My name is Wren Kilian and I have been a nature lover and photographer since my youth, always picking up trash I find after photographing at a site. Finding peace in the every day beauty that surrounds us is invaluable to me, and my passion is to spread an awareness of how precious this gift of the natural world is, and how we need to be the best possible stewards of it that we can.

I visited Montana in the early 1980’s, fell in love with it’s beauty, and moved to Bozeman in 1990. I am a mother, and grandmother whose deep concern for the legacy we are leaving future generations inspired me from the time my children were young to work as an activist to improve the 4 R's (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot (compost) in our town and state.

 

Learning in the 90's that Montana is almost last in the nation in recycling, that our local landfill,

and many others across our state are leaking toxins into local watersheds and were beingclosed, motivated me to take action. The solution for Yellowstone National Park was to implement a plan to become zero-waste, which was accomplished in 2016. The rest of the state just keeps building and expanding landfills as we grow exponentially.

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After many years of activism at the city, county, and state level, in 2013, I rode my bicycle from Montana to Washington, D.C. with the hope that my petition for a National Bottle Deposit and Single-Use Bag Law would go viral, and our country would take a simple step to sustainability that would create many green jobs, reduce litter and waste, and improve recycling.

 

After the ride I realized that my energy lobbying the government to help create change, would be better spent creating change in my own life. So, I built a green house out of recycled materials, formed permaculture beds over much of my lawn, and, I now grow enough food for myself and to share (with total off-grid the ultimate goal).

 

Valley of the Flowers Project's free (donations accepted) veggie stand on my corner, helped random connections become a partnership between two other local sustainability groups: an MSU student group, 1,000 New Gardens Bozeman, and Transition Town Bozeman. I came up with a sustainability plan for our town and called it Valley of the Flowers Project with BYO Bag for Change as a first program.

 

The Valley of the Flowers Project’s name reflects the great respect of this work for the original inhabitants of this land. The native tribes who resided here for thousands of years have a ‘rich custom, lore and value system based on the sustainability of their spiritual connection, belonging, obligation and responsibility to care for the land, the people, and the environment.

 

Valley of the Flowers Project has deep respect for and honors the Native peoples, and works to support their core values to protect the land and provide a healthy future for all living creatures.’ Another serendipity at that time, was an about to go defunct non-profit 501c3 with $1,000 in its bank account, showed up on my doorstep through a young man named William Moore, who is still CORA’s President to this day. He had helped me with my landscape work, and his parents had started a non-profit in Big Timber to build skatepark and sports fields. Willie’s redirected non-profit, Community Outdoor Recreation Association (CORA). got a new mission: to help communities become net-zero, sustainable, healthy, creative, places to live through innovative programs which educate and empower individuals, fostering a deeper connection to the natural world is the goal of the redirected non-profit, Community Outdoor Recreation Association. We are recreating a stronger and healthier connection to the natural world.

 

The 3 loosely affiliated groups, Valley of the Flowers Project, Transition Town Bozeman, and 1,000 New Gardens Bozeman, plan to network with other like-minded efforts, and will continue to grow to become a hub for many aspects of sustainable living. Many community gardens, and a few earth-sheltered greenhouses, for a year-round Montana growing season are being built, plus solar and geothermal projects. In 2015, having the backing of the 501c3 non-profit CORA, Valley of the Flowers Project realized the potential of getting traction in reducing single-use bags through working with businesses instead of trying to get the government to pass a law (and getting nowhere).

 

In its first 2 years at a couple small, local stores, BYO Bag for Change raised over $2,000 in $. 05 bag refunds to fund gardens, recycling bins and youth nature programs. Valley of the Flowers Project has also teamed with the Bogert Farmer's Market to create food waste composting at the markets, and recycling bins for Bozeman parks. Bogert’s bins were installed in 2020. We are working on Cooper Park next, with a compost bin as well. We now have raised over $50,000 from donated $.05 reusable bag credits (that’s over 1 million fewer single-use bags used!) that has been donated to community gardens, trails, solar panels, youth nature programs, etc and still have about $1,000 in our bank account, but our goals of taking our town to zero-waste and net-zero with a zero-waste grocery store, food digester/municipal composter, many community gardens and educational programs will need a boost to help us raise the millions we'll need.

 

A new community service program this year starting on a small scale will be our Urban Food Forest Harvest. Youth and other community volunteers will harvest and process the abundance of berries, cherries, grapes, apples, and other edibles growing in town to share with property owners, donate to food banks and schools, and sell for fundraising. Participants will be rewarded with a share of the harvest, as well as ski lift tickets, and other donated outdoor recreational prizes often out of reach for low/average income folks. In September 2024, we partnered with HRDC’s Gallatin Valley Food Bank, Open & Local, and Lockhorn Cider, to do a first annual apple gleaning event. We harvested over 1,000 pounds of apples with about 20 volunteers. Boomerang Bags has also been a big part of our work to promote reusable bags since 2017. Boomerang Bags are “free to borrow and return” reusable bags on stands at stores, the public library, and Food Bank. MSU students help make “no-sew” t-shirt bags, and we also collect clean, gently used bags to distribute. We have provided over 4,000 bags for the community in the past 7 years. This year we plan to get the tool library going! One piece at a time, and we will manifest the entire vision. Please click the link below to see Valley of the Flowers Project’s Proposal for a: Valley of the Flowers Center and Valley’s Own Program for healthy communities. Going from almost last in the nation in recycling, to becoming model stewards of nature, will take a radical transformation and continued hard work. According to legend, the Bozeman area has seen before that sort of massive shift from destruction to harmony. This area of Montana is called the Valley of the Flowers, but it was once a battleground for many tribes, each of which laid claim to this bountiful valley. One day a vision of a spirit maiden appeared. All ceased their fighting and understood in their many different languages, as the beautiful, melodious voice commanded, "There shall be no more bloodshed, lest it spoil the flowers. The Valley of the Flowers is a place of healing, rest, and love." Nature inspires and sustains me. I feel a need to give back for all I receive. By being the best stewards possible of our "last best place", we will be respecting the tradition of the Valley of the Flowers, and leave a positive legacy for future generations. Please help the vision of the Valley of the Flowers Project grow and spread like wildflowers across the lands.

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Heartfelt gratitude to all who have given their love and support throughout this labor of love of the Earth, especially my family.