Sustainable Cherry Hill » There’s no stopping these folks…

Our newly re-vamped Garden task force plans its next steps

Did you know that Sustainable Cherry Hill supports a number of  community driven task forces?  These groups are led by and populated with people who care passionately about a specific issue, such as gardening, achieving zero waste, making the region more bike friendly or environmental justice.  Most of the groups have a regional focus and draw people from neighboring towns.  While most of the task forces came out of our 2009 visioning conference, a few were started more recently by interested community members.  We welcome you to join one of our current groups or contact me to start a new one!  Check out the “Task Force” tab on our website for more specific information on each group or stop by our Art Blooms Earth Festival on 4/30/11, where each group will have a table!

Green Building Task Force: This group, one of our most established and prolific, focuses on educating residents and businesses on green building and energy issues through community outreach sessions on topics such as, “Build Green, Save Green”, “The ABC’s of a Home Energy Audit”, and “Got Solar? Your Neighbor Does”.  They meet every third Saturday morning at Panera Bread in the Garden State Center. Contact Scott Downie for more information.

Way to Go Alternative Transportation: An advocacy group, these folks are dedicated to creating awareness, influencing allocation of resources, acting as a liaison with and rallying support of government, community and businesses to make Cherry Hill a safe pedestrian/bike accessible town without the use of a car. They meet the third Tuesday of every month at the Cherry Hill Municipal Building. Contact Barbara Berman for more information.

Zero Waste: The goal of the Zero Waste task force is to reduce and divert waste, increase recycling and maximize the proper disposal of hazardous waste by researching waste options, conducting analysis and developing relationships with the township, the community and the business sector.  The group recently hosted a screening of the film, Trashed, followed by a discussion on waste for America Recycles Day and they are planning a series of “living room” conversations, called “Trash Talk with Sandi”.  They meet the third Thursday of every month.  Contact Melisa Skyrm for more information.

Regional/Urban Partnerships for Sustainability (RUPS): The goal of this task force is to engage in partnerships with neighboring towns and cities in order to promote sustainability, broadly defined as causing and maintaining the well being of people in their environments. The group held a very successful screening of The Poet of Poverty with a panel discussion on environmental justice in Camden last year and is planning The Tri-County Sustainable Communities Forum this spring.  They meet the third Thursday of every month at Manhattan Bagel in Barclay Center.  Contact Nancy Ashton or Susan Manser for more information.

Green Health: This recently formed group  focuses on making sustainability personal.  They plan to use education and outreach to spread the word about healthy, safe personal care, food and other products we encounter in our daily lives.   They are planning their first event (in collaboration with the Evesham Green Team) on February 24th “How to Pack a Healthy, Waste-free Lunch”. This group plans to meet the first Thursday of every month at Yoga for Living in Cherry Hill. Contact Caren Kauffman or Lacey Swartz for more information.

Gardens/Food: This task force has recently been revived and has an interest in all things healthy and growing!  They met for the first time last night (see photo) and are already kicking around ideas for community education/outreach events.  They plan to meet the third Wednesday of every month.  Contact Anne Dean Mackintosh for more information.

Green Biz: This group will be working with the Cherry Hill Township Energy Outreach Coordinator, Joan Simpson on engaging and educating businesses on energy efficiency, renewable energy and other cost effective ways to decrease their carbon footprint.  Check out the EPA funded “It’s in Our Power” website to stay up to date with this program.  Contact Joan Simpson or Scott Downie for more information.

Faith and Sustainability: This task force exists in order to educate and inspire houses of worship and their congregation members in Cherry Hill and surrounding communities to become more sustainable broadly defined as causing and maintaining the well being of people in their environments. Contact Anne Simonoff for more information.

via Sustainable Cherry Hill » There’s no stopping these folks….

Related Articles

• News for the Community of Cherry Hill (gloucestercitynews.net)
• Interview with Dan Geiger, Executive Director of USGBC-NCC (triplepundit.com)
• Higher Education Task Force Presents Funding Strategy to Gov. Gregoire (blogs.technet.com)