The first community project for the new southwest Virginia grassroots organization, SustainFloyd, was to organize a local action towards Bill McKibben’s global efforts to demand a sustainable atmosphere at the climate conference this December in Copenhagen.
McKibben, author, educator and environmentalist, was invited by SustainFloyd and The Community Foundation of the New River Valley to the tiny town of Floyd and to the university town to speak about local economies and sustainable communities -a pathway along which he acknowledged Floyd County had already taken strides in the right direction.
In the wide-ranging hour the author spent before the standing-room-only crowd at the July meeting at the Floyd Country Store (and later to several hundred Blacksburg and NRV residents), he explained his year-long global effort to raise into popular awareness the number 350, a project for which he has created the web site, 350.org.
350 is the level of CO2 in parts per million thought by many climate scientists to be the maximum safe level to avoid planetary warming to not more than 2 degrees C. With 0.7 degrees of increase already since the industrial revolution, ecological and climate disruption is significant, especially in the far north and Arctic regions.
After a successful assembly of 130 souls at the foot of Buffalo Mountain for a drizzly-foggy October 10th “350 climate action”, SustainFloyd now looks ahead to the first community festival of its kind in the county, the “SplitRail Eco-Fair,” that will celebrate ecologically-sustainable aspects of agriculture, arts, commerce, education and life together in vibrant and resilient community in a changing world.
On October 24 from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. (see links below) downtown Floyd will feature some 40 vendors of earth-friendly products, services and information. The day will include a rich variety of live music amplified by solar energy.
There will also be a 2:30 performance by the Young Actor’s Co-op of the original satire, “An Inconvenient Spoof” and plenty of activities for the whole family. SplitRail will feature locally grown and sustainably produced food, as well as information on community-supported agriculture and sustainable business and forestry practices.
Prominently featured on October 24 (chosen because it is the day all 350 actions will be displayed at the United Nations in advance of the critical December Climate Conference) will also be the noon dedication of the new Floyd Community Market, an open-air timber-frame structure completed in the center of town just in time for the event. For decades to come, this structure will host opportunities for citizens and visitors to share local food and music, arts and crafts, conversation and ideas.
Combine a Saturday stop in Floyd on October 24 with a trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway, just at its color-change peak. Come meet new friends, enjoy local food and music, and share our celebration of the bounty of blessings before us this beautiful autumn.
By Fred First [email protected]