Life is Good

After a dinner under the great Montana sky, watching clouds tumble over our conversations, I left the group for my own exploration. Rapidly I changed clothes and jumped out the door of our temporary home in the University of Montana's dorms. I ran to the eastern edge of campus. There I found a small yellow cottage and, just to the north of it, a small trail. I followed it. The switchbacks were steep and the trail was dusty. There weren't very many people out, as the sun was beginning to set across town. I pushed myself, feeling the burn in my legs and the calories from my dinner float off into the Montana sky. I switched back and forth, back and forth, gradually climbing above the town of Missoula. Memories of my childhood home in Colorado materialized. I recalled many similar hikes with my parents up Skyline Drive, a road that climbed high above our town so we could look down on it below. The same sense of freedom and perspective filled my chest in Missoula. I reached the top of the hill, the end of the switchbacks, and paused at the base of an oversized letter M. Its significance was to mark the University of Montana, which I now looked down upon. The sun was setting behind the town, behind the western mountain range, and filling nomadic cloud formations with a deep red orange glow. I imagined being a rancher roaming the countryside, galloping off into the sunset. Wind blowing through my hair!

After a deep breath and a million tiny inspired thoughts on the meaning of life, I ran back down the hill and on through the campus for a few miles. This was one of those moments where I could throw my head back and say without hesitation, "Life is Good."

By Crystal Olin

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Art from Hooves, Wheels, and Rails

(Click on any piece to see a larger photo)

Le Tour - Noel Nemcik


Bike Chime, Geoffrey Berlin



80126 - Geoffrey Berlin


Lake Tahoe Before the Fire - Fern Spangler


Spirit of the City - John Barbour


Urban Rhythm - Crystal Olin


(Untitled) - Amy Snell


Walking Stick - Alvah Whitledge



Velo - Alex Juhalo


Moon Prints - Austin Metzger


Bicycle - Adam Hecht


Sprouting Denver - Mason Thrall


Untitled - Meagan Svendsen

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Hooves, Wheels and Rails - Sustainable Transit Art Show a Mile High

Returning to my home was humbling and inspirational. I seem to forget how beautiful Colorado and its people are until I fly away and back again. But let me tell you, being a mile high is hard to top.

After a Thursday spent with old friends and my dear family, I joined the Legacy Crew for a loaded Friday.

Boulder Deputy Mayor Suzy Ageton speaks to the crew at CU

We began early in the morning, taking in spray from the Dalton Trumbo Fountain north of the University of Colorado's (CU) Memorial Center. While water misted our necks, the elegant Suzy Ageton, Deputy Mayor of Boulder, approached. She met us with a smile and immediately began speaking of all that Boulder is doing to be green. The efforts are amazing, really. I can't say enough. For example, Boulder adopted the goals of the Kyoto Protocol in 2002 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 7% below 1990 levels by 2012, has initiated a Green Points Building program, and has begun planning for a new Transit Village Area that will connect RTD's FasTracks Plan to the city of Boulder. Of course, there are always compromises that must be made (i.e. the University of Colorado recently began using coal as its primary energy source) and battles that must be won (i.e. Boulder's ongoing housing crisis). Greening Boulder, as with all things, takes time. You can check out many of Boulder's initiatives here.

A few minutes later, we were in the offices of CU's Environmental Center, the largest student run environmental center in the United States. Marianne Martin, the Center's Associate Director, spoke with us about what they have done, are doing, and plan to do: very much. She then took us on a campus tour, pointing out new LEED certified buildings (such as CU's ATLAS Building and Wolf Law Building), a prevalence of on-campus recycling bins, CU's Bicycle Program, and CU's Recycling Center. The Environmental Center is large and in charge, helping CU to be one of the most environmentally conscious and active universities in the country. You can read more about CU's Environmental Center here.

CU Bike Station

After Boulder and a subsequent informative visit to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, we made our way to Union Station, located on Wynkoop Street in the heart of lower downtown Denver. Within two hours, we had transformed the station into an art gallery. At 3:00 p.m., it was time for "Hooves, Wheels, & Rails: Sustainable Transit in Colorado." An Artistic Exhibition! Originally, I had envisioned the exhibition as a way to bring communities together, celebrate and promote sustainability and livability in Colorado, and provoke thought about the importance of transportation options. More specifically, I wanted to call attention to RTD's incredible FasTracks Plan, the revitalization of Union Station, and the galliant efforts of local organizations such as Transit Alliance and ColoRail. We accomplished just that. Numerous local artists displayed their artwork in the main hall of Union Station. We saw a diverse palette, anywhere from a photo print or painting to a hand-made bicycle. To one side was projected a Google Earth animation of Denver's new development and RTD's FasTracks Plan. Toward the end of the event, Kathleen Osher, Executive Director of Transit Alliance, and Jon Esty, President of ColoRail, spoke briefly about their organizations. Together, the pieces and community gathering embodied Colorado's young enthusiasm for sustainable transit.

