BADGER BIONEERS 2012
POST-CONFERENCE REPORT CLIMATE ENERGY HEALTH ECONOMY In Partnership with GLOBAL HEALTH INSTITUTE AT UW-MADISON UW OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY
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“Imagine if Madison, Wisconsin became the place for research and innovation in using sustainability to drive community progress. That’s my vision.� - Kristen Joiner, Sustain Dane
BADGER BIONEERS 2012
POST-CONFERENCE REPORT CLIMATE ENERGY HEALTH ECONOMY
A Note from the Executive Director Dear Readers, I am proud to say that Sustain Dane’s 2012 Badger Bioneers Conference was our best ever! We brought together over 230 diverse leaders in sustainability to engage in meaningful and thought-provoking discussion - the kind of discussion that sparks ideas and fuels action. The conference participants represented an important cross section of the community - from educators to executives to elected officials - giving incredible breadth and richness to the discussion. As I said in my opening remarks - I believe that, as a region, we can experiment, develop ideas, tell our story, share our research, and impact the national dialogue. Madison can be a living laboratory for sustainability and resilience for the nation. The Badger Bioneers Conference breathes life into this vision, creating a space for all stakeholders to come together and to analyze our current social and environmental challenges and opportunities through a lens of sustainability.
As you browse through this post-conference report, take a moment to reflect on the signficant conversations you had, the influential connections you made, and the the ideas and excitement that they inspired. Then, take action. Engage stakeholders and mobilize your ideas. Drive forward this vision of Madison as a living laboratory for sustainability and resilience for the nation! One final note, the Badger Bioneers Conference would not be possible without the generous support of its many sponsors, including American Family Insurance, Kailo Fund, and Organic Valley and others. Please take a moment and read the full list on page 14 of this report. We’ll see you at the 2013 Badger Bioneers Conference!
Kristen Joiner
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Say What?! Tweets from #BadgerBioneers 2012! Adrienne Nienow @realfoodforall Bioneers Conference off to a great start! Can Madison be an example of sustainability for the rest of the world? I think so. Rebecca Ryan @ngcrebecca Companies need big sustainability goals: 25, 35, 50% improvements. Jeff Rich, Gunderson Health #BadgerBioneers Annemarie Kalson @annemariekalson It’s barely 1 hour into #BadgerBioneers and I’m already overcome worth inspiration thanks to Jonathan Patz and Bill McKibben! Lisa Peyton Caire @SisterSpeakNews Lifted by the inspired energy & fresh thinking at the @sustaindane 4th Annual Bioneers Conference today. Maggie Grabow @MaggieGrabow “We need to see the bicycle as a tool for connecting with the community” -Sgt Jim Dexheimer #BadgerBioneers @Sustain Dane Joshua Feyen @joshfeyen #badgerbioneers The at work session was EXCELLENT - great panelists and info. Nice to hear from local manufacturers and inspiring.
“Impressed, moved, encouraged. Good things going on all over!” - Tweeted by Tim Lang @timothyjlang 4
BADGER BIONEERS 2012
POST-CONFERENCE REPORT CLIMATE ENERGY HEALTH ECONOMY
Conference Statistics 211 BIONEERS KEYNOTE SPEAKERS 240 DISCUSSION PANELISTS & MODERATORS 231 TOTAL REGISTRANTS 54 Private Sector Businesses Including American Family Insurance, Organic Valley, and MGE 22 Schools & Universities Including University of Wisconsin-Madison, Edgewood College, Madison Metropolitan School District, and University of Illinois 21 Non-Governmental Organizations Including Aldo Leopold Nature Center, REAP Food Group, and Community Groundworks 7 Municipal & Governmental Depts.
NGO 16% Gov’t 4%
Community 11% Private Sector 46% Academia 23%
Registrants by Sector Hybrid 3.5% Carpool 15% Drive Alone 33%
Bus 10% Walk / Bike 38.5%
Method of Transportation* *49% Responding
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“Kids are not the problem. They are experts in their own lives, and they can be change agents.� -- Sam Dennis Jr.
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Do you know someone who is on the frontline, pioneering social & environmental progress within the Madison Region? Nominate him or her to be a 2013 Badger Bioneer at www.sustaindane.org!
BADGER BIONEERS 2012
POST-CONFERENCE REPORT CLIMATE ENERGY HEALTH ECONOMY
2012 Badger Bioneers At the core of the Badger Bioneers Conference is a selected group of five individuals - our “Badger Bioneers” who represent exemplary visionairies, thinkers and doers from Southern Wisconsin. From a pool of nominations, the Badger Bioneers are are carefully selected for their inspiring stories, active programming and potency as a change agent. The 2012 Badger Bioneers addressed the conference in TED-style keynote presentations. Here are just a few of the highlights: Dr. Jonathan Patz, Professor & Director of the Global Health Institute at UW-Madison, announced a global initiative to make Ethiopia the biking sister cities of Madison. Sam Dennis Jr., PhD, ASLA, argued that kids are experts and agents of community change, sharing his compelling particpatory photo mapping work with youth.
Stephanie Rearick, musician & owner of Mother Fool’s Coffeehouse, inspired the crowd to share their skills as part of the Dane County TimeBank, the largest in the nation. Kiera Mulvey, Director of FairShare CSA Coalition, lifted up 2013 as the “Year of the CSA” and Wisconsin’s uparalled love affair with the rutabega. Randy Cortright, Founder and CTO of Virent Energy Systems, recounted the history, the opportunities, and the challenges of bringing bio-based plastics and fuels to market.
