Shownotes
AEROMT – Alternative Energy Resources Organization: Linking People, Sustainable Agriculture and Energy Solutions since 1974
AERO is a grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to solutions that promote resource conservation and local economic vitality. AERO nurtures individual and community self reliance through programs that support sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and environmental quality.
AERO was founded during the energy crisis of the 1970s to promote local alternatives to non-renewable energy sources. In the early 1980s, AERO began addressing the need to protect renewable resources, especially the natural and human resources on which agriculture and rural communities depend. AERO’s members share a commitment to facing the challenges brought by change. By bringing people together, AERO offers a vehicle for collective action and a sense of common purpose for citizens within their communities to shape a more sustainable future.
AERO’s programming is grounded in the conviction that communities are the best place to create the kind of change we envision. We believe, and our programs reflect, that the best way to effect change is by empowering people in their own communities to work towards sustainable solutions.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m the executive director of AERO, this is our 41st year, we’re a state-wide non-profit in Montana dedicated to growing sustainable communities. We’ve done a variety of programs over the years. We started out of the energy crisis in the ’70s, when a lot of environmental and non-profits, and other groups were fighting fossil fuel development. But no one was really talking about alternatives, the proactive side of how we power our systems. So AERO got started by a group of folks who wanted to help show people how to say yes to alternatives! And so, it took off from there.
They started out doing this new Western energy show where they traveled to communities, and they parked their bus and did a bunch of skits on why alternative energy is important, education curriculum, policy work at the legislature, and then started doing workshops and research opportunities.
One of our big programs that came out in the ’80s were called Farm Improvement clubs where we had a big foundation that gave us some money to give mini grants to do research for farmers to find out about organic farming methods, so they could find out ways to convert their conventional farms to organic and then the farmers would report back what worked in what parts of the state and what didn’t and what they learned from it. Cause at that time no one was really funding that kind of research. So those were some programs that were pivotal in changing the organic farming landscape in Montana. There’s a great book about it,
called The Lentil Underground by Liz Carlisle.
Talking about our farmers and how they used that program. They started the food business, Timeless Foods, Timeless Seeds, by growing lentils and chick peas and that kind of stuff! Very exciting! The little “d” in democracy!People getting together and coming up with programs they want to do.
So we picked up sustainable ag because of just the trend how fossil fuels driving how people have to farm these days and in an effort to save the family farm, how can we make it more affordable, and not have to use chemical fertilizers and petroleum based fertilizers and pesticides and learn how to grow food that aligns with our values that works with the planet and the environment and not against it.
I saw that you’re having the annual meeting. And the woman who wrote that book The Lentil Underground is going to be a speaker.
Liz is traveling with David Oien Timeless Foods who is the main protagonist in the book The Lentil Underground. She is going to be one of our keynote speakers. Every year we have an annual meeting and it has workshops where you can learn about hands on experience for sustainable farming, agriculture, or renewable energy. We have people who come who talk about how they put up a community greenhouse, or put up solar panels or how they converted their old home to make it more energy efficient. We do that every year. This year we’re calling it:
AERO Expo and Annual Meeting Sept 25-27
Small workshops and some fun stuff, we actually have a really good time! It’s actually kind of like a camp! for the weekend!
At the Arrowpeak Lodge outside of Great Falls
Sept 25-27th
Lodging!
Starts on Friday with Farm Tours
Tour of a Straw Bale house
Friday Sarah Calhoun from Red Ants Pants!
Liz will be there as well! to talk about the Lentil Underground and why it’s so important to change
workshops all day Saturday
panels, Q&A time
Staturday night we will have a live auction
mixer with new farmers meeting seasoned farmers
live music
Live their values in their daily lives
David Oien
CEO- Timeless Foods.
I really do see people practicing what they preach!
