Green Awards People's Choice

People's Choice Award

Now's​ your chance to vote on the People's Choice Award for the Mid-Valley Green Awards. Voting will take place on ​​M​arion Coun​ty Environmental Services Facebook page​ Friday, February 3 through Friday, February 10 at noon.  People's Choice

​Nominees ​include:

​Brooke founded the Willamette Valley Friends Co-o​p​ to offer local, organic food options  in 2014 and volunteers 160 to 180 hours a month to keep it running.

Brooke has created a near zero waste environment in which bags and bins are the norm and washable cloth towels have replaced paper ones

She has also established a program that raises money for those in need as well as providing weekly community boxes that contain donated food and goods.

Brooke Jackson, founder and number one volunteer at the Willamette Valley Friends Co-op.​

Brooke has been engaged in waste reduction her whole life, however Brooke really started getting interested in local, organic food options when pregnant with her daughter.

Brooke has organized a lot in a little time and her impact on the community is visible to anyone who walks through the Willamette Valley Co-op's doors. There you'll find helpful volunteers sorting the last shipment of local, organic produce while their children play.  Members come in and out of the shop unloading their products from a reusable bin to their reusable bags to tote home. Brooke's vision, organization, and dedication has created a welcoming community that thrives while treading lightly on the planet.

Brook Jackson started the Willamette Valley Friends Co-op in August 2014 in order to purchase organic and local products at a lower cost. She wanted to switch her family to eating organic foods as much as possible, but it was cost-prohibitive to convert their entire food budget. Brooke started by rallying her family and friends to gain discounts on organic food and products. At that time Brooke lived in Salem, and there wasn't a buying club or co-op in place.

When Brooke lived in Eugene, she was a member of their co-op. She used the Eugene Co-op as a model for the one in Salem. What started with a few friends and family has blossomed into a lively community with over 2,700 members. Brooke is not only the founder, but continues to  volunteer 160 to 180 hours a month for the co-op.

There are three weekly buys that consist of local, organically grown produce, locally- sourced bread, and organic and locally-sourced cold foods including dairy and meat. While not everything can be sourced locally (like bananas),  Brooke works with local farms and businesses like Silverfalls Coffee, Gardenripe Farms, Hummingbird, and Crunchy Mamas.  Much of the food is purchased in bulk saving packaging and excess food waste. Member use google docs to order and often use online payment methods to reduce waste. By ordering online, Brooke also makes it easy to people to scan their cabinets to see what they need rather than purchasing things from memory.

Brooke knows that it's not just organic food that folks want. Families and member also have the need for other products that promote waste reduction, local businesses,  and sustainability Some of these buys include: Reusable bags (sold over 410), water bottles (sold over 300), reusable lunch kits, organic animal feed, green seal certified home cleaning products, clean burning candles, organic seeds, and personal hygiene products.

Brooke has instituted waste reduction practices at the site of the co-op as well. 

• Paper When printing out people's orders every week volunteers go through a lot of paper, so they reuse paper whenever possible. The co-op prints on half sheets, and always use both sides of the paper. The members are really well trained to leave their paperwork behind for reuse. Members also drop off one-side-printed papers from their work so that we can reuse the back side!
  
• Bags The co-op doesn't buy paper or plastic bags for the site, but they do allow people to donate them so members can carry out their orders. Also, anytime something comes in a plastic bag that they can reuse, they reuse it. (You'll often see the trash can lined with a bag from the produce delivery, for instance.) And for the most part, the co-op limits bagging when packing up produce orders. Tomatoes and apples and potatoes and carrots... they don't need to be bagged! They just go right into people's produce bins loose, no extra packaging.
  
• Cardboard A lot of deliveries come in cardboard boxes. Some of the boxes Brooke sends back to the suppliers for reuse. If the co-op has to keep the boxes, they encourage members to use the boxes to take home their orders. The co-op also gives boxes away to people who need them for moving. And of course any leftover cardboard Brooke recycles.
  
• Ziplocs  The co-op goes through a fair amount of Ziploc-style bags to store orders in as well. Volunteers encourage people to take their orders and leave these bags so they can reuse them, or to bring them back.
  
• Plastic bins To reduce the use of Ziplocs and cardboard, Brooke has introduced sturdy plastic bins to store orders. The co-op has gotten a ton of mileage out of these!
  
• Paper towels Brook gets a lot of complaints about this, but they don't have paper towels anywhere at the site. All the towels are washable cotton towels: Tons of hand towels for the bathrooms, dozens of rags for cleaning, several large bath towels for any major spills or messes, and a whole lot of microfiber cloths.
  
