Donation Solicitation Round #3

    I was hoping this past week would be the end of it. Too many business owners were out of town or too busy all week in order to close it off completely. It's not an awful process, but it's not an incredibly fun process either. This process is a great way to raise money for  HCCA and so I am committed to it until the end! This past week of solicitations went very well. I was able to get confirmations from businesses, pick up a couple of donations, and be able to start checking solicitation related items off of my to-do list. On top of that, posters were hung around town and on campus. Slowly but surely things are coming together.
    Sometimes when working for a cause centered around the environment, you don't always see results right away. That can be a little deflating especially when you're putting a lot of work into it. While fundraisers don't seem like a huge step in the process, they are extremely important in facilitating the work done for the cause. These indirectly affecting steps in the problem-solution process can be the most rewarding psychologically. You see results right away, whether that's via the physical donations, the money made on them, or just the support of the community and the people that show up.
    So long story short, I did wish this past week would have been the last week of soliciting. However, I will admit that the physical, psychological, and emotional rewards do feel pretty good. I know I'm helping to help a great organization doing some great things and that within itself feels the greatest overall.
    As always...the Red Lady Salvation Ball is February 17th, starting @ 7:30 in The Eldo. Come dressed in your favorite casual or classy red attire and enjoy great music, great prizes, great food and drink, and great company. Or in other words, come feed your physical, psychological, and emotional needs with this direct link to supporting HCCA!
   

Donation Solicitation Round #2

     Preparations for the Red Lady Salvation Ball are still underway. This week was the second of 3 weeks of soliciting donations from Gunnison and Crested Butte. Last week I hit Gunnison and this week I hit Crested Butte.I have also been emailing resorts/inns outside of our valley as well. This coming week is the week to follow up on any businesses I haven't heard from yet. I honestly didn't know how much I was going to have to keep track of during this process.
    I got a lot of good initial response this past week in Crested Butte as I did in Gunnison the week before, but haven't been getting any many final responses. I can officially say that three businesses have officially said they would donate. As great as that is, this upcoming week is the last week to officially commit to donating. I'm getting a little nervous my list of donation will remain short. Now I know the people handling the forms I dropped off own businesses and have busy lives, I'm not putting them down for that at all, I'm just excited to see what my work around our valley can bring in for HCCA during the Ball's silent auction and raffle.
    As this week finishes up, I'm preparing for the followups, phone calls, and emails I will have to send this upcoming week in order to finalize the donation list for the event in time. I am excited to see my work pay off and to see this community come together around saving the places in this valley that we love!
    Don't forget, The Red Lady Salvation Ball is on February 17th @ 7:30pm in The Eldo in Crested Butte! Wear your favorite casual or dressy red attire, come enjoy beverages and h'orderves, listen to some great music, and spend some time with your fellow valley goers to help keep Red Lady free!

Intro to HCCA Internship & Solicitation Intimidation Overcome by Our Strong Community

