Sustainable Shawnee

This Summer at the Community Garden Meeting

2015-04-21T09:23:00.001-05:00

Shawnee Community Garden Meeting
Corner of Wall and Park Streets (1 blk. North of Independence)
Wednesday, April 29th
3pm

All those interested in planting and caring for the garden are welcome to attend. Amanda McCart, our new garden supervisor, will conduct the meeting and help us plan out our activities for the summer. We hope you'll spend a few minutes with us and take advantage of the community resource. Thank you!

Questions? Contact us at sustainableshawnee@gmail.com or message us at Facebook.

See you at the garden!

It's Christmas Party Time!

2014-11-14T10:36:00.005-06:00

Guess what? It's almost time for the Sustainable Shawnee/Shawnee Peace Fellowship Christmas Party! Mark your calendars for Dec. 16th. @ 6:30 pm. We'll gather at the Owl Shoppe for tasty finger foods and bring your own adult beverage. The cost will be $15.
I hope you can join us and bring a friend. Please RSVP by email if you plan to attend so we have some sense of the numbers. Thank you and Happy Holidays!

Oklahoma Recycling Conference - Edmond, Oct. 9th

2014-09-15T12:03:00.001-05:00

Learn about the best ‘next steps’ in waste diversion programs, outreach and policies for your city, county, business, school, office or special event at the full-day Oklahoma Recycling Conference to be held in Edmond on Oct. 9 on the campus of the University of Central Oklahoma (new location this year!).

The 2014 conference, Increasing Diversion: Events, Offices, Rural Areas, hosted by the Oklahoma Recycling Association, will feature the president and CEO of the National Recycling Coalition, Mark Lichtenstein, who will discuss national diversion rates.

Other program topics include: Hub & Spoke Infrastructure for Rural Recycling, State Agency Recycling & Data Collection, Office Recycling, Event Recycling, Bin Loan Programs, Food Waste Recovery, 50 Shades of Green, and Managing Volunteers. Tours include UCO’s recycling program and Minick Materials’ commercial-scale composting operation.

Online registration and more information about the conference and expo, scheduled at UCO’s Nigh Center, can be found here: www.recycleok.org/events-activities.php. Registration includes all sessions, continental breakfast, refreshments, a buffet lunch and one tour. Up to six continuing education credits will be offered to members of SWANA who attend the conference.

The 2014 Oklahoma Recycling Conference is sponsored by UCO, the Oklahoma Department of Environment Quality, Oklahoma State University, Batliner Recycling, Republic Services, Choctaw Nation, City of Stillwater, Covanta Energy, Keep Oklahoma Beautiful, OGE Energy Corp., SWANA Indian Nations Chapter, Ardmore Beautification Council and Natural Evolution, Inc.

Please address any questions to info@recycleok.org

Sustainable Shawnee's 6th Annual Tapas at Twilight Local Foods Dinner

2014-07-31T14:12:00.000-05:00

6th Annual Tapas at Twilight Local Foods Dinner was a great success as always with over 125 people in attendance. Thanks go out to Harvest Creek Farms, Personal Chef Jennifer Goodson, Gliorio's Resataurant, Olde Owl Shoppe, Giorgio's Pizza, Kim's Place, Saving Pets At Risk (SPAR) and the Bricktown Brewery for their wonderful food and support for this event. Thank you for attending again this year and we look forward to seeing everyone again in 2015!

Electronic Recycling Event in Shawnee

2014-07-07T15:51:00.002-05:00

An Electonic Recycling Event is coming up in Shawnee! Shawnee's Senior Citizen's Center is hosting the event on Saturday, July 19th at their location on Bell St. Please share widely and support this fundraising event for the Senior Center.

Sustainable Shawnee Blogs for the Shawnee News-Star

2014-07-03T12:16:00.000-05:00

Cody Deem and Shawna Turner are blogging for the Shawnee News-Star! The blog is called Sprouts and covers a variety of environmental and green living topics.

