, no requirements, really, except for a desire to be part of a caring community. Allie and Cassie met back in Spokane and found they had a lot in common. “Coming back to Spokane, after having been gone for awhile, I wanted to know where my community was,” said Price (Taylor), a real estate developer. In February, 2008, Green Drinks’ Spokane chapter, was born. “Green Drinks is about creating a space for the people who care,” said Riese, fundraiser and writer for Gonzaga University’s University Relations Department. “We strive to be very welcoming and say ‘wherever you’re at is a great place to start.’” Not too long after, Riese met Jillian Wright while kayaking on the Spokane River and invited her to a monthly Green Drinks gathering. “It’s been so phenomenal in that I’ve met such a wide variety of great local people,” said Wright, delegate relations coordinator, People to People Youth Ambassador Programs. She’s now part of the volunteer organizational efforts. A previous volunteer organizer, Tracy Wendt, relocated to Missoula last spring, but Riese, Wright and Price (Taylor) continue the group’s monthly planning and organizing efforts. Green Drinks Spokane meets the second Tuesday of each month, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., at a different monthly location. While partnering with other organizations, each meeting focuses on bringing people together and raising awareness, while keeping things casual. For instance, any formal message from their partners or themselves is only given three minutes. Going on three years now, thanks to these girls, Green Drinks brings together people from all corners of our community, and brings more to the table than just drinks. What earth-friendly products/businesses are on your “favorites” list right now? Riese: Green Salon and Day Spa comes to mind…Annie Grieve and her crew are incredible, beautiful, local women having fun and doing the right things for people and the planet. Price (Taylor): I am so excited for Sun People Dry Goods! I also love eating locally in my neighborhood—the Perry District—where there’s so many great small businesses. Wright: I’m a huge fan of Pedals to People. Bike commuting can seem like a daunting life-change, but P2P sells bikes tuned up and in great shape; then they offer classes on bike self maintenance. What is your next goal in living sustainably? Riese: Being light on myself and kind to others. I am pretty focused on the goal of getting my MBA in May 2011 which feels like it will go a long way to making my life more sustainable. Price (Taylor): I’d like to keep increasing my garden and put more food up. I’d also like to put new windows in my old house and see the Spokane BALLE chapter get off to a good start. Wright: I’m trying to be more of a locavore. It’s pretty clear that eating locally-grown food is a great way to contribute to the economic stability of your community while reducing your carbon footprint. There are a number of fabulous restaurants around town that focus on local food and sustainability—looking forward to frequenting those, as well as farmers markets, even more. What issues do you think people should be more aware of in regards to sustainable living? Riese: For me, sustainable living is about doing what I can to reduce my impact and be a role model in whatever small ways that I can be. I would like people to be aware that it’s OK to start where they are. Price (Taylor): Sustainable living is a day to day thing. Most people think that they have to convert all their power to solar and wear hemp to make a difference, but it really is the choices with our consumer dollars that are the most powerful tool we have for furthering sustainable living. We can create local jobs that keep us and our neighbors employed by where we place our money. Wright: That there’s more than one way to live sustainably, which is Green Drinks’ basic premise. Too often, the ‘green’ community ends up in-fighting, with accusations that some groups aren’t ‘green’ enough to fit in or that one group is greener than another. The truth is a sustainable community requires multiple solutions, not just one. What is something simple, yet sustainable, you practice in your personal life that maybe not everyone thinks of but anyone can do? Riese: I try to not buy so much…I stay away from the “gimmicky.” Thomas Friedman says it well in his book “Hot, Flat and Crowded” with “Change your leaders, not your light bulbs.” It talks about how members of the “ecointelligencia” love cool new stuff but stuff isn’t the answer. Price (Taylor): I keep a little green composter in my kitchen to deal with food scraps. I use biobags and the new composters don’t have any odor issues. Food is so easily taken out of the garbage and made into something useful—I don’t even notice anymore. Wright: To drive as little as possible, I try to group errands together and go out on a single day, rather than making multiple trips around town all week. What would you like to see happen in Spokane with regards to sustainability, in the next five years? Riese: I think sustainability is a community effort so I encourage more conversation…I would like to see more bridges between the far left and far right ways of thinking. Price (Taylor): Spokane gets a bum rap, but it’s really had a great past five years as far as sustainability goes. I’d like to see green building become mainstream, buying local to be the cool thing to do, and I’d love to see wind projects that I’ve been working on that have stalled out take off. I’d love Spokane’s economy to keep getting stronger by investments in local business. Wright: A) The Spokane River cleaned up and protected. To that end, I support the efforts of the Spokane Riverkeeper and Friends of the Falls, and B) safe roads for all travelers—our transportation infrastructure needs to be realigned to include bikes, pedestrians, and public transportation options. I support the Complete Streets initiatives supported by Mayor Verner and some council members.