Stillwater unites to envision a cleaner energy future

About 30 community members attended, ranging from teachers to medical professionals to Stillwater Mayor Ted Kozlowski and State Representative Shelly Christensen. Just having this broad a range of perspectives in the room was such a resource to draw on and I was excited to see where the conversation would go.

General questions about goals for the city and this specific meeting were presented and a multitude of ideas were thrown out: create a better urban development plan, improve building codes to include energy efficiency, increase renewable energy development, reduce reliance on cars, and increase pollinator friendly areas. The conversation then moved to brainstorming who was responsible for initiating and completing these projects. Some members felt that the city government needed to play a larger role in leading the charge. Others concluded that businesses, some of the largest energy consumers in Stillwater, should be the focus. Ultimately, the conversation concluded that everyone has a role to play; it’s simply about helping them fill their niche.

Financial restraints, lack of community buy-in, general fear of the unknown, difficulty making clean energy a priority when other issues seemed more pressing, lack of motivation; all these barriers were brought up by community members. As each person was heard and the conversation continued, it became clear that a strong education and outreach campaign was the first step in overcoming many of these barriers and ultimately achieve many of the larger goals.

At my table, a local hospital employee talked about the amazing work Lakeview Hospital has been doing to become more sustainable—in fact, they just won the prestigious 2019 Practice Greenhealth Top 25 Environmental Excellence Award. Another woman at my table talked about the motivated Stillwater High School students, who have multiple clean energy projects in the works and who are planning to attend the Nobel Conference 55: Climate Changed: Facing Our Future.

Tabling at community events, partnering with local businesses, social media, blogs, news articles in the local paper, poster campaigns; many ideas were shared which will eventually be narrowed down into one concrete plan, but simply having the stories, the ideas for communication, and the passion of this group is a promising start.

Hopeful, educated, inspired, challenged, excited—as words traveled across the room, I would describe the general feeling as one of realistic anticipation. Knowledge that there was a lot of work to be done was balanced by the fact that everyone felt less alone in the effort. Following the meeting, I thought of what my word would be. After watching the eager participation of the community members, the varied perspectives, the attentive listening, the thoughtful brainstorming, what did I feel? “Optimistic,” I thought. All the things I had felt could be summed up broadly in that one word. The power of a community uniting, conversing, and listening was clear: it can ignite action and develop critical solutions.

If you would like to host a similar community clean energy listening session, please contact Diana McKeown, Metro CERT Director, at dmckeown@gpisd.net. If you are a member of the Stillwater community and are interested in joining the Sustainable Stillwater Energy Working Group, please contact Don Schuld at donshuld@gmail.com. Together, we can build a clean energy future!