A greener Mountain Fair

Dear Editor:

Thirty-six years of Mountain Fair evolution beneath Mt. Sopris, yet one thing remains constant: volunteers. Carbondale prides itself on a vibrant grassroots community of folks that will get dirty for great causes. This year’s Green Team of volunteers raised the bar by keeping 85 percent of all fair waste out of the landfill (yup, we kept track).

I first want to thank my sidekicks that put in a lot of sweat and organizational hours: Mark Springboard Weinhold for his infinite energy level and his Dumpster diving skills; Bailey Mae Nelson for her long strides and stress-melting smile; and Mark Fisheye Lacy for his assertive vendor relations and sage knowledge about cups, ask him. I also want to thank the entire Mountain Fair committee for orchestrating all things fair and streamlining the volunteers during the chaotic periods.

We had a very eager and experienced crew of waste warriors this year. I was pleasantly surprised by several volunteers that were willing to work double shifts and go arm-deep into sorting. (It probably had nothing to do with the steady stream of cantina beverages that are a discrete perk for Green Team volunteers!)

Thanks to a donation from the Carbondale Environmental Board, the Green Team now owns a shed from Shed City U.S.A. that is centrally located to store recycling and composting materials to be used at any town event. Our hope is to expand the Green Team beyond Mountain Fair and spread the message that reducing consumption habits and reusing materials must come before recycling in our everyday practices.

Hopefully more folks now understand the science behind compost: food scraps, paper products or corn-based products mixed with straw, water, worms and a few million decomposer bugs equals new soil for your garden. For those of you that were looking around for the publicized 2006 Mt. Fair compost donated by Cacaloco Compost, I apologize, but I was so busy buzzing around the park that I didn’t quite distribute it all. But … we will be coordinating delivery to a community location in Carbondale for everyone to use and close the loop.

Huge thanks to everyone I can’t possibly list and keep celebrating and promoting individuals and local businesses that are doing good things right now. Feed your soil!

Jason White

Carbondale