2010 Annual Report
Join us to think creatively about our
community’s future – if we can’t achieve these goals, who can?
2010 has been a transformative year for The Sustainable Hanover Committee. We have clarified our vision and structure, organized a number of successful events, and received two grants to help our town further its mission to have another thriving 250 years!
Building on our charge to serve as a clearinghouse, educator and consultant for the town in the context of ensuring a resilient future for our community, the Sustainable Hanover Committee promoted and organized a number of innovative projects in our community. The SHC also finalized a set of goals that can serve as a framework for measuring actions taken over the next decade. The goals we seek to achieve by 2026 include:
1. Net-zero energy consumption (we produce as much as we consume);
2. Net-zero emissions (we are able to absorb all the we produce);
3. Zero waste (we are able to use all the waste that we generate);
4. Balanced, healthy natural systems (we are maintaining the present diversity of plant and animal species in our eco-systems);
5. A vibrant and efficient economic and social structure (we are all enjoying access to sufficient food, shelter, education and healthcare).
Sustainable Hanover acknowledges that these goals are aggressive and challenging. We believe aggressive goals are necessary to drive creative solutions. Join us to think creatively about our community’s future – if we can’t achieve these goals, who can? Here is a summary of our accomplishments in 2010:
A. Education & Collaboration (Challenge: Engaging a broader audience through new communication strategies)
1. Energy Consumption (Challenge – Gathering Data)
2. Emissions (Challenge – Improving air quality for all)
3. Waste & Recycling (Challenge – reducing waste and promoting alternatives to consumption of new stuff)
4. Balanced, Healthy Natural Systems: (Challenge – Ensuring residents have easy access to all those working in this arena)
5. Vibrant & Efficient Economic & Social Structure (Challenge – Supporting each other by supporting local businesses and a local economy):
In 2011, The Town of Hanover and the Sustainability Institute (Hartland, VT) will collaborate on developing the first community sustainability planning tool that will help towns model and better understand the consequences of policy decisions in the context of established sustainability goals.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lyn Swett Miller, Chair
Committee Members: Larry Litten (Vice-Chair), Chris Soderquist (Systems Consultant), Brian Walsh (Select Board Liaison), Peter Kulbacki (Hanover Public Works), Marjorie Rogalski, Mary Ann Cadwallader, Chris Kennedy, Joanna Whitcomb (Dartmouth College)
Volunteers are needed for each of our specific initiatives and events. If interested, please e-mail the SHC: sustainablehanovernh@gmail.com
2010 has been a transformative year for The Sustainable Hanover Committee. We have clarified our vision and structure, organized a number of successful events, and received two grants to help our town further its mission to have another thriving 250 years!
Building on our charge to serve as a clearinghouse, educator and consultant for the town in the context of ensuring a resilient future for our community, the Sustainable Hanover Committee promoted and organized a number of innovative projects in our community. The SHC also finalized a set of goals that can serve as a framework for measuring actions taken over the next decade. The goals we seek to achieve by 2026 include:
1. Net-zero energy consumption (we produce as much as we consume);
2. Net-zero emissions (we are able to absorb all the we produce);
3. Zero waste (we are able to use all the waste that we generate);
4. Balanced, healthy natural systems (we are maintaining the present diversity of plant and animal species in our eco-systems);
5. A vibrant and efficient economic and social structure (we are all enjoying access to sufficient food, shelter, education and healthcare).
Sustainable Hanover acknowledges that these goals are aggressive and challenging. We believe aggressive goals are necessary to drive creative solutions. Join us to think creatively about our community’s future – if we can’t achieve these goals, who can? Here is a summary of our accomplishments in 2010:
A. Education & Collaboration (Challenge: Engaging a broader audience through new communication strategies)
- Web Site: Updated web site with more graphics, resources and tools for residents.
- Facebook: Started the Creating a Sustainable Hanover page on Facebook.
- Kiosk Project: SHC won a $1500 grant from The New England Grassroots Environmental Fund to build a movable kiosk made from local wood by a local craftsman. The kiosk will serve as an educational tool for the entire Hanover Community.
- Community Conversations: Menu for the Future Discussion Groups. SHC Chair served on the organizing committee for this inaugural collaborative event; Discussions occurred at The Ray School, The Howe Library, The Co-op Food Stores and numerous other venues in the Upper Valley. Community Conversations Organizing Committee: Catamount Earth Institute, Upper Valley Land Trust, Co-op Food Stores, Valley Food & Farm, Local First Alliance, Upper Valley Localvores, Sustainable Hanover; Other collaborators included the League of Women Voters and The Sierra Club of the Upper Valley.
