Friday Aug 17, 2018

"Community Engagement Across the Mountains to Sound Greenway"

Mackenzie Dolstad / Dan Hintz

Stewartship Program Manager / Restoration Project Coordinator Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust

Scribe: Sam Peterson Editor: Bob Holert Introduced by: Jenny Andrews

Howard Johnson opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and with a quote/prayer from Teddy Roosevelt that was environment related. Guests were then introduced.

Nancy spoke about peace building seminars and how internationally environmental stability is essential. Good water and agriculture help promote non-violence.  There are Rotarian action groups for peace and different clubs have peace products.  One example was Bellevue Rotary has a group that focuses on Anti- Bullying for Stevenson Elementary School.  September 21st is International Day of Peace at the Downtown Park.

A reminder – the Adoption Party is Saturday, October 6th and volunteers are needed, especially drivers. The event starts at 10:45AM at Woodridge Elementary School.

Laura Cossachi then gave an update on the Year Book Committee.

Wendi Fischer then gave an update on District Membership as August is membership month. There are many types of “fellowships” and we can get involved with many topics online at rotary.org.  The District Conference is May 16-19, 2019 in Spokane and now is the time to sign up.  One of the speakers is Bill Gates Jr.! More information can be found at www.cometogether2019.com

Chris Boland recognized Rotarians with a birthday in August and wished a Happy Birthday to Jim Gordon.

Mackenzie Dolstad and Dan Hintz, part of the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, then spoke. Their Mission:  Conserve recreational land to enforce their belief – Connected with nature, our lives are better! They are instrumental in the building and improvement of the Mountains to Sound Trail across Washington, as well as other projects, with three main components – Landscape, Connections and People.  The trust was founded in 1991.  There have been major acquisitions of private land over the years.  The organization also hosts environmental education programs for kids including field trips.  They also host events such as “Explore the Greenway” which is a bike ride and work parties on for National Public Lands Day on September 22nd.  They are looking for volunteers! Information can be found at mtsgreenway.org

Chris recognized Mackenzie and Dan’s excellent presentation by donating 1100 pounds of fresh produce to Rotary First Harvest. He also mentioned the Rotary Academy for new members, which is an online course on September 21st. Chris noted we have no meeting on August 31st. The thought of the Day to end the meeting was in remembrance of Aretha Franklin.

About the Speaker

Mackenzie Dolstad, Stewardship Program Manager, has been with the Greenway Trust since 2010 and a staff member since 2012. Mackenzie is responsible for all of the behind-the-scenes action in the Stewardship Program – grant writing and reporting, budget management, tracking projects, and providing assistance and support to the rest of the staff. He started with the Greenway Trust as an intern on the Heritage Study project (the precursor to the National Heritage Area campaign), then served for a year as an AmeriCorps all-purpose Individual Placement with the Greenway Trust through the Washington Conservation Corps. When he’s not analyzing a spreadsheet, Mackenzie can be found biking, hiking, and pursuing other outdoor activities.
Dan Hintz, Restoration Project Coordinator, has been with the Greenway Trust since 2016. Dan is responsible for coordinating maintenance efforts and leading volunteer events at the many restoration project sites throughout the Greenway. Dan grew up outside of Chicago and attended the University of Wisconsin – Madison where he studied economics before moving to Seattle to serve as an AmeriCorps member with EarthCorps. Since then Dan has lived in Washington and worked restoration jobs for local government, non-profits and a private contractor. Dan finished his Master of Environmental Horticulture (MEH) degree at the University of Washington just after joining the Greenway in spring of 2016. In his spare time Dan enjoys hiking, skiing, playing guitar, watching baseball and reading books about history.