The Stoughton Area Resource Team, Inc.
(START) provides a safety net for those in crisis. Recently, a 30-year old single father of two struggled to find work, to pay for daycare for his children and to secure a home; so much time was spent homeless and hopeless.
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Sustainable Stoughton
209 N Harrison St
Stoughton, WI 53589
Phone: 6083357755
Contact Name: Regina Hirsch
Treasurer
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Organization Profile
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| Creating a Community-Wide Homegrown National Park® - 2024 |
Amount Funded: $5,000.00 |
| This project’s overall goal is to foster excitement and action within our community to create a Stoughton branch of the Homegrown National Park® and to live more sustainably. To broaden our reach within the community we will host events and offer opportunities that will appeal to a wide range of individuals. The timeline for our project is: 1.Film Series: host three films on sustainability that inspire hope, cultivate connections within the community, and motivate action. One films will focus on native pollinators, the other two will focus on other aspects of sustainable living. Timeline: Feb/Apr/Oct. 2.Book Club: Expand community involvement of our book club and be more inclusive by offering scholarships (cost of books) to four new members each session. Timeline: Jan/Feb, Apr/May, Oct/Nov.3.Seed Library: Sustainable Stoughton is collaborating with Stoughton Public Library to establish a native plant seed library. Community members can ‘check-out’ a packet of native plant seeds for their gardens. Seed packets will be labeled and cataloged in a new section of the library. Each seed packet will be free and seeds will need to be purchased each year. With a low barrier to entry, community members can try planting seeds with no risk and learn a ton along the way. Timeline: Dec-May. 4.Guest Speaker: Host an event with Douglas Tallamy (author of Nature’s Best Hope) as a guest speaker, to energize and motivate action in our community to create a Stoughton branch of the Nation’s Homegrown National Park. In addition to inspiring Stoughtonites, this event is sure to bring in people from all around Dane County, putting Stoughton on the map as a conservation-minded city. Timeline: March. 5.Native Plant Sale:to continue the quest of creating a Community-wide Homegrown National Park we will partner with a local native plant nursery to sell native plants for community members to start establishing native gardens. Timeline: Dec-Jun. 6.Fall Harvest Feast: Honoring Foods Produced by Our Native Pollinators – This culminating event will celebrate the success of the prior year and the bounty that can be found right here in our community. A Farm to Table dinner will be prepared by a local chef at a local venue with local farm produce and meats. The event will have a guest speaker (TBD) that will talk about the benefits of native pollinators and the farmers will also have an opportunity to talk about their farms and what inspires them. Timeline: Apr-Nov. |
| Our first book club was Natures Best Hope by Douglas Tallamy. Taught ust the ecological importance and interconnectedness of native plants and native pollinators. Just as their survival is dependent on one another, so is ours. Did you know, one in three mouthfuls of food we consume rely on a pollinator? Unfortunately, native plant habitat, and thus pollinators are in decline. Concerned about this trajectory, book club members were inspired by a movement that Tallamy calls the Homegrown National Park®. This is a grassroots call to action where anyone can contribute to habitat restoration and increase biodiversity by simply planting a native garden. They can be variable in size and composition, the key is to have at least three native plants blooming in close proximity from Spring through Fall to support multiple species of pollinators. Our vision for this project is to inspire the growth of a Stoughton branch of our nation’s Homegrown National Park®. Through your support we will expand our reach to continue to build awareness about the importance of native plants and pollinators and support everyone in our community to engage in this endeavor. This will create many ripples of positive change throughout the community and support the wellbeing of all. We imagine Paul Sunby would be proud to know that the foundation he started would some day contribute to this project and the protection of our community’s natural resources. 1. Film Series: cultivate connections and inspire action through film and discussion showcasing success stories for sustainable living. PM=60hrs; Volunteer=30hrs, Est impact=450. 2.Book Club: build community and share ideas, thoughts, & experiences around native plant gardening and sustainable living. PM=30hrs; Vol=15hrs, Est. impact=110. 3. Seed Library: teach community members about native plants and create an inclusive and equitable garden opportunity by offering free seeds. PM=15hrs; Volunteer=30hrs. Est impact= 92people/year+. 4.Guest Speaker: energize and motivate action in our community to create a Stoughton branch of the Homegrown National Park®. PM=15hrs; Vol=30hrs. Est impact=230 people.5.Native Plant Sale: increase awareness and support the start up of new gardens by offering native plants at a reasonable cost. PM = 80hrs; Vol=50hrs. Est impact=115. 6. Fall Harvest Feast: increase community awareness of the importance of pollinators and practices supporting native plants and animals. PM=70hrs; Vol=90hrs, Est impact=200. |
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