Egg Harbor: A Small Community Making A Big Difference

Door County is home to many beautiful communities but the one that is on its life-long journey towards sustainability is Egg Harbor. Local residents, business owners, and community members have started to take the initiative to build programs that contribute to a cleaner and more sustainable village in Door County. From the village striving towards being a Green Tier Legacy Community to the local businesses and restaurants doing their part with composting and using their own produce, Egg Harbor is truly showing how they are on their way to being a green community. 

Becoming a Green Tier Legacy Community

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The first thing we have to note about Egg Harbor is that it is the first municipality in Door County to become a Green Tier Legacy Community. So what is Green Tier? According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Green Tier empowers leading organizations to align their environmental management system with business objectives and strategies for continual improvement in their environmental performance. 

Egg Harbor has committed itself as a community and small village to create sustainable change throughout knowing that it starts at home and then bringing it out into the community, local businesses, and parks! The small and tight-knit community that Egg Harbor holds, has helped them be able to take steps together as one towards a sustainable future. Not only are they helping the earth and the community, but they are also aiding in their own health as sustainability changes their daily lives from the air they breathe to the water they drink. 

One way the community as a whole has stepped up their efforts towards the Green Tier is through composting. This was first started in Egg Harbor to help people divert their food waste from landfills and turn it into compost.  Composting is available to everyone in the area including restaurants, which keeps thousands of pounds of food waste out of the landfill.

Local Businesses Doing Their Part 

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One business that has dedicated itself to doing its part is Green n’ Grains, a natural foods store. They offer a complete line of fresh, frozen, canned, and bulk organic groceries, dairy products, and more in their store right in Egg Harbor! When the business first opened, they quickly noticed that there was an opportunity to open their own farm. Food that you find inside Green n’ Grains is picked that day and sold that day! 

Another local business in Egg Harbor that is working hard to keep its efforts sustainable is the Shipwrecked Brewpub. This restaurant and brewery is a fan favorite in the area not only due to their delicious food options and crafty beer but also because of their efforts to keep their restaurant as sustainable as possible. As a business, they believe it all starts with food containers so they use biodegradable options for these. Although they look like plastic, their cups and straws are made out of corn! Not only that but they use all biodegradable packaging for to-go orders as well.

One other way Egg Harbor is working towards being as sustainable as possible is by working with the Toxic Chemical Free Committee which is working towards making the village chemical-free in the near future. Right now they are working with the Villages Cherry Orchard as a great starting point to having good land management in order to help these farmers and growers throughout the community!

The Wisconsin Clean Marina Program

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In Door County, a general problem is with clean water both inland and along the coast. The peninsula is actually a part of the Niagara Escarpment. This giant rock makes for very shallow topsoil. This plays a part in how the water moves through the soil and becomes drinking water, so every step towards having clean marinas makes this community better.

The Village of Egg Harbor Marina is a Wisconsin Clean Marina. This program helps promote clean and safe waterways to the Wisconsin marine industry and when they are certified it means they have been verified by meeting federal and state pollution and safety laws! There are 22 certified clean marinas in the State of Wisconsin and 19 more that have signed the pledge to become clean! At the village’s harbor, they are dedicated to doing all of the small things that add up together and contribute to the clean water throughout. 

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A sustainable community is evolving right in the heart of Door County. The Village of Egg Harbor is dedicated and committed to becoming cleaner for its residents, community members, and those who visit all year round. Learn more about these sustainable practices happening in the village here: 

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Kortnee Hass: Social Media Coordinator for Discover Mediaworks. A Wisconsin ‘now & forever’ transplant with a soft spot for squeaky cheese curds, craft breweries, and all things Wisconsin tourism.