Eartha Dreamin'

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about dreams. Maybe it’s because of the coming of winter, the end of a long election season, or High Country Conservation Center’s recent move to our new office, but change is in the air, and I’ve been daydreaming about what the future holds.

For those of you who know us at HC3, this may not come as a surprise. We are dreamers, all of us, and none of us dream small. Sometimes you have to bring us out of the clouds by flashing shiny things in our face (aluminum cans work well, especially if you put them in the trash can!)

In fact, where most offices have a list of “tasks” to be done, we have our “Dream List,” with the requisite colorful letters and cartoon stars. Some of the things on the list are small—one day on Summit Freecycle and we found the bar code scanner we’ve always wanted (once we figure out how it works, that is).

Some of them are not so small—we’ve still got a way to go to reach our dream of a carbon-neutral Summit County with a fully functioning energy farm, where people come from all over (on bicycles, of course) to see what a truly green community looks like.

A few weeks ago, we were joking about our status as dreamers when it hit us: as unreachable as they sometimes seem, our dreams are actually coming to fruition! I am writing this column from our lovely new office, an office that, just two months ago was a penciled-in scrawl on the Dream List (added by a friend of ours, since we were afraid to jinx ourselves).

The snow is falling lightly on the windows, perfectly complementing the beautiful recycled glass ornaments that hang from the display window of yet another one of our unreachable dreams—Eartha’s Green Shop, purveyor of all things eco and chic, is now open for business. Yes, that’s right. We now have our very own storefront with recycled and eco-friendly gifts. Check another one off the list!

Things here at HC3 are always busy—we’re moving steadily forward with our Sustainable Building Code, energy audits and trainings, Latino outreach, and Sustainable Business Program, all of which were once zygotes of dreams that are growing into little sprouts of conservation goodness.

We have some really big dreams that keep us awake at night and keep us inspired every day: a sustainable Summit County with vibrant local, independent businesses; a community greenhouse that provides locally-grown food all year round and lets families and neighbors get their hands dirty while they learn about where their food comes from; a reuse center where people can find the perfect missing window of their dream home; no more plastic bags and water bottles!

It is yet to be determined whether the dreamer tendency is genetic or learned, but it runs strong in our office. If you’re ever in need of a break from every day life and maybe need a little inspiration, or if you have dreams of your own, please come visit us in our lovely cabin at 518 Main Street in Frisco. We’d love to have you.