3 26 15 boulderganic by Boulder Weekly

SPRING/SUMMER 2015

Bringing self-sufficiency and sustainability home

What’s all the buzz? Learn how you can protect pollinators

Choosing a CSA from Boulder County’s many options B Lab helps local businesses develop social and environmental practices A Boulder-based holistic teacher’s approach to healing in a digital age

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Spring/Summer 2015

Susan France

STAFF

Publisher, Stewart Sallo Special Editions Editor, Caitlin Rockett Advertising Director, Jeff Cole Director of Operations/ Controller, Benecia Beyer Circulation Manager, Cal Winn

EDITORIAL

Editor, Joel Dyer Associate Editors, Elizabeth Miller, Matt Cortina, Amanda Moutinho

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contents

Food & Garden 7 Environmental Issues 12 Sustainability 21 Business 31 Health & Fitness 38

BURSTING WITH NEW LIFE

Ana Guttridge, with Ollin Farms in Longmont, operates a CSA serving Boulder County

Boulder Weekly Boulderganic Spring/Summer ’15

ust when it seemed like the whitewashed days of winter would never end, spring begins to unfold in Colorado, bringing with it new life. The fresh days of spring will give way to the never-ending days of summer, and the smell of forsythia, lilac, charcoal and newly cut grass will fill the air and stir memories of summers past. With our skis and snowshoes tucked away for now, we hit the road and trails on our bikes, shoot through rushing white waters in kayaks and let the sun kiss our cheeks as we summit the many peaks Colorado has to offer. With ample sunshine and the promise of a million adventures, it’s hard not to feel energized — we know we do. And as such, it brings us great pleasure to bring you this year’s first edition of Boulderganic. With all of this new life budding around you, why not get in on the game? Get out there and plant a pollinator garden that can not only help spruce up your apartment or neighborhood, but also help out important species. Speaking of helping out, we also help you choose from Boulder County’s many community share agriculture programs so you can support local farming and get fresh fruits and vegetables all season long. We haven’t forgotten that all this life around us can only flourish if we live in a sustainable manner, which is why you’ll find stories of a newly forged, youth-driven sustainable initiative in Longmont and a local group that’s teamed up to create environmental housing on Native American reservations. There’s also an article on how new techniques in mapping could help forest managers fight against insect outbreaks in Western states, and a piece explaining how the great “green” state of Colorado could step up its recycling game. And while we focus on how to keep the Earth healthy, we also remind you to keep yourself healthy, mentally and physically. All in all, we hope you’ll stop and take a little time to enjoy this edition of Boulderganic, but most of all, we hope you’ll stop and enjoy the many wonders of the world around you. March 26, 2015 5

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Boulderganic Spring/Summer ’15 Boulder Weekly

What’s all the buzz? Tips on protecting pollinators by Mary Reed

ast fall, a bear entered David Braden’s Golden property and — as cartoonish as it sounds — ate his bees. But all bees, whether they are kept by a beekeeper like Braden or are wild, are under more serious threats than bears. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s most recent data, out of all the nation’s managed honeybee colonies, 23.2 percent were lost over the winter of 2013-2014, which was considerably better than the previous eight-year average winter loss of 29.6 percent. The somewhat mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder is largely to blame, though a recent Harvard study has indicated that CCD isn’t necessarily a mystery, linking it to a class of pesticides known as Here are some suggestions neonicotinoids. for flowers that will help you provide food for pollinators “Bees throughout the growing seaare facing a son. Spring: Blue mist penstemon, number of sugarbowls clematis, prairie problems.You smoke, nodding onion Summer: Black-eyed Susan, could categomonarda (bee balm), showy rize them as fleabane, harebell Fall: Sunflower, aster, rabbitmites, viruses brush and poison,” For information about where to buy neonicotinoid-free Braden says seeds and starts, visit from his home beesafeboulder.com. as he waits for a friend to bring a new colony of bees this spring. He explains that the mites are parasites, the viruses work much in the way similar viruses attack humans, and the most dangerous pesticides are systemic, that is, they are absorbed by a plant’s tissues and spread to the plant’s pollen and nectar. There are actions that individuals can take to help pollinators. And as individual actions add up, they make a difference in the lives of these animals that in turn pollinate the plants that become our food. Start by eliminating insecticides Perhaps the easiest action you can take to help pollinators is actually an inaction. Don’t use pesticides, insecticides or herbicides at home. “Granted, the bees may have other problems … but the poisons are the ones we can eliminate,” Braden says. “If they are less stressed by

Mary Reed

David Braden works to rebuild his bee colony.

the poisons, they might have a better chance against the mites and the viruses.” Avoid using any insecticides at all, but if you are having a pest problem, look for the words imidacloprid, clothianidin and fipronil then avoid products with these ingredients — which include flea and tick treatments for your dog. Plant a pollinator garden Perhaps the most pleasing way to help out pollinators is to plant a garden. “A pollinator garden is a garden ... that you plant specifically to attract and provide habitat for pollinators in your area,” says Deryn Davidson, a Colorado State University extension officer for horticulture. She points out that while most people think of bees first, pollinators include flies, beetles, birds, butterflies and moths. “Habitat loss is one of the biggest issues [affecting pollinators],” Davidson says, “That’s why it’s important for people to use some of their space to create that habitat.” Davidson points to data that show natural habitats in urban areas have a substantial positive impact for pollinators. And anecdotally, her extension office is seeing enough interest in pollinator gardens that they are working on a guide to help would-be pollinator gardeners. “You want to look at the phenology — when they bloom and when they will be a food source to the pollinator,” Davidson says about your choice of plants. In other words, make sure something is blooming in the spring, summer and fall (see infobox for specific plant ideas). If you’re new to gardening, this might sound intimidating, but it doesn’t need to be. “Just start small,” Davidson advises. “I think one thing that people do is, even if they don’t have

Boulder Weekly Boulderganic Spring/Summer ’15

a lot of experience, they plant this big, huge garden. And if it fails, they just think, ‘I have a brown thumb’ and they get discouraged.” You can start with a small patch of flowers and/or vegetables (they flower, too, of course) at home or in a community garden plot, and you can even do container gardening if you live in an apartment or condo. Davidson points out that pollinators need food, water and shelter. Even just a dish with water and pebbles or a snag for shelter on your property can help. Make your neighborhood pollinator-safe If you want to take it up a notch — and meet some of your neighbors in the process — consider joining forces with those nearby to create entire pollinator-safe zones. North Boulder’s MelodyCatalpa neighborhood was the first in the state to garner “bee safe” designation. Golden beekeeper Braden is executive director of Living Systems Institute, which awards the designation to neighborhoods. To earn the basic level of a bee-safe neighborhood, 75 contiguous homes must sign a pledge to avoid use of all systemic chemicals. That’s not necessarily a hard sell, Braden argues. “Even the most committed user of poisons understands the need for pollinators,” he says. Even better, Braden would like to see these neighborhoods pledge to eliminate all chemicals and install pollinator-friendly landscaping. If you’re interested in becoming a bee-safe neighborhood coordinator, go to www.livingsystemsinst.org. In the meantime, Braden will be working on installing an electric fence around his beehives. March 26, 2015 7

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Boulderganic Spring/Summer ’15 Boulder Weekly

A mule named Jasper Friar Farms gets back to basics with mule-plowed fields, CSAs and a fresh food market by Kyle Eustice Susan France

s you pull into Friar Farms on South Boulder Road, the vast landscape of the operation is astounding. Acres upon acres of land make up the expansive property and instantly draw you in to the beauty of it all. Walking toward the entrance, you cross an old wooden bridge with a stream running underneath, then step into the future fresh food market, where much of the produce the farm yields will be sold. Headed by Scott and Samantha Anderson, Leah Anderson enjoys Friar Farms sits on land once life on Friar Farms home to a large community of Arapahoe Indians. In fact, the last Arapahoe Native American in Boulder farming methods at Friar Farms. Anderson says he County is the farm’s neighbor to the west. It was hopes to be working the entire farm with mules also once home to the Abbey of St. Walburga. within two years. While utilizing mules to plow For many years, the nuns raised their own grains fields is not a new thing, the benefit to the farm for bread they made, milked their cows and grew and land is significant. It’s a radical approach to their food. As the new stewards of the land, Friar reducing the farm’s carbon footprint and a model Farms is committed to restoring the sacred land for future farmers. and cultivating the best products possible. Friar Farms is using a couple of different One of the unique aspects of the farm is a wooden plows depending on what is being culti4-year-old American mule named Jasper. The vated. The wood plows are piezoelectric (meanmule pulls a wooden plow custom-made by Scott ing they generate an electric charge when used), Anderson and his lead farmer Fernando Mejia. which Anderson says brings more life back into Jasper will cultivate two-acres this year. Friar the soil and lends a vegetable, herb or flower a Farms is the only farm in Boulder County that lot more vibrancy. Arugula, beets, broccoli, kale, uses animals to cultivate and plow the land. The melons and zucchini are included in CSA (Comlast time animals were used to work the fields in munity Supported Agriculture) shares purchased Boulder County was 1960, and a wooden plow from the farm. hasn’t been used in the county since 1886. The Friar Farm’s CSA Manager Tom West talks emergence of an old way of farming is bringing about the farm like nothing else matters. Much new life to the organic and permaculture-based like West, Resident Farmer/Agro-Ecologist Alec Boulder Weekly Boulderganic Spring/Summer ’15

