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CMSP Welcomes Autumn Brown as New Executive Director

On behalf of the entire board and staff at the Central MN Sustainability Project, I am so delighted to welcome Autumn Brown as our new Executive Director.

Autumn has organized at a national level on issues of environmental sustainability, food access, and accessible health care, bringing to her work a particular focus on racial and economic justice. As a strategic planning and organizational development consultant, Ms. Brown has worked with such leaders in the field as We Act for Environmental Justice, Slow Food USA, and the Greenworker Cooperatives. She has developed and facilitated curricula on dismantling racism in the food system, and is a recipient of the Next Generation of Leadership Fellowship through the Center for Whole Communities and the Creative Community Leadership Fellowship through Intermedia Arts.

She shared that she is thrilled to be stepping in at such a critical moment in CMSP’s growth as a visionary leader in sustainable social change and community building here in Central Minnesota. Autumn believes that CMSP is poised to create lasting and inclusive change in our community that lifts up the voices and wisdom of New Americans, indigenous Americans, communities of color, and women.

The hiring of an executive director is a crucial step in the implementation of our strategic plan to build social capital and generate economic opportunity through the development of sustainable food systems in the St. Cloud area.

A huge thank you to our many donors and supporters who have made this hire possible. Please join us in giving Autumn a very warm welcome!

~Katrina Pierson
CMSP Board Chair

Thank you Spring 2012 Garden Sponsors and In-Kind Donors!

CMSP extends a heartfelt thank you to the individuals who are helping to kick off the season with their sponsorship of our garden scholarships:

Jeannette Bineham

Ann Cofell

Emily Esch

Ellen Kearns

Connie VonKorff

Faith Haws

LuBell Kendall

John and Linda Peck

Maureen & Jerry McCarter

Barb Carlson

Lucy Bauer

Jeanne Waltour

Andy and Kathy Doom

Emily Bezdicek and Dana Omann,

Bremer Bank

Carol Kelly

John & Katrina Pierson

Hands Across the World

Mindy Pierson

Lynn Engman

Ed Lalor & Paula Tompkins

Teri Estrem

Tony Goddard & Susan McGuire

Brenda Braulick

Tom & Dede Leither

Randy and Carla Johnson

Diane Veale-Jones

Bruce Rowen

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

Emily Esch

Jerry Hengel and Mary Ness

Mike and Nancy Miller

Ron and Myrna Ohmann

Donna Kuhl

Charles and Suzanne Rodell

Karen Petron-Broda

Ruth Weichman

We also thank the following businesses/organizations/individuals for their in-kind support:

Steve’s Excavating

City of St. Cloud

John Hooper

Leo Klisch

Pristine Environmental

CentraCare Health System Foundation

Common Ground CSA (College of St. Benedict)

Catholic Charities

John Kruger

SCSU Community Garden (Tracy Ore)

Sauk Rapids-Rice Middle and High Schools

Friends Plant Sale

Bailey Nursery

MN Horticultural Society MN Green Program

Wendy Hime

John and Susie Muldowney

Lori Schoborg

 

Speakers on Sustainability, Health & Climate Change Set for April 22 Expo

CMSP, in conjunction with the City of St. Cloud, is pleased to announce the following speakers at the 2nd Annual Sustainability Expo on April 22!

11:30 a.m.   Dr. David Kroska- Live Well: Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability

Dr. Kroska was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and has been a practicing
OBGYN physician for over 30 years in St. Cloud. As founder and
Physician Director of the LIFE Program at CentraCare, he has positively
improved the lives of many Central Minnesota residents. His professional
interest in wellness matches his personal commitment to healthy living. He
is an avid organic gardener, founding ACME Tomato, a micro-business
promoting tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants. His wife of 31 years,
Susan, is an inspired cook who enjoys baking artisan whole grain breads
in the wood-fired oven David made. His free time is spent with his wife
and their eight children (seven daughters and one son) in their family
garden and apple orchard.

