Gatherings

Cup and Saucer’s new napkins from grandma’s fabric collection

On November 14th we partnered with Cup and Saucer for a napkin making party and zero-waste potluck. Cup and Saucer is committed to waste reduction and we are committed to helping them. We had a blast. I learned a few things from Deb. She brought two sewing machines and lots of knowledge. Elda brought her machine as well and all worked diligently to help us create a supply of napkins for Cup and Saucer, made from fabric, Elisabeth, one of the owners, had received as a gift from her grandmother. They currently use paper napkins and wanted to move to a reusable solution. The event included a potluck dinner and when Nancy and Ed arrived for the dinner, Nancy said that this was a newspaper worthy event. Indeed it was. We met some folks who came in to see what was going on and they have joined our mailing list. Welcome and thanks for bringing your smiles and curiosity. Susan and Elizabeth brought their ironing boards and [...]

By |2019-11-18T16:47:02-05:00November 18th, 2019|Categories: Gatherings, Help a Neighbor, Moving to Zero-waste|
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A gathering and brainstorming at Davidson River School

On November 7, 2019, a dozen or so of us enjoyed a potluck dinner with Barbara Grimm, principal of Davidson River School, at the school. Barb worked with us on our Use Food Scraps Symposium in March and recently reached out and asked us to visit the school to help them find ways to reduce their waste. What a beautiful school. There were definitely some conversations about how nice it is. As always, we enjoyed a wonderful meal. As always, we brought our own non-disposable place settings and left no clean-up for our host. We enjoyed listening to Barb as she explained the climate change curriculum the school was teaching in December. She asked us for help and ideas for next steps towards waste reduction. Our members were full of great ideas. The school recently received a grant for a greenhouse and we discussed ways they could divert their food scraps to a compost facility, we could help them construct. We have done a few in the community [...]

By |2019-11-10T13:46:21-05:00November 10th, 2019|Categories: Compost Drop-off Location, Composting, Gatherings, Growing food, Help a Neighbor, Moving to Zero-waste, Use Food Scraps, Zero-waste tips|
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Gift of Time Pop-up Potluck

It is hard to believe but next month is our Gift of Time Pop-up event. It will be held on December 14th, from 12 – 3 pm in the plaza beside Quixote's and across from Rocky’s. We joined with Project Empathy to plan the event this year and as a result, we have a new location. In the past, we have been at the gazebo on Main Street. We ran out of space last year. We are grateful for the use of this space. It is a wonderful and large space. We will convert it to a comfortable living room and kitchen area as we have in the past. We will need chairs, tables, blankets, pillows, and whatever you would like to bring to create a pop-up lounge. This is a zero-waste event. We will collect compost.

By |2019-11-10T13:38:56-05:00November 3rd, 2019|Categories: Gatherings, Help a Neighbor, Moving to Zero-waste, Use Food Scraps|
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My gosh we are rockin’ it!

Woo hoo! Moving to Conservers. We are doing amazing things through study, conversation, and local action! As I made my list of topics to cover in the upcoming newsletter, I was stunned by what we have going on! So many of you are bringing zero-waste suggestions to other groups. Many of you are modeling the behavior and aiding the group as they move to a zero-waste practice. Thank you. I wish I could share the joy I receive in emails and on phone conversations when guiding someone in our community who wants to incorporate zero-waste practices in their lives. I remember the smile on a friend’s face as she told me she had gone to Spice it To a Tea with her own tea jar and eliminated tea boxes, wrappers, and bags from life. She composts the tea leaves and now has a waste-free cup of tea. She said it was a little thing but it felt good. Exactly. But it is not a little thing. It is [...]

By |2019-11-10T13:40:38-05:00November 3rd, 2019|Categories: Composting, Gatherings, Moving to Zero-waste|
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Interested in presenting on our behalf at the Food Waste Solutions Summit?