• Energy The co-op has a huge bank of fridges and freezers at the site, probably a dozen total. Volunteers fill most of them up each week, but they empty right back out after people pick up their orders. As soon as one is empty, volunteers turn it off to save electricity. The co-op has also installed a Nest learning thermostat to help conserve power when heating and cooling the site. (Someone forgot to turn off the AC? No worries -- Brooke can shut it off remotely.)​
  
• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Brooke feels like it goes without saying, but anything they can't reduce or reuse, the co-op recycles. Plastic and metal containers, plastic bags, and paper that is printed on every inch, is recycled when it is no longer useful.

Brooke's core belief in conservation and sustainability has encouraged others to follow suit. Brooke aims to use products that have a minimal footprint. Before Brooke buys things (for her home or the co-op) she considers the longevity of use. She avoids single-use and disposable products/packaging whenever possible.

Not only are there many folks taking advantage of the lower cost organically sourced food, but Brooke has also cultivated a community while creating the co-op. The co-op is child-friendly, she helps remove barriers of participation by providing a child play area for volunteers who are parents. She also has created a network of communication where some of our most isolated community members can lead conversations and ask for help.

Brooke has also created community boxes and raised money for those in need as well as providing food and goods.  Every week to co-op donates at least $50 worth of food to the giving boxes, which they call Benefit Families. Some weeks members are especially generous and with donations totaling $100 or more worth of food. The co-op also does a charitable activity at least once a quarter. In 2016, they collected money and supplies for homeless backpacks in the spring, back-to-school backpacks in the summer, and Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner boxes during the holidays. Total donations for these special projects are roughly$2,000.

​During the summer after college graduation, Kaci went door-to-door getting petition signatures to start the first curbside recycling program in Anchorage, Alaska.  The program was successfully launched the following year.

After college, Kaci spent one year as an AmeriCorps member with the Washington Conservation Corps where she served by providing program coordination, implementing a watershed restoration plan, and collecting habitat and watershed data for a fire restoration program.

Since that time, Kaci has spent her career working for local and state government in the fields of conservation, sustainability, and natural resources.  She promotes sustainability and resource conservation by implementing a variety of energy efficiency, waste and water conservation, and climate education and grant programs.  

Kaci currently works with the Oregon Department of Ene​rgy where she is an Energy Analyst and Sustainability Coordinator.  Kaci provides program management, technical assistance, and policy analysis for building energy efficiency, conservation, and renewable energy activities.

Kaci serves on the Board of Directors for Oregon Green Schools (OGS) and volunteers for the Oregon Green Schools Annual Summit.  OGS is dedicated to energizing and engaging students through student-driven activities that advance their understanding and ownership of sustainability.  Members help schools conduct waste audits, provide guidance and training for new programs, and recommend curriculum resources and grants opportunities.

Kaci completed the Marion County Master Recycler Program on waste conservation, recycling, and materials management systems.

How long has this person been engaged in doing these green deeds?

Kaci has been passionate about the environment since she was a child, living in and enjoying the Alaskan outdoors.  She studied Environmental Sciences and Education in college and has dedicated her lifework to sustainability, conservation, and community service.

What does this person do that sets her/him apart from other green people that you might know?

Kaci works at the Department of Energy (ODOE).  She is "passionate," although she is also engaging, committed, inclusive, and a good leader.  Under her leadership as the agency's Su​stainability Coordinator and chair of the Sustainability Committee, the agency:

• Was the first state agency to complete their Sustainability Policy and submit it to the Oregon​ Sustainability Board.  Kaci is leading the Sustainability Committee in updating the accompanying Sustainability Plan.

• Worked to get the Department of Energy EarthWISE recertified.

• Conducted educational and outreach events on Alternative Transportation, Biking, and Food Waste.

• Set up a composting program at work.

• Sponsored the first zero-waste agency picnic.

• Maintains on-site recycling for glass, plastic, metal, eyeglasses, batteries, and used cell phones, as well as collection for unused lotions to donate to the local women's shelter.

• After a recent building move, Kaci and members of the Sustainability Committee went through all of the discarded surplus materials and sorted for recycling, saving many items from the dumpster.

How does this person inspire behavior change or engage their community?

Kaci leads by example in her personal and professional life and is always open to share her knowledge with co-workers, friends, and family.  She is a good listener and a good resource.