View the presentations On-Demand through the Madison City Channel website. Visit www.cityofmadison.com/ citychannel/ and search “Badger Bioneers”.
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“Madison: A Living Laboratory for Sustainability & Resilience� Plenary Forum Panelists, L to R: Erik Ranheim, Lisa Peyton-Caire, Michael Mucha, Noah Feinstein
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BADGER BIONEERS 2012
POST-CONFERENCE REPORT CLIMATE ENERGY HEALTH ECONOMY
Panel Discussions
10 distinct panel discussions gave conference goers the chance to interact on various topics related to sustainability and resilience in business, in education, and in the community. A diverse group of 40 expert panelists and moderators led the discussions, with a few highlights mentioned here: During the session, “The Paradigm Shift Toward Sustainable Business,” Bruce Wright shared Uniek, Inc.’s, pragmatic approach to sustainable business innovation. The Waunakee-based manufacturer accepts non-recyclable styrofoam and converts it into picture frames - creating a free raw material stream while giving consumers a landfill alternative for styrofoam disposal.
Community Business
Education
Frank Kooistra, UW-Madison Sustainability Operations Coordinator, underscored the importance of promoting the ideas of sustainability as the norm, and that waste is stupid in the session, “Sustainability on the College Campus.” In the “How Resilient is Madison?” community panel session, Jim Lorman, Academic Director of the Sustainability Leadership Graduate Program at Edgewood College challenged participants to find where in their lifestyles “efficiency” inhibits “resilience.”
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“We are committed to supporting school gardens and the effort to raise children’s understanding and enjoyment of locally-grown, healthy food.” 10
-- Tim Metcalfe, Metcalfe’s Markets
BADGER BIONEERS 2012
POST-CONFERENCE REPORT CLIMATE ENERGY HEALTH ECONOMY
Metcalfe’s School Garden Leaders The Metcalfe’s School Garden Leader Awards recognize the important role that school gardens play in our community. Not only do gardens teach our children about healthy food and an active lifestyle, they help learning come alive – boosting academic achievement,
cultivating pro-social skills and behavior, and promoting citizenship and environmental stewardship. Each award winner received $1000 towards her project. Sustain Dane and Metcalfe’s recognized the winners at the annual Badger Bioneers Conference. The 2012 winners are:
Cheryl Stout
Mary Michaud
Natalie & Gabrielle Hinahara,
Cheryl Stout has guided the transformation of the Oregon Middle School landscape, working from the humble beginnings of prairie plantings to the dynamic vision of bringing a school vegetable garden into full production, with goals to integrate it into every classroom within two years.
Thanks to Mary’s efforts, Van Hise Elementary students enjoy an Outdoor Garden Classroom, which consists of five raised beds, twelve loose beds, compost bins, a shed, two hoops houses and a 700 square-foot rain garden with more than 25 species of native prairie and wetland plants.
In 2011, the Hinaraha sisters started Growing Food and Sustainability, a program designed to engage and educate school-aged children in environmental education through food production, nutrition, cooking, art, biking, and multi-age relationship building.
Oregon Middle School
Van Hise Elementary
Clark Street Community School
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2012 Badger Bioneers Sponsors MENDOTA
MONONA
Thank you to all of our 2012 Badger Bioneers Sponsors! 12
Interested in sponsorships or exhibitions at the 2013 Badger Bioneers Conference? Contact Amy Soyck, amy@sustaindane.org.
BADGER BIONEERS 2012
POST-CONFERENCE REPORT CLIMATE ENERGY HEALTH ECONOMY
KEGONSA WAUBESA
WINGRA
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CONNECT WITH SUSTAIN DANE @SustainDane Facebook.com/SustainDane Sustainable Business Network Group www.sustaindane.org
Think of us as sustainability entrepreneurs and networkers. Movers and shakers. 14
BADGER BIONEERS 2012
POST-CONFERENCE REPORT CLIMATE ENERGY HEALTH ECONOMY
About Sustain Dane We are a non-profit organization based in Madison, Wisconsin, committed to creating a community that deeply enjoys, cares for and is sustained by its unique environment. We serve as a central hub of sustainability and resilience, connecting world trends to local needs and interests in order to create innovative new programs and projects. We find fresh thinking, identify exciting opportunities, and convene groups that will make ideas into realities. With a comprehensive approach to sustainability, we work with all the sectors that affect our daily lives, including school districts, municipal governments, business communities and neighborhoods.
Staff
Board of Directors
Kristen Joiner, Executive Director Jessie Lerner, Director, Sustainable Business Initiative Julie Jarvis, Director, Sustainable Schools Initiative Annemarie Kalson, Program Manager, Sustainable Business Initiative Amy Soyck, Program & Administrative Assistant Danielle Russell, Program Manager, Communications & Development
Sara Alvarado Jim Bradley Joann Kelley Michael Mucha Jonathan Patz Lisa Peyton-Caire
Jordan Hemaidan Cate Ranheim Erik Ranheim Rebecca Ryan Willa Schlecht
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SUSTAIN DANE
211 S. Paterson St. Madison, WI 53703 (608) 819 - 0689 www.sustaindane.org