Solimeo also has an intense love for the land. Together with Solimeo’s wife and fellow resident farmer Cassie Mauney, they are committed to making Friar Farms one of Boulder’s leading CSA farms. “There’s clearly a need for local farms in Boulder,” West says. “The CSA model has been widely accepted here. It’s a great way to help farmers kick off their season. There’s a great demand for CSA shares. We started the CSA share program this year. Big agriculture is wiping out the small farmer. Keeping it local is very important.” “We want a viable, longterm economy here,” Solimeo adds. “A lot of the things we manufacture in the United States, we’re shipping it in and we’re burning fossil fuels to do it. At Friar Farms, we are attempting to turn things inward and focus on local production of things. We are trying to be a part of the wave that’s already moving and that’s the local movement.” The war against big business and agriculture has been ongoing for years. However, it takes effort to participate. It’s not as simple as going to the grocery store and grabbing what you need. With more than six years of experience growing on a large scale in Gunnison, Colo., Alec Solimeo is familiar with what it takes to make a farm work, but he says it’s on the consumer’s shoulders to take the extra step. “I see an educational lapse where people no longer understand what’s necessary to profit see FRIAR Page 10

March 26, 2015 9

Susan France

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from those fields,” Solimeo says. “To get farm food, you’re going to have to come here. We’re not going to put it on the shelf at the store. We’re attempting to break into people’s habitual daily routines. Ultimately, it takes work on the part of the consumer as much as the producer. I feel that we are doing well.” To do this, the sale of CSA shares is crucial. Full shares, which can feed four to six people, cost $550 for 20 weeks (or $27.50/week), but if that sounds too high, half shares and mini shares are available for $350 and $250, respectively. Friar Farms also has juicer shares at $150 for 10 weeks. “We have between 150 and 180 CSA shares,” Solimeo explains. “We have the farm store, and we are the only CSA farm on South Boulder Road. CSA shares are how most farms produce revenue before food starts growing so they can cover their costs without having to dip into their own pockets.” “It’s the single thing that has saved the small farm,” West adds.

“The Monsantos and big agriculture [are] trying to run the small farmer out. The CSA model has really saved the small farm.” The farm store opens May 1 and will be full of goods that come from not only the Friar Farms property, but also other local manufactures. Open six days a week, West says it’s an ideal solution to those packed crowds at early morning farmers’ markets. “People love the farm store because the farmers’ market has turned into such a circus,” West says. “We provide a small, intimate market place without having to worry about parking and things like that.” The share pick up is 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., convenient for people just getting off work or for those who would rather not wake up at the crack of dawn. Solimeo is not one of those people. He wakes up with the sun after maybe six hours of sleep (if he’s lucky) so he can put in the 80 to 90 hours per week it takes to make Friar Farms among the most sought after in the area.

Boulderganic Spring/Summer ’15 Boulder Weekly

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t was a one of those classic sunny Colorado Despite the significance grasslands hold in days in early January when Carlos Fernandez maintaining ecological balance, only 5 percent of the moved to Boulder to become the new state world’s grasslands are protected, according to The director of the Colorado chapter of The Nature Conservancy, with Patagonia’s grasslands Nature Conservancy. His daughter, Sophia, was most imperiled of all. Naturally, the Patagonia grasstwo weeks old. lands became a primary focus for TNC. “It was her first plane ride,” he says. “[My wife Not only did the grasslands need protection, and I] were freaking out a little bit because of but also the humans who rely on them for their Erika Norte Mann germs, but we were so exlivlihood. cited about coming here that “A big part of the ecosysit was an opportunity we tem are the ranchers that live just couldn’t pass up. It was there,” Fernandez says. “And a beautiful, sunny Colorado the ranchers are not cattle day — then we had two days ranchers, they are sheep of snow. But the weather ranchers.” here is similar to Patagonia: Fernandez explains that Don’t like the weather? Wait after World War II, the 10 minutes.” percentage of clothing made It’s more than just the from wool declined rapidly weather that the Argentina with the rise of synthetic native sees as a similarity fibers — the fiber that once between Colorado and the constituted 40 to 50 percent Argentine Patagonia. With of all textiles currently makes snow-capped mountains, up about 2 percent of the flat grasslands, abundant world’s clothing. However, sunshine and vital headwathere is resurgence in using ters, Colorado and Argennatural fibers, like wool. tina share many geographic Pressed to create more characteristics — and products to ensure more environmental concerns. As profit, sheep ranchers in Carlos Fernandez, the new director for The Nature Conservancy of Colorado, in the the new state director for Patagonia had succumbed grasslands of Argentina. The Nature Conservancy, to poor grazing practices. Fernandez hopes to create Fernandez says that in order solutions in Colorado by drawing upon his experito make more money, ranchers would bring more ences in Argentina. sheep into areas and let them graze, unsupervised, Fernandez began his career with The Nature for months at a time, leading to overgrazing. Since Conservancy 12 years ago as a lawyer for the South part of TNC’s mission is to protect lands and water American Program, and seven years ago he led the for nature and humans, Fernandez wanted to find creation of TNC’s first program in the Argentine a way to create a sustainable future for the sheep Patagonia. ranchers of Patagonia while restoring the landscape. The Patagonia Grassland Conservation Proj“I had been reading, at that time, a book from ect was created to combat the rapid loss of this Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia [outecologically diverse and important ecosystem. door clothing and gear manufacturer], called Let My The Patagonia grasslands support more than just People Go Surfing, and he was talking in that book shrubs and grass — there are foxes, rheas (flightabout why he called his company Patagonia, and less birds related to the ostrich and emu), Andean there’s a paragraph that says, ‘Frequently, travelcandors and keystone species such as the guanaco ers forget that Patagonia is a bunch of overgrazed (humpless camels) and puma. sheep farms,’” Fernandez recalls. “[Chouinard] 12 March 26, 2015

always thought the goal for Patagonia the company was not only to make the best product, but also to solve big environmental issues. So I approached [the company] and said, ‘I’m a big fan of yours, but your name is Patagonia, your logo is a mountain in Patagonia, Argentina, yet you buy wool from New Zealand and Australia and not from the same place where you got your name. And by the way, there’s a better way of doing this. Organic wool is not enough.’ So I put together a five-bullet-point memo, sent that to them, and in two weeks, I had people from Patagonia contacting me and saying, ‘We want to work with you. What do you mean organic wool is not enough?’” The best way to explain the situation was to take a trip to the Argentine Patagonia. For 10 days, folks from Patagonia clothing and The Nature Conservancy met with Argentine sheep ranchers and came to an agreement: For five years, 100 percent of the wool Patagonia uses in its apparel will come from Argentine ranchers who are implementing environmentally restorative grazing practices. It’s a win for the ranchers, a win for the clothing company and a win for the Argentine grasslands. Fernandez says that The Nature Conservancy is currently in conversations with SmartWool socks and apparel in Steamboat Springs, Colo., to work out a similar long-term agreement to use wool from Patagonia. Fernandez also hopes to bring sustainable practices from Argentina to Colorado. He sees Colorado’s beef farming as a potential place for improved sustainability practices, and says he would like to have a corporate partner to drive such a project as he did with Patagonia clothing and Argentine wool. “So who would be the corporate partners that would have an environmental standard that would like to partner with The Nature Conservancy and would work with ranchers to come up with some sort of change?” he says, adding that, since he’s still new to his job in Colorado, it’ll take some time to sort out this new endeavor. Chris Pague, a senior conservation ecologist with The Nature Conservancy in Colorado, worked with Fernandez on the Patagonia Grassland Conservation Project. Pague says he believes that Fernandez will bring a global perspective to his new position as TNC Colorado’s new director.

