About Us

“Individuals are ingenious when it comes to dealing with complex systems—when we learn our first language, when we handle our cars in traffic, or when we play chess or the piano—whereas groups of people are often dumber than the dumbest participant of the whole group. The reason is that groups often fail to scrutinize the overall rules of the system and to agree on what they actually want to achieve before they act. If, on the other hand, a group does those two things–scrutinizes the rules and agrees on the goal—the group can perform better than any individual. With such a framework, the group can make use of having a higher collective knowledge than any of its individual members.”
—paraphrased from Karl-Henrik Robèrt, founder of The Natural Step

The Natural Step Monona (TNSM) is a grassroots organization working to foster and promote the creation of an environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable community. Through a participatory process, an upstream approach, and robust conditions for sustainability, The Natural Step framework helps businesses, organizations, schools, municipalities, and individuals develop sustainable practices.

Making sustainable choices creates social and economic benefits, as well as environmental ones. The long-range and lasting benefits of sustainable practices contribute to the physical and financial well-being of everyone. Like you, we want a healthy, vibrant Monona that meets our needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.

Our educational programs inspire people to make enlightened choices that will preserve our resources, stop the degradation of our natural systems, and even reverse the negative impacts of previous harmful practices.

The journey toward sustainability works best when everyone participates. We need your voice, involvement, and great ideas. Please make the choice to join Monona’s citizens, businesses, teachers, clergy, municipal leaders and staff, and The Natural Step Monona in creating our path to sustainability.

Completed and ongoing projects of The Natural Step Monona

• Schluter Park clean-up in 2007 and 2008;
• Compost bin sale for Monona residents in 2007 (thirty composters sold, seven new converts to composting) and 2009 (75 composters sold, at least twenty-one new converts);
• Sustain Dane rain barrel sales at the Monona Farmers’ Market, 2007 through 2009;
• “Clean-Up Brigade” for the Monona Memorial Day Parade, 2007 through 2009;
• Spearheaded the creation of the Sustainability Section at the Monona Public Library, opened November 2007. The Sustainability Section subsequently received a generous grant from MG&E;
• Recorded The Natural Step Monona Kickoff Event, The Natural Step Monona’s “What is Sustainability?,” Wisconsin’s Inconvenient Truth, and multiple Green Tuesdays presentations for Monona Cable;
• Facilitated fourteen study circles on The Natural Step framework for sustainability, with a new round of circles to begin the fourth week of June 2009;
• Assisted St. Stephen’s Church in the planning and creation of their 18-plot community garden, opened in April 2008;
• Successfully advocated for green demolition and building practices for the Garden Circle redevelopment on Owen Road, and for the purchase of a more environmentally-responsible police vehicle;
• Advocated for sustainable practices for the Monona Drive reconstruction;
• Held three well-attended educational events at the Monona Community Center. They included representatives from Sustain Dane, 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, the Village of Johnson Creek, the Jefferson County Board, the Alliance for Sustainability, the Aldo Leopold Nature Center, Focus on Energy, myfairlakes.com, Dane Buy Local, Seventh Generation Energy Systems, the Monona Farmer’s Market, Monona Community Gardens, Monona Elementary PTO, and the mayors of Washburn and Bayfield;
• Staffed sustainability education booths at the Monona Community Festival on the Fourth of July, 2007 and 2008;
• Co-hosted the Clean Wisconsin presentation of Wisconsin’s Inconvenient Truth at St. Stephen’s;
• Created seven award-winning Green Holiday promos for Monona Cable in 2007. Recorded five more for the holiday season 2008. The twelve videos feature 43 community members. The videos were also broadcast by Comcast in the City of Manitowoc this holiday season. (View them by clicking on the “TNS Monona TV” link.)
• Created the series Green Tuesdays: Lectures & Films on Sustainability in conjunction with the Monona Public Library. This program, made possible by a grant from the Dane County Environmental Council, offers films and presentations on diverse topics such as Permaculture, simple home canning, biodiversity, and waste reduction;
• Write the The Natural Step Monona column in the Herald-Independent, running every other week;
• Organized the community postcard art project, A Valentine to Monona, asking “What are your hopes and dreams for a green Monona?” Opening on Valentine’s Day, 2008,  the exhibit at the Monona Public Library had 197 entries; and
• Members of The Natural Step Monona continue to assist in the organization and work of the City of Monona’s newly-formed Sustainability Committee.