On April 24 as part of the Earth Day celebrations at Mt. Shasta City Park, we held a visioning session for the city and surrounding area. While it’s always easy to say what we don’t want, this day was about naming and creating our common vision of a positive future.

The brainstorming exercise developed topics we can go deeper into during future eco-forums sponsored by the Ecology Center. We’re holding space for that – please feel free to leave your further thoughts and comments on our Facebook page or directly through our contact form. And of course, we welcome volunteers as we create and develop these forums with the help of our community.

Led by Board Member Andy Fusso and permaculture expert Jay Ma from Living Mandala, the session was an interactive discussion about becoming solutionaries.

Jay began with an introduction to permaculture principles, and how they apply to creating this vision. Based on these principles, Earth Day participants identified community assets and visualized what their ideal Mt. Shasta area could be like in 20 years. With Angelina Cook taking notes, the visioning considered several sectors.

Land & Nature Stewardship

Assets

  • Castle Lake
  • Fertile soils
  • Forests
  • Rock
  • Ganja
  • Clean air
  • Wildlife diversity
  • Clean water
  • Snow

Ideas and Vision

  • (Preserve) clean air & water
  • Creek restoration at Castle St.
  • Respect for the headwaters (better water gathering)
  • Bio-remediation through mushrooms

Built Environment

Assets

  • Railroad
  • I-5, Hwys 89 & 97
  • Schools
  • Hospital
  • College
  • Chambers of Commerce
  • Ski Park
  • Trails
  • Vacant structures

Ideas and Vision

  • Green elder care centers
  • Bicycles
  • Trails to link towns
  • Public transportation to Ski Park
  • Housing ordinance – balancing visitors and residents
  • No clear cutting
  • Recycling at the landfill

Tools & Technology

Assets

  • Internet
  • Brewing
  • Hydroelectric power
  • Wood stoves
  • Solar power
  • Power Grid
  • Auto mobility
  • Greenhouses
  • Fish hatchery
  • Nursery
  • Newspapers

Ideas and Vision

  • Worker cooperatives
  • Trails that link towns
  • Passenger trains
  • High speed broadband
  • Renewable energy
  • Aquaponics
  • Water filtration business
  • Solar panel/power business

Culture & Education

Assets

  • Schools
  • Sweat lodge/indigenous heritage
  • Theater groups
  • Theaters
  • Hippies
  • Ranchers
  • Foresters
  • Art Galleries
  • Yoga Centers
  • Spiritual awareness
  • Shasta Abbey

Ideas and Vision

  • Music, art studios
  • Music venues
  • More young people & families
  • Better schools
  • Job training
  • More education

Health & Spiritual Well Being

Assets

  • Stewart Springs
  • Berryvale
  • Farmer’s Market
  • Meditation Groups
  • Trails & Recreation
  • Churches
  • Wilderness
  • Mountain
  • Be the change you want to be

Ideas and Vision

  • Whole & Happy People
  • Harmonious Diversity
  • Religious Tolerance
  • Organic Permaculture
  • Respectiful/reverent treatment of water

Finance & Economics

Assets

  • Crystal Shops
  • Ganja
  • Recreation
  • Government
  • Banks
  • Retail & guide services
  • Agriculture
  • Retreat centers
  • Small local businesses

Ideas and Vision

  • Public transit to Ski Park and Bunny Flat/Panther Meadows
  • Social safety net
  • Respecting nature
  • Local business
  • Wealth & abundance
  • Local currency
  • Ban plastic
  • Economic development entity should invest in local business
  • Water filtration business
  • Solar business (Wholesale Solar)

Land & Community

Assets

  • Forest service
  • Firefighters
  • Ecology Center
  • Land Trust
  • Clean cold water
  • Ranchers
  • Farmers
  • Foresters
  • Knowledge of the land
  • Snow

Ideas and Vision

  • Food forests
  • Elder care centers
  • Worker co-ops
  • People owning their own homes
  • Higher deposit on bottles
  • Bio-remediation of contaminated rail yards & mill sites

Citizen & Government Action

After assessing community assets and visioning ideas, we discussed what citizens and their elected officials can do to achieve the vision we desire. Thoughts included:

  • Citizen participation in meetings
  • Informed populace
  • Town meetings
  • More candidates who can run for office
  • Community Gardens
  • Ban plastic bottles & bags
  • Change the Brown Act (allow workshops)
  • Solutions for low cost housing
  • Community housing
  • MtShasta.ca.gov community vision 2020

Priorities

To conclude, participants were asked which areas should be priorities for action. These included:

  • Sustainability
  • Conservation
  • Local Economy
  • Lower CO2 emissions
  • No more animal agriculture
  • Energy independence
  • Addressing needs while restoring the environment
  • Shasta 2020 Plan