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The world is constructed not of building blocks but of webs

Last week I attended a seminar at a wonderful organization called the Center for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley. The CEL works with educators to integrate sustainable learning into school curricula. (I can’t think of a better mission!)

The seminar was on systems thinking. What is systems thinking, you might ask? Think of it as a worldview that connects all of the dots. It’s a wonderfully simple yet elegant way of looking at things, and we all need to do a lot more of it in our everyday work and personal lives.

Fritjof Capra, one CEL’s founders, was the main speaker. He is a physicist and theorist, and in his books and lectures, he draws brilliantly obvious parallels between natural systems and the way we humans should organize ourselves.

To fix the planet, Capra says, we need to start thinking less like auto mechanics (cars are, after all, designed by humans) and more like nature itself. Life isn’t mechanical; it’s systemic and holistic.

If you look at hard at how natural systems are organized, Capra says, you will realize that they are actually an infinite series of interconnected networks. And what are networks but simply sets of complex relationships. No man is an island, as John Donne said, and neither is any plant, animal, or mushroom.

Think about it: nothing can exist on the planet without being plugged into a much larger system. Once you realize this, you realize how flawed (how unnatural, if you will) our modern culture is, because we tend to value isolation over community. We all know there is something inherently wrong with gated communities and giant Hummers, but we don’t know exactly what. The answer is that both are ways to cut ourselves off from our fellow human beings—from the larger network that sustains us. Once we examine how nature really works, we begin to see things differently.

Who was it who said, “If you pull on a string, you’ll find that it is connected to the whole world”? Certainly he or she understood the essential concept of systems thinking. We must all be careful not to sever that string: the fate of the world depends on it.

Posted in Foundation for Sustainability.

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By Elizabeth Quinn – August 25, 2009

The Farmers of West Marin: Stewards of the Environment

On Saturday a group of friends and I visited Toluma Farms (www.tolumafarms.com), a picturesque goat dairy in the town of Tomales. We were there as part of a tour sponsored by the Marin Agricultural Land Trust (www.malt.org). It was such fun to visit a true working farm, especially one that cares so much for both its animals and the land.

The owners—David Jablons and Tamara Hicks (and their two proud daughters Josy and Emmy)—purchased the farm with the express intent of improving the quality of the land. Committing to such intense capital requirements (especially in farming, which is notoriously low-margin) is not for the faint of heart, but David and Tamara were undeterred. They understand that a farm does not just exist in isolation, but plays a crucial role in the management of an area’s larger ecosystem. They also are dedicated to the well-being of their animals, and were recently the first goat farm in Marin County to be animal-welfare certified.

One of the most important ways in which a farm can help or hinder environmental quality is through its watershed. Many farms have creeks running through them. Besides providing power or a water source, these creeks also provide crucial habitat for creatures large and small, including those at the bottom of the entire food chain. The quality of a watershed usually dictates the quality of its overall environment. To improve the quality of the water on their property, Toluma Farms partnered with a peerless organization called STRAW—Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed (www.bay.org/watershed_education.htm). STRAW coordinates with groups of school children who the hard work of shoring up creek banks, partitioning water from livestock, and reintroducing native grasses on the perimeter. This project was a vital first step in restoring the health of the overall farm and bringing back native flora and fauna.

As for the farm tour, the goats themselves could not have been friendlier! The babies especially were very hospitable, greeting us warmly as we entered their paddocks. At one point, my friend’s daughters and I were literally surrounded by nuzzling goats, who plied us with kisses and good-natured head butts.

I encourage everyone to learn more about local farms, especially ones run by families with their hearts in the right place.

Posted in Local/Organic Farming, Foodsheds, Food Security.

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By Elizabeth Quinn – July 28, 2009

Honor the Vitality & Importance of Farmers Markets: Give them Permanent Homes

We can all agree that farmers markets are a cornerstone of the local food economy and help preserve the integrity of foodsheds. They deserve permanent structures and homes that reflect their place in local food systems.

On Sunday, July 12th—at the height of the farmers market high season—I had the pleasure of volunteering at the Marin County Civic Center Farmers Market in San Rafael, California. This is one the most famous and most popular farmers markets around (with over 190 stalls), and on this bright and sunny day, the stalls were brimming with fresh produce, artisanal cuisine, gorgeous cut flowers, and whimsical, lovely crafts. The crowds abounded—drinking in the sights, smells, and camaraderie of friendly strangers.

I was there to volunteer at an outreach table for MALT—the Marin Agricultural Land Trust (www.malt.org). MALT is a wonderful organization that preserves Marin County farmland by acquiring agricultural conservation easements through voluntary transactions with landowners—ranchers and farmers. MALT is a key part of why Marin County is able to preserve as much farmland as it does, and the results of its work were in evidence at the Civic Center Farmers Market.

As I said, I was lucky enough to be volunteering on a sunny and warm summer day. But not every day at the farmers market is so balmy.

