Woodbridge Ad Hoc Sustainability Committee - December 2023

Our lecture series continues!  December’s Sustainability Lecture will elaborate on the hot topic of HEAT PUMPS as an alternative to fossil fuel heating!  Is this something that might benefit you?

Please join us on December 16 at 3pm at the Woodbridge Library Meeting Room.  Bring the kids too!  We will have a story and an activity for children upstairs.

SURVEY SAYS:  In Fall 2023, our committee circulated a Fall 2023 Call to Action Survey in Woodbridge to help determine what the community wants in terms of Sustainability efforts.  Here are the results:

• 164 responses between October 1-October 15, open to all Woodbridge Adult Residents;
• Overall, respondents felt that Woodbridge is currently making some efforts to be sustainable;
• 88.3% of respondents are interested in making sustainable changes in their daily lives;
• There was interest in:

• Improving Town Building Energy Use,
• Improving Private Home Energy Use,
• Increasing Recycling programs such as film plastic, textiles etc.,
• Reducing Food Waste with composting,
• Electric Vehicles or rideshare,
• Improving Water Conservation for Private homes,
• Educational opportunities about all of the above;

• Respondents are very interested in learning about solar energy, heat pumps & geothermal energy sources as well as rain barrels & energy efficient appliances to help save energy and water in private homes;
• Respondents are interested in improving local food systems by buying local and learning more about backyard and commercial composting options;
• Respondents are interested in bike/walking options (e.g., sidewalks and bike trails) and Electric Vehicles;

• For upcoming Earth Day festivities – respondents would love to see:  plant/seed swap, clothing Freecycle, electronics recycling, mattress & textile recycling, tag sale, food trucks and live entertainment etc.

The Woodbridge Ad Hoc Sustainability Committee hopes to make all these wishes a reality!

Join us for our Monthly Sustainability Lecture at the Woodbridge Library, on the 3rd Saturday of each month from 3-4pm in the Library Meeting Room and keep checking back here for more sustainable tips and ideas.

Save the Date:  Saturday April 27 for Woodbridge Earth Day Celebration!

GREEN TIPS:

Tis the season to be GREEN

.  Challenge your White Elephant, grab bag parties, or family gift exchanges with only buying reused, repurposed, or thrifted items.  It’s a great way to introduce folks to the joys of thrifting, as well as stretch that dollar!

Other GREEN gift ideas:

• Buy local instead of online;
• Buy items that come in less packaging;
• Choose printable/emailed gift cards instead of the plastic gift cards;
• Gift of Experience (concert tickets, movie passes, date night coupons, escape rooms, shopping spree, special playdates, makeovers);
• Gift of Time (babysitting, house cleaning, car wash, professional organizer, yard service);
• Gift of Moments (photography sessions, video collection of family member interviews);
• Memberships (museums, zoos, trampoline parks);
• Consumables (local food, surprise prepared dinner, gift cards);
• Classes (internet Master classes, painting, private coaching, physical trainer, art);
• For more ideas: https://greenthatlife.com/eco-friendly-gift-giving-guide/?fbclid=IwAR1IH9QcczxnAUSt0gQFJzVPYnkJt90qqrnaRWzeOVl1M2H-QlFHalZYgnE;

Wrap your presents with GREEN materials:

• Use up the brown paper from Amazon’s package stuffing;
• Wrap small gifts with one-of-a-kind artwork from your kids;
• Use twine and pine cones or sprigs of pine in lieu of plastic ribbons and bows;
• Wrap in old newspapers;
• Wrap your presents with scarves (Google Furoshiki wrapping).

Contact us at Woodbridge.Composts@gmail.com for any questions or comments or to find out how you can help!