creating hope—one rural county at a time

New Pioneers for a Sustainable Future

Programs

Soup and Substance, our lunchtime learning program, meets  from 12 to 1 in City Hall.

We provide homemade soup, bread, dessert, and lemoned water, as well as local presenters and topics of interest on sustainability.  Donations are welcome. For reservations, call or email by noon on Monday.

          Lunchtime Learning

In 2005 New Pioneers organized and continues to manage curbside recycling pickup for the City of Springfield.  This is a partnership effort between the City and the Washington County Recycling Center.  Every other week this city of 3,000 retrieves some two tons of bottles, cans, and jars from the landfill, also reducing the amount of new raw materials and energy required to manufacture new ones.

  Springfield Recycling Pickup

Look for our column, New Pioneers Notes, in The Springfield Sun on Wednesdays.  Talented local author Martha Young uses homey stories to help readers learn about key local issues related to  water quality, soil quality, air quality, land conservation, community values, spirituality, and more.  As our web skills improve, we will offer her columns  on this website as well.

         Column in Local Paper

Study Groups

Sustainable Communities Study Groups are offered at City Hall several times a year for groups of 10 -12 interested persons.  Groups meet for one hour a week for nine weeks, using a text that features  excerpts from top sustainability experts in eight areas.  Cost is $25 to cover the cost of the textbook.  Call or email if you are interested in being part of this interesting and informative experience.

We are actively involved in the Springfield Farmers Market at the Depot, the Sustainability Committee at St. Catharine College, and are leading a campaign to increase farmland preservation in the region.  For more information, see their separate pages on this website.