Boulderganic Spring/Summer ’15 Boulder Weekly

“[Americans] have no way of understanding how life happens in much of the rest of the world — it doesn’t show in the news — and I think he’ll see a whole suite of options that we can’t see necessarily,” Pague says. “The political changes, the social changes in Argentina and now the economic changes — he grew up in Mendoza, the wine country, and what a magnificent change that’s seen, but much of the rest of country hasn’t benefited in the same way Mendoza has. I think those experiences will always bring a more problem-solving, visionary look at how conservation works for everybody — for nature and people, it’s got to work.” Pague has also seen Fernandez’s “boyish enthusiasm” for nature through hobbies like angling. Pague accompanied Fernandez to the Blue River, near Breckenridge, Colo., once for some trout fishing. Fernandez caught a 20-pound trout on that trip, and his excitement was unmistakable. “And I saw the same [enthusiasm] whether we were looking at a penguin colony in Argentina or some certain kinds of flowers along trails in Argentina,” Pague says. “So I think he’s got that youthful enthusiasm from playing around in nature that I think is so critical in our work, that I think will be beneficial in generating support, generating vision and really inspiring people.” Then, Pague says, there’s that newborn baby, little Sophia. “I don’t know how it couldn’t affect any father to be thinking about the future and the well being of all the people that we’re one day going to leave behind,” Pague says. “Already I can see in his face how amazed he is at having a child and how that is already shaping new ways of thinking.” Fernandez readily agrees that the birth of his daughter has heightened his desire to find solutions to environmental challenges. “For the past 12 years I have been working with TNC I have always understood, because I have nieces and cousins with kids, that a lot of the work that I was doing was not only for our generation but for future generations to come,” he says. “Now, the day that my daughter was born, if

that was true before, it’s even closer to my heart how hard we need to work so the generations of my kids and their kids really will have a beautiful world.” Fernandez says he’s happy to be raising his daughter in Colorado, and he’s excited — really, truly excited — to be living in the place he’s consid-

ered a second home for more than a decade. “There’s a lot of beauty, but also people in Colorado take the environment really seriously and take nature seriously,” Fernandez says. “As someone told me once before, the issue in Colorado is not the work-life balance, it’s a life-work bal-

ance, and I am really proud of being able to be a part of that big family of Colorado right now. And I’m here for the long haul — I’m not here to prepare for my next big career move to the worldwide office. I have been in international programs before, and I’m really excited for all the opportunities that Colorado has.”

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Courtesy of Garett Meigs

or decades, two upcoming risk maps. tiny insects have “This new technique can wreaked havoc on help us understand not only North American how insect outbreaks are forests, from Maine initiated and spread but also to Oregon. For decades, address the question, ‘What forest managers have been comes next?’” Maffei said in relying on aerial data and a press release. “It can help ground-based surveys to us better understand the evaluate insect destruction process of recovery.” and create management Satellite-image research plans. But only recently on mountain pine beetle have researchers combined outbreaks has been done traditional surveys with in Colorado, too. Univerfiner-scale satellite images to sity of Idaho researchers better understand outbreaks Arjan J. H. Meddens and caused by mountain pine Jeffery A. Hicke examined beetle and spruce budworm. Landsat data for pine This new technique could beetle attacks on forests improve forest management. in the Rocky Mountains “This is the first time of northcentral Colorado anyone has compared the between 1996 and 2011. Combining traditional aerial and ground-based surveys with satellite images could lead to improved for- They were able to calcuimpacts from these two est managment practices for combating mountain pine beetle and western spruce budworm outbreaks. insects in consistent units late a much more accurate of change going all the way mortality rate for the trees back to 1970,” said Garrett from the satellite data, and Meigs, a post-doctoral republished those findings in searcher at the University of Forest Ecology and ManageVermont, in a press release. ment in 2014. Meigs analyzed the comAlthough the pine beetle bined mapping technique outbreak peaked in their by Hannah Miller while he was a doctoral study area in 2008, Medden student in the College of a joint program of NASA and the U.S. Geological and his colleagues pointed Forestry at Oregon State University. Survey, has been orbiting the Earth every 16 days out that in Colorado, pine beetles are still a threat While outbreaks for both insects are cyclic, they since 1972 collecting valuable data. because they are moving into lower elevations — affect trees in different ways. Mountain pine beetles Meigs and his team added a third type of data, especially around the Front Range, where they are burrow through the bark of pines — particularly ground-based surveys, which show plots of forests more visible. ponderosa, lodgepole, Scotch and limber — and where tree height, branch length, age, vegetation Researchers have hope that such combined lay eggs inside the trees, killing them off within a appearance and more have been measured. mapping tools can be used for the next wave of year. The spruce budworm, on the other hand, is “These plots were specifically on National Forinsect attacks: the spruce beetle. According to Jamie a defoliator — eating the needles from a number est land and that allowed us to compare to the satCundiff, forest programs director at the Aspen Cenof fir trees and sometimes hemlocks and various ellite imagery, which had a more relevant measure ter for Environmental Studies, this infestation could types of pine. Trees often die after a year or more of change in the forest,” says Meigs. “We were able have an even worse impact in Colorado since the of defoliation. to do some analysis to basically convert the change spruce beetle began to outpace the mountain pine Every year since 1947, surveyors have been we saw in the satellite imagery to an image of tree beetle infestation in 2012. flying over the U.S. in small planes as part of a mortality that makes the interpretation more excit“Ongoing loss of our spruce forests due to federal-state project known as the Aerial Detection ing and much more relevant to land managers.” insect infestation is deeply concerning as the Survey. Basically, a forester sticks their head out the Overall, the OSU researchers analyzed almost snowpack contained there acts as a reservoir. … window, notes where the trees are, and then draws 1,000 Landsat images, spanning 28 years. Colorado’s high elevation spruce forests provide drinking water to 18 states,” says Cundiff. “Degthem on a map. Meigs’ work combining datasets could prove to radation of our forest resources goes beyond the The OSU researchers took a series of these be a boon for strategic planning, according to the aerial maps for forests in the Pacific Northwest and U.S. Forest Service’s Helen Maffei, who worked with aesthetic, adversely impacting agriculture, recreation and basic human needs.” compared them to Landsat satellite data. Landsat, the OSU group and plans to use their research in

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Boulderganic Spring/Summer ’15 Boulder Weekly

Low municipal waste diversion rates may be tied to rural recycling With Colorado consistently falling below the national average for municipal solid waste diversion, less-populated regions may hold the key to breaking even by Steven Grossman

iving in Boulder, it’s often easy to feel resources, according to the Colorado Association than 80 percent of respondents claimed to have spoiled for choice when it comes to for Recycling. Their findings showed discrepancies recycled aluminum, plastic, paper and/or glass over recycling outlets. But for many Colorado between urban and rural recycling. the last year — but, the study showed there was a communities, recycling isn’t just a luxury Since the gap in waste diversion rates depends “noticeable divergence in the number of residents — it can be missing all together. largely on regional population and geography, the who recycle often in regions of the state where Despite the state’s reputation there is limited or no access to for environmental innovation and Justin Urban waste diversion facilities.” offering accessibility to recycling There were 145 registered outlets, a report published by recycling facilities in Colorado at the Colorado Department of the time the CDPHE report was Public Health and Environment published, but with only a few (CDPHE) shows that Colorado’s of them were able to process reputation may not be well and transport municipal solid earned. waste recyclables to out-of-state “While Colorado is often markets, and no current wasteviewed as a leader in environto-energy facilities that incinermental issues, based on comate waste to produce energy in ments made during various stakeColorado, much of that waste is holder meetings, waste diversion ending up in landfills. operations frequently are lacking “When you’re looking at or remain undeveloped in many rural areas, their budgets are regions of the state and do not very limited,” Marjorie Griek, live up to the state’s green imexecutive director of the Coloage,” the report states. rado Association for Recycling, Colorado’s waste diversion says. “It costs money to buy rates increased by nearly 10 the equipment to collect the percent between 2007 and 2012, Colorado falls behind national averages for municpal solid waste recycling — but the state materials, and it costs money taking their first drop in years in to transport the materials, and could catch up if there were more options for recycling in rural areas. 2013 to 22.8 percent, according it costs money if you need to to a document provided by the CDPHE. But with report says, the solutions for Colorado meeting, process them at all. ...You don’t have those quanthe national average hovering around 34 percent or exceeding, the national average for municipal tities that you can get in a more urban setting, so over the same period, Colorado still falls short — solid waste diversion may very well lie in developit just gets expensive, and the logistics for moving but the CDPHE report offers insight into why. ing sustainable diversion operations catering to that material can be difficult as well. ... It costs, and Senate Joint Resolution 13-038 prompted Colorado’s less-populated regions. when you have such limited quantities of materials the CDPHE to host meetings with stakeholders While the state has below-average diversion it’s really hard to make up those costs.” — local businesses, companies and organizations rates, a 2012 CDPHE study showed that the maIn order to combat the issues presented by dealing in recycling or waste diversion practices jority of Colorado residents are making an effort rural recycling, Griek says the Colorado Associa— in order to craft a report on how to improve to recycle. Based on findings from the Behavioral the sustainability of Colorado’s waste-related Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey, more see MUNICIPAL Page 18 Boulder Weekly Boulderganic Spring/Summer ’15

