The Sustainability Corner: Green Task Force Seeks "Friends"

In my last column, I took a look at how the state budget crisis potentially impacts Connecticut's green future. At times, sustainability goes beyond the environment and is all about the monetary green – dollars and cents.  Green initiatives are investments with short-, mid- and long-term returns.

And while our town administrators have the best of intentions and have begun making investments in our future (when possible tapping state and federal funding), unfortunately all too often towns like Westport do not have the resources to fully commit to the sustainability investments we should be making. 

Last week, Westport's Green Task Force took a step forward in addressing this issue.

On March 3, the task force adopted a resolution to establish the "Friends of WeGreenWestport," a nonprofit organization that encourages residents, businesses and community volunteers to make financial contributions to support the programs and initiatives of Westport's Green Task Force. As a result, the "friends" would also be contributing to Westport's transformation into a sustainable green community. The nonprofit status now moves as a request to the Board of Selectmen. 

The action is significant because the task force's mission is both to advise the town on environmental policy and sustainability, and to "educate, encourage and assist Westport residents, businesses and the town to adopt sustainable practices."

Today, to this end, the task force has virtually no budget and is staffed purely with volunteers.  To effectively go about its mission and help lead the town in viable sustainability efforts, real resources are needed to fund and staff efforts. 

In thinking about the potential of the task force's decision, RTM member Kevin Green smartly commented "the Friends of the Library has shown that this model works well and it could be very useful in times of tight budgets."

If the move is successful, the impact could be a positive one.  While not an official list, a wide variety of potential projects could benefit from the task force's nonprofit status. These could include the town piloting solar chargers for electric vehicles at the train station, the elimination of Styrofoam in school cafeterias, creating incentives for green building in town, promoting weatherization and clean energy, and the implementation of advanced sustainable technologies in our town and school facilities. One such proposal is the combined heat and power system for the fire station which would save significant amounts of money in long-term utility costs.

At the end of the day, the success of our community as a regional green leader is going to be decided by the commitment and generosity of our residents and businesses.

Of course, establishing the Friends of WeGreenWestport can't happen overnight. For now, the next step is for the task force to have an attorney draft the actual application for a 501(c)(3). However, in the mean time, First Selectman Joseloff has noted that residents interested in stepping up and supporting specific green initiatives should be aware that they can make a tax deductible contribution to the town and earmark it for the Green Task Force or a specific project. All told, this step towards raising a little green brings Westport a bit closer to becoming the green community so many of us envision.

As always, please email me or post your thoughts below.

Next week, I'm planning on taking a look at the remarkable progress that has been made by GVI over the past year on local, sustainable food.  In the meantime, local farmers have begun their preparations for the spring season in earnest and if you are interested in weekly fresh, local, sustainable produce, you may want to consider purchasing a share in our local CSA (community supported agriculture).  This year pickup will be at the new "Westport Town Farm." To learn more, visit http://westportgvi.org/CSA.aspx.

David Mann writes a weekly environmental column on Westport Patch, titled "The Sustainability Corner." A trained architect with a graduate degree from Harvard's GSD, he co-founded and is the principal of Greentek Consulting, a local green building consulting and sustainable design firm. He is also vice-chairman of the town's Green Task Force, works on the PTA green committee at Long Lots School, is a member of the Steering Committee for the Connecticut Alliance for Sustainable Enterprise and participates in the town's Green Village Initiative.