Making better decisions in life

KINGSTON — Joleen Palmer wants residents to think about their daily choices and how simple activities can impact the earth.

Shopping, running a businesses or interacting with the community are all factors that are significant to the future of a society, she said.

This is part of the reason why the program director of Stillwaters Environmental Education Center will be hosting a nine-session discussion group on sustainable living this fall.

The introductory meeting will be at 7 p.m., Aug. 25 at the environmental center on Barber Cut-Off Road in Kingston.

Palmer said she hopes a group of six to eight people will be able to gather weekly or bi-weekly to talk about being more aware of making better choices in life. Discussions will revolve around generalized variables of sustainability, such as business, economy and community.

But the initial meeting will explore the definition of sustainability — something Palmer even had trouble with.

“How can we best live with nature,” she said after thinking about it. “It’s sort of examining our relations with nature and adopt more earth-friendly lifestyles.”

The meetings are not so much lectures as they are discussion sessions, facilitated by a different person within the group each time.

“I think the purpose of that is to stimulate discussion from various people, so everyone’s perspectives and opinions get heard,” Palmer said. “We don’t assume everyone coming is on the same page with the topic.”

Through talks and literature, the group will look at how certain choices make various types of impacts on the earth. Discussions will also revolve around how everyone can make better choices that have less of an impact in society.

The education center is offering the series as a part of its mission at Stillwaters, Palmer said.

People make choices every day, she explained, adding that the center encourages discussions on sustainability.

Palmer noted that the center’s efforts are in concert with the Women of League Voters’ 1998 study on the sustainability of Kitsap County.

As a snapshot of the economic, social and environmental health of the county, “they were really wanting to promote a sustainable future of Kitsap County,” Palmer said.

Other groups in the area, such as Sustainable Seattle and the state are also working on similar plans for improving the future, Palmer said.

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