RE SOURCES RE SOURCES for Sustainable Communities

The RE Store: More than a store, The RE Store (a project of RE Sources) on Meridian Street in Bellingham is a local champion for second chances and reinvention. Through a suite of programs, we provide training to disadvantaged workers, salvage building material, build furniture, and teach reuse. We evolve to meet the changing needs of our community, fighting waste and climate change all the while. In 2022, we diverted 2,733,450 pounds of building materials from the landfill; performed 336 free pickups throughout Whatcom County and beyond; sold over 50,000 feet of salvaged lumber; and provided over $5,000 in store credit to community members who needed to rebuild after disastrous local floods in 2022. The RE Store also helped 24 trainees gain valuable on-the-job skills through the Community Jobs Training Program, which has equipped hundreds of economically disadvantaged residents and/or people re-entering the job market with tools they need to succeed. Lastly, we partnered with Sustainable Connections to build and launch Washington State's first official "Freedge" shed, a mini food pantry for perishables available to everyone.

Land and Water Advocacy: From the forested headwaters of Mount Baker to the depths of the Salish Sea, the way we treat one landscape impacts all the others. RE Sources employs advocacy, education, science and action across these landscapes so we can address pollution, environmental degradation, and climate change in the most impactful ways possible. In 2022, RE Sources protected a legacy forest and sparked the climate-smart, ecological forestry movement after years of advocating for Lake Whatcom's protection. A public outcry of over 1,000 Washingtonians convinced the Department of Natural Resources to halt the sale of 50 acres of mature forest in the Bessie timber sale. The protected trees were later included in a state carbon reserve program, which decoupled 10,000 acres of trustlands in western Washington from timber harvest revenue obligations. Following that success, we launched our Future Forests campaign, a science-based, grassroots effort to advance forest restoration and climate resilience in Northwest Washington. Our efforts are focused on the transition from industrial logging practices to ecological forest management in the Lake Whatcom and Nooksack River watersheds. We launched the campaign with a video featuring legendary forester Dr. Jerry Franklin that we produced to talk about what ecological forest management is and the value it can offer our region's forests and communities. RE Sources also prevented the creation of toxic sewage sludge by opposing the City of Bellingham's proposal to replace Post Point Wastewater Treatment Plant's incinerators with anaerobic digesters, leading to the City halting the project and exploring more sustainable alternatives.

Sustainable Schools: The kids aren't alright, but we can all help. A 2022 national EdWeek survey found that 37% of teenagers feel anxious when they think about climate change and its effects. That's why we're aligning our climate and environmental education offerings with pathways to hope through action. In 2022, we trained 106 Whatcom County teachers in bringing environmental solutions into the classroom. From mitigating the effects of stormwater on Coho salmon to understanding how the meal you choose affects greenhouse gas emissions, these teachers left with solutions to share with their 2,500+ students, giving them tools for finding hope during the climate crisis. We also helped 613 students take action in protecting our freshwater resources. Nearly 500 students collected 89 pounds of trash, and 161 students created posters educating folks on how and why they can protect our freshwater. Also, twenty-two students in our Youth for the Environment and People (YEP!) program across Skagit and Whatcom Counties studied and took action on food waste reduction. Whatcom County students presented interactive food waste trivia and reduction tips at the Bellingham Farmers market. They also hand-painted 36 ceramic bowls, filled them with local restaurant coupons, and sold them to raise donations for the Bellingham Food Bank.

Climate Advocacy: The opening salvos of the climate crisis are upon us, but we still have a lot of say in how much we can both reduce climate emissions by transitioning to clean energy, and adapt in ways that build resilience across our Northwest Washington communities. In 2022, Bellingham won state-of-the-art building standards, becoming one of the first cities in Washington to require newly built large residential and commercial buildings to use efficient electric heating and hot water systems, thanks to advocacy efforts by RE Sources that rallied hundreds of residents to support the cause. In pursuit of a clean energy future, our new 100% Northwest Campaign leverages 40 years of experience in strengthening regulations on fossil fuels and encouraging local governments to act on climate, funding, and building out renewable energy infrastructure at all levels, and engaging the Whatcom community in the energy transition. We also participated in outreach events demonstrating the advantages of induction cooking and authored a blog series discussing the benefits of building electrification and threats of natural gas. Moreover, we assisted Skagit communities insisting on air quality monitoring efforts to protect frontline communities from air pollution.