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tion for Recycling, along with organizations like the CDPHE, have been developing “hub-and-spoke” programs aimed at forming a larger umbrella operation that incorporates more rural communities. The program creates a “hub,” or central operations center, that services the smaller communities around it. By pooling the recyclables from multiple rural regions, recycling becomes more cost effective and efficient, Griek says. The Recycling Resources Economic Opportunity Fund (RREO), awarded through the CDPHE, gives funds to organizations seeking to implement hub-and-spoke recycling models, particularly in rural communities. But rural recycling, even in its most efficient forms, still has its drawbacks, according to Wolf Kray, environmental protection specialist for the CDPHE. “There’s a big issue as far as rural collection infrastructure in Colorado,” Kray says. “Because we’re such a spread out state, it’s pretty difficult to get recyclable materials to market. One of the biggest challenges in the recycling industry, just like any waste 18 March 26, 2015

industry, is the cost of transportation. It’s a lot more affordable to take a roll-off to a landfill 20 miles away than it is to consolidate those recyclables and ship them, essentially overseas, or at least to the West Coast where most of the markets are for recycling.” With few end-markets in Colorado that actually have the ability to remanufacture recycled commodities, Kray says, rural recycling becomes even more difficult because there are often no in-state outfits taking certain recyclables, making the landfill that much more appealing. Clean Valley Recycling, awarded a $29,790 Recycling Resources Economic Opportunity Fund grant for 2015, is one of many rural hub-andspoke programs struggling to cater to rural communities where recycling is often viewed as a foreign concept. “With the lack of historical recycling availability, even if you were to have [recycling] more available, there’s a time lag as far as awareness goes, and habit,” Stephen Nielsen, the general manager and only full-time employee at Clean Valley Recycling,

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Clean Valley Recycling is a “hub-and-spoke” program aimed at providing more rural recycling options.

says. “Even if you’re available and local, you’ve got a population that [is] not accustomed to recycling.” Clean Valley’s hub, situated in Swink, Colo., operates out of what used to be an old sugar factory, Nielsen says, their “jurisdiction” winding along the rivers, ditches and railroads running from east-to-west just outside of Pueblo. They operate almost entirely through volunteer work, with their spoke cities’ collection centers all managed by volunteers. “Even in these rural areas that are pretty conservative, of course you still have people who want to recycle, who want to do their environmental part, and so they’re willing to help out on the weekends, or during the week,” Nielsen says. Being the only full time employee for Clean Valley, Nielsen says he works six days a week doing most jobs around the office — driving for pickups, baling, picking up the phones, cleaning — but he says he’s aware of the complex issues that often make rural recycling more difficult. First citing specialization, Nielsen says that many recycling operations will only take certain items, making it more frustrating for people who have already lugged their recyclables 70 miles into town — if an organization is only taking glass and metal, for instance, they have to drive to multiple locations. But most importantly, Nielsen sees

one issue as more prevalent than all the others — money. “There’s resistance on the part of the public to pay any money, since it doesn’t come out of the municipal bill,” Nielsen says. “When the city takes it on and says, ‘We’re going to all recycle and you’re going to be paying [per month],’ ... you pay your bill and you just forget about it. But it’s different in a conservative area where all these municipalities are hesitant [because] they don’t want to tack anything on anyone’s bill. ... Trash is a moneymaker. They pick up trash and they put it in the landfill, and they make a profit. And so in one tiny sort of way, if everyone recycled here it would actually reduce revenue to Otero County Landfill and to the cities. ... These cities need to find a better way to make money than to see trash as a revenue generator.” With municipalities resistant to offering funds to recycling programs like Clean Valley Recycling, Nielsen says some of the spokes are dropping off, and if the state doesn’t do something to incentivize rural recycling, it may be a problem without a solution. “We’d like to get more support, but you don’t want to go begging,” Nielsen says. “If these municipalities really just don’t want to shell out money, you get tired of asking. ... We’re just on the edge. It’s a bit of a struggle ... we barely make it. We’re barely making it.”

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Saving the planet requires a revolution A look at Sustainable Revolution Longmont’s first year by Andrea Neville

Courtesy of Joan Gregerson

hen Joan Gregerwill be introduced to the state legisson discovered a lature in April,” Gregerson says. need in Longmont At the event, there will be youth for a sustainability booths so kids can express their organization, she support for the environment. had no idea she would become the “Our underlying goal is we want voice of a revolution. to build a community of environFormerly an energy engineer mentally minded youths that feel in Fort Collins, Gregerson was no supported and don’t feel crazy for stranger to sustainability practices. caring about the earth, for coming “After moving to Longmont in up with these cool ideas and creatDecember of 2013, I just wanted to ing their own solutions,” Gregerson go to the sustainability meetings in says. “We want these people to town, but I couldn’t find any,” says know that yes, you are right on Gregerson, founder of Sustainable track. That this is the thing to be Revolution Longmont (SRL). “If I caring about.” wanted to learn about bees, local The City of Longmont Planning foods or energy efficiency, the meetand Development Services Departings were happening in Fort Collins, ment recently signed up for a booth Sustainable Revolution Longmont’s Youth Council gives environmentally conscious Boulder or Denver.” at the event, which Gregerson says youths a forum to share their ideas and create solutions. “I had a meeting in February feels like a big win. called Ignite Sustainability Network,” “Our mission is L.E.A.F,” Gregerson says. “We “We think it really is going to Gregerson says. “We had a handful of people that link people, we empower, we advocate for and be leading the community in an arguable way by came, and one person there said, ‘I think we need a facilitate sustainable solutions in Longmont and showing that people care,” Gregerson says. “They revolution.’” beyond.” happen to be kids, but they are going to be the Gregerson agreed. So she took the reins and In addition to meetings, SRL also began a webones who will benefit or pay depending on if we contacted the city to see about formally setting up a site and newsletter. Gregerson was going to put get our act together here or not.” sustainability group, but she was met with opposition. Earth Day information in the newsletter but found Sustainable Revolution Longmont also began “When reaching out to people in the city, they there were no scheduled events in Longmont. the monthly meeting Longmont Green Drinks, would say, ‘Please don’t write me an email with the “I called the Boulder County Fairgrounds, and I which Gregerson describes as “networking with word sustainability in the address,’” Gregerson reserved the fairgrounds for the next Earth Day [in likeminded people to discuss sustainability.” says. “The word ‘sustainability’ just means we’re not 2015],” Gregerson says. “We didn’t have any money, “We have two other initiatives that we have going to screw things up so bad [and] that our kids and we only had a couple people coming to the started,” Gregerson says. “In our November meetare actually going to have a chance.You can only be meetings, but I don’t want to have another Earth ing, a group decided to form a climate action comfor sustainability — if you are against it, you have Day where nobody discusses it.” mittee, and in January, six of us made a coordinated misunderstood what it means. They formed a group to plan for their Earth call at a city council meeting for a sustainability and “I decided forget it, it’s a revolution,” she says. Day event and found themselves surprised with climate action plan.” Sustainable Revolution Longmont became offiwho was taking charge. Sustainable Revolution Longmont also recently cial on April 15, 2014 with their first meeting about “We were getting so disappointed with adults formed a partnership with Eco-Cycle to bring curblast fall’s proposed sustainability tax. While the we thought, ‘The adults can’t lead this, the kids need side composting to Longmont. sustainability tax never got off the ground, Sustainto.’ The people that are saying, ‘Don’t contact me Gregerson says it will require work to bring able Revolution Longmont did. with the word sustainability,’ those people can’t lead some of SRL’s other ideas to fruition. Gregerson says Sustainable Revolution Longus,” she says. “We need some massive re-education. We can mont now hosts about 16 meetings a month. They formed a Youth Council that arranged the only do so much in our public monthly talks, so we need a film series,” Gregerson says. “There is just “It’s easy because people want it and are comYouth of the Earth Festival to take place this Earth so much we have been brainwashed about with ing out to support it,” Gregerson says. Day, April 22. our foods, our transportation and the way we use An environmental organization at its heart, SRL “They designed the logo, are doing the outenergy.” is also a community-building, educational forum. reach, have spoken to Longmont City Council and Boulder Weekly Boulderganic Spring/Summer ’15

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22 March 26, 2015

Boulderganic Spring/Summer ’15 Boulder Weekly

Courtesy of Rob Pyatt

The house pictured on the left is one of four prototypes by the Native American Sustainable Housing Initiative that will help determine which construction materials will be used in the Thunder Valley development on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Photo on the right: Rob Pyatt (right) and Lenny Lone Hill (left), the construction director at Oglala Lakota College, discuss plans. The NASHI house was the result of university students collaborating to plan and build the NASHI house.

