Click on Read More below.

Need inspiration for your garden makeover? Want to learn the "Seven Principles" of Bay Friendly gardening?

Thank you to all the MMWD customers who made our first year (of holding summer classes at Sustainable Fairfax) such a success!!

A big thanks goes out to the Water District's teachers, Earthsite and our sponsor www.yourgardenshow.com with whose assistance made this summer classes a huge hit!

Visit the Bay Friendly Coalition for future Bay Friendly gardening classes by MMWD in the spring. 

Get a FREE Water Use Survey

Are you looking for ways to reduce your water use and your water bill? Through MMWD’s Conservation Assistance Program (CAP), MMWD offers FREE, personalized water use consultations for your home or business.

Click here for more information. 

Do you desire a water-saving yet abundant landscape? 

Consider a greywater system… “Laundry to Landscape”

FLOW (For the Love of Water) Greywater workshops & consultations

Click here to learn more.

Thanks to a partnership between MMWD & SPAWN, they’ve developed a community based program is offering rainwater harvesting resources for FREE to residential and commercial customers of MMWD.

Through hands-on workshops, community project tours, presentations, demo and model projects at schools and public venues, technical and design assistance for landowners, and a roving educational exhibit (which will be visiting your town soon!), the 10,000 Rain Gardens Project team will be working hard to make rainwater harvesting accessible and feasible for all.

Click here to learn how you can harvest the rain in your yard!

More ways to conserve water

Bay-Friendly Garden Walk: Receive a free residential garden evaluation from a Marin Master Gardener. Get expert advice on water-wise planting and tips for a beautiful, healthy landscape. Call 499-4204 to schedule or to learn more click here.

Green House Call: Receive a free indoor efficiency evaluation from one of California Youth Energy Services’ friendly and professional young staff, plus free installation of energy- and water-saving equipment. To learn more, go to www.marinwater.org or Call (510) 665-1501 ext. 10 to schedule. 

Weekly Watering Schedule: Not sure how much water your garden needs? MMWD’s  Weekly Watering Schedule is updated every Friday based on current weather conditions, so your plants always get just the right amount of water. 

MMWD  has passed an ordinance for all citizens in the district to comply. Check it out!

water_conservation_ordinance_414

Sustainable Fairfax has traditionally participated in voter education-As in years past we have asked the candidates to answer just a few questions so we can share them with you. For further information about the candidates please view the candidates night debates on www.cmcm.tv/fairfax or on Channel 27. Special thanks to the League of Women Voters for moderating the forum and Fairfax Chamber of Commerce for sponsoring. You may have noticed that one of the Candidates for Town Council is Pam Hartwell-Herrero, the Executive Director of Sustainable Fairfax. There have been some concerns that running for council means she will be leaving Sustainable Fairfax. We are happy to report that this is not so, most Council members manage to hold down day jobs while serving on the Council and Pam has no plans to leave Sustainable Fairfax. As a nonprofit organization we are not able to endorse any candidates but we are able to provide this survey.

Candidates that participted- David Weinsoff, William B. Madsen, Wendy Baker, Christopher Lang, John Reed, Pam Hartwell-Herrero

Questions Included-

What sustainability resources to you bring as a candidate for Town Council?

What do you think will be the most pressing ecological issue facing Fairfax during your term?  If elected, what are your plans to address it?

Do you support the Marin Clean Energy proposal to buy renewal power collectively directly, while PG&E would continue to be responsible for the transmission lines, billing and other duties?

"Green Wednesdays" are in full swingthis year at the Fairfax Farmer's Market!

Come by and visit our Sustainable Fairfax table during the month of August and join us in these fun, family friendly projects.

Wednesday, August 20th and 27th:

The Lorax signs are coming back to remind us all that kids are going back to school and that drivers need to slow down and make way for them to bike and walk safely. Wear your painting clothes and we will once again "speak for the trees" and make signs to decorate our town and celebrate alternative modes of people moving!

Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 415-269-0621 to reserve your space!

Sustainable Fairfax opened its' Sustainability Center in October of 2007. The Center is located at 141 Bolinas Avenue in the retail district of downtown Fairfax. The purpose of the Center is to promote sustainability by providing families, individuals and groups an educational experience in sustainable living practices through the use of classes, demonstration and resource materials.

Visitors will have the potential to learn a wide range of fascinating topics to support a healthy home and environment such as using non-toxic products, environmentally friendly building materials, resource saving practices, renewable energy, and sustainability in the design of organic gardens and permaculture landscape.

The residents of Fairfax and other communities in Marin County will benefit from our services along with other interested parties. The Center will also house a vital program for training volunteers (Master Sustainers Program) to staff the Center and lead community action projects that enhance our local economy, create and sustain diverse ecology and connect our community.

Our Sustainable Backyard got deluxe community treatment over two work days and we wanted to thank everyone who helped!

