Sustainable Williston is springing into 2018 with a series of events.
Come on out!
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/
RSVP for our event and like us on Facebook: https://www.
Have questions or interested in being a stop on a future tour? Contact: ReedCarrGS@gmail.com
Learn more about our group at www.sustainablewilliston.
If we as a state and we as a town are going to get to 90% renewables by 2050 to counter global warming, we will have to address two main energy needs: our transportation methods and our building heating methods. Our vehicles will need to be electric and our homes will need to be electric and biomass. These are daunting challenges split into two components: the devices that we will use and the electric sources of our energy. The first part will be met by the ingenuity of our people and the market place filling our needs as climate change becomes more dire. The second part is something that we as a town can address. We can calculate the energy requirements of the town, now and for our future needs; identify the best sites for wind and solar, have a discussion and come to consensus on which sites meet our criteria the best, pre-permit them and figure out how to build them out (private venture; public/private or town owned). The Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission has funds to help towns conduct studies of this nature and is something we should take advantage. Creating power in our town and state will keep about $850M in Vermont; help fight global warming; create local, well-paying jobs; make us a more resilient community and control energy prices going forward. I am suggesting that a group of SW members spearhead this effort to create this plan or form a Town Energy Committee to do this.
Waterbury LEAP, a grassroots sustainability group, will be hosting their annual, free Energy Fair on Saturday, April 9th. Here are the details:
On Monday, June 15th, residents of Williston and the surrounding area will get a chance to learn about electric vehicles (EVs) first hand in the second installment of Sustainable Williston’s Sustainable Energy series. Local EV owners and dealers will bring electric cars and electric bikes for attendees to examine up close.
EV expert Dave Roberts of Drive Electric Vermont will offer a presentation covering topics like electric vehicle types and options, greenhouse gas emissions, and charging both at home and on the road.
Larry Gilbert of ZoomBikes will also briefly discuss electric bikes.
The event begins in front of Williston’s Dorothy Alling Library at 6:15 PM, where attendees can look over EVs and talk to EV owners. At 7:00, Mr. Roberts will offer his multimedia presentation next door at the Old Brick Church. At 7:45, the event moves back to the library parking lot for a second chance to see the vehicles until the event ends at 8:15. Light refreshments will be served. The event is free and open to all, with no preregistration necessary.
Test drives of the Chevy Volt will be available at the event through Shearer Chevrolet.
Some of the electric vehicles at the event will include …
Volkswagon eGolf
Mitsubishi iMiev
Evelo electric bike
Chevy Volt
Cadillac ELR
Nissan Leaf
Way to Go! Vermont is a carbon cutting challenge that encourages New Englanders to save by biking, walking, carpooling, working from home, or riding the bus, created by a group of more than 25 partner organizations throughout Vermont.
You can sign up to participate as an individual, team, business, or school. It’s a great opportunity to explore your options and push the envelope to find better and more sustainable ways to get around.
For example, did you know about the program that offers free commuter protection when you take a bus or carpool to work? If you need to get home unexpectedly–because of a sick family member or an emergency, for instance–the program will pay for you to get there, even if you have to take a taxi.
Vermont is a challenging place to get around car use, but we have some surprising and inspiring tools to get the job done. Sign up for Way to Go! Vermont and bring more of them into your travel toolbox.
ACORN (Addison County Relocalization Network) will hold their annual Sustainable Living Expo this Saturday at Middlebury Union High School, 73 Charles Avenue, Middlebury, Vermont.
The Sustainable Living Expo is a one-day exposition of workshops, exhibits and events promoting sustainable living in the Champlain Valley. The cost is $5 for adults, $2 for children. You can find out about transportation, ride sharing, program details, and all of the other particulars at http://acornvt.org/sle2015/.