October Meeting Minutes

Hello and Welcome to the Forum! A BIG thanks to Richard Hill for his help, and expediency!

Here are the minutes from the first meeting for the Islesford Sustainability Initiative.
The meeting was primarily a brainstorm of what the Islesford community can do to become more sustainable.

I encourage anyone who didn't make the meeting to share their ideas here on this forum. What does sustainability mean to you? What are ways that we can make ourselves more sustainable, as individuals, households and as a community?

Please share your ideas and come back often to see what others have written.

ISLESFORD SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE

Tuesday, October 16, 2007 1st Meeting

MAKE A COMMITMENT – Do As Hugh!
Make a personal pledge of something that you can do, like walking more, picking up trash, or changing your energy provider. Share your commitment with others and post it on this forum! Congratulate friends on their pledges!

IDEAS: large and small, for individuals and the community
* Switch to new compact florescent light bulbs
* Pick up trash - don't wait for island-wide clean up
* Expand the recycling center
* Buy in bulk – share [Associated buyers, Curtis Farms Meats]
* Eliminate plastic which is not recyclable
* Use cloth bags – not plastic – when bringing groceries to the island
* Ask markets to rewrap meat and poultry in paper eliminating Styrofoam
* Use public transportation
¸ Island Explorer
¸ Ferry Service instead of private boats
* Improve community communication to share ideas
¸ Message board near town office
¸ Page on Islesford.com
¸ Postings on ferries to inform visitors
* Sign up for 'green power' with Bangor Hydro (Dan Lief will post details on how this is done)
* When buying a new washing machine, make it a front loader
* Use a clothes line (drying rack in winter)
* Fix engines on island cars to reduce pollution
* Find someone who can do energy audits on island homes
* Forest management
* Use of 'blow downs'
¸ Burn
¸ Chip
¸ Compost
¸ Mill

THOUGHTS ON SUSTAINABILITY

* We need to change our way of thinking ('sustainable psychology').
* There is value in looking to and learning from the past.
* Sustainability is meeting the needs of the present generation without sacrificing future generations.

RESOURCES
* COA
* Prince Edward Island
* Lindsay's father – home windmills
* Common Ground Fair
* 'Tree Growth' – Maine state program

More to come soon...