Greener Youth

Community-Minded Enterprises is launching the Greener Youth Program in response to the 2008 Green Jobs legislation by Washington State and the City of Spokane's plans to cut carbon emissions significantly by 2012 as a part of the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. Community-Minded Enterprises is working with diverse community partners to engage youth and facilitate their pivotal role in strengthening the local green economy.

The three primary activities of the Greener Youth Program include:

1. Community Engagement & Awareness

The Youth Sustainability Convocation and Village Convergence aims to bring Spokane-area youth together through awareness-building, problem-solving, visioning and implementing local solutions to address current environmental, energy and economic challenges. The Village Building Convergence will work with youth to create a community-sustainability project within a Spokane neighborhood. Community-Minded Enterprises is partnering with the City Repair Project and Portland Village Building Convergence to plan the event, projected to take place in April 2009.

Natural Building Workshop: Community-Minded Enterprises organized a natural building workshop and community spaghetti feed in September 2008, in cooperation with the Inland Chapter of the Northwest Ecobuilding Guild and with the participation of the West Central Spokane neighborhood's Project HOPE. Project HOPE is a non-profit organization focusing on gang prevention programs for at-risk youth.  

Eva Miller, a natural builder and co-founder of The Village Building Convergence, led the Cob Oven construction workshop. Cob construction contains earth, water, sand, straw and other fibers and is usually mixed with bare feet as a cooperative activity. It is valued as an alternative building practice and for its form, function and cost effectiveness. The oven will be used for green micro-enterprise purposes such as baking breads and pizza by Project HOPE's Riverfront Farms. For more information about Project HOPE, visit their website.

2. Youth Sustainability Guilds

Community-Minded Enterprises is seeking funding for and designing the Youth Sustainability Guilds program. The Youth Sustainability Guilds program will feature intensive, expert-led training modules in the following areas of a community's ecological and economic sustainability:       

 

For more information contact:

Taylor Weech
(509) 209-2603
taylorw@community-minded.org