Gathering Against the Storm

September 19th-October 2nd

Written by Dian McClurg

Local businesses and residents show support for sustainable community

Members and volunteers at Sustainable Connections believe in buying local, networking resources and knowledge, maximizing their community benefit and minimizing their environmental impact.

In the nine months since Sustainable Connections began, 100 Bellingham businesses have joined Dubrow in a pledge to use sustainable practices in their daily commerce.

For Ken Bothman, co-owner of La Fiamma Wood Fire Pizza, this means an interest in forming local farmers into a buying cooperative so small businesses such as his can get the variety of produce they need from local crops at reasonable prices.

“It’s about looking beyond the day to day of business and seeing that what we do affects the economy and the environment,” he said.

La Fiamma has brought hometown pizza to Bellingham for nearly five years. Bothman said one of the greatest challenges is competing with the chain restaurants. He said he hopes working with like-minded business owners at Sustainable Connections will open new doors.

Sustainable Connections coordinator Michelle Long said connecting and strengthening the community is the goal.

“The group is very inclusive,” she said. “We want to support and grow existing businesses instead of bringing in outside businesses. Local businesses are the ones that are going to stick.”

Long said local business owners live in the town they work in, so they’re more interested in the health of the school system, the economy, the government and the town character.

“There’s a lot of knowledge out there,” Long said. “We want to connect business owners with others who can help with whatever kind of issue they’re facing.”

For John D’Onofrio and Brandon Lugar, of Northwest Computer Supplies, collaboration means helping local businesses get the environmentally friendly, or “green,” office supplies they want at affordable prices.

Lugar, retail manager for the store, said 13-year-old Northwest Computer Supplies has a great source for all the “green” products and a place to store them. By connecting with other local businesses, Lugar can purchase bulk quantities and sell them at reasonable prices.

“Other businesses are excited about this because there’s really no one else out there who cares about this,” Lugar said.

D’Onofrio, store president, said “green” supplies are treated as boutique items in retail chain stores, but they are a featured item in his store.

“Higher prices penalize customers for veering out of the main herd,” he said. “We like the trees standing up. Being in business is an opportunity to make money, but it is also a chance to make a change.”

And that’s what Sustainable Connections is trying to bring to Bellingham – an ideological switch from “growth at all costs” to “doing the right thing,” Dubrow said.

“We know it’ll be successful,” Long said. “We are reaching critical mass. There are enough people with the same interests to make it happen – all over the country.”

Sidebar:

Bellingham Traverse and (Sustainable Connections) Eco Expo

The Bellingham community joined with local businesses Sept. 14 to celebrate a sustainable economy at the Bellingham Traverse and Eco Expo, the brainchildren of Bellingham Benefits owner Todd Elsworth.

“It’s all my fault,” Elsworth said.

This was the first year for both events. Elsworth said he hopes the combined events evolve into the fall festival of Bellingham – the Fourth Corner Festival, “celebrating all the good stuff about fall in Whatcom, Skagit, Island and San Juan counties.”

Volunteers for local “green” groups, including organizations such as Clean Water Alliance and the Greenways Volunteer Program, sat in the shade under tents at the Eco Expo while168 men and women ran, biked and kayaked the 37 miles of the Bellingham Traverse.

The first group over the finish line was the men’s relay team Better Late Than Never. The team completed all five courses in 3 hours, 49 minutes, 42 seconds.

The second group was men’s tandem team Cutters, coming in at 3:55:45.

Solo men’s team Bellingham Fire came in next at 3:59:19. Bellingham fireman Beau Whitehead, the first soloist to complete the race, did all five legs of the race alone.

Participants in the traverse raised money in pledge drives before competing. Each team chose a “green” group to receive 75 percent of their pledge money. (The rest went to Bellingham Benefits for cost of the event.) Soloist Brett Simmons, whose team name was A Pirate Looks at 32, raised the most money for his group. Nearly $900 went to the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association from Simmons.