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When COVID started oh so long ago, we suggested these 7 things you could do to support local businesses. While we are glad to see some things getting back to pre-COVID status, many businesses are still facing challenges, whether it be from inflation, staff turnover, or adjusting to current demands. We know that the current […]
Nestled on the corner of Old Woburn and Lakeway are new champions in waste reduction: the residents of Gardenview Village.
A project of Road2Home, Gardenview Village provides
Dear Community Members, We all want a thriving community. We know that to build a healthy future for our community and economy we need to work hard and take care of each other, and it is not always easy. We are facing some huge challenges and the People First Bellingham Initiatives 1-4 are trying […]
Kragnes Family Farms A Deeply Rooted Farm, In Full Bloom By Alex Smith A sense of place is a powerful thing. Feeling a connection to the land and surroundings provides an intangible feeling of comfort and belonging. When Ben and Tyne first visited Whatcom County, this feeling was immediate. After meeting at the 10,000 lakes […]
Summer is in full, glorious swing in Bellingham and Whatcom County. We’ve been out relishing all the delights that this beautiful place has to offer. Maybe you’re off exploring Bellingham Bay or the San Juans in a kayak, sailboat, or paddleboard. Or perhaps you’re zipping around on your bike, marveling at the various shades of green that flash by. We’ve been enjoying picnics on the beach, too. There’s nothing like a spread of local food and drink enjoyed in the great outdoors, especially with friends or family.
Twin Sisters Markets: For Community, By Community by Annika Sampson You might know the Twin Sisters as the distinctive double peaks that tower on the Whatcom County horizon. They’re also the namesake of Twin Sisters Markets, a collaborative effort to bring healthy, local food to three locations across the county. Twin Sisters Markets operate three […]
CSA, or a farm share is an arrangement between a farmer and customer where you typically buy a subscription to a local farm in advance of the season.
By Mark Peterson It was with great trepidation I listened to the presentation at our last Solid Waste Advisory Committee meeting. The discussion centered around the ramifications of what may come to pass as we looked at the impending closure of a longtime recycling business, NW Recycling. Their representative shared they were calling it quits […]
This is where I feel triumphant through the good deeds of our volunteers and exemplary performance of my coworkers. In a time of need where everything seems to be just that much harder, we have found a way to be successful beyond my wildest expectations.
By Mark Peterson There is no doubt that bringing back Brad Smith, the speedy Aussie left back, will add even more firepower to the Sounders attack! He was a big piece of the Sounders run on their way to hoisting the 2019 MLS Cup trophy and he will make the team even more dangerous – […]
One of the habits that I so dearly miss is ditching the disposables and utilizing durable items whenever possible. Bringing my trusty reusable coffee mug was comforting to me in a number of ways.
By Mark Peterson If you’re like me and you have been working remotely there seems to be the constant battle for all kinds of bandwidth. Internet bandwidth is at a premium and with both my wife and I working and togging between Zoom and Team virtual meetings, my three kids finishing various levels of remote […]
I have been working hard to retrain my brain to accept what is, celebrate what should be celebrated and remain steadfast in my hope. Thankfully, the work that has been my profession over the past two and a half years provides me daily examples of people being good humans, doing what they can to take care of themselves, their families, their friends and their communities large and small.
Recycling markets are in the tank and we and we continue to generate lots and lots of trash. Where are the bright spots you ask? Well, I have noticed as of late we are finally having real conversation about waste reduction, single use plastics, surplus food recovery and extended producer responsibility. These conversations are happening with an increased frequency and vigor and in many cases are going beyond just talk. Numerous acts of legislation are in the works that will undoubtedly make positive impacts whether it is single use plastic bans or direct and cooperative efforts from governmental agencies to encourage food producers to donate surplus foods.