The secret to sustainability The Native American Sustainable Housing Initiative taps into what our grandparents knew and we forgot by Cassie Moore

hirty miles south of the Badlands of South Dakota, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, prairieland reaches out on either side of a two-lane highway into a sweeping horizon. Historically, this is a dismal place, affected by perpetual poverty and substance abuse. The sparse landscape — the reservation spans more than 2 million acres — is dotted here and there with nondescript homes, the majority of them built in the ’60s and ’70s by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. From the highway, it’s not obvious that 33 percent of these homes lack electricity, basic water and sewage systems, or that they’re riddled with mold or that inside many of these single-family homes there are 10 to 20 people sharing the small space. It’s not obvious that this reservation needs 4,000 more homes just to combat overcrowding, but that homeownership is barely viable here where the per

capita income is slightly more than $6,000. Rob Pyatt is a Boulder-based architect and University of Colorado professor, and he has driven back and forth from Boulder across this stretch of highway at least a hundred times in support of a regenerative mission on Pine Ridge, what he says might be the highlight of his career and an inspiring model for a more sustainable world. The Lakota people who call Pine Ridge home have come up with a solution to the housing crisis on their tribal lands: They’ve developed a pioneering plan for a sustainable, 34-acre net-zero (meaning it won’t use more energy than it produces) community called Thunder Valley, with homes that cost less than $100,000 to build, that can be financed in part with sweat equity and will have monthly mortgage payments of $300 to $400, but will implement passive-solar technology, solar panels and wind turbines. These ultra-affordable but sustainable homes make a model that isn’t just

Boulder Weekly Boulderganic Spring/Summer ’15

a new hope for Pine Ridge, but it’s a repeatable model that could be implemented on reservations across the country where, collectively, 250,000 homes are needed to combat homelessness and overcrowding, according to Pyatt. In architecture school, Pyatt was miserable, a square peg squeezing through the round hole of architecture theory, which he says was abstract, grandiose and lacked humility. His experience in architecture school was that it was irrelevant to the real world, that what he was instructed to build were objects, more about the ego of the architect than the needs of the inhabitants. “I knew I was looking for something else,” he says. That something else came in the form of a master class he took with Australian architect Glenn Murcott, who emphasized aboriginal knowledge and see SECRET Page 24

March 26, 2015 23

SECRET from Page 23 Courtesy of Rob Pyatt

invited an aboriginal elder into the design studio to teach about sustainable design that had little impact on the Earth. It changed the course of Pyatt’s career. As a professor, Pyatt thought of creating a service-learning program for his CU architecture students. It would be a real-world classroom where students interested in tackling the affordable housing crisis would have an opportunity to implement sustainable, affordable and culturally appropriate housing in rural America. “We need to pair our architectural graduates with communities to become more experienced working on projects that are relevant to society as opposed to this idea that we should all design museums,” Pyatt says. In 2010, he founded the Native American Sustainable Housing Initiative (NASHI). Because Pine Ridge was the closest community with the greatest need, and because they had a tribal college with a construction technologies program that could serve as a catalyst for cross-cultural exchange, NASHI partnered with Thunder Valley in 2012 to build a 1,000-squarefoot straw bale house, the first house on the planned 34-acre development — both a functional home when it’s complete and a research project that will inform the construction techniques of other homes in the development. When it’s all said and done, three other NASHI prototypes will be built, allowing students an opportunity to test what method of construction materials are best suited for the South Dakotan prairies: straw-bale, compressed earth block, structural insulated panel or advanced wood frame. If there’s one overarching mission of NASHI it’s to build community relationships. The housing, Pyatt says, is a just a happy byproduct of learning to be an architect that sees architecture as a change-agent, a rallying point 24 March 26, 2015

Students install solar panels one top of the NASHI house at Thunder Valley. The project demonstrates the power of partnership between volunteers, says Andrew Catt-Iron Shell, community engagement coordinator for Thunder Valley.

for dialogue. The NASHI house was the result of collaboration between tribal students, CU and other nearby university students and tribal members planning, designing and building the house together. Every summer since 2012, CU students have lived at Pine Ridge, building alongside Oglala Lakota College students, as the weather permits. “Architecture is a social art and political act, it’s not an object,” Pyatt says. “If you’re going to be a successful architect you’re going to have to be really comfortable working in collaborative social and political environments. We spent years before we even broke ground working on this project.You have to be very patient and listen really well. If you’re able to listen and implement those ideas, it will be lasting, but if you’re closed off and just following your own song, it’s not going to work.” Andrew Catt-Iron Shell is the community engagement coordinator at Thunder Valley and says the true mission of the Thunder Valley development, and the true partnership with NASHI, is one of empowerment. “The physical houses themselves are part of a bigger strategy around

looking at the systemic change that is needed on Pine Ridge,” Catt-Iron Shell says. “So it’s actually a mechanism to create pathways of opportunity and pathways out of poverty. No white man is going to come in this community and save us, so we have to learn to build our own skillset for the solutions that we need. So this process that NASHI has had with Thunder Valley promotes that. Our intention is more about building up the individuals, these young people, and the happy outcome is the physical house sitting there, but as the mechanism. These students could be sitting on mom’s couch thinking they have no hope, no opportunity. They learn to build a house from start to finish. For them, they’re empowering themselves by learning these skills.” Nick Tilsen is the executive director of Thunder Valley, and he says the partnership with NASHI has been successful for a few key reasons, among them because Pyatt understands that the regeneration happening on Pine Ridge is a Lakotaled initiative. “[Pyatt] has been super gracious, generous, patient, and really he puts

his own ego aside, which is really rare for architects, right? It goes against how all architecture sort of is and how it’s taught — a lot of times the work becomes about the architect and how talented the architect is, and less about the communities themselves,” Tilsen says. “That’s not how Rob [Pyatt] is. It’s been about what is best for the community and that’s how we’ve been able to create this great partnership.” Every month for almost three years, Pyatt and Janna Ferguson, NASHI’s project coordinator and a former student of Pyatt’s, have driven the six hours from Boulder to Thunder Valley to see and further the progress on the NASHI house. It’s nearly complete. The patience required for this kind of thoughtful and time-consuming building isn’t taught in architecture school, says Ferguson. “I think that’s partly why the industry is the way it is,” she says, nodding when Pyatt says architecture schools often teach to the “starchitect” and encourage hubris. “We’re so used to building a skyscraper in three weeks...” “And the value is placed on that,” Pyatt chimes in. “On how cheaply and how quickly you can do it.” “So a project where you spend three years building one house,” continues Ferguson, “it’s resisting the status quo and that’s partly why it’s challenging, but also why it’s rewarding.” The newest NASHI project and student design-build will be in Jemez, New Mexico, similar to the house at Thunder Valley. In preparing for the build at Jemez, which will be a traditional rammed-earth building, Pyatt and Ferguson recently traveled to China to research 800-year-old still-standing rammed-earth structures. Soon they’ll be going to Tibet to do the same. The logic, Pyatt says, is that the secret to sustainability is what our grandparents already knew and we forgot — not inventing solutions but rediscovering them.

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Boulderganic Spring/Summer ’15 Boulder Weekly

Listening globally Dan Roberts of The Shortwave Report on world news, community radio and 40 years of living off-the-grid by Gavin Dahl

ome of the only Englishlanguage radio news and opinions from Japan, Germany, Cuba, Russia and Spain currently available in the U.S. are broadcast from an off-the-grid cabin in rural Mendocino County, California, where Dan Roberts produces The Shortwave Report. Roberts got his first solar panel in 1980 and hasn’t looked back. Currently, with four solar panels, batteries and a backup generator, he requires only about 10 gallons of gasoline per year. “I have a really tight system,” Courtesy of Dan Roberts

A shortwave radio at Dan Robert’s cabin in California.