Master Gardeners- Sandra Massen, Dorothy Weaver, Marcia Harding, Cathy Rosekrans,
Our Interns- Julia Ramos and Camile Permar, Members of the Volunteer Corps; Elizabeth Baker, Don Hodge, Jeff Adams, Regula Keller, Board member; Renee Goddard, Fabulous and Talented community people: Matthew Edwards, Vicki Burns, Demetrious, Florence Schneider, Leo den Ouden, Neil Krauss, Andres Amador, Joshua Conklin, Jacki, and Pam's husband Matt who helped with that last load of plum prunings.

Our garden is ready for KQED to visit and we will let you know when the interview airs. We are looking for interns to help expand education with our garden, training included. Contact Pam Hartwell-Herrerro if you are interested in participating.

We are working on developing and implementing a Community Education program with lectures and field trips each season that includes collaboration with other groups.

Current Schedule of Events

To join our Community Education team contact

Pam Hartwell-Herrero.

On Wednesday’s at the 2007 Fairfax Farmer's Market, we celebrated the notion that every day is Earth Day by providing local residents with tips on ways they can reduce their environmental footprint throughout the year.

Collaborating with the Inconvenient Group, we created a farmer's market where all the bags handed out by farmers were made of GMO free corn compostables, we made and gave out 140 reusable cloth bags, our kids hosted games and crafts from recycled materials, we brought bike racks from Marin Bicycle Coalition, we decorated bikes to encourage their use at the market, we had a visit from EcoMom who gave us going back-to-school green tips, and we made signs with the Lorax reminding people to watch out for bikes.

Ways you can continue to participate in Green Wednesdays year round:

· Bring your own bags to any farmers market.

· Ride your bike, use mass transit and walk.

· Turn off the TV and computer in the evenings.

· Get to know your neighbors.

· Grow food, buy local food and pay attention to how far your food traveled.

· Buy used & decomposable products.

· Shop Local, Compost, Recycle, Buy Green.

· Volunteer with Sustainable Fairfax!!

Click on the Read More link below to read a Letter from Renee Goddard
Inconvenient Group and Sustainable Fairfax Project Coordinator

On May 16th 2007, at the Fairfax Farmers Market, Sustainable Fairfax collaborated with The Inconvenient Group in an effort to eliminate plastic bags at the market. The two groups joined efforts to hand sew 140 reusable cloth bags that they handed out for free to people shopping at the market. Paints were available for kids and adults to decorate the bags along with a demonstration on how to avoid using plastic bags at the market and in their daily lives. The Inconvenient group purchased bio-bags made of non-GMO corn to be used by all the farmers, reducing 1200 plastic bags in one evening.

The event was a kick off for our promotion of Green Wednesday. We celebrated the notion that every day is Earth Day by providing local residents with tips on ways they can reduce their environmental footprint throughout the year.

The motivation for the reusable bag project came from research shared by Green Sangha that shows that plastic has become a monumental source of litter with 86% of ocean debris being plastic. Plastic is endangering wildlife and some studies show it could take up to 1,500 years to break down in a landfill. The EPA declared it a reproductive toxin in California Prop 65.

The Marin farmer’s market is currently working on providing non-plastic bags for all markets. Sustainable Fairfax and The Inconvenient Group are encouraging Marin County to pass an ordinance similar to San Francisco banning plastic bags at all Marin grocery stores. Town of Fairfax is working on a townwide plastic bag ban.

Sustainable Fairfax hosted a recycling fair in Peri Park on May 20, 2001 from 12- 4 pm to celebrate the installation of recycling receptacles in the town's parks and downtown areas. The recycling fair featured information, entertainment, and games, all designed to promote increased recycling in Fairfax. The event highlighted the unveiling of eight mosaic plaques depicting native species of plants and animals, created by local artists, middle and high school students. The mosaics were used to decorate receptacles in Peri Park, Bolinas Road Park, and the Central Baseball Field.

An Earth Day Solar Energy Forum was held on Sunday, April 22, 2001 from 12-4 p.m. at the Fairfax Women’s Club.

From September 2000 to October 2002 Sustainable Fairfax hosted a sustainable film series. Among some of the films shown were:

Creating Marin's Energy Future

A free event held on Saturday April 12, 2003, from 10AM to 12:30PM 618 B, St. San Rafael Community Center, San Rafael, CA

Sustainable Fairfax hosted a Halloween Household Battery-Recycling event on October 31st, 2000 from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. This Halloween event took place at the site of our Sustainability Center (141 Bolinas) and exchanged treats for donated used batteries. The event inaugurated a comprehensive program developed by Sustainable Fairfax to encourage residents to recycle household batteries and to be aware of alternative battery options.

 Ben Macri & Ruth Dunmire held an open house to allow the community to see the "nuts & bolts" of their solar grid  system from noon-3 pm on Saturday, May 12, 2001. Their home is located at Olive Avenue in San Anselmo. 

The Directory & Idea Incubator