During the exhibition, we also held a silent auction, inviting the public to browse and bid at will. Proceeds benefitted the Transit Alliance, a local non-profit organization who "gathers a diverse group of businesses, governments, civic and environmental organizations to preserve the economic vitality, quality of life and environment of the Denver Metropolitan region by promoting public transit as part of a balanced, multi-modal transportation network". At the end of the day, we raised $485 for Transit Alliance, money that will be used specifically for their Citizens' Academy, an educational session about Transit Oriented Development (TOD) in the Denver Metro area to be held this fall 2007.

Last but not least, we were astounded to see an unexpected, but much-hoped-for guest. Our very own Melissa Millage, Program Manager for the Udall Foundation, flew into Denver that morning, surprising us in Union Station as we were setting up for the exhibition. Her presence topped off the day, and we looked forward to the upcoming weekend with our new stow-away.

What a day! Our Rocky Mountain high lasted into the evening as we gathered with local alums Genevieve Maricle (Scholar '01) and Darren Legge (Scholar '06) and artists from the exhibition across the street at the Wynkoop Brewing Company, Denver's first brewpub. Cheers to Colorado!

By: Crystal Olin

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A Warehouse of Working Bikes

In the wee morning hours of Chicago’s West Side, we put on our grubs and working gloves, ready for a day of toil with the Working Bikes Cooperative. An artsy fellow who calls himself Danny Danger greeted us and opened a small door through which we stepped. Very soon we were digging through piles of discarded bicycle wheels, frames, seats, and various other rusty parts, intermingled with abandoned medical supplies. Beneath us was a layer of assorted particles recently matted together in a gruesome sludge. Above us was an enchanting sparkle from the sunlight that cut through a rusted corrugated steel roof.

The warehouse stretched the length of a city block. By day, it was used to store Chicago’s recently discarded bicycles, as well as used medical supplies kept for re-use and distribution to underprivileged populations by another non-profit who shared the space. By night, the space was home to fifty armed dogs, who kept local thieves – namely, those disadvantaged children from surrounding neighborhoods – from leaping through the rusted roof and stealing bikes.

Our purpose in this chaotic rubble was to restore order to the warehouse from which Working Bikes was in the process of moving. They needed to relocate their storage facilities to a safer venue, especially one that did not tempt wayward children into thievery. Because the Cooperative has been so busy collecting and refurbishing bicycles, they have not had the time or resources to clean and move out of the warehouse. Our help, therefore, was much needed and appreciated. Lee Ravenscroft, founder of Working Bikes, expressed his gratitude before taking off at day’s end in his diesel pick-up.

During our day with the Cooperative, we were struck with the extensive service they provide not only to Chicago residents, but also to international partners. For example, a woman named Lucy stopped by in the morning to collect bicycles that would soon be refurbished and shipped off to Ghana. We helped her collect and load a number of them into her truck. She was a soft-spoken woman who worked very hard for her cause. On Working Bikes’ website you can find a list of their various local and international partners. Even just one bicycle can change a life. Working Bikes changes many lives. In 2005, they gave away over 5,500 bicycles locally and internationally. This year, they plan to do even more.

After our day in the grit, the Legacy Crew showered and made our way to the home of Ariel Diamond, a fellow Udall alum from 2004. There we ate, drank, and were merry until late in the evening, a fine finish to a dirty day of good deeds.


By: Crystal Olin

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In Search of the Green City - Part II

After the Big Apple came Beantown. We arrived mid-day, stopping first at the Massachusetts Audubon Society's Boston Nature Center, a refreshing spot of green before continuing on to the city's downtown. This stop set a tone for the day that reverberated through my head as we continued to explore. Perhaps Boston’s nickname was a forewarning for the seed of thought that has been planted in my mind and will undoubtedly continue to sprout through our time on the road.

As we consider what it means to be human – to develop, to live, to grow, to build, to sustain – it helps to find reflections of our patterns in nature. Issues of sustainability – environmental, economic, and social – are present at every scale and in a variety of contexts. Consider, for example, a natural ecosystem such as that defined within The Boston Nature Center. The plants, animals, micro-organisms, air, and water co-exist to form an inter-dependent and ever-fluctuating community of life.

This poses the question: What is a sustainable ecosystem?