Roberts says. “The guy next door brought power in like 20 years ago, but I really don’t want to be on the grid. I want to be self-sufficient.” When Roberts first got into shortwave broadcasting, he was living in a remote area of neighboring Humboldt County in northern California. He had no local radio reception. So he started fooling around with a shortwave receiver. He was amazed to find broadcasts from Radio Moscow, Radio Havana Cuba, Radio Netherlands and the BBC, and became an avid listener. “I could listen to these other, different, really different, perspectives,”

Courtesy of Dan Roberts

he says. In 1997, he started The Shortwave Report as a weekly 30-minute summary of news and opinion from other countries. Originally it just aired on one NPR affiliate in Mendocino County. Two decades later, it is carried by dozens of non-commercial stations, including KGNU, around North America and overseas. In the first few months of doing The Shortwave Report, Roberts presented stories about mad cow disease from European broadcasts. “I hadn’t heard it on American media at all,” he recalls. “I remember kinda Dan Robert’s cabin in Mendocino County, Calif., where he produces The Shortwave joking about it. England and Report, a 30 minute review of news stories recorded from a shortwave radio, produced completely off-the-grid. Germany had some cases early on and as the seriousness of the epidemic grew, it was simply never hear otherwise,” Jeff next to nothing. Small grants and unveiled how widespread it was. We Shaw from KDRT-LP in Davis, Calif., listener contributions have helped weren’t doing anything to protect tells BW. him sustain the project. the people in this country who eat For Shaw, whose station’s tagline Roberts clarifies that he doesn’t beef.” is “radio from the grassroots,” airing broadcast his own program internaLike the reception of a radio The Shortwave Report each week is tionally because of the electricity it receiver, the facts can get fuzzy about helping listeners become “bet- requires to bounce a signal off the the further away you travel from a ter citizens of the world.” ionosphere. story. Roberts is very clear about his “I’ve done all kinds of acting lo“You need 100,000 watts, minimum, for international shortwave sources, always announcing before cally, from getting in front of logging frequencies,” he guesses. “So I don’t and after where each report origitrucks to marching,” Roberts says. do that. I do this very efficient thing. nates. “Now my theme is listening globally. I live super efficiently. When I bought “We got a few calls during the Radio is my activism. I love the stafund drive from people saying Shorttions I’m on. Here in rural Northern solar panels in the ’80s, they cost eight or 10 times as much as they do wave Report is one of their favorite California, radio draws the communow, and that was in those dollars. shows,” says Lupito Flores, who airs nity together in a different way than A panel back then was $500. That the show on KYRS community radio it does in the city. A lot of people in Spokane, Wash. up here have no television and don’t same panel now would cost you less than $100. Solar panels have gone Listeners appreciate the uniquewant one.” way down in price. I’ve lived off the ness of the material. Tuning in to the voices of the “Dan brings international voices world, editing together his show, and grid for 40 years. And a lot of people to the FM dial our listeners would uploading it for affiliates, costs him see LISTENING Page 28

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March 26, 2015 27

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have solar panels that feed back into the grid. It’s totally do-able.” Roberts says he aims his weekly selections of international news at American audiences, including many listeners who hear the stories by accident while tuning in to public radio. However, Roberts says the shortwave band isn’t what it used to be. Many governments now prioritize online distribution of video coverage in English. Roberts rarely records actual shortwave signals for his program anymore. “Radio Netherlands was a great radio station that has now vanished,” he says. Belgium and Romania primarily air cultural ads for their countries. Meanwhile, Radio Havana Cuba is still on shortwave, but also live-streams their English-language news online. Though the U.S. embargo has limited Cuban access to telecom equipment, it’s cheaper to build a website for audio files than it is to run a 250- or 500-kilowatt transmission tower. Roberts says Spain was doing great reporting, including a different perspective than wealthier European countries, but about a month before the English-language shortwave broad-

cast was dropped, reporters started talking about how the country’s rightwing government planned deep cuts. Radio Deutsche Welle closed down a 500-kilowatt transmitter near Munich last year and demolished one of the world’s biggest shortwave facilities. Roberts particularly misses the editorials. “The way they tell a story is different than NPR,” says Roberts. “I’m using NPR as the standard, figuring that a lot of people who listen to radio are using NPR as a reliable source. But NPR stories rely frequently on quotes from anonymous government officials.” Roberts deflects criticism that he’s rebroadcasting other countries’ propaganda. “Our propaganda is not that different from what the governments of other countries are doing,” he says. “Nobody is telling the absolute truth. The Internet allows people anywhere to look at the world from how that media source in a different country is looking back at us.” You can catch The Shortwave Report on Monday afternoons at 3:30 on KGNU. Gavin Dahl is a volunteer member of KGNU’s board of directors.

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Boulderganic Spring/Summer â€™15 Boulder Weekly

Back to the future B Lab helps local businesses develop social and environmental practices by Amanda Moutinho

Courtesy of Kim Coupounas

he B Corporation certification is now, you could learn how to be a great for companies who are socially employer.” and environmentally friendly. Not every company passes the While some believe it’s the assessment right away. Running shoe future of business, Yoav Lurie, coand apparel company Newton Running founder of Simple Energy, says he thinks started the assessment in February of it’s the past of business. last year, but didn’t achieve certification “It’s like when people talk about until September. The company needed to farm-to-table as being a future trend. improve their environmental score, says What was farm-to-table 100 years ago? Newton vice president of administration That was just food. What was B Corps Anne Klein. They started recycling and 100 years ago? That was just companies,” composting, and since their office shares Lurie says. “With the hyper financializaa building, Newton installed an energy tion of the economy in the second half tracker and implemented strategies to of the 20th century, we lost sight of the control their consumption. They also importance of the individual and the changed their packaging to use 100 perimportance of the stakeholders. B Corps Director of B Lab Colorado Kim Coupounas (right) says the state is a hot cent recycled material and natural inks, are just local, organic, sustainable — that spot for social- and environmentally-conscious businesses. and they removed excess packaging mawas just the reality 100 years ago. Yes terial and hangtags. They continue to keep it’s part of the future that’s coming, and get out and hike a trail or go skiing. We live in a improving their standards, Klein says, by it needs to. But it’s coming because we’re coming place that values good quality of life.” working to measure other environmental impacts back to more fundamental values and the truth of The first step of becoming certified is taking and slowly weaning off their use of adhesives. who we are as people.” the assessment for free on the B Corp website. After passing the assessment, the company’s Over the past several years, companies have The only requirements for certification are being work still isn’t done. They have to recertify every been paying more attention to being better for open a year and being a for-profit business. Other- two years, and Coupounas says the assessment the world and not just more profitable. B Lab, the wise, it’s open to any business. Then, through the continues to evolve along with the companies. nonprofit organization that provides B Corp cerassessment, the company is graded on governance, Also, B Lab conducts onsite reviews for 10 pertification, is contributing to that notion by offering environment, community and workers. Based on cent of certified companies every year to confirm companies a set of guiding principles. The certifica- the responses, the company will have to produce companies are meetings standards. tion is given to those that meet B Lab’s standards documentation of certain answers. The passing Simple Energy became a B Corp in 2013. The in social and environmental performance, account- score is 80 out of 200. While 80 doesn’t sound like company leverages data analytics to get people to ability and transparency. Its roster has over 1,200 much, no company has a perfect score. Most great reduce their energy use. While the company has a B Corps in 38 countries across 121 industries, companies are in the 110s, Coupounas says, with strong score in the environment category partly with big-name companies like Ben & Jerrys, Patathe highest scores in the 140-160 range. The B Lab to their business, they also gain B Corp points by gonia and Etsy. website also provides steps to improve your score providing incentives for carpooling and using pubColorado has one of the highest densities of by offering suggestions ranked easy, medium and lic transportation, holding virtual meetings, having certified B Corps in the world. B Lab opened its hard. The application itself is also helpful for comextensive benefits packages for employees and for Colorado branch in January 2014. Kim Coupoupanies to use to fill the gaps, she says. For example, providing transparency. Getting the official B Corp nas, the director of B Lab Colorado, says this is it asks if the company has an ethics policy, provides status motivated Simple Energy to implement a prime spot for B Corps because there’s lots of vacation time for volunteering or rewards alterna- structures in their company, Lurie says. While the startups, renewable energy options, natural foods tive commuting style. company always strived for transparency, he says, and outdoor recreation. “Continuous learning is one of the core values the lack of a formal policy in place could allow for “We have a connection to nature,” Coupounas of B Lab,” Coupounas says. “This is a long game future oversights. “[Before certification] we hadn’t created a says. “We’re surrounded by the beauty of nature, to get a company ‘sustainable.’ It’s a long journey. policy,” he says. “What that does is, it opens up and we want to preserve that for our grandkids. They can make a big leap, but they still won’t have the possibility that we could slip or that we could We appreciate having balance in life and not geta zero footprint, for example, until the technology ting caught up in the notion that we have to sell catches up. We are learning fast from each other. our soul or work until we die — we’re going to And even though you might be a good employer see FUTURE Page 32 Boulder Weekly Boulderganic Spring/Summer ’15

