About Sustainable Ballard

Our Mission & Vision

Sustainable Ballard, a blueprint for Everytown, USA, educates, inspires, and engages neighbors to take action to live more sustainably both individually and collectively. Our vision is a diverse, equitable, inclusive, joyful and sustainable community co-creating a world for this and future generations where eco-systems are healthy and peace is inevitable.

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Land and Labor Acknowledgement

Sustainable Ballard acknowledges that the greater Ballard area is on the ancestral lands of the Coast Salish, including the Duwamish, Suquamish and Muckleshoot peoples. We honor with gratitude all the tribes who have been faithful stewards here since time immemorial. If you don’t know on who’s traditional land you work and live, we encourage you to find out. https://native-land.ca/

Further, we respectfully acknowledge the enslaved people, primarily of African descent who provided exploited labor on which this country was built, with little to no recognition. Today, we are indebted to their labor and the labor of many black and brown bodies that continue to work in the shadows for our collective benefit.

History

Sustainable Ballard, started in 2003, is a non-profit organization developing a grassroots vision of sustainability for the community of Ballard. Sustainability roughly means “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” and it is a philosophy which affects every sphere of human activity. Sustainable Ballard embraces the idea that we are all founders of a sustainable Ballard, where community self-reliance and sustainability is good foreign policy implemented locally.

Sustainable Ballard, formed in 2003, was the first neighborhood sustainability group in Seattle and a founding organization of SCALLOPS (Sustainable Communities All Over Puget Sound). We’ve gained local, national and international recognition for our grassroots approach to community action addressing climate change.

Sustainable Ballard grew from the frustrations of 3 peace activists recognizing that the Iraq War was due in part to oil dependence. Comprised of local neighbors, Sustainable Ballard originally organized around the idea of Ballard becoming the first US town to become energy independent. We decided it was critical to start a discussion with the town of Ballard about what we see as great economic, societal, and environmental challenges facing our community ahead. This effort is about empowering all of us to take steps toward big and small changes together. Everything from driving less to growing and eating local food to reduce heating fuel use and shopping locally has been our mission as we work toward creating a stronger community.

The goal of Sustainable Ballard is to help prepare ourselves and our community to sustain and thrive in a post-peak-oil future, by supporting and inspiring each other to build a healthy and joyful life that is environmentally, socially and personally sustainable. To achieve this resiliency, we believe some key ingredients are: Getting connected with our neighbors to strengthen the social fabric of the community; learning new skills; striving for diversity and equity; getting educated on sustainability related matters; building a local food supply and a local economy; and sharing resources.

Currently working with over 25 different organizations, Sustainable Ballard invites all people, organizations, and businesses to find their place on the spectrum of responsibility and sustainability.

We invite all of our Ballard neighbors and friends to become more connected with others and the community by participating in Sustainable Ballard activities, including learning opportunities, community service, resource sharing, social events, and more. When we engage, we become part of creating the thriving community and lifestyle we want and need.

This is a community-wide effort and we encourage everyone to join us at meetings and events. Check out our Events and browse our activities and projects to find something related to your interests.

We look forward to meeting you!