The roots of sustainability

In the years leading up to Expo ’74, Spokane’s power brokers – most of whom were men – gathered at exclusive clubs to plan the fair and hash out its theme, “Celebrating Tomorrow’s Fresh New Environment.”

Despite some criticism from local environmentalists during the planning stages, the event was widely considered a success, drawing about 5 million people during the six months it operated.

Fast-forward more than three decades. Sustainable September, an emerging institution that started in 2009, was born of a similar theme as Expo ’74 – sustainability – yet has vastly different roots. Grass roots.

An offshoot of the nonprofit Community-Minded Enterprises, Sustainable September is an annual, monthlong series of events dedicated to a promoting a healthy community. Though men are involved, young women are a driving force behind the event, which has an organic, ground-up rather than top-down organization.

“I think that young people are just attracted to it,” said Taylor Weech, 20, youth sustainability council coordinator. “It’s just a way for them to kind of be proactive about the way they live. I think that young people just like to be a part of change in general.”

A downtrodden economy has also led to the increased involvement of youth, Weech said. With a struggling job market, more young people are taking less-traditional career routes, volunteering, interning or taking jobs in the nonprofit sector that “expose them to what’s going on more,” she said.

Sustainable September involves a more diverse demograhic in planning and defines sustainability more broadly than expo planners did.

“The lenses are different,” said Mariah McKay, last year’s planning coordinator. “It’s become a lot more comprehensive.”

Weech said true sustainability is made up of the “three E’s”: environment, economy and social equity. All three need to be in harmony to have a truly sustainable community, she said.

McKay said one strength of Sustainable September is that it involves the entire community, rather than a small number of people setting the agenda and providing “a one-dimensional view of sustainability.”

“You need multiple people to reflect the true diversity of what community sustainability means,” she said.

The grass-roots startup of Sustainable September allows it to function more like a movement than an event, Weech said.

“I think it’s a more natural way, rather than being administered from the top down,” she said. “Especially with young people, it’s easier to have an idea go viral from the grass-roots level, just having the information go from person to person.”

Where Expo ’74 focused on ways Spokane could improve in the future, Sustainable September highlights organizations that already promote sustainability.

“I think Expo ’74 was really a good jumping-off point for making Spokane better,” Weech said. Sustainable September, she said, is “kind of like, ‘Look at how great we already are.’ ”

This year, Sustainable September is partnering with The Lands Council, the Sierra Club, Northwest Eco-Guild, LaunchPad INW and the Community Building to focus on themes including green building, landscaping, and health and well being. While this year’s activities are still in the works, it likely will feature a Main Street Fair, a fashion show with reused and repurposed clothing, and lectures on sustainability. It also will involve local businesses, artists and a variety of vendors, Weech said.

Despite the many ways the idea of sustainability has evolved, it still has room for improvement, McKay said.

“Certainly sustainability has come a long way since the ’70s,” she said. “At the same time, I think anyone involved in the modern sustainability movement would recognize we have a long way to go.”