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Health & Fitness

Sustainable Reston: A Successful RCA Spinoff

In addition to RCA's current efforts, we've spawned several committees that are now doing great work on their own. This week, I'm focusing on our most recent spin-off.

In recent weeks, I've told you about RCA's current projects.  Obviously, we're proud of everything we are currently doing to improve the quality of life in Reston.  But we're also proud of our "alumni," the committees and initiatives that started with RCA before breaking off on their own.  We're happy to have been the incubator for so many groups doing great work in our community.  This week, I'm going to talk about our most recent alumni group, Sustainable Reston.

Just to be clear, this should not be confused with the sponsored by Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (although the Sustainable Reston group was an active part of that).  The Sustainable Reston I'm talking about is the non-profit advocacy group dedicated to getting Reston ready to meet the environmental and resource challenges that the future may bring. 

According to their website, Sustainable Reston has this goal for our community: "Reston will be an environmentally sustainable, self-reliant community able to withstand the challenges of peak oil, climate change and major economic disruption."  Changes in the environment and depletion of our natural resources may force us to look inward, to come together and provide more of our needs closer to home.  Sustainable Reston is working hard to implement local programs to ensure that Reston can meet the demands of the future.

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Today's Sustainable Reston group started out in 2008 as an RCA committee.  RCA's then-president Marion Stillson felt that it was important for us to work on environmental issues, and so she founded the Sunstainability Committee with the charge of restoring Reston's position as a leading environmental community.  Reston was the forward-looking "new town" that took bold steps like bringing in Terraset Elementary as a prototype of energy conservation, and Marion and RCA felt that we should remain out front in addressing the environmental challenges of the future.

One of the newly formed committee's first efforts was to spotlight Reston individuals and businesses who are stepping up to embrace the principles of sustainability.  And that's how the Reston Sustainability Awards were born.  These awards are given to those in Reston who are working to promote environmental conservation, local commerce, and other values that are helping Reston become a more sustainable community.  The third annual Sustainability Awards were presented at the Sustainable Reston forum in October.

Find out what's happening in Restonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In 2010, Sustainable Reston swung into action when Fairfax County budget cuts threatened the bus lines running between Reston and the Metro.  Sustainable Reston launched an action group called Save Our Buses, and organized a petition drive that yielded hundreds of signatures in a span of weeks.  Sustainable Reston argued that the bus line cuts would make it harder for our citizens to get around, and would force more people into their cars, worsening traffic and damaging our environment.  Their efforts paid off, as the County moved quickly to restore the funding for the buses.  All the commuters who ride those buses today have Sustainable Reston to thank for it.

In the fall of 2010, Sustainable Reston struck out on its own, taking over leadership of the Fairfax Coalition for Smarter Growth.  Through FCSG, Sustainable Reston gained a wider platform to promote their message and their mission. 

And Sustainable Reston has kept right on rolling in 2011.  In addition to partnering with the Supervisor's office on the forum, the group has been working on several of its own efforts.  They have created a Local Food Working Group, which is looking for ways to encourage local agriculture, allowing us to grow more of our food right here in Reston, reducing the environmental and resource costs associated with agribusiness. 

And I am happy to say that Sustainable Reston has joined with RCA in voicing concerns about the proposed .  Sustainable Reston has launched another opposing the current Fairway plan.  Time will tell if it's as successful as their Save Our Buses petition... let's hope it is!

I congratulate Sustainable Reston on their impressive achievements, and I look forward to maintaining our working relationship for the betterment of Reston.  Seeing their independent success makes me feel like a proud parent, seeing my kids all grown up and making their way in the world.  Sustainable Reston, I know you'll keep doing us proud!

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