Dear Editor,
During the public comment period of the Visalia City Council meeting on Monday, August 15, 2022, the Visalia Environmental Alliance honored the Renierses: Wilson, Kristin and daughters, with the Environmental Hero Award. This award is given to community stewards of all ages who daily demonstrate lifestyle actions that protect our natural resources for a sustainable Visalia. The Renierses use their own solar power with battery back-up to stay off the grid, drive electric cars. They have a vegetable garden, and as parents, cloth diapers and wipes. They use Visalia’s green waste cans to compost, and shop at the farmers market.
The Reniers family is restoring a building near downtown Visalia – trying to reuse all the material they can and reclaim wood from a demolition project. The building will be an energy efficient creative workspace that will act as a kind of incubator where you come in with an idea and leave with a business plan. In the second phase the building will add a coffee shop, farm stand, indoor ghost kitchen, makerspace, and podcast studio. Pending city permits, It will be a workspace during the day and an art gallery at night. All in all, the Renierses are doing their part to make a difference in both the natural and social environment of Visalia.
Respectfully submitted,
Dale Simmons
Volunteer
Visalia Environmental Alliance
