The Newest City in Georgia

Welcome to the newest city in Georgia, the City of Dunwoody, which officially begins operations today. Congratulations to all who have worked so hard to make this dream a reality. Now, let's make it a sustainable city, with each and every decision taking into account the balance of people, planet and profits.

Here's what's happened on the blogs of our loosely-defined, completely informal Sustainable North Atlanta Alliance since last I updated you:

Sustainable Alpharetta

Rocko Recycles
Breaking News--"Clean Coal Is an Oxymoron" . . . Duh

Sustainable Dunwoody

"Dunwoody Grows" Local Foodshed Center?
Bike Riding Into a Changing World
Thoughts While Raking
Children Are Not For Sale (No Matter How Nice the Playground)
The Call of the Sandhill Cranes
What Is It You Want to Build Here in Dunwoody?
Shhh! Don't Tell My Husband!
The Easy Way out (Which, Frankly, Does Not Include the Uphill Climb Out of My Neighborhood)
Starting with a Light Bulb

Sustainable Peachtree Corners

A Gift of Love for Our Needy World
Guess Who CARES? A Shout-out to the Weekend's ZOOMA Girls
Let's Talk Trash!
What Did You Do This Weekend?

Why Do You Do What You Do?

Why Do You Do What You Do, Judy of the CSA? from Pattie Baker on Vimeo.

Here's the thing--if you ask many people why they do what they do, they may just shrug their shoulders and mutter something like, "To pay the bills," or "I ask myself that every day." But I discovered that if you ask someone involved with sustainability initiatives why they do what they do, you might as well get ready to be inspired because what comes next is an answer from the heart, about a deep purpose that has great daily meaning to them.

As a result of this realization, I launched a video series on FoodShed Planet titled Why Do You Do What You Do? (check out Richard of the Worms and Farmer D's answers). This video, of Judy Knight of Sustainable Peachtree Corners, will be featured on FoodShed Planet this upcoming Friday, so consider this a sneak preview! I knew you'd want to hear the great things Judy is doing, and what they mean to her, first!

Also this past week in our Sustainable North Atlanta Alliance, I had the distinct pleasure of hosting a number of our members at my final Open Garden. Some really exciting initiatives are in the works that take some of the concepts of Open Garden and move them out to a larger audience. Stay tuned!

As for the blogs, here's what's been happening:

Sustainable Alpharetta

Post-Election Clean-Up
Green Gifts for the Holidays

Sustainable Dunwoody

Introducing Farmer D
Peachtree Corners' Challenge to Us: Are We Even Up For This?
To Give
What Gets Measured Gets Done: Updated!
What Riley and Dr. Bombay's Underwater Tea Party Have In Common
The Neighborhood Demands It
Capital Growth: A Look at London

I'll leave you with this question of the week: Why do YOU do what you do?

Sustainability is Flowering

Sustainability is flowering all over our North Atlanta arc, but most notably this week in Norcross where a Resolution Creating a Sustainable City Commission for the City of Norcross was passed. Congratulations, Connie, and the rest of the dedicated team in Norcross.

Other big news? The current City Manager of Norcross has now been named as the new City Manager of Dunwoody.

Read more about these stories, and others relating to sustainability, here:

Sustainable Dunwoody

Making the Right Turn as a City
Building a Stronger Community, and a More Sustainable You
Time Waits for No One
Spilling Out
Point of View
MARTA and Goodwill Updates!
"Each One Will Teach One"
Trust the Journey

Sustainable Peachtree Corners

Count Down to Election Day
Run, Run, as Fast as You Can
What's In the Box?

Together, We Can Do Great Things!

So three months have passed since we "laid the foundation" for this site, and four North Atlanta communities have been barreling ahead on their sustainability efforts, captured regularly on various blogs and websites.

The fun part? We all know each other, and we're all in constant email communication. If something is happening or about to happen in one of the communities, the others know about it and weigh in on it immediately. If someone needs advice on a particular sustainability topic, chances are one of us can pull through for the others.

Most of us cross paths on Wednesdays at the Peachtree Corners CSA drop. That's Judy in Charlotte of Riverview Farms' truck. The Chain of Humanity of CSA members lines up and passes the boxes from hands to hands each and every week. And we are connected.

In an effort to make a more powerful impact and make it easier for you to see what's happening regarding communitiy sustainability initiatives, we'll be updating this blog with links to new entries on the individual sites. Look for exciting announcements of group efforts as well. We'll also be adding resources you can use in your daily home life and in your community. As my teenage daughter told me the other night, "You know what? I've realized something. Together we can do great things. Alone we are small."

This week on:
Sustainable Alpharetta:

EcoShred Your Senstive Documents

Sustainable Dunwoody

In Search of Facts
Doing Good Starts with a Simple Hello
Signs of Change
The People of Dunwoody (All of Them)
Economic Engine

Sustainable Norcross

Check out this beautiful new website!

Sustainable Peachtree Corners

Input Needed: Norcross Farmers Market
Halloween Is Around the Corner
A Productive Evening

If you live in a North Atlanta suburb and have sustainability initiatives going on in your community that you want to share, join us! Together, we can do great things!

Check back for updates weekly, or subscribe by clicking the button in the sidebar.

Working Out the Vision Night and Day

As a lightning-bolt of collective energy sweeps the North Atlanta suburbs regarding talk of sustainability, I can't help but think of those lines from the song Putting it Together, from Sunday in the Park with George:

Bit by bit, putting it together.
Piece by piece, working out the vision night and day.
All it takes is time and perseverance
And a little luck along the way.
Putting in a personal appearance
Gathering supporters and adherents...

And so, here it is, bit by bit--sustainable progress in the North Atlanta suburbs. Each week, I'll give you a round-up of blogger news. Currently, we have two blogger representatives in the Sustainable North Atlanta Alliance: Sustainable Dunwoody (okay, that's me) and Sustainable Alpharetta (introducing Mike).