Category Archives: Worth a look

Documentary Showing Tomorrow! – Dorothy Alling Memorial Library

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The Williston Master Naturalist program has been working on a series of events and projects around town. This Tuesday, May 21st is the next event!

Come view Hometown Habitat, Stories of Bringing Nature Home, a documentary on how and why native plants in your own garden or yard are critical to the survival and vitality of local ecosystems. Tuesday, May 21 at 6:30. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library. Sponsored by Williston Master Naturalists.

Hometown Habitat, Stories of Bringing Nature Home_Trailer from Catherine Zimmerman on Vimeo.

Repair Cafe Announced @ CVU – 5/18, 10 am – 2 pm

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Sustainable Williston encourages Williston residents to attend this Repair Cafe event, recently announced at CVU:

“CVU EnACT is working with Transition Charlotte to coordinate a Repair Cafe here at CVU on Saturday, 5/18 from 10-2. A repair cafe is a community event where community volunteers offer no-cost repair of clothing, jewelry, electronics, small appliances, furniture and more! You bring the broken stuff and our volunteer fixers will use their skills to help you fix your stuff so we can keep it out of the landfill and learn from important skills from one another. At this point, we are continuing to recruit volunteer fixers — this is open to students, faculty, staff and CVU families. We especially need repairers who can help with: skateboards, lacrosse sticks, bikes, and small appliances like radios, cd/dvd players. We also especially need more fixers who know about computers, laptops and smartphones. Also, if you know how to mend clothing by hand or sewing machine, repair lamps–replace switches and cords, tighten wobbly lamps, sharpen garden tools, replace wooden handles, repair trimmers/weed-wackers, repair jewelry (no soldering), replace watch batteries, fix watch bands, repair furniture, sharpen knives or scissors, or tune chainsaws, we want you! If you can join us as a volunteer fixer for part or all of the event, please contact EnACT adviser Katie Antos Ketcham @ kantosketcham@cvsdvt.org or Jamey Gerlaugh with Transition Town Charlotte at Gerlaugh@gmail.com.

Sustainable Williston helps residents Button Up

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This year, Sustainable Williston is a Button Up Vermont community partner. This means that Williston is one of 18 Vermont towns whose residents are eligible for a free home visit from a professional energy contractor who can identify opportunities for home weatherization. Buttoning up your home is the best way to conserve home energy and reduce heating and cooling costs. Sustainable Williston has a few upcoming events where Williston residents can get more information and take action.

  1. Curious about the increasingly popular cold climate heat pumps? Attend a free workshop to learn about cold weather heat pump options for hot water and space heating on Wednesday, November 14th at 7pm at the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library. RSVP on Facebook
  2. Ready to Button Up your home or just want to hear more? Attend the free Weatherize Williston Button Up workshop on Wednesday, November 28th at 7pm at the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library. There will be a home weatherization talk and time to meet with Building Energy, the Williston energy contractor conducting the free home visits. RSVP on Facebook
Want to participate but can’t make any of these events? Visit https://buttonupvermont.org/ and click on “Sign up for a free contractor visit” by December 15. After filling out a short survey about your home characteristics and energy usage, you will be contacted directly by the energy contractor, Building Energy. While you are at the Button Up website, review the checklist to find ways to start buttoning up right away and find out about DIY weatherization incentives (up to $100) from Efficiency Vermont.
For more about the Button Up program in Williston, tune in below to the November episode of What’s Up Williston: The Chief of Police and a Look at Sustainable Williston (Button Up information starts in minute 15).

Sustainable Solutions Tour – Sat Oct 14th, 1 PM – 3:30 PM

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We’re pleased to announce our second sustainable solutions tour of 2017, this Saturday, October 14th, from 1-3:30! Plus, we’re partnering with Button Up VT this fall, so come out to receive information and a cool give-away!