Here's a sample of what's featured this week:

If you peep into most household recycling bins, you'll find that much of the waste is plastic bottles - water bottles, soda bottles, milk jugs, etc. I know I feel very proud of myself when I recycle most of the plastic I use but I could do a lot more in the area of reducing my plastic usage and making smarter consumer choices.

I'm sure I don't have to tell you about the vast island of plastic floating in the Pacific Ocean and how it got there. The impact of our collective wasteful behavior is profound to say the least but we can reduce the amount of plastic that ultimately ends up in the landfill or the ocean.

Interested? Read more at : http://www.news-star.com/article/20140702/blogs/140639960/1389

We write a couple of articles every week so check back and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you!

Recycling for Pottawatomie County Residents

2014-03-25T09:12:00.001-05:00

Do you live in the county? Do you wish you still had access to the Recycling Center Drop Off Bins formerly at Homeland? Then here's what you do. Call or email your county commissioner and request funding a recycling drop off center for the county residents' use.

Call:

Melissa Dennis, District 1 Commissioner (405) 273-1564

Randy Houser Thomas, District 2 Commissioner (405) 598-2046Eddie Stackhouse, District 3 Commissioner (405) 275-9753

Email:

pott-cocomm@sbcglobal.net

Sustainable Shawnee formally requested that the county enter into negotiations with Central Disposal to locate and fund one drop off center to recycle glass, paper, cardboard, plastic and metal at the April 30^th meeting. The rest is up to you. Together we can make this happen but those of you living in the county MUST call and email. Thank you!!

And There They Sit.....

2014-02-26T12:39:00.000-06:00

And there they sit.... Please encourage your friends, neighbors and family to bring their recycling bins up to the house from the street. Many people have no idea why the bins are there or know that they now belong to them. Take a minute to explain the program to folks that may not be aware. It will be a great help to the community as we begin curbside recycling in Shawnee. Thank you.

Curbside Recycling Begins in Shawnee!

2014-02-26T11:04:00.000-06:00

After many years of effort on the part of Sustainable Shawnee and others, curbside recycling is underway! The blue bins are being delivered this week (February 24-28th) and the first recycling pick up is scheduled for Monday, March 3rd.

Here are some facts you need to know for next week:

Place your recycling bin next to your trash polycart on your regularly scheduled pick up day. Recycling and trash will be picked up on the same day.
Washing out food cans or bottles is optional but recommended especially during the summer months.
Cardboard and Glass can be recycled at the Central Disposal Drop-off Center (45th and Railroad tracks), 9am-5pm, M-F
Paper, Cardboard and Metals can be taken for recycling to the Faith 7 Center located at 301 S. Kennedy, 8:30-2pm, M-F. The large blue roll-off containers will be placed there. Call 275-4223 for more information.
The drop off center located at Homeland on Kickapoo and Independence will close on March 1st.
For households with 1-3 people, call Central Disposal and ask for a smaller trash polycart. They will deliver the bin to your house at no cost and you will save $3.00/month on your bill making curbside recycling free for you!

More additional details on what exactly to recycle and other information, visit http://www.shawneeok.org/PublicWorks/Sanitation/curbside.asp.

Thank you for your support and let's get started recycling!

Shawnee Creek: The Path No Longer Travelled

2014-01-30T13:50:00.001-06:00

Jim Kinnamon of Shawnee Proud, Pott. County Strong gave us an inspiring presentation of his vision for Shawnee Creek. With Mayor Mainord, Commissioner Harrod and representation from the City Planning Department present, we heard about the history of this forgotten area of Shawnee and how we might envision it's future.

Mr. Kinnamon described waterfalls, flocks of turkeys, wooded areas and beauty places of all kinds along the railroad tracks between the Shawnee Mall and downtown. "Why do people travel to Arkansas when they have something like this here?" Jim asked the audience. Much of the creek and the adjacent "Old Katy Line" was long ago abandoned by the railroad but much clean up is required to make the area accessible to the community. "I'd like to see mountain bike and walking trails along with recreational areas for everyone to use. What's holding us back is the fact that many residents use the creek to dump trash and the need for money to do proper clean up. We have the volunteers but the cost of renting the clearing equipment is $863/day." He is in talks with the Avedis Foundation and others to find the money to get the work done. "The City of Shawnee has been a great partner but they can't do everything. We need to do our part, too."

