EcoLocalizer

Fort Collins, Colorado is home to CSU, New Belgium, and Anheuser Busch. HP and Avago and AMD are here. OtterBox calls it home. The Tour de Fat and the Brew Fest are two popular events, as is the Sustainable Living Fair.

There’s a strong localization movement, and many different groups are working towards a healthy living economy. Here’s and overview of some of the groups:

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• Fort Collins’ Local Living Economy Project, linked to the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, has produced the Be Local coupon book for two years now, and printed a local food map in the last edition. The map plotted local producers and farms, restaurants and farmers markets, as well as stores carrying local products and a list of community gardens. The response from the community has been great, and it has spurred a number of other conversations, such as a year-round local community market and a local food distribution idea, as well as reviving the idea of a local Food Policy Council.
• The Northern Colorado Food Incubator provides guidance and support for local food producers and is volunteer powered. They are also working with the LLE Project on the community marketplace. They hosted Getting Connected: A Food Producer and Buyer Regional Gathering
• The Rocky Mountain Sustainable Living Association (RMSLA) hosts the Sustainable Living Fair every year, educating people about environmental issues, renewable energy, organic agriculture, green building, natural health, and local economies.
• ReSource and Habitat for Humanity have stores in town, providing reused and salvaged building supplies and furnishings and raising money for their respective non-profit organizations.
• Save the Poudre is working to stop the Northern Integrated Supply Project, which includes a dam and new reservoirs on Colorado’s only Wild and Scenic River. The “Poudre butt” poster alone is worth a visit to their site.
• The City of Fort Collins has a ClimateWise program dedicated to helping local businesses and the environment through environmental assessments and data collection. They host a forum for sharing and support, and have an annual recognition event for those who are working towards new challenges and projects. More than 90 companies are a part of the Climate Wise program, from Wal-Mart and Anheuser Busch, to the local taxi and shuttle company, as well as restaurants and coffee shops and grocery stores.
• We have a local food co-op and bike co-op, as well as Village Earth, Trees Water People, and a Green Drinks group. There’s a local green goods store, Green Logic, and several CSA farms in the area. Our downtown farmers market is always packed, and thrift stores are a favorite for recyclers and frugal shoppers.
• CSU is working towards an algae-based biodiesel in Fort Collins.
• Northern Colorado is home to Bella Energy, Colorado’s oldest solar energy company.

Fort Collins has a lot of resources for going green, but this list will get you headed in the right direction.

Related Posts:

• BALLE To Support Local Economy In Los Angeles : Ecolocalizer
• Boulder, CO Becomes the First U.S. Transition Town : Ecolocalizer
• The Sun, the Earth, and Pond Scum: Colorado Renewables : Sustainablog

Image credit: brawn on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

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