Greetings ReThinkers!! ReThink is a very young, grassroots organization that is coming into its own. The past year has been an intense one for the Board of Directors but puts us in a great place to carry on with our current initiatives and start working on new ideas in the development of a new strategic plan. The Board of Directors just put 2014 to bed at our last meeting of the year so its a good time to update everyone about all the work of the year. Its been quite a year too! In addition to all the great events and initiatives that ReThink has been involved with, the Board decided early in the year that it was time to focus inward a bit to solidify things internally for several reasons. One being that we would be running into the end of the Strategic Plan that was struck in 2010 and we needed to be setting the stage for the next stage of planning for 2015 and beyond. Another reason was to focus our energies in a more concentrated way. There is so much to do and so many interesting and exciting things to explore but we want to make sure that we do not become too scattered in our focus and grow beyond the resources we have to work with. We want to make sure we grow at a rate that is sustainable and makes the best use of the financial and human resources available with the intention of building capacity within those resources as a beautiful byproduct of our efforts. This is akin to building soil for a even better garden next year! :) We have been very busy updating our organizational bylaws and have a good start to a policy manual that will give us the foundation to do ever more good work in the community. Its also putting us through the process of solidifying our ideas and envisioning a more comprehensive role for the organization. It has fostered much conversation about where we are and developing a clearer vision for the future. We have also revamped our financial systems to help us better track the various projects and initiatives in a less labour intensive way. It is rather mundane stuff but it is the foundation from which we will be able to carry on even more incredible community activity. Not nearly as invigorating as developing food forests or restoring ecosystems but necessary nonetheless. Much appreciation, from me personally, to the members of the Board for bearing with me in these tasks and for Rene Michalak in keeping our project fires stoked and burning brightly. None of this would be possible without the tireless dedication and passion of Rene. Heres a quick review of the activities that ReThink has been engaged in this past year.... January - Healthy Living Expo booth February - Garbage-Free February promotion March - EcoLiving & Seedy Saturday - Red Deer Home Show booth -Launch of the Community Seed Bank April - AGM May - Oct - SPIN-Farming, Public Market & Downtown Market product sales Oct - EcoLiving and Harvest Supper - Garlicgalooza Planting Event Nov - Downtown Christmas Market Our Little Green Thumbs Program had a very successful second year as well and we now have 17 schools with 25 gardens engaged throughout Central Alberta!! Kids celebrated their achievements this Fall with a Pizza lunch where they not only got to eat the produce they grew but learned to make the cheese and crust for a full on garden to table experience. Our Coordinator Chris Guilbeault has done a fantastic job with this program and we very much appreciate her passion and commitment!! The Root Cellar & Apothecary is our social enterprise/fundraising experiment that provides garden products and educational opportunities to the community to foster sustainable living while supporting our project work. Our booth had a regular attendance at both weekly markets as well as other numerous events. In addition, there has been a lot of work put into our most recent project that began mid 2014 when Rethink was awarded a $50,000 Environment Canada grant over 5 years to restore a small section of Piper Creek directly south of the city landfill site and adjacent to the Piper Creek Community Garden. This is a huge project, dubbed the Piper Creek Restoration Agriculture Project, and is an excellent example of community collaboration. We have partnered with Cows and Fish, the Red Deer River Naturalists, the Red Deer River Watershed Alliance, Red Deer County, and the City of Red Deer to develop the site over the life of the grant and beyond. This is total ecosystem restoration with part of the results being a perennial food forest that not only rebalances nature but enhances community assets. There will be many opportunities for folks to learn and participate in this exciting project so stay tuned for more updates! As Chair of ReThink Red Deer, I would like to extend warm wishes for a wonderful Holiday Season to everyone from the Board of Directors. We have some great things planned for 2015 and are looking forward to engaging with all of you much more in the year to come. Better yet...why not come join us as we learn about and work towards sustainable living in Red Deer!!
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 18:37:09 +0000
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