Ha!  Now you have to read them.  Really, it was a great discussion about potential next steps for Green Neighbors, revamping our structure, and what to focus on with local actions.  As we didn’t have a quorum at this last meeting, we’ll be discussing these further and prioritizing these (and other ideas) at the next meeting, June 26th, 6:30 – 8:00 pm (location tbd, but somewhere Petworthian), and prioritizing.  We are very interested in your views , so please join us next meeting.  Help us set the tone for the rest of the year, and join us for direct action! An agenda will be coming.

Green Neighbors of DC – Meeting Minutes from May 15^th2017

Sorry for the delay in the minutes!  We had a great meeting – though small:  Nick, Fritz, and I.  But, as no reports were due and nothing has been planned yet for the summer, we had a chance to talk about our strengths, challenges and next steps – after having been involved in the various large marches since early 2017.  To sum, we’d like to build up our membership, focus next on engaging with our neighbors over the summer, and help build up the resources we can provide.  So our thoughts:

GN Strengths (besides determination and passion)

1. Knowledge, connections to other groups (esp Basav, Catherine, Nick, David, and Fritz).
2. The mechanics, specifics of environmental tools – our Solar Partners, Annette, others.
3. Our growing website and FB audience, the farmer’s market, and greater community outreach potentials.
4. Green Neighbors: we have people who are green, who like the comradery, and also who want to help DC turn green.

Challenges

1. A lot of work falls on a few people, who are mid-age/older professionals with major work or family responsibilities.
2. We have a diffuse responsibility structure
3. Green/the Environment covers everything on the planet – Sometimes we have a broad, but not deep interest in a particular subject, sometimes we get detailed, as when we fought Excelon. We need our core areas, but also have links to more resources.

Lessons learned from working with DC Table:

1. A good method is splitting responsibility for different problems/issues, but together stronger. DC Table was designed to be very intersectional, with underlying connections.  Thus connect efforts.  Helps provide ways to bring in people not otherwise connected.
2. An issue can be is that there are many commitments, and too many different directions. Have to be careful.
3. Feedback to Nick, our POC to DC Table, from Mary Beth, DC Table’s POC, that it is important to have local groups involved, instead of big picture folks from another state.

So, our suggested Next Steps:   “connecting the dots to action”

After much discussion, we reviewed these as key next steps, which we’d like to discuss with the group so that there is more of a quorum.  So next meeting we will formalize these and any new ideas, and then prioritize.

1. As noted, we need to recruit more core people to help run GN. Need younger, older, and more diverse folks in the core and in general.   Actions may include?
2. Engage other communities, especially those in contact with long-term, local residents…Connect with others on a grassroots level, attend community meetings, spread the word.
   1. GoodSense Farm, ParkView citizens Action group, ANC meeting, Petworth Action DC, Neighborhood Assembly, DC EcoWomen. (AI:  update organizational list on Dropbox)
   2. Each meeting determine a rep for at least one ANC meeting.
   3. Give outreach to our partners. AI – Annette:  FB and Twitter thank you to Petworth Citizen, Petworth Library for hosting us – each time.
3. We tend to alternate national, regional and local actions, sometimes for months. We should strive for balance at each meeting:  1) reports about national actions that GN can help sign on to/protest, etc…, or blog about;  2) reports/actions for regional (Greater Washington Area), and 3) reports/actions regarding local – DC itself and working with neighbors.   This will require planning the agenda more in advance – and planning for some actions over several months.
4. Assign and rotate point people each meeting – not just facilitators, but a lead pre-organizer/chair.
5. As we have been focused on the federal administration lately in protests, we should next emphasize regional/local work (while still maintaining a pulse on national efforts as #3 above states.)
   1. (Regional) Need 1-2 members to start, but then have GNDC discuss and weigh in locally on the DC Recycling Issue (this may be outdated, anyone have an update?)
   2. (Local) Booth at the Petworth – and other – farmer markets. AI:  Catherine contacts (or helps one of us contact) the farmer’s market and schedule.
   3. (Regional) Share ideas online – such as the rain barrel availability. Bees (Fritz will supply content – as he has been doing; Annette will help write).
   4. (Local) Utilize some of our savings to create a LED/energy information kit for dispersal to the elderly. (AI:  Annette and others write a GN formal proposal.)
   5. (Local) Strive for a big, fun, inspiring project, such as helping create a “rain barrel block” – where every neighbor on a block acquires a rain barrel. Working with partners such as the Anacostia Watershed, etc.., then press releases.  (fyi, there is strong interest already on Annette’s block).  This would require a GN formal proposal, but should be a later step.  Need some other community outreach first.
   6. Other similar ideas – ideas welcome!
6. How can we be a information source, library, and provide resources?
   1. Update and create more outreach brochures
   2. Website info
   3. Hold public events about issues for neighbors/get back to having some speakers (perhaps quarterly?)

(one example is solar, we need to put some updates out there.)

7. [something about quarterly anyway, PO Resource, except I forgot what PO stands for!]
8. Kids & Families. By engaging kids, parents are engaged.  Such as the Petworth kids march.  AI (Nick, Robert?):  Ask some members with kids for ideas.

Other news

1. Annette has created a twitter account for Green Neighbors DC.: https://twitter.com/GreenNeighbors1.