Climate change got you feeling down? Come lift your spirits on this Solutions Tour hosted by the Sustainable Williston community group. Your neighbors will welcome you to their homes to show you what they’ve been doing to reduce their carbon footprint and protect our natural environment. Enjoy good company, good ideas, and get inspired!

Meet at 1PM @ 50 Spruce Lane off of N. Williston Rd. The group will carpool to the other tour stops together. Or feel free to drop in at the locations you are most interested in.

Schedule, locations and features listed below:

1:00-1:20 @ 50 SPRUCE LN: Deborah will show off her rain barrel, solar, organic gardening, composting, DIY solar heater for pool! Bonus: This bike commuter will share the best bike route into Burlington!

1:35-2:00 @ 413 BUTTERNUT RD: Living sustainably isn’t easy! Check out a mix of successes and failures with Steve.

2:15-2:35 @ 137 VILLAGE GROVE: Thinking about roof-mounted solar? Ben and Lori will show theirs off as well as perennial gardens, raised beds, and a rain barrel.

2:50-3:10 @ 497 TALCOTT RD (Allen Brook School): Did you know ABS has a wind turbine!? Principal John Terko gives us the scoop!

Tour Map: https://goo.gl/maps/qXUsGTthtaU2
RSVP for our event and like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/482188012146106/
Have questions or interested in being a stop on a future tour? Contact: ReedCarrGS@gmail.com
Learn more about our group at www.sustainablewilliston.org

Birth Tree Lilacs

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Sustainable Williston’s Birth Tree Project, with the support of state and town government and local businesses, gifts local families with a new child with a free tree or bush of their choice to plant. Here’s Finn, a Birth Tree kid, enjoying the lilac bush that was planted for him. Many thanks to Finn’s mom, Sarah, for sending the photos!

http://www.sustainablewilliston.org/ongoing-projects/birth-trees/

April Stools Day Saturday, April 8th @ 9AM

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After a late winter storm forced the event to be postponed, April Stools day is back on!

When: Saturday, April 8th at 9 AM

Where: Williston Community Park (and other locations) in Williston. Meet at 9 AM for “doo-ty” at the picnic shelter near the skate park on the east side of Williston Central School.

Why: Pet poop that is not picked up sends nutrients and bacteria into our waterways, eventually contaminating Lake Champlain

How: Join a community effort to clean up parks, sidewalks and trails and protect our waters. Gloves, bags, pails, and hand sanitizer will be provided. Participants will receive a package of lake note cards (while supplies last) and be entered into a drawing for cash prizes.

Questions: Contact Lori Fisher 802.658.1414 for more information. Hosted by Sustainable Williston, Williston Recreation & Parks, and the Lake Champlain Committee.

Sustainable Williston Seed Starting Social this Sunday, April 9th from 2-4PM

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What: Sustainable Williston is sponsoring a seed starting social.

When: Sunday, April 9th from 2-4 PM

Where: Under the gazebo on the town green.

What to Expect: Bring a pack of seeds to share (left overs from last year’s are fine) and a few clean pots if you have them (single serving yogurt containers work great).  We’ll provide soil and will have some extra pots on hand (and of course more seeds). April is a great time to plant sees that indicate they should be sowed 4-6 weeks before the last frost date. This includes winter squash, watermelon, and some types of flowers and herbs. Kids are welcome with their accompanying adult.

RSVP: Please RSVP at http://www.sustainablewilliston.org/c
ontact/ so that we know how much soil to have on hand. If you forget to RSVP, just come anyway.

Sustainable Williston meets Thursday, April 6th at 7:15 PM (Special Topic: Storm Water)

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Sustainable Williston will meet Thursday evening at the Dorothy Alling Library at 7:15 PM. Becky Tharp, Manager of the Green Infrastructure Collaborative, a program of Lake Champlain Sea Grant and the Dept. of Environmental Conservation, will give an educational talk on storm water issues effecting our region. Becky’s presentation will be followed by a brief Q&A session. Come join the conversation!