Sustainable Williston Meets Thu 10/6 at 7:15 PM

Sustainable Williston will hold our regular first Thursday meeting October 6th, at 7:15 PM at the Dorothy Alling Library.

We’ll discuss the town plan, our recent Birth Tree Celebration, future social and outreach events, the Williston-Essex bus line, and more. Our new rack cards will be available to check out. Everyone who lives or works in Williston and is interested in sustainability and the environment is welcome.

Birth Tree Family Celebration 2014

This past Sunday, Sustainable Williston celebrated families of new children in Williston with a gift of a tree or shrub to each family, each with a small bronze tag with the new child’s name. The trees were donated by Gardener’s Supply in Williston, and sponsors Vermont Wildflower Farm and Green Mountain Compost donated wildflower seeds and a free bag of compost, respectively. The program was also supported generously by Vermont Forests, Parks, and Recreation and the Town of Williston.

Here are photos from Birth Tree Program organizer Marie-Claude Beaudette:

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Birth Tree Project sponsors

Town of Williston Gardeners Supply Company Vermont Forests Parks and Recreation Green Mountain Compost Vermont Wildflower Farm

Feb Meeting Notes, and Next Meeting Scheduled for Wed 3/19

Sustainable Williston met February 19th at the Dorothy Alling Library in Williston. We had two special guests for this meeting. First, Zuhair Chaudhry, a CVU high school student and CVU Environmental Action Club member who has made great progress with carpooling spoke with us about CVU bus ridership. Our emphasis until now has been on helping successfully restart the late bus program while ensuring good ridership, but it has expanded now to consider the question of bus ridership at CVU in general. We’re still working on this issue; get in touch if you’re interested in being part of it or would like more information.

CVU

Chittenden Solid Waste District (CSWD) Outreach Coordinator Michele Morris joined us to provide information and recommendations on the question of reducing plastic waste. Sustainable Williston members are hoping to help phase out dishes and to volunteer time to assist with recycling and composting at some local events. Michele had some intriguing additional ideas and important insights. We also discussed Vermont’s upcoming universal recycling program and ways Williston can encourage better recycling and composting for residents and businesses.

cswdlogo

Sustainable Williston member Marie-Claude Beaudette provided an update on our Birth Trees project, in which we’re partnering with the town and local business to (if all goes well) donate a tree to each Williston family into which a child is born or adopted. In its current form, it looks like the program will offer the option of either having the tree planted in a public place or given to the family to be planted at their home, though the details are still being worked out.

trees

We’ll discuss these and other projects and topics at our next meeting, Wednesday, March 19th at the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, upstairs.

We’re also talking about having more informal get-togethers from time to time. If you’re interested in any of the above topics, in attending formal meetings, or in being in the loop for get-togethers, please use the contact form and ask to be added to our e-mail discussion and announcement list.