Morro Bay Eco Club Thinks Outside the Box
Rotary's Eco Club Program was the topic of our Guest Speaker, John Weiss. From the Rotary Club of Morro Bay and a Past President, John also owns Coast Electronics/Radio Shack there. Rotary is his passion.
John recognized Miner's in Morro Bay for their generosity, specifically when lights were supplied to downtown Morro Bay at a great price. John also gave the Rotary coin to guest Paul Filice from Miner's, as a thank you for what Miner's does in Morro Bay.
John talked about District Governor Deepa Willingham. John's new position, after his term as club president, was to be Public Extension Chair and Deepa wanted him to be the chair of the Eco Rotary club, as well. There are two such clubs in the United States: Florida and Minnesota. John wanted to share that the Eco club is a Rotary Club but it has an emphasis on the environment, and is a difficult club to charter because more than fifteen people are needed.
Deepa wants us to think outside the box and find out what works outside the box, said John. He discussed Rotary's membership, its mission, The Rotary Foundation, polio, Rotary then-and-now, and the Eco clubs. The Eco Rotary Club means up to three monthly projects. The Morro Bay club put in a round about, and, to John, it is the greatest thing they've done. They pull weeds once a month. They're visible in the community, doing a project a month and getting all the help to do it.
They have adopted a zero-waste project, taking compost at the golf course to produce bio-degradable items. With large worm bins and composters to provide assistance, the project will reduce water use immediately and will truly upgrade the course. The golf course is going to work just fine as it is an all natural process. Zero-waste doesn't produce gas, and what they are doing can apply to restaurants as well. In
Some of John's contacts are in Florida, where there is more emphasis on projects and less on fundraising. The twice-monthly meetings start at 5:30 p.m. and last under an hour, including appetizers but no flag salute nor fines.
The Morro Bay Eco Club is flexible, from joining the local Chamber of Commerce and working a combined 250 hours a month. With 25 charter members paying annual dues of $130, the Eco Club helps our local zoo, does trail maintenance, provides bell ringers at Christmas, and has planted 1000 trees. The San Luis Obispo Rotaract Club joins in some of their projects.