Sustainable Colorado

Four years ago, on June 1st, 2016 our family started a year long adventure to only eat food that came from Colorado. At the end of that year, Lee Stiffler-Meyer interviewed Lilly on their podcast the Reimagined Table about it. To celebrate this anniversary, we listened together to that interview and responded afterwards with our thoughts about how things may have changed since then and what our food looks like today. We also review how it affects and encourages our current challenge of our Zero Waste Year. Listening to this past interview, inspired us to return to some of the ways that we cooked, sourced, and experienced local food during that year. Our hope is that it encourages you to further consider the source of your food system, to get excited to create your food system, and finally to dive deeper into whatever challenge to better yourself that you are taking on currently.

As we explore our social media, we have been hearing: * It is too early to talk about climate change while this pandemic is going on? * What if climate change had the marketing campaign that COVID does? * The earth is healing now that humans have been put in a time out. * Dolphins are now back in the Venice Canals! (Or… are they?) Lilly and Xerxes are bringing it together in a discussion where we highlight what is working in the earth’s favor during this time and what is not. We consider that this pandemic and climate change are not in competition with each other, rather there are lessons happening during COVID that could very well point us in the direction of what needs to happen next in sustainability. A few highlights: * How air quality and pollution are being affected. * Our broken food system and what it means to create your own * A new world of consumption * The importance of essential workers as we are given a new lens to view the true backbone of our country. We discuss simplicity, how life may feel simpler these days, and how this newfound exploration for many is inherently sustainable. From online learning to saving college costs, there is a lot of opportunity amidst the chaos. Please share this episode with your friends and family! Also, we are eager to hear about your own experiences in sustainability during COVID. Please contact us at XLsustainablecoloradoATgmail or our Instagram page: ATsustainablecolorado

Lilly and Xerxes talk with Edgewater City Councilperson, John Beltrone about what motivates him to serve his community and how he became involved in politics. One of his first accomplishments as a councilperson was putting together an ordinance to establish a Sustainability Committee that eventually led to Edgewater’s Sustainability Board. Given that this discussion between neighbors happened virtually during the pandemic, addressing what local governments are doing and Edgewater’s unique solution to take care of local businesses and residents was pertinent. In addition to serving our City, John is a CPA and also works at the National Renewable Energy Lab, where he originally met and eventually rescued Xerxes in a snowstorm. Our stories have intertwined ever since as we have had the privilege of being rebel rousers with John and more recently serving the City on matters of local sustainability.

Lilly & Xerxes talk about their experience with composting and mulching. This includes each of their earliest experiences. They love to follow the lazy gardener method of author Ruth Stout. They also talk about what Our favorite California landlady, Judith and her bountiful yard. Learn about what works and what does not. Composting is fun and healthy. It is like sourdough. It is a living organism that needs a little bit of attention from time to time. What is the difference between curbside municipal composting verses backyard composting? How we are getting curbside composting started in Edgewater, Colorado. Lilly provides tips if you are trying to bring curbside composting to your own community. As a reminder the five R’s are refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, and rot is at the end. Should rot be the last R? If you love mulch, check out Chipdrop.org [https://getchipdrop.com/?ref=chipdroporg] This is not an advertisement (we don’t do those- yet!), we actually love them and talk about it in the show, so here is the link for you!

Two weeks into our social distancing, we talk about the details of our current situation and what we are witnessing in Colorado and in our local community. Like so many our lives have gone online even more as we connect with friends, family, and work. As we consider the 6 R’s, refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, rot and remember, we are facing some challenges purchasing in zero waste ways, but we have also been dramatically shopping less. Of the 6 R’s, the one that feels most profound for us is: remember. We did the previous show on Victory Gardens as we personally felt that this is perfect time to connect to the earth and grow your own food. Beyond our garden show, we have been getting emails, texts, and phone calls from dear people in our lives asking for tips and strategies around living a more homesteading-style life. We are grateful for these calls, their efforts, and we are eager to be a place of support for our listeners as well as our community. What does it mean to remember what happened in our world in the past when families relied on the food they grew or created themselves. During this time, what does it mean to create your own food system or at least try as we do. We also call upon you to do your civic duty by paying attention to how are government is working on and through this crisis. The EPA recently rolled back mandates about air pollution and we discuss our disappointment in this, but also our determination to make sure that as all of us need to turn our focus to the COVID-19 that we can still pay attention. The impact of this coronavirus time is yet to be determined, but we discuss what we hope and what we are already seeing that is bringing a sense of joy and community. Here are a couple of links we mentioned: Wonderbound [https://www.wonderbound.com/] Overnight Belgian Sourdough Waffles [https://www.culturesforhealth.com/learn/recipe/sourdough-recipes/sourdough-belgian-waffles/] Please subscribe to this podcast and follow us or message us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/sustainablecolorado/].