March 26, 2015 31

FUTURE from Page 31

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get busy. So certification holds us It also helps to garner a loyal cusaccountable for maintaining those tomer base, Lee says. Over the years, practices.” Lee says his customers have grown atThe movement is gaining motached to Newton, even getting married mentum in Colorado. Since B Lab in their shoes, and he thinks it’s because opened, the number of certified of the way they run their business. companies moved from 30 to 55, “People want to be engaged people logging into Courtesy of Kim Coupounas with a product or the assessment a brand that says from 161 to 510 something about and future prosthem personally,” pects from 109 to Lee says. 800. Allison Salvati While Coupouof Bhakti Chai, one nas says she’d like of the first Boulder every company to B Corps, says she’s be a B Corp, she seen more compaknows that’s not nies take notice. realistic. A tangible “We put the goal that B Lab is logo on our bottles working toward is along with our for more companies other fair trade and to start measuring non-GMO icons, their impacts. and we got a lot “When compaCustomers are now looking for products that align with what they more questions a nies measure their for, says Jerry Lee, co-foundcouple years ago of stand social and environer of Newton Running. what it means, but mental impacts, now it’s becoming they start to make more of a well-known process,” Salvati changes,” she says. “So one of the really says. simple goals is to get a wide net of As the certification gains more mainstream companies measuring their steam, co-founder of Newton Runimpacts.There’s seven million businessning Jerry Lee says that he notices es in the United States. Not everyone businesses becoming more environcan be a B Corp, but every company mentally- and socially-aware. As a can see where they can improve.” baby boomer, Lee says he sees the Ultimately, Coupounas says, the shifting attitude of consumers. goal of B Corps is to create a better “This younger generation is really world for tomorrow. When Lurie embracing [consciousness],” he says. created Simple Energy back in 2011, “Now you’ve got to be something his goal was to start a company that more than a product. You have to be valued the stakeholders and that a brand that stands for something.” delivered value to the community Outside of advantages for the and environment. Not revolutionary community, the B Corp logo is good ideas, but more like the fundamentals. for profit too, Coupounas says. Some “Those were tenants we started of the monetary benefits B Lab cites is with, but those are not tenants we that certification attracts investors and discovered or tenants that are new,” potential employees. For Bhakti, Salvati he says. “B Corps aren’t harkening says B Corps makes them stand apart toward some future — of course, from their competitors, and it also helps we are, but it’s actually going back their smaller company to be aligned to the roots of business in the first with major names like Patagonia. place.” Boulderganic Spring/Summer ’15 Boulder Weekly

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Boulderganic Spring/Summer ’15 Boulder Weekly

Courtesy of 63rd St. Farm

Boulder County has one of the largest CSA communities in the state.

Guide to the gardens How to choose a CSA in Boulder County by Wyatt Carlson

here are numerous ways to support local agriculture, from dining at farm-to-table restaurants, volunteering at a local farm or purchasing goods from a local farmers’ market. However, community supported agriculture, or CSAs, allow community members to support local farms and agriculture on a more personal level by getting to know local farmers, learning about small-scale farming and strengthening the local farming community. Boulder County has many local farms that offer CSAs, but choosing is easy when you know what you want and what local farms offer. Dan Moore, creator of the website coloradocsas.info, has been a part of a CSA for more than seven years. According to Moore’s website, there are 10 CSA farms in Boulder and 35 pick-up locations, which is more than any other city in the state. “The basic idea is, [a CSA] promotes consumers having a more direct relationship with the people who raise food,” Moore says. “In general, it’s a prepayment plan. Especially in Colorado, farmers have need for money for see CSA Page 36

Boulder Weekly Boulderganic Spring/Summer ’15

March 26, 2015 35

Courtesy of 63rd St. Farm

Prepaying for CSA bundles is an essential practice for farmers to work throughout the year.

CSA from Page 35

seeds and fertilizers early in the year and don’t have crops, so they sell a share of their future produce to consumers.” “There is also some risk sharing, which is why it is called a farm share,” Moore adds. “You’re not only getting a closer connection with the farmer, but you’re also sharing some of the farmer’s risk and reward.” Customers should understand that most farmers are working with a level of risk that can affect the customer — such as loss of crops due to blight or weather — which is why a prepayment is essential to many farms’ success. “The community is supporting the agriculture, and we are in this together as a community, and as a farmer, we are doing everything we can to make sure you are getting as 36 March 26, 2015

much [produce] as possible,” says Amanda Scott, owner of 63rd St. Farm in Boulder. “But when Mother Nature says, ‘We’re going to wipe out your vegetables,’ there’s nothing that we can do as farmers to prevent that, so unfortunately we all take a loss.” “Having a CSA, everyone is prepaying for this stuff so that we can then ration out the money through the year,” Scott adds. “It’s a super helpful thing for farmers in my opinion. I can actually afford to be a farmer.” Prepaying not only covers a member’s share of food, but also labor, materials and maintaining the structures that are necessary for the plants and animals. Scott says customers shouldn’t expect refunds or a ton of flexibility because, most of the time, the money has been spent or

rationed out for the season. If you don’t have hundreds of dollars to pay at the beginning of the season, it might be hard to purchase a share. Some CSA farms offer shares for underprivileged families, but those who are able to prepay typically enjoy this aspect of CSAs. “It’s ... kind of a big hit [financially] in the spring, but after that [your food] is taken care of,” Moore says. Once some of the farmer’s expectations are understood, it is important to ask yourself some questions to assess whether a CSA is a good thing for you or your family. Generally, you should know what kind of foods you like to eat, how much food you will want, how many people you are feeding and where you want to pick up your share. Deciding how far you are willing

to travel in Boulder to pick up your food is the first step. From there, you should know the specifics of the farm and what you are looking for as a customer. This means knowing what the farm grows and how they grow it. It is important to make sure that the farm is growing food that you like to eat. Most CSAs provide a wide variety of vegetables in a standard share, so if you are searching for a select variety of produce, you may want to re-evaluate joining a CSA. “If you are a person who is really picky with your vegetables, do not sign up for a CSA,” Scott says. “But if you love anything and are super into experimenting with new stuff, CSA is totally going to be right up in your alley.” There are a variety of ways that

Boulderganic Spring/Summer ’15 Boulder Weekly

food is grown on CSA farms, but Moore says the growing standard for most CSAs involves organic methods. This is when farmers grow as best they can organically, but do not have an organic certification, typically because it’s a costly process. Moore’s website assesses the different growing methods and filters them according to preference and desired pick-up location. You should also be aware of your availability both inside and outside of the kitchen. A standard share at a CSA is typically a full produce box or grocery Gracie Nichols bag, and can usually sustain a family of four for about a week, but some CSA programs offer a variety of sizes. According to Moore’s website, if you don’t like to cook or you CSAs are good for eat out a lot, those who like to experiment in the a produce kitchen. share might not be your best option. However, many shares offer other staple items like milk, honey, fruit or small “snacking” shares. For people who like to spend most of their nights in the kitchen cooking, a larger or double share might suit you the best. If you travel often, it is likely that you will miss pickups or have food spoil. “The way around [missing pickups or overbuying food] is to join up with friends,” Moore says. “What something my family has done is we have some neighbors across the street, and we share a large share between the two families and that’s perfectly fine, and most CSAs don’t care about sharing, but they care about having a standard size.” Despite the risk involved, there are more benefits reaped than just food when you join a CSA. “We truly feel like our CSA members are family, and our cus-

tomer service reflects that. Our farmers spend time at each pickup getting to know every member personally,” says Connie Findley, business manager at Cure Organic Farm. “We try to tell the story of the farm each week via our newsletter and our personal interactions so

that people feel connected. We want them to feel like we’re ‘their farm.’” Moore’s website says that purchasing a food share is a great way to cut down on visits to the grocery store and encourages healthy and fresh cooking. Share members allow farmers to be more profitable than

selling to stores because they are usually able to put most of their food to use without waste. If you have a flexible schedule and a diverse taste in food, then joining a CSA is a great way to directly support the local economy and farming community.

