Local Initiatives to Promote Sustainability

Eco-Team Plans a New Season of Action

With the rousing success of the St. Peter's Neighborhood Garden on the grounds of the church, the Eco-Team is exploring ways to "continue the harvest" into the fall and winter seasons.  On Tuesday October 7 at 7:00 p.m., we will gather at St. Peter's to review the progress we've made, and lessons learned, during the first gardening/canning season.  We will also be planning coming events.  Some ideas that have already been mentioned by the group include: Putting the garden to rest for the winter; another canning party featuring late-summer vegetables; apple picking and preserving; hosting an ecology/environmental fair; and re-instituting a Bennington food co-op.

This is an excellent time to come learn what the EcoFolk are all about, and consider joining in one of our events.  The team is a model of organic growth, sustained by the energy and ideas of those who work with us.  Please contact Jordan Schell-Lambert at jslam108@earthlink.net with any questions or suggestions.

Follow the link below for additional photos of our parish garden and for photos of similar gardens across the nation. http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81991_101223_ENG_HTM.htm

October 12 update...

At the October 7 organizational meeting we brainstormed a dozen ideas for the Eco-Team to consider in the coming 12 months.  We also took note of the surplus harvest from our gardens and what we can do with it.  The next session will be both a chance to do some cooking and preserving while we continue developing our plans.  The meeting will be held at St. Peter's parish hall and kitchen on Sunday, October 19 beginning at 1 p.m.  We will be making green tomato relish, applesauce/apple butter, and possibly some other recipes.  The Pownal Community Garden has surplus carrots to offer, so we will be preparing and freezing these for use throughout the winter.  Please send any recipes for our consideration, and tell me if you can offer additional ingredients from your garden or a friend's.

The first hour will be devoted to preparation of ingredients.  We will break up into teams, and along with their chopping/peeling/ boil-the water assignments, each team will have a discussion of one of the topic areas or projects that have been suggested.  Those who can stay for the afternoon will continue the the cooking/canning until complete.  Anyone who wants to attend the 5 p.m. service will be able to do so.

Please let me know if you can provide a manual food mill such as we'd need for preparing applesauce, or any other tools that you think will help.  We have enough canning equipment, and more jars have been committed, so we are all right in that department.

I welcome your suggestions, and look forward to a great time on Sunday.

Jordan Schell-Lambert ( jslam108@earthlink.net )

Initiatives at St. Peter’s to promote sustainability:

At its retreat in March the Vestry identified upgrading our heating system as a critical investment.  Along with the heating upgrade completed in November by Quality Heating & Plumbing, the new energy panels on our first floor  (excluding the church) and our upgraded lighting in the church using compact florescent light bulbs, the Vestry has allocated funds to promote sustainability at St. Peter’s. These measures are  the latest in our endeavors to decrease our ecological footprint, while following the working definition of sustainability in all aspects of our life at St. Peter’s:  “Living in such a way that provides for the needs of today’s people while at the same time assuring that future generations have all that they need to lead fulfilling lives.”  Stay tuned for more sustainability updates in the months to come.                                  Mother Anita

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