After Steve Whayland moved with his wife to Madison in 1995 to work in engineering and landscape architecture, it wasn’t long before he became interested in the sustainable side of the building industry. In the 2000s, when climate change was beginning to draw more notice (and concern), he became a lead sustainability consultant with his then-employer, developing ways to make buildings more energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly. That work led him to cross paths with the Madison nonprofit Sustain Dane. He admired their programs, especially those aiming to make businesses more sustainable. He got involved in 2009, and in 2017 he joined the board.
On the board, according to the organization, he single-handedly built the foundation for Sustain Dane’s All Around Dane County program, which hosts events for organizations to share their sustainability stories.
With events now taking place across the county, from Mt. Horeb to Fitchburg to Verona, Sustain Dane says AADC program has been key to fostering local engagement and promoting sustainability.
“The program creates a ripple effect that extends far beyond the individual sessions, building a more sustainable future for our county,” Sustain Dane’s communication specialist Maggie Radl said. She nominated Whayland for Community Share’s Backyard Heroes Award not only because he created the program, but also because he volunteers across the county with numerous other organizations, including Mundo Esperanza, Grilling for Peace, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dane County.
Although he’s worked as an engineer in Dane County for nearly 30 years, and currently works at DC Engineering, Whayland said that volunteering with Sustain Dane has taught him much more about sustainability means, beyond simply recycling or developing more energy- and water-efficient buildings. He learned about what it means to have a sustainable city infrastructure, from sidewalks to streets to places of recreation, and what role local communities play in creating that across the built environment.
What about the organization appealed to you? Why did you begin volunteering?
I’ve never served on any boards before, especially a nonprofit board. I’ve always worked in the private sector, so I didn’t really understand the way nonprofits worked and what their business model was. So it was a stretch for me to join the board. I was really appreciative that they asked me to do that.
The greatest benefit was to see how nonprofits operate and how executive directors of nonprofits lead the group, the team, and the staff. It’s the job of the board to support the executive director, but also to hold that person accountable for what they are supposed to be doing and what they’re getting paid to do. So it was great for me to learn that and take on a leadership role. I think I really grew as a person through that, and probably the biggest thing is the relationships that I developed, both with the staff at Sustain Dane and the other board members who serve with me.
What need does Sustain Dane fill in the community and what more would you like to see done to fill that need?
Sustain Dane helps to bring like-minded folks together to solve climate change and environmental issues. I think it does a really good job of being the glue between the different municipalities within Dane County. By holding workshops and the summit, people in the community can come and learn from government leaders and municipalities as well as private sector leaders what we need to do to address these great challenges.
There could always be more of that and more opportunities for people to work together because climate change is such a huge problem. In dealing with it locally, I think we're setting an example for other communities throughout Wisconsin, and even throughout the whole country, to show what can be done when a community like Dane County and an organization like Sustain Dane work together to address their problems. We can be more effective in finding solutions by bringing together this coalition of folks from different parts of the community. Nothing gets solved in a vacuum.
What did you find most surprising about volunteering with a nonprofit?
I was surprised about what an incredible and important role nonprofits provide in our community. I came to learn that Sustain Dane secures funding through grants and donations. They work as a bridge from the City of Madison to the private sector.
One very strong example is water. The City of Madison, Sustain Dane and another nonprofit, Elevate Energy, helped secure grants for NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) housing upgrades. The city, Elevate and Sustain Dane got the grant, then they partnered with apartment building owners and contractors to upgrade those facilities using that grant money to make them more efficient, and more comfortable to live in in the winter and the summertime, with better AC, better heating systems, and lower utility bills for the occupants. It’ss a really beautiful thing. I didn't really understand or even know what nonprofits did, other than the charities that raise money to address diseases or other problems in our world. So it was a great learning experience for me to realize how important nonprofits are in our community.
Why do you continue to volunteer? How does it reward you?
I continue to volunteer because I enjoy doing it, and it helps me to figure out how I fit into the world and how I fit into the community. I like the quote by Gandhi that says something to the effect of “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” When you're doing service work, community work and volunteering, rather than getting paid, you tend to learn what your passions are and what changes you want to make for the better in your community. Also, I feel like being part of something bigger than myself gives me a lot of satisfaction in life and a lot of happiness.
What gives you hope for the future of Madison?
I get hope for the future when I go to Sustain Dane events and the summit and meet people. The passion and hard work of the young people that I meet and what I learned from young people — maybe in their 20s or 30s — help me believe that this work is going to continue in an even stronger way in the future. When I’m gone, there’ll be others that will continue it on.