"As Oregon Department of Energy Director, I'm grateful that Kaci has help the agency become a sustainability leader.  Thanks to her leadership as Sustainability Coordinator, our office earned the EarthWise certification and implemented responsible ways to process waste, save water, and recycle materials.  Kaci is a respected colleague, and has made our agency a great – and green – place to work."
 - Michael Kaplan, Director, Oregon Department of Energy

Here are just some of the things Kaci's co-workers say about her:
"I'm always impressed and inspired by how Kaci cheerfully and tirelessly pushes us forward, like getting the first Oregon state agency to complete and submit their Sustainability Policy.  I'm also amazed at how non-judgmental she is, honoring people where they are in the sustainability efforts while still encouraging them to improve where they can."

"Kaci brings enthusiasm and passion for environmental sustainability to our agency.  Through her efforts, ODOE has implemented many sustainable initiatives in the workplace, such as development of a sustainability policy, alternative transportation coordination, and waste management/recycling expansion.  She inspires co-workers daily to act sustainably both in the workplace and at home."

"Kaci is deserving of this award.  She has even gone above and beyond what the criteria of the award suggests.  Kaci is motivational in encouraging the entire staff to be involved with the Sustainability Committee and the practices it promotes.  Her monthly Sustainability publication is not only informative, but also inspiring and thought provoking.  She definitely is a true example of someone who is consciously trying to make a difference for others, herself, the agency, and our community, not only for today, but for our future.  It would be wonderful if all the work she has done could be recognized with such an honorary award."

Anything else you'd like to share?
Kaci is very deserving of this award.  She is the energetic, passionate leader we need in our community.

Sam Lea

Sam comes from a farm family who lived in Gervais and Brooks area but farmed in Lake Labish.  As a young man he took over the onion farm established by his grandfather in the rich bottomland peat soils of Lake Labish.  In 2000 Sam decided to retire from the onion business and to convert his land to wildlife habitat.  In 2002 he combined his farming skills with planning and funding assistance from Ducks Unlimited to develop a mixture of wetland and upland habitat types, making available about 67 acres for wildlife use. The combination of open water, vegetated wetland, willow woodland, grasslands, upland hedgerows on this land support a great variety of birds, mammals, native plants, and amphibians. 

Over the years Sam has rechanneled and deepened wetlands as needed to maintain the water levels necessary for wildlife.  His project has also allowed  us in the community a chance to  view a sample of a pre-settlement Willamette Valley habitat type, the lowland Willow marsh.  By providing habitat for songbirds Sam's acreage  helps keep insect populations in check on neighboring farms, and stores floodwaters which may help the surrounding farms dry out a little earlier to allow for a timely spring planting on those farms. (nominator's thoughts, not Sam's claim).  By construction and maintenance of this large ecological resource Sam has made the central Willamette Valley richer for both humans and animals.  He sometimes  makes this wetland available for birdwatching by appointment and thus has shared this resource with the larger community. Sam and members of Salem Audubon have observed over 90 species of birds utilizing this rich habitat.

In addition to the wetlands on his own property Sam has assisted other landowners in the construction of habitat wetland on marginally productive farm properties along the banks of Lake Labish to the north. 

How long has this person been engaged in doing these green deeds?

Since 2000.

What does this person do that sets her/him apart from other green people that you might know?

If you spend time around Sam, you will see that he is motivated by a personal sense of accomplishment and environmental responsibility.  He does not seek attention for this work and in fact few people know of it outside of the community of farmers and friends along Lake Labish. Sam is truly a doer, not a talker.  He puts his energy into shepherding his project towards sustainability.  He is constantly monitoring the regrowth of invasive species such as Reed Canary grass and Himalayan blackberries, thwarting beavers' determined efforts to reroute his water channels (and in the process draining the wetlands). He works at this project as any farmer might, monitoring his crops, intervening when necessary, and in general serving as an active steward of this acreage. His "farming" of this habitat now yields yearly crops of fledgling birds on these former onion fields.

Anything else you'd like to share?

It is important to recognize members of the agricultural community who find a way to utilize their knowledge and skills to make our world richer for its non-human as well as human inhabitants. Sam went ahead with his project without any support or encouragement from the "green" community and some skepticism from his farm community.  His efforts demonstrate the power of a personal decision and commitment to a environmental stewardship effort; Sam went out and got funding and training from agencies when that was available, but it's his personal commitment that has allowed this project to continue as a sustained habitat improvement. Many farmers have adopted new practices which support wildlife and deserve respect and recognition for that.