- Presentations: SHC presented a summary of its work to The Select Board, The Planning Board, The Housing Commission, The Conservation Commission and The Hanover Rotary Club.
1. Energy Consumption (Challenge – Gathering Data)
- Residential Action: In order to gather data about our actual energy consumption, SHC promoted participation in two online tools for residents to celebrate, track and plan energy improvements in their homes (Repowerathome.com (goal of 150 Hanover households by 11/11/11 & myenergyplan.net (goal of 50 Hanover households by 11/11/11)
- Town of Hanover: By upgrading buildings, transportation fleets, lights, and energy systems, the Town will save17,400 gallons of fuel 323,459 kWh's electricity and reduced its carbon footprint by 929,026 pounds! For more detail, visit http://www.sustainablehanovernh.org/the-town-of-hanover.html
2. Emissions (Challenge – Improving air quality for all)
- No-Idling Campaign A: The Town has been awarded a grant to install IDLERIGHT control systems on 17 Town vehicles (saving 4,400 gallons of fuel); 1/3 of the dump truck fleet has been programmed for a max. 5 minute idle time (saving 500 gallons of fuel). This will reduce Hanover's carbon footprint by 96,460 pounds.
- No-Idling Campaign B: Hanover resident Roger Lohr has continued to promote no-idling as a strategy to ensure cleaner air for all, especially around the schools and in town, where there are many pedestrians and others who benefit from fewer emissions.
3. Waste & Recycling (Challenge – reducing waste and promoting alternatives to consumption of new stuff)
- Community Yard Sale: Organized by the Waste/Recycling Sub-Committee in partnership with Dartmouth College, the Community Yard Sale enabled 50 households from the greater Hanover area to clean house, to buy previously owned stuff, and to engage in a festive community event.
- Ray School Composting: The SHC, The Town of Hanover, and The Ray School worked together to launch a school-wide composting program.
- Downtown Composting: Worked with the Town to commission a study of downtown composting options conducted by Highfields Institute.
4. Balanced, Healthy Natural Systems: (Challenge – Ensuring residents have easy access to all those working in this arena)
- Web Site: Promoting educational opportunities through the new web site to help residents understand the impact of invasive species on the local ecosystems. This is with collaboration with the Conservation Commission.
- Biodiversity Subcommittee: The SHC Vice-Chair participated in the creation of a Biodiversity Subcommittee of the Hanover Conservation Commission (along with the Conservation Council, The Hanover Garden Club, and The Upper Valley Land Trust).
5. Vibrant & Efficient Economic & Social Structure (Challenge – Supporting each other by supporting local businesses and a local economy):
- Community Yard Sale: Organized by the Waste/Recycling Sub-Committee in partnership with Dartmouth College, the Community Yard Sale enabled 50 households from the greater Hanover area to clean house, to buy previously owned stuff, and to engage in a festive community event.
- Hanover Farmers Market: Provided learning opportunities for shoppers at the Hanover Farmers Market during the Summer 2010 season.
- Naked Table Project: Partnered with ShackletonThomas Furniture & Pottery to host two Naked Table events. The Naked Table Project is about connecting people to each other and the land by making things by hand. NT promotes sustainable forestry, craftsmanship, local economies and community. The Montshire Museum and The Howe Library each received a donated NT from the April event; Two families, graduates of The Family Place, received tables that were donated by Hanover families from the November event. The Family Place, in Norwich, also received its first Naked Table for its newly renovated dining room. The November event involved using maple trees that were sustainably harvested from the former Water Company property. Food provided by Charles Umpleby, Owner & Chef, Umpleby’s Bakery & Café in Hanover.
In 2011, The Town of Hanover and the Sustainability Institute (Hartland, VT) will collaborate on developing the first community sustainability planning tool that will help towns model and better understand the consequences of policy decisions in the context of established sustainability goals.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lyn Swett Miller, Chair
Committee Members: Larry Litten (Vice-Chair), Chris Soderquist (Systems Consultant), Brian Walsh (Select Board Liaison), Peter Kulbacki (Hanover Public Works), Marjorie Rogalski, Mary Ann Cadwallader, Chris Kennedy, Joanna Whitcomb (Dartmouth College)
Volunteers are needed for each of our specific initiatives and events. If interested, please e-mail the SHC: sustainablehanovernh@gmail.com