Sustainable Shawnee will be organizing a walk in March for its members and interested parties to join Mr. Kinnamon to see all that Shawnee Creek has to offer. The date is not yet set but will be advertised. "Shawnee has a great deal more to offer than we are presently enjoying," said Shawna Turner, President of Sustainable Shawnee. "We look forward to working with Jim and the City of Shawnee to make our community a more attractive and healthier place to live."

Jim concluded his talk by saying, "We have big dreams but we have to start somewhere." Indeed. Thanks to Jim and the Shawnee Chamber of Commerce for providing the AV equipment for the meeting. More to come....

Sustainable Shawnee Elects New Slate of Officers

2014-01-06T14:13:00.000-06:00

Welcome to our 2014 Sustainable Shawnee Officers:

Shawna Turner, President
Cody Deem, Vice President
Shelby Shackelford, Secretary
Carole Turner, Treasurer

2014 is going to be a great year for community life in Shawnee. Curbside Recycling will begin across the city on March 1st. Sustainable Shawnee will be working with the City and Central Disposal to help get the word out about the program and encourage participation. We'll start off the year with a presentation on Multi-Purpose Trail opportunities for Shawnee scheduled for February 13th. I think we'll be suprised just how many scenic areas Shawnee has and what the opportunities for hiking, biking and walking in our area. Finally there's a great deal of interest in community gardening and nutrition! We hope to expand our garden as well as aid in opening another in Shawnee this year. There's a lot of good work to be done.

I invite our members to serve on a steering committee for one of the three activities I've mentioned above:

Curbside Recycling Education
Community Multi-Purpose Trails
Community Gardening

Email us at sustainableshawnee@gmail.com to volunteer or with questions about the upcoming year. Thank you for your continued support!

Sustainable Shawnee/Shawnee Peace Fellowship Christmas Dinner

2013-11-26T13:18:00.000-06:00

Sustainable Shawnee and the Shawnee Peace Fellowship Christmas Dinner has been set! Join us at the Owl Shoppe on Main St. for a very festive gathering on Tuesday, Dec. 17th at 6:30 pm. We'll have a wonderful 4 course meal with wine (or the non-alcoholic beverage of your choice). BYOB if you wish. Musical entertainment will also be provided. The price is $25/person and we will need an RSVP. We have only 50 seats available so let us know right away if you wish to attend. RSVP to sustainableshawnee@gmail.com or by message to Facebook by Friday, December 13th and confirm whether you'd prefer a Vegetarian, Beef or Salmon entree.

25 Tons of Electronic Waste Recycled at Community Event

2013-11-22T15:30:00.000-06:00

25 tons of electronics collected
Local recycling event diverts two truckloads from landfill.
By SNS
Posted Nov. 21, 2013 @ 11:37 am
SHAWNEE

Sustainable Shawnee, the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, Natural Evolution of Tulsa and Direct Colors Inc. held a free electronic waste recycling event recently for Shawnee and surrounding communities.

“We diverted two truckloads or approximately 25 tons of electronics from the landfill at this event.” said Shawna Turner, President of Sustainable Shawnee and general manager for Direct Colors. “All the material collected will be shredded and responsibly recycled in the United States.”

Traci Phillips with Natural Evolution, an electronics recycler from Tulsa, told Sustainable Shawnee members that “over 2.5 billion tons of electronic waste is created worldwide each year.

Electronics contain everything from the benign to the extremely hazardous and virtually everything can be recycled in some way. Toxic materials like lead and heavy metals can easily leach out of irresponsibly disposed of electronic waste into surrounding soils and water. Recycling saves landfill space, allows for reuse and prevents unnecessary pollution.”

For the complete article, visit the Shawnee News-Star Website.

