A Practical Approach to Sustainability
My dad, Peter Heylin, was the first Board President of the Berkeley Ecology Center. He lived by the three tenets of sustainability: reduce, reuse, and recycle. My sisters and I grew up in a Buckminster Fuller triple-dome house he built himself from waste lumber salvaged from the old Hetch Hetchy aqueduct.
My dad was acutely aware of the egregious waste that is a by-product of our disposable society. Some of my favorite childhood memories were dumpster diving behind the local Lucky’s grocery store, hoping the “Garbage Fairy” had left us something useful – maybe flowers for my mom, produce for our chickens, or the occasional treasure. Once, I struck gold: a stack of 25 Advent calendars, each with chocolate still inside.
My dad’s business actually grew out of an Ecology Center project. He used an old milk bottle washer to clean wine bottles and sell them back to wineries. He always said the shift from reusable glass to disposable bottles was one of the greatest environmental mistakes society ever made. Why crush and melt down a perfectly good bottle, wasting all that energy, when you could simply wash and reuse it? Companies shifted that burden from themselves to consumers, at enormous environmental cost.
When I was eight, our town was evacuated during a firestorm. I remember staying in a crowded house with a dozen other kids while my dad and neighbors stayed behind to fight the flames with shovels as borate bombers roared overhead. The scent of burnt mesquite stayed with me, and I still catch that same smell when visiting burn sites today. Experiences like that, combined with my family’s deep commitment to sustainability, shaped me into the environmentalist I am now.
That’s ultimately why I pursued and earned an MBA in Sustainability from the Presidio Graduate School.
That’s why I advocate for things like public transit, tree planting programs, and bicycle infrastructure.
At the Yimbytown USA Conference with Oregon Sen. Khanh Pham; The CO Tool Library where sharing tools builds community
To me, being an environmentalist doesn’t mean ignoring that tens of thousands are forced to commute from outside Bend. It doesn’t mean ignoring the spread of junipers that grow like weeds and drain our water table, nor does it mean ignoring the environmental impact of chopping up our open spaces wholesale for golf courses and destination resorts.
It means investing in renewable energy to reduce costs and strengthen our energy independence. It means subsidizing heat pumps and e-bikes so everyone can participate in the transition. It means supporting fire-safe, green-building inside the UGB while preserving the land beyond it. It means supporting local farmers and developing large-scale greenhouses to rebuild our food resilience. It means working to protect and preserve our water from misuse and waste.
I’m an environmentalist—a practical environmentalist – one shaped by fire, water, and the practical realities of living sustainably in an increasingly complex world.
I’m running for Deschutes County Commission because understanding the practical realities of how folks work, live, and raise their families matters. I am proud of my public service advocating for real and practical environmental solutions, and I look forward to doing even more as your Commissioner.
I hope you’ll support me as I continue to work toward a more sustainable Deschutes.
Finally, please join us at our Heylin for Deschutes Kick Off Party on October 22nd at Oregon Spirit Distillers from 6-8PM. Bring the kids, bring your friends. We’ve got some fun up our sleeves!
As always,
John
