ROCKSTAR: (noun) ordinary person doing extraordinary things in the community
Nevada EcoNet is an organization that everyone should be aware of and executive director Kristopher Hansen is the main man for knowledge. What started in 1990 by a group of citizens looking to organize a formal Earth Day celebration in Reno has grown to an organization with a mission to serve as the primary source of sustainability information to Northern Nevada, and more recently, the North Lake Tahoe area.
Hansen took the job this past January and had a little over three months to organize and head the organization’s biggest event of the year, Earth Day. As board director Jo Simpson says, ‘He was thrown right into the fire.’ I wondered how one gets on the path to becoming ED of such an interesting organization and talked with the ever humble Hansen to get a little background info.
‘A series of experiences helped me build the skills necessary to be a good executive director, three of which are important to highlight,’ he says. These three experiences: 1) Going through a long period of grassroots activism as a volunteer leader (such as serving as chair to Truckee Climate Action Network’s ‘Summer Light Switch’ program and hosting a ‘Focus the Nation’ conference), 2) Taking a graduate seminar in Literature & Environment and 3) Participating in the Sierra Business Council’s ‘Sierra Leadership Institute’ in 2008. Hansen says that SLI taught him essential lessons. ‘Firstly, that collaborative decision-making processes are critical to making communities function. In other words, we are all part of a network of individuals, organizations, businesses, and agencies that act as a local system, or community. Secondly, that I had the skills and knowledge necessary, just by being a person of this region, to participate in the processes that affected my community the most.’
Besides planning the Earth Day event, which last year drew over 10,000 people and was able to re-direct 93 percent of its waste, Hansen is busy with the myriad of projects helping to propel local sustainability actions to top of mind and promoting Nevada EcoNet. The sustainability movement, he believes, is a diverse grassroots effort directed toward the mission of ensuring a high quality of life for ourselves and our future generations. For those in the movement, quality of life implies environmental stability, a vital local economy and a capable and informed community.
‘This type of goal requires that creative expressions from key partners in the community are accessible and available,’ Hansen says.
He strongly believes special events are a crucial tool. ‘Special events are powerful in the public eye,’ he says. ‘(They are) a great way of making the efforts of businesses, organizations and agencies known. Events like Earth Day and others in the region engage volunteers and empower them to take a part in the sustainability movement.’ Along with special events, Hansen works tirelessly to promote Nevada EcoNet’s ‘Green Guide,’ a directory showcasing businesses, organizations and agencies that are working toward a more sustainable future in Northern Nevada and North Tahoe. He also is hoping to raise awareness about a local program called Erase Your Trace. ‘Special events are important for the community, but they are quite wasteful, particularly when the waste is directed primarily to a landfill. The Erase Your Trace program incorporates state-of-the-art composting and recycling activities in order to direct 90 percent or more of event waste away from the landfill and towards some usage that is productive,’ he says. ‘Most of our Erase Your Trace waste is re-used in some way. You will notice many large special events incorporating these practices.’
Currently, Hansen is focusing his efforts on EcoNet’s upcoming ‘Uncorked Organic Wine and Local Food Tasting.’ The July 18 event, to be held at Moana Nursery in Reno, combines organic wines and local food appetizers in an intimate setting and gives attendees the chance to mingle with sustainability partners. The night also serves as a fundraiser for EcoNet. Consider it a chance to support not only local and organic products, but a way to meet this local rockstar thinking globally and acting locally.
Uncorked Organic Wine and Local Food Tasting is to be held Saturday, July 18 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Moana Nursery on Moana Lane. Tickets are $30 and are available at the nursery, DISH Café and online at nevadaeconet.org.
