ReThink Red Deer Newsletter

Thanks and Two Invitations

Your newsletter update from rethink red deer for June 7

Thanks

First off, a thanks to all the fine citizens who participated in the Red Deer River clean-up this past weekend. What a great community project. We so admire people who get out, pitch in, and make their community better. Thanks to everyone who was involved.

Now, news about two very interesting sessions that are coming up in June:

Community Supported Energy

Location: Kerry Wood Nature Centre

Thursday June 10th, 2010
6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

After decades of riding the roller-coaster of the fossil fuel sector's boom and bust cycles, the time has come for Alberta to forge a new energy path. Diversifying our energy economy will not only provide tens of thousands of green jobs for Albertans, but it has the opportunity to create just solutions to our province's contributions to global climate change and the resultant environmental impacts on the air, water, and land we depend on for our standard of living.

Alberta is the only province in Canada without a Green Energy Strategy, and the only province that doesn't subsidize wind power initiatives. It's time to rethink how our communities can support a clean and renewable energy future.

Ron Besuijen, ReThink Red Deer member and owner of Home Synergy - a local renewable energy consulting business - will present on the technologies available to create community supported energy projects for and by Central Albertans.

And Sheryle Carlson of RePower Alberta will present on their campaign to see the Province of Alberta pass a Green Energy Strategy using truly green energy, investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy potential in the province. For more info on RePower Alberta please visit: http://repoweralberta.ca/content/page/about-repower-alberta . Sheryle will also speak about the potential for green jobs in the Province and how a green energy economy can make this happen.

Find out how communities can work together to implement green energy solutions & ensure jobs in that sector go where they're needed most.

This event is co-presented by ReThink Red Deer, Waskasoo Environmental Education Society, RDC Green Campus, and RePower Alberta.

The event is free to attend but donations are welcome.

For more information please contact Rene Michalak at info@rethinkreddeer.ca

Environmental Master Plan Community Workshop

Location: Golden Circle (4620 47A Avenue)

Tuesday June 15th, 2010
6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

The Environmental Master Plan will create clear goals, benchmarks and strategies to achieve a 25-year vision for Red Deer’s environmental future. And we are looking to Red Deerians to give their input!

There are several ways citizens can have their opinions heard:

1. Come to the Community Workshop June 15 from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. at the Golden Circle where facilitators will guide them through a fun and interactive process to help articulate their opinions on environmental issues.
2. Participate online by contributing to the discussion forum, suggestion box or quick survey at www.letstalkreddeer.ca/environment.
3. Or if they are high school students they can join organizers for pizza at lunch at Notre Dame on June 14 and Hunting Hills on June 15 (look for our tables in the main gathering areas).

Everyone is welcome to this informal discussion on Red Deer’s environmental future. Help the City create the environment and community you want! No environmental knowledge or education is required; only your experience and opinion as a citizen of Red Deer. Light refreshments will be served.

What's up?

What’s up with ReThink Red Deer?
Big news: we’re almost three years old (past the diaper stage and well into the wild toddler stage) and ReThink Red Deer is growing strong.

We have just been incorporated as a non-profit Alberta Society. That will make it easier for us to do normal things like take your money and pay our bills.

We are planning some major projects and events. In February 2011, ReThink in partnership with The City of Red Deer and Red Deer College will host Pathways to Sustainability, Alberta’s second major green conference. The first “Pathways” event, featuring keynote Preston Manning, was held in Cochrane in 2009.

Conference program and development committees are now being formed, under the direction of Honorary Co-Chairs Mayor Morris Flewwelling and RDC President Joel Ward, with Rene Michalak as Conference Coordinator. We welcome your involvement, ideas and energy. Email Rene at info@rethinkreddeer.ca to get in touch.

On the project front, we are hopeful of receiving funding for a major “People in Motion” project to encourage walking and cycling in the city. This project would offer public education, special events, and information on best practices to encourage healthy living.

Websites
In coming weeks you will notice changes as our two websites are amalgamated into one. In the early days of ReThink we launched www.rethinkreddeer.ca but that site had limited capabilities. Last year we introduced www.sustainablereddeer.com , which is a more fully featured site listing sustainability organizations, events, discussions and more.
We are in the process of folding the older site into the newer one. Whichever web address you enter, you will land at the same site.

A reminder: ALL organizations offering sustainability programs can list their organization and their events on our web site. It is now easier to do so with online forms and some groups are taking great advantage of this. Is your club or company?
And of course you can also find us on Facebook (search Sustainable Red Deer) and on Twitter (SustainRD).

Support for the Cause
If you want to contribute to the “rethink” of Red Deer, here’s how you can help: give money, or give time. Or of course we would be delighted if you gave both. ReThinkers are people who see the value of investing in where they live – in ‘paying it forward’ in their own community.

Money: as a registered non-profit, we now have a bank account so that we can start paying our bills (ranging from our two-sided recycled paper business cards to web development costs) instead of begging for others to pay them on our behalf. We are not a Revenue Canada charity so we can’t offer you a tax receipt. But you will know that your dollars are helping the group keep the ReThink momentum going. Every $20 or $50 or $100 you can contribute does make a difference.

On that note, we want to thank three very important organizations whose financial contributions have got us this far: Red Deer River Naturalists, Grandview Consulting, and Focus Design Group.

Time and skills: we could use your support in project and administrative work. Do you like to keep records? Are you good with numbers? Do you like networking with people via email or phone or social media? Do you know speakers you can attract to our events? Please touch base with ReThink Red Deer Coordinator Rene Michalak (info@rethinkreddeer.ca) to discuss what you can bring to our dynamic little group of community activists.

You are receiving this email because you subscribed on the Sustainable Red Deer site; to unsubscribe, just email us at info@sustainablereddeer.com

Newsletter Sent on: Tuesday, May 25th 2010

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Thanks and Two Invitations

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