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March 26, 2015 37

Emily Armstrong

Feel better, work better Small business strive to improve employee health and well-being by Devin Blomquist

Left Hand Brewing Co. employees put together a company-sponsored team for the Bolder Boulder in the name of health and wellness.

orking for a small business has its benefits — you can explore your own talents, get to know your colleagues and have opportunities to grow within the company. But there are drawbacks as well. For instance, small businesses may work with less capital than their larger cohorts, making it difficult to provide their employees benefits like workplace wellness programs. A recent study by the Colorado School of Public Health and Pinnacol Assurance found that if obstacles like program cost and execution are reduced, small businesses could be equipped to adopt worksite wellness programs for their employees. Only one-third of small businesses offer their employees the benefits of a wellness program, according to a press release on the research. For the purposes of this study, a small business was 38 March 26, 2015

defined as a company with no more than 500 employees for most manufacturing and mining industries, and those taking no more than $7 million in average annual receipts for most nonmanufacturing industries. Where wellness programs are concerned, small businesses cite direct and indirect program costs, lack of employee interest and management support, lack of program expertise and uncertain return on investment as barriers to wellness program adoption in the workplace, according to the study. “If [small businesses] look at what large businesses are doing, large businesses can afford to put a whole lot more money into these than small businesses can,” says Lee Newman, lead author of the study and professor of environmental and occupational health at the Colorado School of Public Health at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus. “So I think small businesses look at that, and

they go, ‘Wow, I can’t possibly do that.’ And in fact, one of the things we’re seeing is that it is possible for small businesses to do this if you remove some of those financial barriers,” Newman says. There are few wellness providers that can provide cost-effective services for small businesses, Newman says. However, if a small business offers employees a health care plan, there are often wellness benefits already in place. For instance, some health care plans offer free health assessments, discounts on weight loss programs, and help with stress-management and mental health issues. “One of the things that we do is we actually start by helping them see what they’re already paying for in their health care plan. So that’s no additional cost to them,” Newman says. Newman says another large barrier preventing implementation of worksite wellness programs is the execution of the program itself. If a straightfor-

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programs, clubs and activities put on and provided by Left Hand itself. “The thing that sets us apart from other places,” Boelman says, is that “we have camaraderie built into our program.” “We are not only getting healthy, but we are getting healthy together, and I think that’s really unique.” According to Boelman, Left Hand Brewery offers employees a ski day — where they close the brewery and go skiing together — tai chi classes every Thursday in the tasting room, cooking classes, as well as hiking, running and walking clubs, all in the name of health and wellness. Boelman says that each of these activities have a point value associated with them, so that for every activity an employee partakes in, that employee will garner so many points. Employees will then report their point status each month, and if they’ve accumulated a certain amount, those points will result in a cash prize that is to be spent on wellness related products like a yoga class or a new bike seat. At the moment, Boelman says, Left Hand Brewing has a 70 percent participation in the wellness program, and he has already seen great health improvements in his staff, noting that many employees have gone so far as to quit smoking. Gonzalez says the improved health of participants and increased productivity can be seen in as little as one year. Aside from increased productivity, Newman believes the single biggest reason to implement wellness programs is corporate responsibility. If businesses are thinking about how to recycle, compost and reduce their carbon footprint, they should also be thinking about how to create a workplace environment that values employees and their families, Newman says. “A healthy worker is a productive worker,” Newman says.

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ward framework on how to build a sustainable program is offered, small businesses are better suited to commit to implementation. Pinnacol Assurance, a workers’ compensation insurance carrier and partner of the Colorado School of Public Health in this study, has begun to offer their policyholders a worksite wellness program that addresses some of these barriers. Karyn Gonzalez, vice president of medical operations and health care strategy at Pinnacol Assurance, says the company provides the resources, tools and support small businesses frequently need in order to engage and roll out these programs. One of the local small businesses that took part in this study was Left Hand Brewing Company of Longmont. “We were just forming our wellness committee and really needed some help figuring out the direction of where we wanted to steer the company,” says Mark Boelman, accounting manager and chair of the wellness committee at Left Hand. According to Boelman, the study allowed Left Hand to utilize Pinnacol Assurance’s health risk assessment to determine the health and wellness areas in which the staff needed greater assistance. “The Pinnacol piece is key,” Boelman says, because without the assessment, Left Hand Brewing Company didn’t know where to focus their wellness efforts. Another wellness aspect the brewing company pulled from the study and incorporated into their own wellness program was the supplement of a wellness coach, Boelman says. Employees of Left Hand Brewing Company are offered a wellness program comprised of benefits found within the existing company health care, the health risk assessment and wellness coaching components from Pinnacol Assurance, as well as various

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Serving others by shifting consciousness Boulder-based spiritual healer connects with Gen Y on social media by Veronika Sprinkel

Courtesy of Heather Hans

K, full disclosure: when I began my research on Heather Hans, I found myself erring on the side of skepticism. Don’t get me wrong; I am a person who tends to lean toward, rather than away from, spiritual faith.Yet, in this instance, I questioned everything. I mean, are websites like Vine and YouTube really places where spiritual healing can legitimately occur? Inspirational author and speaker Heather Hans is perhaps most widely recognized for her online presence. Through social media channels like Vine,YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, Hans produces video shorts, which are presented in a fun, lighthearted and entertaining manner. Her message of spiritual and social healing is aimed toward Generation Y (otherwise known as Millennials). “Generation Y isn’t going in the traditional route of religion and spirituality that previous generations have,” Hans says of her interest in a younger demographic. “They need uplifting now more than ever because even though we’re connected through technology, there’s more isolation. There’s been so much bullying and terrorism — this generation is dealing with more fear than I’ve seen in the past.” Hans’ teachings illustrate everything in existence as a direct expression of divine creation. Animate and inanimate objects alike, the physical and the emotional, even characteristics that we may view as undesirable — ego, anger, fear, et cetera —are all gifts of pure energetic construct. “I view the divine as all there is in this life. It’s the creator, so we are creations of the divine, and we are also pieces of the divine, which means we are the creators as well,” Hans explains. “It governs everything in life. There’s nothing that’s not part of creation, including all of those things that people try to push away. The goal is to transform that energy into something productive and positive. It can’t be destroyed, it can only be 40 March 26, 2015

transformed.” Drawing upon decades of experience, Hans is a licensed clinical social worker, a certified professional intuitive coach and certified in holistic health. Hans has also gleaned invaluable wisdom by overcoming her own series of personal hardships. Born to parents who met in a Colorado ashram while following an Indian guru, then divorced while she was still an infant, Hans was left with no male figure to look to in formative years. Early on, she developed low self-esteem, and consequently welcomed demeaning relationships into her life. Hans found herself trapped in scenarios of abuse and addiction. Years passed, and through mentorship, she eventually managed to silence those demons. “At a certain point I learned that we teach people how to treat us by the way we treat ourselves.Your relationship with yourself is the primary relationship, and if that is not healthy and respectful, then none of your relationships will be,” Hans says. “You teach people through your actions and through your psyche. If you believe that you are worthless, then people will follow suit. That’s actually how powerful you are.” On the topic of clairvoyance, Hans says she believes she is guided toward something in the future, which enables her to see how everything fits together. She describes her intuitive abilities as, “A frequency that I was born with, which allows me to read the invisible.” Hans says that we all possess this sensitivity to a certain extent. Susan Winter, a New York City-based relationship coach and published author, wrote in an email to Boulder Weekly, “Heather’s commitment to her work is all-encompassing. She is one of those rare individuals who lives what she preaches and acts in accordance with all the principles she states. The transformative qualities inherent in this type of leader/healer are immense. Be-

cause she’s the living embodiment of her work, the benefits of her guidance are easily assimilated by those with whom she works. Her instructions on the day-to-day application of personal empowerment and positive growth are clear and straightforward. There are no vague guessings of what might work, but rather a simple yet wise set of instructions and thoughts to follow in order to meet success.” While often geared toward a younger demographic, Hans’ message of love, abundance, relationship and healing proves beneficial to any person at any age. Her book The Heart of Self-Love: How to Radiate with Confidence was released in January 2014. This is Hans’ first foray into the world of publishing. “The book is about self love,” Hans says. “It’s part memoir and part inspiration, part instruction. I broke it down in a practical way, because I wanted people to have actual concrete things they can do to improve their self-love and confidence. It’s not just a feel-good conversation — they’re actually making changes and getting a result. I broke it down into the whole of a person’s life: from how to take care of your body, to relationships, to education, to social justice. It’s more of a top-level basics of each of those categories. My intent was to get people making some progress in all the different areas of their life.” Our interview drew to a close as snow fell steadily into the blackness of a February night, and I found my skepticisms waning. The answers Hans provided made sense — quite a lot, actually. If we are to stimulate change — for the world, for our communities, in our relationships — we must first begin by loving ourselves entirely. The good, the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, all of it, divine. “On one hand we’re evolving, but at the same time we have an addicted society,” Hans says. “One of the biggest illnesses I see is a lack of gratitude. It’s all about me, what I can get and what I don’t have but I need, instead of how lucky I am. We need to tip the scale the other way: How can I serve? How can I give? I cannot be any more blessed. It makes you feel better and it helps the world.”

Boulderganic Spring/Summer ’15 Boulder Weekly

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