Members of Cochrane’s non-profit organization Sustainability Partners Uniting Resources (SPUR) are hosting the group’s annual harvest dinner on Nov. 6. The dinner is being put on at the Frank Wills Memorial Hall and marks the sixth year of the Cochrane Sustainability Plan.
Valerie McCracken with SPUR said the dinner is a chance for members to reflect on the organization’s direction. She said SPUR has been less visible in the community this past year and they’re currently working to fix that.
“We haven’t had as many events, so we’re re-jigging our organization.”
SPUR recently hired a new communications advisor to help increase promotion and “have more of a presence.”
“We are doing a bit of analysis now on what has worked, what’s not and what’s our best way to go forward. The difficulty is that SPUR doesn’t actually take action. We encourage other organizations and businesses to take action.
“We know that by engaging with different organizations and business we are getting them to think about their business in a different way. It isn’t always about saving water or changing a light bulb.”
She said SPUR is pleased to see a number of projects under the plan come to fruition, with various groups and organizations working together. She pointed to the community gardens at Glenbow Elementary School as an example of a successful community-school initiative working across institutional lines. In 2009, more than 500 Cochrane residents participated in the creation of the Cochrane Sustainability Plan – a plan intended to lead the town toward a sustainable future using 13 pathways to assist them.
Around 50 Cochrane businesses have signed on to the Cochrane Sustainability Plan as “Champions of Sustainability.”
Tickets are $25 and McCracken said they are expecting around 80 people for the event. Ticket price includes roast beef dinner, a glass of mead and dessert. Tickets can be purchased online at cochranesustainability.ca or you can call 403-200-1290.
Doors open at 5:45 p.m., with dinner served at 6:45 p.m., accompanied by live music, a cash bar by Fallen Timber Meadery and a short program.