For those days on which the weather is not as cooperative (although we, of course, very much appreciate the rain for our crops), farmers markets should be held within or under more permanent structures. On rainy days, not only do vendors and shoppers need to contend with umbrellas and raincoats, they also need to worry about water rushing through the parking lot at a fast clip. This makes the entire farmers market experience decidedly less enjoyable.

Fortunately, the Marin Farmers Markets (http://www.marinfarmersmarkets.org/), the organization that runs eights markets around the San Francisco Bay Area, has embarked on a planning process to construct such a structure. In addition to providing protection from inclement weather, preliminary designs include infrastructural elements such as a plumbing system for washing produce, signage and wayfinding, and landscaping. Small improvements that would make a big difference.

These planned improvements are slowly making their way through the county government. If you are a Marin County resident, please let your county supervisor know how important it is to create lasting homes for your farmers market—which are such a key part of ensuring sustainability at the local level.

If you live elsewhere, help give your local farmers market the place of honor it deserves in our post-industrial-farming economy. Write to your city or county representative and let them know you would like your farmers market to have a permanent home.

Posted in Local/Organic Farming, Foodsheds, Food Security.

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By Elizabeth Quinn – July 12, 2009

Creating a sustainable business infrastructure

When we set out to launch Dogwood Communications, being a marketing and communications firm specializing in sustainability (both in message and in practice), we knew that we needed to do things the right way internally first and foremost. We needed to set up our infrastructure in a way that minimized our ecological footprint, but at the same time allowed for sustainable and scalable growth. That goal, combined with the fact that frankly we had no money when we got started, forced us to find some creative solutions–solutions that have proven highly effective thus far.

The first issue we came across was, how do we set up an IT infrastructure so that we could implement a fully functioning and secure email and file-sharing system, but one that was virtual and accessible from any computer in any location with an Internet connection.

The whole mantra I’ve had as we went through the process of setting up our internal systems is to always try and use other people’s servers. Not only did we not have the money to invest in servers (and the requisite IT consultant costs that go with that), but from a sustainability perspective, cloud computing is far and away the most effective solution in terms of energy and environmental efficiency. Why buy a server just for ourselves, if we’re only going to use about 5% of its total capacity, and only for certain hours of each day? All I can say is, thank goodness for Google Apps.

Purchasing the enterprise edition of Google Apps cost a mere $50/user per year, and allowed virtually unlimited email and file-sharing capabilities, as well as a fully built-out intranet site. Having used the system now for awhile, I don’t see why any company would ever invest the tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of dollars it costs to build an in-house email and file-sharing system, which is then subject to the whims of your IT manager. If you trust your bank to provide security and regular back-ups of your personal information, there’s no reason not to trust Google with your email and file-sharing system. With a few minor add-ons, you can quickly increase your level of security and back up functionality over the already robust levels Google offers as a starting point.

Next up was our office. Again, given our financial constraints we couldn’t afford monthly rent anywhere, so we built out a nice home office here in Tiburon. However, we needed a way to meet with our clients, as well as our other partners,  in a professional (and more centrally located) setting. This was when we discovered the joys of virtual offices. For a small fraction of the price of a regular office, you can get hourly access to high-end conference rooms, with fully built out A/V capabilities, along with a San Francisco mailing address, giving you the appearance of a much larger company. We went with the new Pacific Business Center’s location (www.pbcoffices.com) on Spear Street, in San Francisco. A top-dollar downtown address for a few hundred dollars a month. One that is easily accessible to all forms of public transit, thereby eliminating your need to use your car to get to the office. Throw in a virtual phone system for $10/month through Virtual PBX (www.virtualpbx.com), and voila, you have an office!

Last but certainly not least, we needed accounting and project-management systems. Again, we needed solutions that were accesible to all of our partners at any time at any location. Quickbooks was not going to do it. It seemed like a situation where there should obviously be multiple companies in our own backyard of Silicon Valley that would have created a solution by now, but alas, we had to find our solutions on the other side of the world, in New Zealand.

First off was the accounting system, Xero (www.xero.com). It bills itself as the world’s easiest accounting system, and having spent the last 15 years of my career working with accounting systems, I can’t really disagree with that. It does have some issues that need to be resolved (such as the inability to print checks out of the system), but the system is still in its infancy and I’d imagine they will continue to develop it over time.

Next up was the project-management system. The issue here was that I wanted to make sure the project-management system would speak with the accounting system, so we weren’t getting stuck making double entries and tying out two different systems. Xero offered up the perfect solution via their affiliation with another New Zealand company called Workflow Max (www.workflowmax.com). An easy-to-use and highly effective project-management system that automatically syncs up with Xero (passing financial information back and forth seamlessly), after just a few minutes of initial backend set up.

I look forward to seeing our solutions outlined above grow with us in the coming years, helping to create a blueprint for sustainable business infrastructures, without sacrificing anything in functionality or security (and in most cases, improving them).

Posted in Sustainable Business Practices.

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By Marcello – July 12, 2009