More than coworking….

Reversing Climate Change by Advancing Social Change.

It’s been eight years since we started WORK as a place for coworking, community building, and education. Given the current climate crisis and our passion for spending each day trying hard to make life better for those around us, it seems natural to take the next step and dive straight into utilizing what we’ve built for the greater good by acting as a Climate Action Incubator.

Our first goal was to reduce commute times and create a shared resource. Since then, much more has happened:

  • Climate Chats and Documentary Movie Nights were added to our monthly event selection.
  • “Climate Action of the Week” was added to our newsletter.
  • Climate WORK Facebook page was created, dedicated to curating the myriad articles, videos, movies, podcasts, and ideas we encounter.
  • 350 Petaluma was born in our main hall after live streaming 350’s Fossil Free Fast event and still holds there meetings in our Library conference room.
  • Climate Action Petaluma (CAP) was formed, with WORK as one of the founding members and meetings convening in our Library. This group worked with the City of Petaluma to pass Sonoma County’s first Climate Emergency Resolution and form the Climate Action Commission which is now writing the county;s first Climate Emergency Action Plan.
  • The AIA grant for a Sustainable Design Assessment Team (SDAT) was won for the City of Petaluma ($180,000 value) by a group of citizens co-chaired by Natasha and meeting in our Library.
  • An Earth Day Climate Action Hub was planned for our courtyard during the 2020 Butter and Egg Days Parade, but all events were sadly cancelled with the pandemic.

If you have an idea you want to get off the ground, contact us! We’d love here about it and connect you in with the right support.

We’re all on this miraculous planet together, and there is nowhere I’d rather be. I hope you join me as we work to protect all that is precious and beautiful and life-giving in this world.

Thank you for supporting our mission:

To foster meaningful connections and promote positive impact by building community and mitigating climate change.

With much love and hope,

Natasha

WHAT WE DO AT WORK:

Anyone who knows Natasha can tell you that this is sincere.  But in case you were wondering, here is how we have made our coworking space as planet-friendly as possible:

  • CERTIFIED: WORK is a Sonoma County Certified Green Business!
  • POWER: WORK Uptown is now on SOLAR! Working with the building owner at 245 Kentucky St, we were able to cover the roof in PV and directly participate in the clean energy revolution. Woohoo! WORK Downtown also uses 100% renewable, locally produced electricity. By opting up to EverGreen, Sonoma Clean Power’s 100% geothermal energy, we nearly eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from our electricity use. We’ve also inspired dozens of WORK members to opt up, too. It takes about one minute (you need your PG&E account number, your name, and your zip code) and costs only 2.5 cents per kilowatt-hour. For the average home, this amounts to about $13 per month more than SCP’s default CleanStart service. Click here to join us in supporting renewable energy!
  • LIGHTS: We’ve upgraded all of our lights to LED! (But that doesn’t mean we should leave them on 24/7.  Please help us out and turn off unused lights.)
  • MECHANICAL: WORK Uptown has been upgraded to Fujitsu Mini-Splits, a ductless heating and cooling system that has earned the “Most Efficient” rating by ENERGY STAR® for being 2.35 times more efficient than the government minimum standard. It also has a brand-new ENERGY STAR® cool roof and 3M™ Sun Control Window Film on all of the west facing windows to reduce summer heat gain and glare.
  • FURNITURE: Almost all of the furniture is vintage, reused, repurposed, or built from salvaged material.  Natasha and her Uncle Lee constructed the big tables out of wood salvaged from the building that was once the Gayland Roller Rink on Petaluma Blvd (most recently Baby Warehouse).  Most of the office chairs were bought used from down-sizing businesses, the lounge and meeting room furniture is vintage, and even the whiteboards where saved from the landfill.
  • PAPER: All of the paper products from TP to copy paper are made from 100% recycled content. Trader Joe’s has great tissue products at a great price but since we buy in bulk, we choose Who Gives a Crap. And Costco sells Boise Aspen 100 copy machine paper with 100% post-consumer fiber. See the Greenpeace Guide for ratings.
  • CLEANING: We use green cleaning products because “clean” should mean “safe and healthy” in our book. Our favorites include good old vinegar and water or Dr. Bronner’s and water in a squirt bottle, plus Seventh Generation dishwashing liquid. The Environmental Working Group has fantastic guides to cleaning products and more!
  • REDUCE/REUSE: We believe in reducing waste.  Everyone gets a beautiful ceramic travel mug when they first join. The kitchen has a water filter on the tap, is stocked with vintage dishware and bulk loose leaf tea, and even has a Soda Stream. Single-use packaging is such a waste! And now we’ve added reusable take out containers so you can grab lunch to-go from your favorite eatery without having to use the standard single-use disposable packaging.
  • RECYCLE/COMPOST: We recycle and compost at WORK.  Natasha can often be found hand sorting the trash to make sure as much stays out of landfill as possible.  She’s even found a neighbor who will reuse any Styrofoam packaging that might come our way.
  • LOCAL/ORGANIC: The refreshments at our weekly Coffee Social and the staples in the kitchen are all local and organic. Even the beloved mints at the front desk are organic!
  • EDUCATION: After coming back from Al Gore’s Climate Reality Leadership Training in the fall of 2017, Natasha decided to turn the Lunchtime Lesson on the first Friday of each month into a free Climate Chat, bringing global warming solutions to the forefront. Now she is adding in monthly evening climate events, too, including lectures and documentaries.
  • CIVIC ACTION: Natasha is one of the founding members of Climate Action Petaluma and was a part of the initial campaign to propose a Climate Emergency Resolution and a Climate Action Commission for the City of Petaluma.
  • CLOTHING: Even Natasha’s wardrobe is almost entirely second-hand thanks to her sister’s fantastic store, The Closet Shopper (Sorry it’s not local, but we have lots of great used clothing store right here in downtown Petaluma, too!)
  • COMMUTING: And most importantly: To commute is to pollute.  We all know that commuting can be aggravating, time consuming and gross polluting, but did you know that 60% of Sonoma County’s greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation! Check out my article on The True Cost of Commuting. Let us know how many miles you’re avoiding in the car and we’ll add it to our total savings count!

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