We received the following email and wanted to share.  If you are interested in submitting a proposal to present about our work, let us know.  The deadline is October 20th to submit a proposal. Hi John, I have been following your zero waste group from afar and would like to connect. I am on the board of the NC composting council and we are hosting a happy hour social at Sierra Nevada Oct 25th with the goal of bringing together the composting and zero waste community of WNC. We would love for you to spread word within your group and to have a presence. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sustainable-spirits-west-oct-25-2019-tickets-66246656533 Also I am sure you may already be aware but there is an upcoming Food Waste Solutions Summit in Asheville in November. http://www.abfoodpolicy.org/food-waste-solutions-summit-2/ I would also encourage you submit a presentation on your work for one of the ignite sessions.... https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeSGuU5B6raXUQN4r6APyf2aLQyG8CUF-bIgl0KDK01OSIzOA/viewform Hopefully all this good energy will build towards building a better model of sustainability for our region. Thank you for all the [...]

By |2019-10-07T14:30:35-04:00October 7th, 2019|Categories: Compost Drop-off Location, Composting, Gatherings, Help a Neighbor, Moving to Zero-waste, Use Food Scraps|
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Not everything should be convenient

A friend recently mentioned a book she read, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. I have made a goal to read more so I went to the library and checked it out. Robin is a scientist, a Distinguished Teaching Professional of Environmental Biology and a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. The book compares the scientific communities views on biology to those of her nation. It talks about the community between plants and humans and how they have evolved. It talks about the honor and gratitude they have for each other. She talks about going out in the Spring to harvest leeks. She uses a hand trowel instead of a shovel. While a shovel would make quick work of the harvest it would also shorten her time in the woods. She says, “Not everything should be convenient.” Indeed. In our convenience economy that is a soothing message to hear, more as a form of reinforcement than a new message for me. My husband John and I have changed [...]

By |2019-10-07T14:10:23-04:00October 7th, 2019|Categories: Connecting with nature, Gatherings, Growing food, Help a Neighbor, Moving to Zero-waste, Sharing Club|
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Rise and Shine hiking club

Connecting children to nature has been proven to improve their health and quality of life. The first time I heard universities were doing studies to see if children benefited from being in nature I was floored. I was in a meeting once with a group of MD’s who were reviewing the study. I told them I had been doing that study for years by taking children into the woods and such. The impact was obvious immediately to me. John and I spend a lot of time outside and we absolutely love sharing those experiences with youth. We have helped organize a hiking club at Rise and Shine for the school year and welcome those who would like to help us hike with the scholars. We hike most Fridays from 3:30 – 6 pm. If you would like to be on the notification list of hiking opportunities, please email us at [email protected] and let us know.

By |2019-10-07T16:26:48-04:00October 7th, 2019|Categories: Connecting with nature, Gatherings, Help a Neighbor|
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Happy 2nd Anniversary Moving to Conservers!

Can you believe we are 2 years old this month? Two years ago, 8 of us got together for a zero-waste potluck dinner and to study a video course on resilience from the Post Carbon Institute. Those 8 people shared the word and now we are a group of hundreds. Wow. To celebrate we are gathering at the Peace House (one of our original meeting spots) this Thursday at 6 pm for a zero-waste potluck and party. Su and Rob have graciously opened their space to us for this wonderful gathering. Su has put together a wonderful evening and we are looking forward to celebrating together. Here are the directions to the Peace House: Rob and Su Slover 88 Bent River Farm Rd Pisgah Forest 28768 From Everett Road as you turn on to Bent River Farm Rd we are the FIRST driveway on the RIGHT ( gps will send you past) .We are meeting at the cabin which is part way up the drive on the left. [...]

By |2019-10-07T13:49:22-04:00October 7th, 2019|Categories: Gatherings, Moving to Zero-waste|
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Living Wage Coalition educates us during a zero-waste potluck at WolfBrew Bottle Shop

Elaine Long of the Living Wage Coalition joined us for our October 3rd zero-waste potluck gathering at WolfBrew Bottle shop. We invited her to educate us and help us identify what we need to pay the staff of Transylvania Shares, the sharing cooperative we are creating. A living wage in Transylvania county is $12.60 an hour. According to the Living Wage Certification process, a process that allows members of our community to know who is compensating their employees at a living wage rate, the only requirement to become certified is to pay employees $12.60 an hour and contractors $14 an hour. I learned that those pay rates are calculated not to include the cost of paying child care. Citizens can receive assistance from the government for child care if they fall within a certain income bracket. She did share there was another group in the state who advocates for $15 per hour as a living wage. Members asked how they could find out who was paying a living [...]

By |2019-10-07T16:25:18-04:00October 7th, 2019|Categories: Gatherings, Help a Neighbor, Sharing Club|
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