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Sustainability expo coming to Butte, features Mining City projects

The Alternative Energy Resources Organization, a Helena-based nonprofit that advocates for sustainability and community resiliency movements, has named Butte the location of its annual expo and fundraising meeting, which the organization hopes will draw 250 attendees from across the state.

The meeting, which takes place Oct. 20 through 22 in venues throughout Butte, and will feature a host of discussions, tours, and workshops, some of which will highlight organizations and projects from the Mining City.

The organization said in a news release that AERO selected Butte for this year?s expo in part because of Butte?s ?uncommon past and expanding vision.? Other reasons the organization cited for choosing Butte included the city?s track record of repurposing historic structures and the presence of a growing arts scene and local food culture.

The theme of this year?s expo is leadership. But according to AERO Expo committee co-chair Robin Kelson, who owns the Good Seed Company in Whitefish, an important sub-theme this year will be ?adaptive repurposing.?

?We?re in a time of change, including weather changes, that impact all of Montana,? said Kelson. ?But you can?t just throw everything away and start over; that?s not how nature works. If you look at any species or ecosystem on the planet that?s still around today?it’s still here because it successfully navigated change.?

Butte folks, Kelson said, have done just that.

?What?s so beautiful about Butte is it?s embracing its heritage, even as it?s pivoting and trying to find a new way forward for its community,? Kelson said.

Scott Rosenthal, who heads the Mining Engineering Department at Montana Tech, will be one of the presenters at the upcoming expo, which includes a tour of the newly completed, $10-million, 31,000-square-foot Natural Resources Research Center.

In 2009, Montana Tech received $1 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to incorporate geothermal energy into the new building. Today the geothermal system is part of Tech?s curriculum and research while also helping to heat and cool the new digs.

Also on the expo?s lineup is a visit to the National Center for Appropriate Technology, headquarters in Butte at 3040 Continental Dr., where expo attendees will get a demo of the center?s small-scale intensive farm training program. The program?s aim is to develop a hands-on training model for nutrient-rich food production on small land parcels.

During the expo, participants will also venture out to Whitehall, where they will visit the Sage Mountain Center in a tour led by Chris Borton, center director and co-founder.

Borton ? with partner Linda Welsh-Borton, a long-time AERO member ? has promoted solar power, sustainable living, physical health, and inner development throughout the center?s 28-year existence.

The center uses 3,000 watts of solar panels and a 1,000-watt wind generator to convert natural resources into electricity. In its 25 years of operations, the center says on its website, Sage Mountain has never paid an electric bill.

Borton told AERO the he plans to address compatibility issues for solar technology and the role of different types of homes during his workshop.

Borton said AERO and Butte go together naturally.

?Historically, Butte has always been tied to its environment and the land, primarily through mining,? he said. ?The AERO expo for me is a great fit, a way to bring in new ideas and look at different ways to explore the same land we all live on and share.?

http://aeromt.org

http://mtstandard.com/news/local/sustainability-expo-coming-to-butte-features-mining-city-projects/article_00cb9106-80e7-5eab-bf59-2ee597afd723.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2017-aero-expo-and-annual-meeting-ready-set-lead-tickets-36200846707?aff=es2

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