The Sustainability Flywheel of the BIG ONE

Who We Are

Sustain Dane is a non-profit organization located in the Madison, Wisconsin area. Our mission is to create communities that deeply enjoy, care for are are sustained by their unique environment.

Events and Initiatives

Through a variety of events, we seek to explore different aspects of sustainability, both as they apply to our own lives and to the community as a whole. We have organized events on a wide range of topics. We also support various ongoing initiatives.

Our philosophy

We seek to transform Dane County into a more sustainable community. Our focus is on what works, finding and supporting solutions while acknowledging the problems. We operate from a partnership model, and seek to find ways to organize our lives as individuals and in our community as a whole that increases quality of life, promotes community, is more harmlessly integrated into local and global ecosystems, and is attractive, life affirming, and enjoyable.

Sustain Dane Programs and Initiatives

Rain ReserveTM Project

The RainReserve initiative is an initiative that addresses water issues through the manufacturing and distribution of sustainable rain barrel systems throughout Dane County and in partnership with other communities. Our patented diverter technology provides

NWEI Discussion Courses

The Northwest Earth Institute (NWEI) discussion courses are for groups of 8 to 12 participants from a workplace, a faith community, or the community at large. Discussion courses include Choices for Sustainable Living; Deep Ecology; Discovering a Sense of Place; Global Warming:Changing C02urse, Globalization and Its Critics; Healthy Children, Healthy Planet; and Choices for Sustainable Living.

Eco-municipality

An sustainable community (eco-municipality) aspires to develop an ecologically, economically, and socially healthy community for the long term, using The Natural Step framework for sustainability as a guide, and a democratic, highly participative development process as the method. To date, over 12 communities in Wisconsin have adopted this approach to sustainability.

Sustainability e-learning

Sustainability: Step by Natural Step is a fresh and innovative learning experience developed by The Natural Step that provides practical sustainability education to a broad base of business,government, and community organizations that are serious about moving towards more sustainable operations.

Green Pages

The Green Pages directory includes the focus of and contact information for over 150 Madison area sustainability organizations.

Neighbornation.net

This first-of-its-kind website allows neighborhood residents to easily connect with one another using the internet to share resources and ideas. For example, neighbors might share gardening tools or magazine subscriptions; offer expertise or services to one another, such as cooking lessons or computer repair; or organize groups for things such as carpooling or social activities.

Green Visitor's Guide

The Green Guide helps visitors to the Madison area make informed decisions and take simple steps to protect and preserve Madison's land, water and other natural resources, preserving them for all to enjoy in the years to come.

Sustainability Resource Collection

We have worked in cooperation with Madison Gas and Electric (MG&E) and Madison Public Libraries to develop a collection of sustainability resources for the public libraries. The resources are listed in the "Sustaining Our World; Our Communities; Ourselves" pamphlet available at Madison area libraries.