About

About Sustainable Bellingham

Sustainable Bellingham is a group of individuals that aims to educate people and assist organizations that share a common concern for the health of our Bellingham and Whatcom County community.

Our Projects:

Community-building Events – We host regular events to enrich and enliven the community and increase networking among the many organizations and groups that contribute to the well-being of our community.

Who We Are: 

Sustainable Bellingham E-mail Announcement List – A vehicle for sharing information about news and community events related to sustainability – what one reader calls “the hub for information pertinent to conscious change.”

Online Community Hub Our website has been created to be a central place for sustainability related resource sharing, a community calendar, an inventory of currently available human and natural resources, contact information and online forums, sustainability articles, and more.

Peak Oil Awareness and Response Team – Raising awareness and promoting appropriate responses to energy uncertainties and vulnerabilities.

Urban Gardening/Food Not Lawns – A Sub-Team actively engaged in urban garden and lawn to garden projects.

The Bellingham Pachamama Alliance Symposium Team (an affinity group we co-sponsor) – Dedicated to engage an ever-widening circle of people in our community to the principles and values presented in the “Awaken the Dreamer, Change the Dream” Symposiums.

Sustainable Bellingham is a Registered Non- Profit 501c3 Corporation.
a member of the Post Carbon Institute’s Relocalization Network.
a member of NECP – Naturally Creative Earth Politics.

Meet the Board 

Celt Schria

Fairhaven

Celt Schira is a registered professional electrical engineer, tax preparer, licensed hypnotherapist, gardener, college instructor, Community Emergency Response Trainer. She spent many years living and working in other people’s countries, experience which has informed both her cooking and her gardening. Her interest in empowering individual wellness led her to study herbal medicine, first aid and hypnotherapy.

Jeffrey Westcott

Bellingham

Jeffrey Westcott joined Sustainable Bellingham upon moving to Bellingham in 2006. He helped manage and promote its many community activities over the years, including Seed Swaps, Roving Garden Parties, Community Bike Repair and Yoga-in the-Parks. He is the Chief Financial Officer of the Cloud Security Alliance, a global Bellingham-based 501(c)6 that promotes best cybersecurity practices in cloud adoption. He is originally from Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, and his hobbies include traveling and studying Greek. 

My career spans thirty years. I worked the corporate world for ten of those years in banking and securities, then as an entrepreneur for another ten, and since 2010 have worked with established companies in the Bellingham area.

Atul Deshmane

N. County

 

Atul is an engineer by training and practice… but he also has run a business and serves in local government and various non-profit boards. Atul has worked to commercialize clean energy and transportation technologies with large and small companies. Atul is currently focused on local government and is presently a Whatcom PUD commissioner and Whatcom Planning Commissioner.

“SB matters to me because this organization fundamentally understands that process is not product. We need more non-profits that are not top heavy and deliver results to the community without expensive overhead. SB has sponsored many projects with this focus in mind.  Most recently our efforts are to increase community seed production.” 
Atul is exploring innovations that increases the resilience of communities in his professional work. Atul has a hobby farm and has been bike commuting for over 6 years logging over 30,000 miles. He enjoys spending time with his two wonderful adult children, hanging at the farm, enjoying the outdoors with friends, and dancing tango.

Brian Kerkvliet

Laurel

 

Brian is an artist, educator, entrepreneur and jack of all trades. He has run Gossamer Glass Studio since 1985. He and his wife, Alexandra Founded and have stewarded Inspiration Farm since 1994. 

Inspiration Farm is a model for permaculture in Whatcom County. It is  a productive example of what is possible to achieve with minimal input for maximum yields. The farm offers workshops and tours to inspire the community in ways to build resilience.

Trained in Permaculture Design science he does consultations to help regenerative agriculture projects get established in Whatcom and Skagit county. 

As one of the founding members of the Salish Seed Guild and the Seed Swap. Brian sees his role with Sustainable Bellingham as a way to build a stronger more resilient community through education, food, seeds and agricultural projects. At the same time working to protect the environment and cultural diversity that makes Whatcom County so special.

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