Green Tuesdays, the free series of films, presentations, and conversations on sustainability started by The Natural Step Monona, expands this fall from one Dane County community to five. On Thursday, September 2 at 7:00 p.m., the expansion begins with “Green Tuesdays – The Thursday Edition” at the Middleton Public Library. The event features a screening of the award-winning film The Yes Men Fix the World and a special appearance and apology from Tony Hayward of BP. 

In 2008, we partnered with the Monona Public Library to start Green Tuesdays, and its easily-accessible format of education and discussion has been well-received. In collaboration with sustainability advocates from Cross Plains, Middleton, Mt. Horeb, Cottage Grove, and Oregon, and film festival planners from the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, the Green Tuesdays program was re-organized into a circuit. Each community’s program is on a set date on the calendar. Except for Cottage Grove, which plans to launch in January, all the other communities start up this fall.

“Expanding this to more communities was only natural because more and more people were coming to Green Tuesdays from outside of Monona,” said Dawn Ramin, founder of Oregon Working to Live Sustainably. “Now we will reach more people, reduce the amount of driving, and grow the conversation about sustainability in more communities.”

Explaining the kickoff’s title “Green Tuesdays – The Thursday Edition,” Deb Saeger, Sustainability Committee Chair for the City of Middleton, said, “In September 2008, we began offering Sustainability Seminars on the first Thursday of each month. We’re excited to be partnering with the Green Tuesday communities on this environmental series, but we’re sticking to our first Thursdays – now known as Green Thursdays here in Middleton.” Mt. Horeb’s program will also be on Thursdays. All the other communities offer Tuesday programs.

The Natural Step Monona’s Green Tuesdays remain on the second and fifth Tuesdays of the month, and run from September through May. The Yes Men Fix the World and More Jam, More Jobs will be screened in Monona on September 14.

Molly Schwebach and Peter Boger brought Nelson Institute film festival experience to the collaboration, sharing insights as well as six short student films that will be screened along with the feature films. Said Schwebach, “In fall 2009, students in the Tales from Planet Earth project searched Wisconsin for compelling environmental stories to put on the big screen. We are thrilled to share the resulting films.”

More Jam, More Jobs, a student film that shows one woman’s attempts to convince twelve sororities to buy local products, will be screened at the event along with the documentary feature film The Yes Men Fix the World. This documentary follows two unconventional activists who, in richly humorous ways, impersonate business and government leaders to raise questions about the global harm caused by powerful interests.

“When people see the movie, they’ll understand why we asked Tony Hayward to appear at our event,” said Heather Gates, Executive Director of The Natural Step Monona. “We are hoping for a major announcement about BP.”

To date, more than 632 attendees have shared in this community exchange of information and ideas on sustainable living, and have discussed topics such as Permaculture, walkable communities, backyard berries, composting, Dane County’s groundwater, and urban chickens. Whole Foods has sponsored Monona’s Green Tuesdays since 2009 by providing food and drink.

The series is sponsored by The Natural Step Monona, in collaboration with Oregon Working to Live Sustainably (OWLS), Mount Horeb Area Sustainability Network, RGPL Green Tuesdays (Cross Plains), the City of Middleton Sustainability Committee, Cottage Grove Green Tuesdays, and the Nelson Institute, and is supported by a grant from the Dane County Environmental Council.

To see the calendar for all Green Tuesday and Thursday dates, go to www.tnsmonona.org/green-tuesdays-green-thursdays.

Green Tuesdays – The Thursday Edition: sparking conversation in more communities, more often.
Thursday, September 2, 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Middleton Public Library, 7425 Hubbard Avenue, Middleton, WI.
Free.