Sioux Falls Sustainability Coalition bringing community, industry leaders together for 'A Community Conversation on Climate and Sustainability'

Hundreds expected at this weekend's sustainability, climate summit in Sioux Falls

A coalition of organizations working to advance sustainability initiatives in government are at odds with Sioux Falls City Hall over its latest plan to go green.

And while Mayor Paul TenHaken’s administration hasn’t embraced some of the ideas area climate change reformists had hoped to see in the city’s new “Sustainable Sioux Falls” framework — like targets for eliminating the city’s carbon footprint or green mandates on new construction projects, organizations like SoDak350 and Dakota Rural Action hope to continue dialoguing with a weekend forum expected to draw 200 or more.

“There are people who are rabidly focused on climate change and what we can do about it, and there are other people who are more conservative in their approach. We want to hear from people with all those viewpoints,” said Craig Brown, an event task force member representing the Sioux Falls Sustainability Coalition that’s hosting the forum. “We're looking for the conversation to reflect the opinions and attitudes from a lot of different people — both the city people and nearby rural citizens to offer their perspectives on this.”

During the two-and-a-half hour event billed as “A Community Conversation on Climate and Sustainability,” to kick off at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at The Gathering Place in the Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, not only will attendees be able use cellphones to give feedback about the sustainability initiatives important to them, they’ll also hear firsthand from community and industry leaders with real-world experience going green.

Stacey McMahan, an architect with Koch Hazard, and the designer of several green projects, will discuss what it actually means “to build sustainably,” while Costello Company’s Joan Franken will share her experiences with building and managing one of the first affordable and sustainable apartment buildings in Sioux Falls.

Laura Edwards, a climatologist for the state of South Dakota, and Meghann Jarchow, a professor of sustainability at the University of South Dakota, will also make remarks during the summit.

“They’re there to provide real world expertise about these issues, and in the case of two of them, what they’re doing,” Brown said. “Hopefully there's a mix of ‘here’s what is coming’ and ‘here's the work that's already being done.’”

The event is open to the public and free to attend. Attendees are encouraged — but not required — to register ahead of time at sodak350.org/cccs.