2014 Meeting History

October 2014 (Decade Coffee Shop): On October 14th, KWEN met at the beautiful Decade Coffee Shop in East Lawrence where the Purple Carrot Cooperative food truck catered the meeting. We started the gathering with eating, drinking, and mingling and then split up into small group breakouts. Small groups were formed based upon the environmental topics of interest to KWEN members. The groups were:

  • Natural habitat restoration/recreation
  • Food and agriculture
  • Environmental education
  • Climate and Energy
  • Recycling and sustainability
  • Transportation

July 2014 (KU Natural History Museum):  On July 15th, KWEN met at the KU Natural History Museum for an evening of education and networking.  Kathy Richardson, Solid Waste Division Manager for the City of Lawrence, provided an update on the citywide curbside recycling program set to roll out in October.  After Kathy’s presentation, we then facilitated a round of “speed dating” where participants had 8 minutes to pair off and discuss their recent environmental challenges or successes, and then we rotated to give KWENers a chance to connect with other women in the room!

April 2014 (Union Pacific Depot):  On April 15th, KWEN met at the Lawrence Union Pacific Depot (previously scheduled at Burcham Park, but the April weather forced us inside). The April meeting served as the one year anniversary of KWEN. We had a potluck meal, spent some time networking, and then spent the remainder of the meeting talking about a year full of successes–each member had a chance to say how KWEN has benefited them, and what they have enjoyed the most about being apart of this inspiring group of women.

January 2014 (Van Go):  The first annual Legislative Panel on Environmental Issues featured Senator Marci Francisco, Dorothy Barnett of the Climate and Energy Project, and Mary Fund of the Kansas Rural Center.  Surrounded by artwork created by the Van Go Arts students, the panelists answered questions from the Kansas Women’s Environmental Network membership relating to the upcoming legislative session.  Topics included sustainable agriculture and the impacts of the Farm Bill,  Renewable Portfolio Standards, water conservation and the proposed aqueduct, and many others.  Members connected local initiatives with legislative issues and the network expanded to include several more members.

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