SOS Board of Directors
Farmers Market Coordinator:
Lisa Jensen (970) 264-0430
Other SOS Contacts:
Abby Linzie (970) 731-6412
Susan Junta (970) 731-0918
Chrissy Karas (970) 264-6026
Pagosa Springs Chamber of Commerce:
Mary Jo Coulehan (970) 903-7815
Website Design and Maintenance:
Ellen Wadley (970) 731-5654
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The Southwest Organization for Sustainability (SOS) was formed in 2008 by a group of environmentally concerned citizens in Archuleta county. The founder and Chair, Denise Rue-Pastin is an environmental professional who decided to take action by forming the group after repeated “What can we do?” inquiries.
The mission of SOS is to promote a sustainable community—one which balances the needs of the economy, society and environment. The United Nations defines sustainability as that which “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
The SOS is a charter member of the Sustainability Alliance of Southwest Colorado (SASCO). SASCO is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization based in Durango. For more information on SASCO visit their website at sustainableswcolorado.org. Similar to SASCO, SOS goals include:
- Communicate with and educate the public and elected officials about choices that affect sustainability;
- Undertake and support specific projects that foster sustainability;
- Offer coordination and synergistic connections for diverse individuals and groups working to fulfill community needs;
- Research best practices adopted elsewhere to foster sustainable communities;
- Investigate funding options to support local sustainability efforts; and
- Coordinate sustainability efforts on a regional and bioregional scale in the Four Corners area.
The SOS is overseen by a Steering Committee that meets the first Monday of each month from 11:30-1:00 at the Pagosa Springs Chamber of Commerce. They meet to discuss organizational business and to coordinate activities and events. Steering Committee meetings are open to the public and topic suggestions are welcome and encouraged.
The SOS sponsors a quarterly environmental series of events around member and/or pubic identified areas of interest. Unless it falls before a holiday weekend, these events are conducted the fourth Friday of each month at 7:00 pm at the UU Hall. Generally, the series is launched with an environmental film, followed the next month with a speaker with that area of expertise. The quarterly series is concluded with a forum or work session related to the topic, with an emphasis on “what can be done locally.” Sample activities and events to-date include:
- “End of Suburbia” environmental cinema showing (over 20 in attendance);
- LPEA energy speaker talking about their “Green Power Program;”
- “Running Dry” environmental cinema showing (over 30 in attendance);
- Sustainability expert/speaker talking about "Localizing for the Future;"
- “An Inconvenient Truth” environmental cinema showing (over 100 in attendance, plus more than 100 signatures on petitions urging local government to support the Mayors Climate Protection Initiative);
- “The Great Warming” environmental cinema showing (over 40 in attendance);
Global warming expert/speaker talking about
- “What can be done about climate change locally;”
- “Heart and Soil”, a film featuring 4 corners farmers and producers including two from Pagosa Springs, made by Durango filmmaker Mara LeGrand. 100 in attendance at the Liberty Theatre in downtown Pagosa.
- A panel of local growers and gardeners discussing the challenges of successful gardening in the Pagosa area. Panelists: Dixie Neuman of Piedra Farms; Udgar Parsons of Growing Spaces; and Richard Mlller a home gardener.
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