By Mark Peterson We’ve all heard the news reports that recycling is dead, not sustainable and the myriad of other reasons to justify why we should all feel better about just throwing all our stuff in the landfill bin. There is definitely some truth in these reports about the recycling conundrum we find ourselves in. […]
Feeding the Community for 16 Years By Alex Smith January 2020 If you’ve been paying attention for the past 20 years or so, you may have noticed a trend in how people view food. Professional chefs and food critics are increasingly becoming mainstream celebrities, recipe sites and food blogs abound, and you may even have […]
By Mark Peterson It is no secret that we are being overrun by the ever increasing amount of plastic that deluges us every day. Just about everything we use in our modern society has some sort of plastic component to it. Even our glass bottle with a metal lid has the plastic tamper proof shrink […]
What’s in a Name By Maressa Valliant You can walk into Bellingham Cider Company at any time during business hours, and you’ll have a knowing thought—this is where the locals go. It’s one of those places that locals bring their friends and family to make a good impression and make sure everyone in a varied […]
Good Things Come In… By Maressa Valliant November 2019 Finish this sentence: Good Things come in ___________. Maybe your mind went with: “small packages”, “pairs”, or “threes”. Regardless, in the case of this local business, all of you are correct, AND we’d like to add another adage – “Good things come in BOWLS!” I mean, […]
Healing people and the planet By Alex Smith November 2019 It’s rare that a delicious food can have a positive impact on the environment. As a conscientious consumer, we try to minimize the environmental impact of the food we eat. Tasty, nutritious food that positively impacts the ecosystem is a holy grail of sorts. Salmon […]
How is a nun from the 1880s and Bellingham’s local food scene connected? We’ll tell ya! Click through to learn how PeaceHealth set the stage for taking care of overall community health and wellbeing, and what that means for some of our local farmers today.
Let Your Tastebuds Travel the World with BTC Culinary Students! BTC is a Bellingham gem that is serving affordable and delicious local fare for a good cause.
Meet Twin Cedars Farm, totally dedicated to sustainable agriculture and growing delicious local food. “We start with the seeds, and decide what to grow based on flavor and cooking performance,” he says. “From there it’s a matter of making sure the soil has the right nutrients to produce a good final product…”
For the love of all things Bellingham… you need to get to know Lost Giants Cider Co. Pull up a chair and get to know friends and co-owners Chris Noskoff, Brad Wilske, and Abe Ebert.
Sue Sharpe The Lifetime Achievement award is given to a local business leader that has taken action to strengthen our community while also representing the principles Sustainable Connections stands for. Sue Sharpe has been an inspiring leader and has committed her career towards bettering the health of residents across Whatcom County. Her extensive career includes […]
Mount Baker Care Center has been early adopters of many sustainability practices. From local purchasing to waste reduction they do it all. They currently divert over 80% of their waste from landfill and were the first participant in our Food Recovery Initiative!
RMC Architects are strong supporters of affordable housing for all, and key collaborators for a variety of important housing projects. They are dedicated to helping create thriving local communities right here in Whatcom County.
CAZ goes above and beyond to make energy efficiency a reality for homeowners and businesses. They also prioritize meaningful employment (employees are some of the highest paid in the industry!).
Owners Azizi & Chris say that “from seed to plate” is a motto that encompasses both their history as food producers and their belief that understanding and supporting local food systems leads to a superior product. They are longtime local food buyers and champions!
Whatcom County just made a list that we can all be pretty proud of, and one in which the criteria is specifically prescribed (pun intended). Whatcom County is now the 10th location in the entire united states to have a Secure Medicine Return program. And it’s a big deal!
Meet Paellaworks, one of the best local catering businesses in Whatcom! Showcasing the best of PNW ingredients with this classic Spanish dish….
The Lukens family didn’t start Grace Harbor Farms with the intention of growing a commercial business. Fast forward a generation and Tim and Grace’s son, David, has helped grow the business into a dairy, creamery, and distributor that creates wholesome and natural products like kefir, yogurt, and milk!
No doubt there are plenty of dire predictions to go around but for my opening blog post of 2019 I’m going do my best to keep it a bit more real and share a few of the more inspiring predictions and trends I’m hoping take hold.
Gothberg Farms has proven to be one of the best goat cheese makers in the region, with their products highly sought after across the Pacific Northwest. Get to know this unique handcrafted artisan creamery!
Every time you brew a cup of tea, you promote peace and goodwill in your life and around the world. Because the integrity of the product benefits all the lives that have participated in bringing you a quality cup of tea. Meet Flying Bird Botanicals and the wonder woman behind it: Scout Erling.
Over 50 years of food and wine experience By Liz Hansen December 2018 If you’re anything like me, buying a bottle of wine for a special occasion consists of deliberating over the prettiest bottle on the sale rack. As you can imagine, I often get stuck with my sub-par and uncomplimentary bottle of wine […]
Local flowers are just as beneficial as your local foods and other goods. Celeste Monke, farmer, florist, and owner of Free Range Flowers, is here to tell us exactly why local flowers are so important!
This past month I had the distinct pleasure of working with multiple groups and stellar individuals to support a community meal, while showcasing the recovered foods and highlighting the businesses supporting the Food Recovery Initiative. Together, around a table at the Van Zandt Community Center, a plan was hatched to test the feasibility of feeding 100 people with recovered foods.