     It's week one of my internship with the High Country Conservation Advocates (HCCA). A really quick backstory for those of you that don't know HCCA. Crested Butte's mayor, W. Mitchell, 40 years ago and a group of citizens and locals went full force against a mining company that was trying to mine Red Lady (Mt. Emmons) for molybdenum (the steel additive that makes all of our steel recreation toys even lighter and easier for use to use). Really long story short, they fought hard against the mining company and won, keeping Red Lady safe to this day 41 years later. I highly encourage you to read more about mayor Mitchell here http://crestedbuttenews.com/2017/07/profile-the-unsinkable-w-mitchell/ and the whole history of the fight to save Red Lady here https://www.hccacb.org/red-lady-program/red-lady-timeline/ (as well as watch James Cameron's Avatar because mayor mayor Mitchell is who he unofficially based that story off of!).
    I first heard about HCCA when I moved here this past June. I quickly became a member and attended every event that I could. Why? Well in Wisconsin where I had grown up, the only environmental issues our state usually came across were unprotected wetlands, invasive species (carp and zebra mussels are two big ones, and small mines for silica sand (a really fine type of sand that is used by fracking plants to fill in the fissures in the wells used to extract natural gas). The land in Wisconsin is either a forest, wetland/a lake, or a field, typically having only one use. It was to my surprise when I got here, just what effect mining has had, and still has, in regions all around Colorado. I had learned about mountain top mining and other resource extraction tactics in my Environmental Science classes but had never experienced them. I remember my first drive over Monarch pass or past the mine near leadville, the companies having "eaten" half or almost all of the mountain. I couldn't believe it. I never thought someone could just destroy a piece of our natural world and be okay with it. Mining's impact in this state and HCCA's backstory proving just what can happen if you come together pushed me towards joining their organization right away.
    Anyways, everyone at HCCA is in full preparation for their annual Red Lady Salvation Ball. For the past 41 years, they've been holding a huge fundraiser in order to rise funds to continue to keep Red Lady mine-free. The fee of the tickets and the silent auction bring in about $10,000 every year from the citizens of Crested Butte, locals from the valley, the members of HCCA, and the original group that helped to save Red Lady. Since the silent auction brings in a big chunk of the funds, everyone is looking for some really awesome prizes to be able to use.
    Since HCCA is a non-profit organization and will be using the funds to help the work that they do, the best way to get awesome prizes without paying a lot for them or without paying anything at all are by getting donations from businesses. That means that it was my job to solicite donations from businesses too. Now, I'm not a shy person, but I'm definitely not an outgoing person either. This definitely comes into play when I'm talking about money. For example, I hate being a cashier when someone's credit card fails. Even though it's not my fault, I get really nervous when I have to tell someone that it failed and they're going to have to pay with something else. What if I say something in an offensive way? What if they don't have anything else to pay with? What if that makes them nervous too? It's kind of an irrational fear because again, it's not my fault. But you get the point.
    I have been tasked with sending out PSA's and soliciting donations from local businesses in Gunnison this week to start off. And as you may have figured, I was very intimidated to solicit donations. I made a list of businesses in Gunnison I thought would donate awesome prizes on Monday...and then pushed off the whole go-to-the-business-and-ask-for-a-donation process until Friday. Nervously, I walked into my first business on Friday and tried it out. I gave my pitch, asked if they would be interested and to my surprise, they were more than willing to give a donation than I expected! (Now I did mention the tax credit that businesses and people receive when they donate to a non-profit...but I'm going to stick with the idea that my pitch crushed it!) The rest of the businesses on my list reacted the same way and were excited for the challenge of putting together an awesome prize.
   Tax credit or not, I was surprised and appreciative of the way the community was so willing to give in order to support HCCA. I no longer have as much solicitation intimidation as I started with and am excited to see the community turnout at the event!
    Speaking of the event and my task to send out PSA's...

"It’s time to SAVE THE DATE and get your tickets for the 41^st Annual Red Lady Salvation Ball featuring the Pimps of Joytime!

 

Get ready to break out your best red dress, duds and dancing shoes to join High Country Conservation Advocates (HCCA) for the 41^stAnnual Red Lady Salvation Ball featuring the Pimps of Joytime on Saturday, February 17, 2018 at the Eldo in Crested Butte. The Pimps of Joytime will bring the funk as we dance and come together to celebrate 41 years of keeping Red Lady mine-free. Additionally, the renowned Red Lady Ramblers will start off the evening during the happy hour featuring complimentary appetizers and cocktail specials. Tickets are $45 and include a 1-year HCCA membership. There will also be a silent auction, the legendary raffle and the 41st Red Lady coronation. Visit www.hccacb.org/events/red-lady-ball to get your tickets today!"

