Think Green Workshops

 

The Think Green Fair, in conjunction with the Rochester Women's Fall expo, will take place on Saturday, October 18, at the Mayo Civic Center from 9 am to 5 pm. In addition the powerful workshops listed below, check out the website for information on some of the impactful speakers lined up for the event.

11:00 Workshops

• Building Health and Wealth through Local Foods
  Buying food from farms you trust can lead to better health, and also help build a stronger region economically.

  Presenter
  Ken Meter, president of Crossroads Resource Center, Minneapolis; author of "Finding Food in Farm Country."

  Sponsor
  UM SE Regional Partnership/Experiment in Rural Cooperation




• PhotoVoltaics: Energy and Education
  OCSolar is a coalition of students from 4 local high schools who will dedicate a 4-6KW system at Mayo High yet this year. The group plans to place systems at several schools as educational tools.

  Presenters and Sponsors
  OCSolar (Olmsted County Solar) members




• Use Solar Energy Now
  Solar water and space heating, passive solar homes, and thermal energy storage ideas, and an easy DIYS project to use south windows as room heaters and reduce nighttime heat losses.

  Presenter
  Norm Erickson

  Sponsor
  Olmsted Clean Energy Resource Team




• Your Energy Decisions Make A Difference
  Load Management, Demand Response in the future. How you can influence the need for new power plants and save money.

  Presenter
  Ed West, Director, Telecom & Control, Dairyland Power Cooperative

  Sponsor
  People's Cooperative Services




• Experiences with GeoThermal Heating and Cooling
  Homeowners present their experiences choosing, installing, and living with a geothermal heating and cooling system over the last couple of years.

  Presenters
  Kevin Schreurs and Brian Cook

12:00 Workshops

• Three Top Steps Toward Reducing Residential Energy Use
  Be in control of the energy you consume and the $$$ you spend.

  Presenter
  Gael Entrikin

  Sponsor
  Olmsted Clean Energy Resource Team




• The REAL Energy Story
  A peak energy story about crude oil, natural gas, and coal.

  Presenter
  Norm Erickson

  Sponsor
  Olmsted Clean Energy Resource Team




• Virtual House
  Lets start with our homes and take a virtual tour, exploring better alternatives that help us save energy and pollution. . Simple steps can make a big difference.

  Presenter
  Flo Sandok

  Sponsor
  Global Action




• Water Quality, Floods and the Dead Zone
  The choices we make in agricultural policy have impacts felt as far as wind can blow and water will flow.

  Presenter
  Brad Redlin, Director Agriculture Programs, MIDWEST OFFICE

  Sponsor
  Izaak Walton League




• “Land Tenure and Sustainability: The Rocky Road to Community”
  How does a family in an urban neighborhood make the transition toward sustainability? Will compact fluorescent bulbs and hybrid vehicles be enough? Is our future being determined by how our land is owned and used?

  Presenter
  Vic Ormsby, Wiscoy Valley

  Sponsor
  SE MN Alliance of Peacemakers

2:00 Workshops

• Sustainable Landscape
  Benefits and how-to’s of rain gardens with an emphasis on use of native plants.

  Presenter
  Andy Masterpole, Landscape Architect

  Sponsor
  Yaggy Colby




• The 5 Key Concepts of Green Building
  “A session designed to give citizens a brief overview of the green building process and its key components”.

  Presenters
  Tony Lehrman

  Sponsor
  Rochester Area Builders




• Planning Sustainable Communities
  Strategies for designing our communities and transportation systems in a more sustainable fashion.

  Presenters
  Mitzi Baker and Phil Wheeler, Rochester-Olmsted Planning Department

  Sponsor
  Rochester-Olmsted Planning Department




• “Sustainability and RCTC -Our Commitment to Rochester"
  The Community College as a Learning Laboratory on Sustainability

  Presenters
  RCTC Panel

  Sponsor
  Rochester Community & Technical College (RCTC)




• When the Greenest Building is the One Already Built
  What do you think of when you see an historic building? Think sustainability! Yes, historic buildings do save energy and natural resources. Going green doesn’t always mean building new. Come and hear the latest science about historic buildings, heat loss, BTUs, and everything in-between.

  Presenter
  Bonnie McDonald, Executive Director, Preservation Alliance of Minnesota

  Sponsor
  Preservation Alliance of Minnesota

4:00 Workshops

VISIONING SUSTAINABILITY

We will have 3 final breakout sessions focusing on what we can do as communities through our levels of government. Each session will be facilitated so that you can both learn and contribute.

• Visioning SUSTAINABILITY in Rochester
  Council members Bruce Snyder and Ed Hruska
  Facilitator: Shaun Palmer




• Visioning SUSTAINABILITY in Olmsted County
  Commissioners Dave Perkins, Matt Flynn and Ken Brown
  Facilitator: Joe Mayer




• Visioning SUSTAINABILITY in Minnesota
  Sen. Ellen Anderson
  Facilitator: Sen David Senjem