MIX employees are knowledgeable, cheery, and helpful! Abundantly Delicious By Alex Smith November 2018 It’s rare these days to find something that truly defies our expectations. We’ve been exploring the edges of absurdity for so long that things we might have once thought crazy have become normal and even expected. Food is no exception, […]
Lummi Island Wild Marketing Manager Riley Starks, President Keith Carpenter, and General Manager Ian Kirouac Saving our oceans, one fish at a time By Liz Hansen November, 2018 Long, long ago, in the Salish Sea, the Lummi people devised ingenious methods to harvest wild salmon. Their methods were meant not only to respected the sacred […]
I should have known better than to sell Staci and Craig short! I was blown away with when I learned the lengths they have gone to reduce waste.
By Alex Smith The farming lifestyle is an alluring one. Waking up with the sun, spending time outdoors, the independence of knowing that your food is coming from within walking distance – what’s not to love? Given this idyllic picture of the American farmer, it may seem strange that we’re simply running out of them. […]
The recurring image of edible foods discarded into the compost bin or worse the landfill bin was constantly on my mind and a catalyst for a major initiative I was hoping someday Sustainable Connections as an organization could take on. Other local hunger relief organizations are working hard to collect and deliver non-perishable foods and redistribute them but where a large gap exists is prepared edible foods that need to be redistributed in a much shorter time frame.
Meet Chelsea and Peter, a young couple that has committed themselves to sustainable fishing and getting you all freshest most delicious seafood possible!
Every year Sustainable Connections honors five local businesses that are taking steps towards achieving a healthy triple bottom line–taking care of employees, our environment, and the local economy–with a Sustainability Champion Award. Drawn from the four tenets of our mission, the awards celebrate local businesses who are leaders in Strong Community, Healthy Environment, Meaningful Employment, […]
Every year Sustainable Connections honors five local businesses that are taking steps towards achieving a healthy triple bottom line–taking care of employees, our environment, and the local economy–with a Sustainability Champion Award. Drawn from the four tenets of our mission, the awards celebrate local businesses who are leaders in Strong Community, Healthy Environment, Meaningful Employment, […]
Every year Sustainable Connections honors five local businesses that are taking steps towards achieving a healthy triple bottom line–taking care of employees, our environment, and the local economy–with a Sustainability Champion Award. Drawn from the four tenets of our mission, the awards celebrate local businesses who are leaders in Strong Community, Healthy Environment, Meaningful Employment, […]
Back in 2003, four friends, Dave Brogan, Ross Grier, Tim Smith, and Brian Forth, with years of experience in building, woodworking and timber framing became interested in the idea of starting a worker’s cooperative. In 2004, that idea became Bellingham Bay Builders. As a values-based company and a workers’ cooperative, Bellingham Bay Builders was founded […]
WECU is not only a leader in banking services, they also strive to support education, health and community concerns through nonprofit donations and volunteerism. They offer many financial education opportunities, free of charge, to promote the financial literacy of residents. In 2013 alone, WECU’s Social Responsibility Committee oversaw the donation of 112 thousand dollars directly […]
The Bellingham Farmers Market is an amazing gathering place for our community and it is led by a committed collaborator, Caprice. The Market’s dedication to serving its customers and meeting the needs of its vendors is unparalleled. Chef in the Market, the Bellingham Chef’s Collaborative and the Farm to School program build vital bridges between […]
Brio Laundry is widely known for their use of high-efficiency machines and sustainable practices, believing that the old approach of wasting water, electricity and gas is neither sustainable nor justifiable when better options exist. Owner Colleen Unema also has an amazing commitment to her staff. Bri Laundry employs 9 attendants, working what’s typically a minimum-wage […]
Faber Construction was founded by Rick and Debbie Faber in 1987. While originally specializing in agricultural buildings, they have since expanded both in project volume and scope of work. They are now a full service construction company working in both the public and private sectors. Faber is committed to the health of the communities they […]
Saturna Capital has been an innovator and collaborator in our community since 1989. They’re constantly working on triple bottom line practices, have recently introduced sustainable funds, are a financial sponsor of Western Washington University’s Sustainable Business Lab, and donate at least 5% of their profits to local organizations each year. Their employees engage with the […]
The Chrysalis was one of the original participants in the Community Energy Challenge back in 2011. Since then they have done a series of measures to save energy in their building. Including installing; high efficiency boilers, water heaters, lighting sensors, and replacing existing lighting with LED bulbs. More recently they have done analysis on saving […]