12:45   David Abazs- VICTUS Farms: Growing Renewable Fuel and Food   

As a farmer, Senior Fellow and Endowed Chair in Agriculture at University
of Minnesota Duluth, David is a leader in increasing the percentage of
food that is produced regionally, and modeling how the Lake Superior
bioregion can map out their own pathway. As a member of the VICTUS
Farms Design Team, Abazs led the partnership between the City of Silver
Bay and UMD’s Center for Sustainable Community Development to build
an 8,600 square foot facility that houses a self contained food and energy
generating ecosystem. David is owner of Round River Farm &
Renewables LLC and Financial Services LLC as well as a non-profit,
Shalom Seed Sanctuary, in Finland, MN. His farm is solar and wind
powered using an intensive cropping system and provides educational
opportunities for local and international delegations. David’s family’s
ongoing quest is to “live simply so that others may simply live.”

1:45  Dr. John Abraham-Climate Change: What Do We Really Know?

Dr. Abraham is a Professor of Thermal Sciences at the University of
St. Thomas. His research areas include renewable power
development and oceanographic temperature measurements. He has
been an active public speaker on the dangers of climate change. Dr.
Abraham formed the Climate Science Rapid Response Team which
consists of approximately 150 of the world’s best climate scientists.
Their mission is to improve communication between scientists and the
larger public. He became well known in the field of climate science
after his public debate with climate denier Christopher Monckton.
That debate received international attention and was covered in the
US, Europe, and Australia.

The Expo runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m at SCSU’s Halenbeck Hall. With over 70 exhibitors, free sustainable, locally-sourced food and the chance to pet a real live yak, this year’s expo is sure to be an exciting experience for the entire family!

April 22 Sustainability Expo Seeks Vendors

CMSP, in partnership with the City of St. Cloud, The Joint Planning Sustainability Committee and St. Cloud State University, invites St. Cloud area farmers, vendors and local green businesses to join us at the 2nd Annual Sustainability Expo on Sunday April 22, from 11AM-3PM.

Benefits include:

1. Great opportunity to promote individual farmers markets.
2. Exhibit tables are also available to promote individual farmers.
3. There are no fees. Six foot exhibit spaces with 6 foot tables are free.
4. Electricity available for free.
5. No hidden charges.
6. Pre purchased, sustainable local foods are free to the public.
7. Expect more than 50 exhibitors this year. 
8. Expect 2,000 plus attendees.
9. Last year’s vendors expressed excellent results).
10. See below for online application. 
Register online here. The deadline is register is Friday, March 2.
Contact Rick Miller at 320-492-9415 with any questions.

A few good food films and books to cozy up to

While I am itchy to begin planning my garden and start my spring seedlings indoors, I am also taking every opportunity to relax and cozy up to hearty films and books. And since I can’t get my daily dose of time in the garden this time of year, I’m loading up on the other good stuff that I’m too busy to pause for in the summer.

Here are a few of my food film and book favorites.

  • Food, Inc.: It will change your life. “You’ll never look at food the same again.”
  • Fresh: A documentary by Sofia Joanes featuring Michael Pollan, among others.
  • King Corn: Two friends move to the corn belt to plant an acre of the nation’s most grown grain, and then follow it into the food supply.
  • Eating Animals: Jonathon Safron Foer puts an interesting spin on the ethics of eating animals.
  • Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: Barbara Kingsolver and her family spend a year consuming only that which is produced locally.
  • The Omnivore’s Dilemma: Michael Pollan reflects on the moral ramifications of our culture and eating habits.

What food related literature and/or films do you recommend?

Bonjour!

Welcome to CMSP’s brand, shiny, new website.

We are stoked about our new space. But more importantly, we’re overjoyed that you are here.

Make sure to visit often as we begin to add more inf0 on the 2012 growing season and the many ways for you to get involved with our growing organization.

Check out our site on Facebook if you haven’t already…..and let us know what you’d like to see on our new virtual home.

Cheers!

Katrina Pierson
Board Chair