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12/04/2023 11:03 AMAfter several years of work, Clinton’s Sustainable Committee was recognized by Sustainable CT with a bronze-level certification. Now, the committee is seeking more members to continue its work.
Sustainable CT is an organization that encourages towns to form their own sustainable committees to accomplish tasks from categories like protecting the environment, improving planning, improving transportation, and improving infrastructure, among others. The voluntary certification program encourages towns to improve best practices and seek grant opportunities that help promote the quality of life of the town and its citizens.
Towns can be rewarded with grant opportunities if they accomplish enough tasks. Each action item accomplished by the committee is worth a certain number of points, and those points go towards certification programs. Clinton first started its committee in 2018.
In October, Clinton’s committee was recognized as having achieved a bronze level of certification. At the Nov. 1 Town Council meeting, the committee presented the plaque to the council.
“Congratulations to the Clinton Sustainability Team for completing the application and to the many town staff, community organizations, and other volunteers who have worked diligently to make this award possible,” Town Manager Karl Kilduff said. “Bronze certification recognizes us for all of the town’s sustainability practices and helps tighten our focus on new areas that we can address.”
A press release from the committee notes that Clinton was successful in projects like “connecting members from the town manufactured home parks and partaking in a walk audit with Desegregate CT. The town’s new food scrap composting program at the transfer station was also a big points earner, and the application built on existing achievements like the establishment of an arts district, multiple sustainability events held in recent years, and the work of the Conservation Committee in areas like promoting pollinator gardens and the Dark Skies Initiative.”
Brett Martin, a co-chair of the committee, said the group had been working on the certification for five years across several different iterations of the committee. Martin said that now that the certification has been achieved, the committee would like to broaden its scope a bit.
“There are higher levels of certification (silver, gold, and climate leader), and each certification lasts three years before it needs to be renewed. The goal is for the committee to keep moving up, although for now, we are reevaluating our goals for the team and our overall mission statement,” Martin explained.
“For years, the committee had the semi-narrow focus of working to achieve the Sustainable CT certification, and now that we are there, we hope to broaden our scope and work with other committees to keep Clinton green,” he continued.
Asked about projects the committee is currently working on, Martin said the group was focused on land acquisition projects.
“The most immediate project we are working on is signaling our support for the land trust’s acquisition of a property on Route 81. In the future, probably after the new year, we are hoping to make contact within the schools to see about improving sustainability practices and reducing waste there, as well as looking at ways to continue to promote Greenbank and other clean energy investments in our community. And we are actively looking for new members.”
Right now, Martin said, the group has only three members. Interested members can visit clintonct.org to submit an application to join.
“We are down to just three people on the committee and want to bring in more people so that we can broaden our mission and build up our in-house expertise,” he said.