Join Us for the Don't Waste: Create! Art Reception at Mabee-Garrer!

2013-10-29T14:38:00.003-05:00

Friday, November 8thReception, 7pm
Mabee- Gerrer Museum of Art, St. Gregory's University
2013 Regional Art Exhibition at Mabee-Gerrae Museum at St. Gregory's University featuring art made from repurposed materials.Sustainable Shawnee has been selected as this year’s community charity so enter your art project, www.mgmoa.org/exhibitions/upcoming-exhibits/regional-2013-entry-info/, and bring newspapers, magazines or other paper to recycle for free museum admission.

2013-10-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

2013 Tapas at Twilight 5th Annual Local Foods Dinner

2013-09-27T09:40:00.001-05:00

Special Thanks to Harvest Creek Farms, Jerri Parker, Grangeville Tea Room, The Old Owl Shoppe, Giorgio's Pizza, Kim's Place, Gliori's, SPAR (Saving Pets At Risk) and our own Sustainable Shawnee members for preparing what must have been the best food ever for our event. Remember that these businesses are open year round and I hope you'll continue to give them your support.

We look forward to seeing everyone again next year!

Thanks for a Great Evening!

2013-08-27T09:17:00.000-05:00

Shawnee City Commission Curbside Recycling Workshop September 3rd

2013-05-08T16:29:00.003-05:00

Congratulations Shawnee! You will be curbside recycling before the new year! After many years of hard work and advocacy, the city commission voted to begin curbside recycling in Shawnee. Hooray! Though some of the details are still being worked out, the program should be in place within 60-90 days. We should be recycling essentially what we are now at the drop-off centers but further details and community education will be forthcoming.

Please take a moment to thank Commissioners Stephens, Smith, Winterringer, Hall and Mayor Mainord for their leadership. It takes courage to lead and they have shown it. Make sure they know how much you appreciate their efforts.

Thank you to everyone who called, wrote and attended in support of recycling over the years.

wes.mainord@shawneeok.org - Mayor Wes Mainord
pstephens@shawneeok.org - Commissioner Pam Stephens
keith.hall@shawneeok.org - Commissioner Keith Hall
jdwinterringer@shawneeok.org - Commissioner John Winterringer
ssmith@shawneeok.org - Commissioner Steve Smith

Paula Waters, Avedis Foundation, to Speak at March Meeting

2013-03-12T12:38:00.001-05:00

Paula Waters with Avedis Foundation spoke about how the foundation plans to support health, wellness and quality of life in Shawnee at our March Meeting.

Avedis Foundation supports projects that directly benefit people from the communities we serve. Our interests include initiatives that nurture the community by promoting healthy lifestyles in one
or more of these areas:

• Physical wellness
• Intellectual well-being
• Emotional wellness
• Social well-being
• Environmental well-being
• Spiritual well-being

We greatly appreciated Paula's presentation and discussion. I'm glad so many were able to join us. We'll meet again on May 9th at the Shawnee Community Garden on Park and Wall Sts. at 6:30pm. Our speaker will be announced later this month. Thanks as always for your ongoing support of Sustainable Shawnee.

City Commission Adopts Proposed Bike Routes for Shawnee

2013-02-28T11:16:00.001-06:00

I just wanted to take a moment to sincerely thank everyone who attended last night's commission meeting and wrote emails of support to our commissioners. When I asked for the bike route supporters in the room to stand last night, fully two-thirds of the audience stood. Your emails created an opportunity to discuss the proposed plan and your attendance conveyed the deep community support for cycling and running in Shawnee. Each of you was responsible for making a difference last night so thank you for caring and for "showing up" in the many ways you did. Having said all that, there's still work to be done so roll up your sleeves and let's get started!!!!
Please take a moment to express your gratitude to the Commissioners that supported the bike route plan:

wes.mainord@shawneeok.org - Mayor Wes Mainord
pstephens@shawneeok.org - Commissioner Pam Stephens
keith.hall@shawneeok.org - Commissioner Keith Hall
ssmith@shawneeok.org - Commissioner Steve Smith

Thank you!