We
More about the expo
A good balance
Tours on Friday will start around 9 in the morning. We set them up so when people are driving
Prairie Heritage Farm – with the Cowgills in Power, Montana
Timeless Foods – with David Oien, in Ulm, Montana
Gardens from Garbage – with Mike Dalton in Great Falls, Montana
Kamut Organic – with Bob Quinn in Big Sandy, Montana
Straw Bale House – with Heather Hadley in Great Falls, Montana
Mike Dalton took basically an abandoned lot and put up garden boxes, and helped grow food in this area! He’s helping kids at boys and girls club, and senior center. The kids grow the food, learn how it grows, how to keep the vegetables happy, harvest and eat it and give
It’s called the West Side Orchard Garden.
Nice! And how does the Senior Center fit into it?
Meals on Wheels
Most of food give to head start, boys and girls
more than 800 meals, more 400 lbs
way of changing the local food system
kids need to be part of the conversation
Lentil Cooking with Claudia Mesa talking up lentils
Sarah Calhoun talking that night
A couple of activities
Cottage food and you
We have this new law about selling food in Montana,
there are certain restrictions. We’re gonna talk to people about what that means. what they can do, need. It’s really a great opportunity for people who are growing food. Want to sell it, to make products to add to income sources, this is a great way to do it!
Another panel on how to finance your food and energy products. step it up from your garden and selling food. Or if you want to look into how to get a solar panel, house or business or you want to look into alternative energy options. what’s that process
we’ll give you some resources
Q&A directly
One activity I’m really excited is on Sunday morning, we’re having regional round tables. People have been asking for for a while. As more local food, or energy citizens groups have popped up, people have been finding, that they have similar ideas, but not sure how to meet others so it will be an opporutnity to share and collaborate
break up into regions
So people can set big goals on how to make your communities sustainable.
We’re finding a lot of people want to do a lot of great things in Montana. There’s so many non-profits to align missions, so we can give everyone a more united front how we power and how we grow food.
I love the whole collaboration piece, people working together. I’ve learned so much since I started the
Instead of everybody protesting Monsanto, I just went and saw this speech by Bill McDoram and something about what he said about Saving seeds, and also my interview with Peter VAsilis about how when his dad or garndfather came home and thought Roundup was the greatest thing! And mother Theresa, i’m pretty sure said, don’t ever ask me to go to a protest or anti-war rally, but I’ll go to a pro-peace march any day! To me it’s like that’s a great way for people to meet and work together!
One thing AERO has done successfully, we don’t talk about partisan politics. We do support certain policies
It really does get down to how we develop relationships with each other and our memberships. We talk about those realities
the costs of pesticides
people who join aero because of the impact it has on the environment.
really aware of financial issues of converting your farm
but then there’s the long term impacts of having to rely on chemical pesticides and government subsidies and how that threatens keeping the farm in the family. So we are able to have those conversations in a frank and engaging way because we aren’t political,
More populous feel.
Are there other AERO orgs in other states? Like an AERO Idaho?
There aren’t really
a statewide organization, not a national organization. A brain child of some passionate energy activists in the 70s there are
groups who do similar work, traditionally groups
energy lag overlap
a lot of groups like AERO,
a lot of overlap
people talking about sustainable communities and resilitent communities and how we power and
how we grow and eat our food
people are starting those broader connections. We’re not part of any national organization.
Every time I go to your website, I’m just fascinated and excited about what I see. I talk a lot about the Milenials.
I was born in 1979. I’m a Carter baby.
I think that too. I’m a little older then that. It’s right about 1980.
The
I listen to a lot of Millenials who are business people. I think technology has brought about a lot of that.
Did you want to go into the tour that you’re on?
I’m a new director to AERO, I’ve been here for almost a year. I still say I’m new, some people say I can’t say that, I’m trying to hang onto 3 years as being new.But part of being new, I wanted to travel around the state and meet our members and meet people in their communities. Find out what are people doing on their own?
to create sustainable communities And have conversations about what kind of barriers are they running into? Where do they want to go? What’s standing in their way? Is it Financial, compacity, not knowing what the answer is? but they want to do something different. We’re very grassroots based. All of the programing comes from members. See if I can develop some common themes to develop projects and programs about that.
