This fall, 2007 Northland College graduate and Alliance for Sustainability Vice-Chairwoman Amber Collins will attend graduate school to study sustainability in Sweden. She will attend Blekinge Institute of Technology in pursuit of a master’s degree in Strategic Leadership Towards Sustainability. Collins holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from Northland College.

The Swedish eco-municipality movement has served as a model for recent activities in the Chequamegon Bay region of northern Wisconsin. In the last two years, the cities of Washburn, Ashland, and Bayfield, as well as the Town of Bayfield have all adopted eco-municipality resolutions. The resolutions adopt “The Natural Step,” a framework for sustainability, as a guiding principle for municipality operations.

Collins wants to bring information back from overseas to further this goal. “Working with Swedish businesses and governments will be a wonderful opportunity to learn new techniques that we can use here in the Chequamegon Bay,” said Collins.

Collins joined the Alliance for Sustainability’s Steering Committee in the fall of 2006 amidst the Chequamegon Bay’s growing eco-municipality movement. “I was lucky to come to this special community to live and experience the beginning of this amazing transformation,” said Collins.

As part of her graduate program, Collins will study directly under both Dr. Karl Henrik-Robèrt, founder of The Natural Step, and Torbjörn Lahti, father of the Swedish eco-municipality movement. Both men have visited the region and spoken at events in support of the Chequamegon Bay eco-municipalities.

As Vice-Chairwoman of the Alliance, Collins assisted in the establishment of 13 business and governmental Green Teams which form the Chequamegon Bay’s Green Team Network of Early Adopters of Sustainability. Collins, who also served as a student senator in the Northland College Student Association, was instrumental in the creation of the Northland College Green Team.

Drawing upon her unique experiences in working toward a sustainable community in the Chequamegon Bay, Collins feels she has her own story to tell. “I look forward to sharing the progress that our community has made with others who have gone through similar trials and tribulations. This will be a great opportunity to strengthen our ties to eco-municipalities worldwide.”