Sustainability, Its a Lifestyle

The most spectacular thing about being in the jungle is not the breathtaking sight of sitting on the riverbank watching the crystal clear water cascade 45 feet below, or sliding down the zip line cables over the river, or the view from the top of the mountain ridge overlooking miles of rainforest, but the connection to the wildness of nature and the jungle that surrounds The Finca. The most rewarding part about dedicating time to a business invested in the future of the rainforest and creating a safe place for guest to connect with the environment. The time spent here in Costa Rica working through projects to help The Finca develop projects that further sustainability for the future. There is immense pleasure in getting your hands dirty, metaphorically, but also taking the opportunities to plunge your hands in the dirt and work the garden. The Finca is focusing it’s energies towards complete farm to table, and working directly with the plants shows you directly where the produce comes from, and then you use it in the kitchen at dinnertime. Stakes have been planted and cards have been written to describe the plants grown in the garden, and how they’re used in meals. These steps are critical in continuing the lifestyle of sustainability here. They provide an intimate sense of connecting those at The Finca to a life created around the environment.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Life in the Jungle is not quite as luxurious as it sounds. The energy and materials required to keep this business running are not free and come at the expense of the environment. The problem though, is that not every scrap of material and food is used or composted. Through thorough examination and exhaustive conversation with management, We found some solutions to the areas of excess waste to be mitigated and up cycled. First up on the chopping block is the wine bottle corks from happy hour drinks. It seems small and insignificant, but it is often the little things that get pushed aside in businesses. Discussion behind those tiny bits of garbage turned to a the set up of a collection system to construct a cork-board for guests to hang pictures or hang up a map and have guests pin where they’re from. This provides an interactive way for guests to see materials being reused instead of being tossed into a bag that goes away to a dump. The kitchen is a prime source for waste and majority is concentrated around food or the kitchen materials. At the sound of the breakfast bell, a platter of fresh fruit from the garden is served. Any breakfast buffet yields an excess of this fruit. The sad truth is that not all of it gets eaten. There is a silver lining though; it gets composted! But wouldn’t it be better to set up a stand off the balcony to invite butterflies and wildlife to snack on the remains? We agree. Furthermore, hundreds of dainty white napkins are expensed fro meals each quarter. Unlike the paper towels purchased, these napkins are bleached white and cannot be added to the compost. Solution: cut spending on these napkins and redirect those funds to purchase cloth napkins and rings. This is a larger upfront cost, but the savings will arise in the long run.

El Agua es la Vida - Water is Life

Water is the most sacred and valuable resource in the American West. Growing up in Colorado, we are conditioned early on to conserve this precious resource. We are trained to follow the flow of the mighty Colorado River and watch the snowpack diligently, analyzing the accumulation for the upcoming water year. The tropics of Costa Rica defy all what I’ve come to know about water. I find myself struggling with my preconceptions of the rivers, the ecosystems surrounding, and the people who depend upon it. I’ve trekked through the Rocky Mountains chasing the rivers that support my secluded lifestyle, and now I navigate through the Costa Rican jungle following Rio Bellavista, in search of understanding how they use water and make the river work for them. The top of the ridge along the edge of the property is host to a fresh mountain spring. The quality of the water has been preserved with a clever tank and plants (that do not translate to English well) that oxygenate the water. From there, gravity works for the Ticas (Costa Ricans) of The Finca and the pipes take water along and down the ridge into larger storage tanks that then distribute the water to the houses across the several hundred acres. This system is simple yet effective and provides water to guests and staff of The Finca throughout the busy months in high season. The tanks can then be filled in a sequential order by a simple toilet like fill system. There is additional tanks at base camp in which collect rainwater and is stored and used as graywater (In the toilets in the Rancho and shoers at base camp). This is a critical system for additional water needs during peak season. There is also hope to increase efficiency and sustainability through a 60 KW hydroelectric system, however there are legality issues concerning the river and the need to alter the channel to be at desired capacity. The Finca is pushing sustainability for a growing community and conserving the most precious resource.

Into the Jungle

There's a remote space in the Osa Province of Costa Rica that time seems to escape. Finca Bellavista (The Finca) is a sustainable treehouse community nestled away that provides an experience like no other. The property extends far into the jungle that creates the space for guests to venture into the wildness of La Florida de Piedras Blancas and reconnect with nature from a new perspective. As a volunteer over the last week, I have meandered along the trails guiding travellers to their treehouse away from home. Here people have the opportunity to coexist alongside the jungle wildlife. I am building new ties to the land and the people of Finca Bellavista. My time here thus far has taught me about the dedication and consciousness that goes into the materials and resources that are necessary to keep this business operational. Volunteers are inspired to put their heart and soul into further pursuing work in sustainability and living more sustainably on this earth. Rio (river) Bellavista and Rio Piedras Blancas flow into the heart of base camp providing relief from the heat of the sun. In contrast to Gunnison, The Finca does not consume the water from the river. Water here is conserved and treasured, but the water infrastructure is different here. (to be covered next week) The future of sustainability is in the hands of those inspired to the commitment of a sustainable future.