It’s been a chilly, overcast day today at the RMSLF, but tomorrow will be back near 90 again.

The fair is in a new location this year. In fact, it’s in the very spot where I take my daily walks by the river, a place where I’ve received the inspiration for many of my previous blogs. The setting gives a great sense of connecting this gathering with land, water and trees. I have been particularly impressed today by those who are working to create real community in Northern Colorado.

I am highlighting some of them below.

National Center for Craftsmanship – Preserve the Craft, Enhance the Craft, Sustain the Craft

The National Center for Craftsmanship recycles whole buildings by “de-constructing” them and the selling the parts to builders. The deconstruction is carried out by students who learn craftmanship through participation in the project. The buildings owners benefit economically by receiving a tax deduction for working with the educational non-profit, NCC .  http://nccraftsmanship.org/

Unless Design – “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot thing nothing is going to get better, it’s not” Dr. Seuss

Dustin & Jessica Kalanick of Loveland, CO and Nathan Gray of Jackson, WY are the founders of Unless Design, a non-profit that empowers communities to design projects that are beneficial to both land and people.  One of their design projects won first place in an international contest sponsored by Architects for Humanity. A second project placed in the top 50 out of 2000 entries.   http://www.unlessdesign.org/

Wildland Restoration Volunteers – Healing the land…. building community.

As their motto suggests, WRV sees the creation of community as an integral part of restoring the environment. This organization has planted thousands of plants, restored miles of trails and demolished miles of roads, all with help of volunteers. Now that’s community in action!  http://www.wlrv.org/

GarbageBusters/John the Worm Man – Starve a Landfill, Feed a Worm.

John Anderson of GarbageBusters and his “wormbulance” have been a fixture of Northern Colorado for as long as anyone can remember. John serves to educate the human community about the virtues of vermiculture, while his worm community turns tons garbage into valuable plant food.   http://www.cowormman.org/

The Northern Colorado Be Local Book –  Together we Thrive

The essence of promoting community sustainabilty is to support local business and keep resources (money) within the community vs. Bentonville, Arkansas, headquarters of Walmart (just sayin.)

http://www.belocalnc.org/

Waste Not Recycling – Working Today for a Better Tomorrow

You may ask “what does recycling have to do with community?,” but it’s all about relationships and connecting people with what they need.

Anita Comer, the company’s founder, and a Colorado Native, has been in the recycling business for 21 years. Long before most of us ever heard the word ” Sustainable”…  http://www.waste-not.com/