Furthermore, what defines a native species? An invasive species? What are the right diversity, mixing, and organization of plant and animal life? When do we, as grid-laying, culture-categorizing humans, give in and let the natural order take over? How much human intervention is appropriate?

These are questions that can be applied, as well, to cities and governments around the world.



What is a sustainable urban ecosystem?

Who has a right to live there? Who has a right to move there? How important is diversity and fluctuation? What is the right organization or layout of a city? When is it right to preserve history, and when do we give in to natural organic growth and adaptive uses?

To break down these enormous questions, we can look first at the smaller components. In the case of cities, we examine individual buildings, public spaces, and uses. How is each component its own ecosystem and how can it become both independently sustainable and also contribute to the larger sustainability of a city? In Boston, we had a few opportunities to explore this idea.

First, we toured The George Robert White Environmental Conservation Center (GRWECC), located at the Massachusetts Audubon Society's Boston Nature Center in Mattapan. As the first municipal green building in Boston, it is a simple and elegant model of sustainable design. The GRWECC has been designed, built, and maintained so as to protect and conserve the natural environment. Additionally, it provides a comfortable, healthy working and learning environment for employees and visitors. To minimize its environmental impacts and maximize energy and water efficiency, the GRWECC has gone to a variety of measures. The building utilizes renewable energy technologies (i.e. geothermal heat pumps, photovoltaic shingles, solar hot water system), efficient insulation, high-performance glass, environmentally-sound materials (i.e. wood from certified sustainably-harvested forests, recycled products, local resources), strategic orientation for maximization of natural lighting, an erosion and sedimentation plan, xeriscaping, and passive-solar design. As an individual building, therefore, it is very near being a sustainable ecosystem. What makes the GRWECC absolutely incredible in the eyes of sustainability and livability, however, is its role in the larger community of Boston. Located on 67 acres of what used to be the Boston State Hospital, the GRWECC and Boston Nature Center (BNC) restore a formerly-neglected property to its natural state, then take it to a new level of sustainability in modern culture. The site is home to a wildlife sanctuary with 2.5 miles of wheelchair-accessible trails and boardwalks, as well as the Clark Cooper Community Gardens, one of Boston's oldest and largest community gardens. The GRWECC and BNC (situated within one of Boston’s highest density residential neighborhoods) are easily accessible to the local community, located only one half mile from two bus routes and two miles from a commuter rail and subway station. Bicycle racks and public showers make the building and site accessible also to bicyclists.

Our second stop was the NEXUS Green Building Resource Center, located in downtown Boston. The Center is equipped with 6,000 square feet of educational showrooms, networking space, and a resource library on green building and sustainable design. Noah Chesnin, a 2002 & 2003 Udall Scholar, gave us a tour of the space and explained many of the Center’s goals and initiatives. Similar to the GRWECC, NEXUS is a component of the Bostonian urban ecosystem which models and supports sustainability on multiple levels. It re-uses an older space in an older downtown building, utilizing green technologies and materials. Easily accessible via public transit and networking with other sustainability groups, NEXUS’s role in the larger community is critical. It educates, inspires, and provides resources for building owners, architects, engineers, designers, developers and the general public about green building and sustainable design.

Our third stop of the day was Boston’s Haymarket near Faneuil Hall. We were eager to get out in the city and explore what we first envisioned as a friendly local farmer’s market, but we came away from the experience with mixed feelings. All of the produce we encountered was imported from foreign sources and the vendors were aggressive. The produce, however, was surprisingly cheap, which was great for our hungry crew. For example, I could have bought two large boxes of green beans for $1 or three packages of raspberries for $2. The market was very affordable, but raised questions about sustainability as it relates to local farmers and vendors.

Lastly, we visited Legal Sea Foods for a late dinner and local Udall Alumni meet-up. Between courses, the head chef came to speak to us about the restaurant’s business practices and sustainability. As a seafood dining experience, Legal Sea Foods is top notch. The restaurant hires a friendly staff and uses only fresh seafood that has passed through critical quality inspection. More detail on this subject can be found on their website. We were pleased to hear that Legal Sea Foods also pays heed to endangered species lists and so avoids serving things like Chilean Seabass, choosing less-endangered alternatives for the their menu.

Our conversation with the chef got us talking later about problems that persist with fisheries, especially relating to shrimp. To learn about some of the problems that exist in the seafood industry, see these web resources: Wikipedia on shrimp farms, FAO on Southeast Asia, and an article from Mother Jones.

Within any urban ecosystem, there are very high, very low, and middle-ground contributors to overall sustainability. Our first two visits, especially, were models for what can and should be done when possible. We will keep exploring the details of such critical urban components and this seed of thought as we continue our journey across the American landscape.

By: Crystal Olin

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