A lot of people are wanting to do more
instead of one person do the work of ten, if I can connect 10 people to do the work?
so passionate about creating communities
once you start connecting people, do the work that aligns with the work that you’re already doing Positive forward thinking,
proactive changes in their community it doesn’t seem as overwhelming and then you can actually get stuff done!
Getting people excited about it! And coming up with ideas for programs that can help people move forward.
So I have my blog up, talking about the tour
Posts I visited in Western Montana
they have a bigger farm then most produce farms in Montana. There’s a couple of mid-sized farm.
They have a really exciting story, they’re young farmers in their 20s
Golden Yoke! They’re opening up a creamery. They’re gonna be selling ice cream made from cows on a natural
Place in St. Ignatius
I’ve had some proto types very delicious
County Rail Farm out by Dixon more young farmers who are growing produce as well.
Then I’ve been out to Eastern Montana and visited with some community members as well. Part of the tour I’ve been meeting with outer groups, working on sustainability issue
hoping to connect people
went to Missoula
Community
Exciting stuff they’re doing there
Had communitee meetings there as well, one thing they’re working on is protecting ag land in Missoula keeping it from being developed. Something like Let’s keep the “Ag in our culture”
good program going on for new farmers
learn more about it and connecting with mentors helping people get internships
Also been up in Hinsdale
Patty Ann Brewster
NFSA teacher and she’s just built a dynamic
getting it in their own cafeteria, teaches other teachers how to do a program in their own school and really passionate about Growing local food. That area is a Food desert region
Means that when there’s a, I’m not sure how many miles.
people have to travel a long way. Montana has over 30 counties that have a food desert in them.
Even a gas station
Highline Eastern montana region
getting access to local food is a real barrier. Teaching kids how to grow organically
how plants work to keep pests off of the stuff. She has bees up there as well.
I have to say a ocupdle of things really quick. In Kalispell, there’s a corner, where there’s Home Depot, and now there’s a Cabbalas, and there’s an apartment complex, and the Honda Dealer and what bother’s me is the school is right there! They just built this huge high school, like a 1000 kids going to the school. McDonald;s the closest place. There is a brand new Naturals, they have to cross a giant highway. To me that’s a food desert right there, there’s
There’s the USFS right there, there is a Walmart that sells food. An example of a food desert right there
One of our programs, our membership that we have identified
regional food networks, at least with our farmers
growing their own markets
developing relationships so they can have more access tp local food in their community
develop community action groups
for example Kalispell could have one
folks could talk about food access issues in their communities. Then the could set,
set a big dynamic goal
70% of all food
identify steps to get there.
part of the focus area could be
we want to have local food in the schools
what exists right now
that’s a really important conversation to have
if it’s not in the school
do they have a deli
community group could talk about that food access gap
Farm to food truck
folks are talking about that
develop a food partnership
food truck that comes out at lunch time
local veggie sandwiches
meat, salads that have been prepared or maybe the school gets a school garden
harvest sell it
There’s so many skills there the kids learn, besides cooking
balancing a budget
running a business
not only to create healthy food options but other things that would align with the ocoking!
John Lee Dumas who’s big in the podcasting world. He just came out with a product called the “Freedom Journal” that helps you accomplish a goal in 100 days. Laura Behenna talked about AERO in Episode 58. I’m very big on gardens in school. I’ve told my husband that I thought if you just provided the potatoes and carrots the school uses.
I also have taught elementary school in the past. I taught lower elementary school special ed. We had little plants in our classroom. I would alwyas incorporate that into my lessons
One being an elementary school teacher there are so many things you have to teach. The core curriculum. I felt that how working with food, cooking food, growing plants, following directions your doing math, reading,...