Bike Routes in Shawnee!

2013-01-22T14:37:00.001-06:00

Sustainable Shawnee hosted Randall Entz Transportation Planner for the City of Oklahoma City to speak about OKC's experience with bike routes and trails.

Mr. Entz observed,"Commerce happens at 3 mph not 30." Providing for pedestrians and cyclists and vehicle traffic has anecdotally increased business for OKC's downtown. "We've noticed a return of locally-owned restaurants and shops which is great for the community." Mr. Entz also believes the areas where bike lanes and paths are designated are safer for both drivers and pedestrians/cyclists." ignage needs to be clear and not open to interpretation. As drivers and cyclists learn the rules of the road together, accidents will hopefully be reduced. He hopes to have actual data in the coming months as these improvements are studied further.

The City of Shawnee is drafting a bike route plan for our community now. The early plan will be reviewed by the Traffic Commission on January 22nd. The commission welcomes public comment on the plan especially from people who frequently bike, jog or walk on our city streets. Contact Mike Ludi, Assistant City Engineer, at mludi@shawneeok.org with bike route questions or comments and help our community have the most "user-friendly" plan possible.

Shawnee's proposed bike route plans are in the news! Here's the link for a recent Shawnee News-Star article and be on the look out for an upcoming peice in the Shawnee Outlook!

Click here for a Mr. Entz's complete presentation and like Sustainable Shawnee's Facebook page for updated bike route information.

Sustainable Shawnee's 2013 Christmas Party!

2012-12-06T09:45:00.001-06:00

Sustainable Shawnee held our annual Christmas Party at Zocalo's Mexican Restaurant in Tecumseh this year. We enjoyed a wonderful vegetarian and vegan buffet along with other carnivorous favorites! We had a stumpendous turnout including many members from the Shawnee Peace Fellowship! Thanks to everyone who attended and to the staff of Zocalo's who worked so hard to serve us. Remember Zocalo's offers fresh and healthy Vegan/Vegetarian dinner options every Saturday evening of the year so stop by often!
We look forward to working with the City of Shawnee on a new bike route plan and finding a cost effective way to bring curbside recycling to our community. Merry Christmas to all and let's get ready for 2013!

Sustainable Shawnee Elects 2013 Slate of Officers!

2012-11-12T12:32:00.001-06:00

Thanks to everyone who's offered to give their time in 2013! Here's next year's fabulous volunteers!

President - Shawna Turner
Vice President - Timothy McCollum

Treasurer - Cody Deem

Secretary - Shelby Shackelford

You don't have to be an officer to do your part! If you have an interest in water issues, recycling, community gardening, local foods or another topic we've never tackled before, we have a place for you. Questions? Comments? Contact us at sustainableshawnee@gmail.com!

GreenStar Recycling Speaks on the Economics of Recycling in Oklahoma

2012-11-05T11:14:00.001-06:00

We had a hugely successful meeting with GreenStar Recycling executive, Robert Pickens. He provided best practice examples for what has been successful and what hasn't been so successful for recycling programs nationwide. He will be a well-informed and valuable asset to the City as they explore their curbside recycling options with the key stakeholders in our community. We look forward to working with him in the coming days. Meanwhile, Sustainable Shawnee continues to work on our curbside recycling recommendations. The recycling committee will meet Monday, November 12th at 4pm at SIPS downtown to discuss our plans. Join us if you're free. We need your feedback and support to make curbside recycling a reality in Shawnee. Questions? Comments? Email us at sustainableshawnee@gmail.com.

Fun Day at Shawnee's Community Garden!

2012-10-25T13:37:00.001-05:00

Professor Timothy McCollum and his OBU students welcomed over twenty students to the Shawnee Community Garden this morning. Unfortunately, it was a cold start but the kids had a great time learning about farming and growing their own food. Many thanks to OBU for helping make our garden a place of learning for everyone! Visit Sustainable Shawnee's facebook page for more event photos and stay tuned for next week's Countywide article.