NORWICH – A new grassroots group by the name of Sustainable Chenango is making efforts to increase sustainable practices with hopes that the county become less dependent on the power grid and other outside resources.
Sustainable Chenango held its first meeting in February. Seventeen people attended. The goal of the organization, explained Sustainable Chenango chair Paige Smith, is to encourage residents and county officials to be more sufficient in vital areas including energy, food, fiber, even transportation.
The group will have its second meeting, free and open to the public, at 2 p.m. tomorrow at the United Church of Christ, 11 W. Main St. in Norwich.
“We’re not saying that we have all the answers, but we want to do our best to find the available resources,” Smith said of the organization. “Folks have a lot of enthusiasm and it feels like they are ready to make a difference,” she added. “It’s starting to feel like people want to build a community through sustainability principles.”
As it stands, many people refer to more urban areas including Binghamton and Utica for goods and services, she explained. One of the objectives of Sustainable Chenango is to localize people’s dependency for more of these services.
“We have a lot of talent and resources in the area,” Smith pointed out. “Do I think that we can be sustainable? Yes,” she said. “What we want to do is look at what we need should the (power) grid ever fail ... It really is something that depends on ourselves. If we get to a point where we can depend on each other, we can prove that we can be sustainable.”
In the coming months, Sustainable Chenango plans to work with local educational institutions including BOCES, SUNY Morrisville, Opportunities for Chenango and the Cornell Cooperative Extension to encourage and support career opportunities that value sustainability. As a result of increased sustainability in the county, there would be an increasing demand for education and training for careers in solar and wind energy technology, textiles, food development and transportation, said Smith.
Moreover, Sustainable Chenango is working in collaboration with already existing programs in the area to educate the community.
“The intent is not to duplicate ongoing programs, but rather to support them and help them succeed and grow,” said Smith.
Sustainable Chenango is still in the early phases of a newly-formed organization, Smith noted. The group has set its sights on working closely with county and town officials to include sustainability as a primary consideration when making future decisions that affect the region.
Sustainable Chenango has six meetings scheduled before the end of April, each of which will focus on a different topic. The focus of tomorrow’s meeting will be permaculture and sustainable gardening.
Future meeting topics include solar gardens, wind energy, fuel efficiency and mass transit, and growing local foods.
For more information about Sustainable Chenango, contact Smith at 843-8277.