This month’s Golden Transfer goes to Sustainable Ballard, a four-year old organization that promotes sustainable practices within its community, with the goal of making Ballard the “first US town [not to nitpick, but I thought it was a neighborhood] to become energy independent.”

As I mentioned in Friday’s post, this weekend SB hosted its annual sustainability festival in Ballard Commons Park. This year, they added something new: a fun, clever (and, I’m hoping, effective) program to get Ballardites (Ballardians?) out of their cars: Undriving Ballard. The program encouraged participants to commit to changing their transportation habits (read: drive less) for the month of October. In return, they received: support and information, free Metro bus tickets, an “Udrivers License,” and, as I mentioned Friday, the admiration of all the good-looking people at the fest.

Me, signing up for an undriver license (big coat is obscuring Bus Baby)

Unfortunately, I had to crop the bottom of this very cool sign, due to an item Bus Nerd was carrying that kept obscuring the camera lense.

Fulvio and Julia, SB volunteers and committed undrivers

Here are Bus Nerd’s and my undriver licenses, which we plan to show the next time we hit up a club or concert:

Note that I was far too dignified to take advantage of the props they had available for pictures. Bus Nerd? Not so much.

Undriving Ballard was a hit. I was impressed by the idea and the implementation, and I wasn’t the only one. There was a line at the Undriver Licensing booth all afternoon on Saturday.

So, thanks Sustainable Ballard, for motivating more folks to try alternatives to driving, and, especially, for demonstrating your concern for the earth by taking action in your community.