(May 11, 2017) Five political science and environmental studies students from Dr. Sarah Surak’s senior seminar class at Salisbury University presented their findings to the Berlin Town Council on Monday.
The students had been working with town officials, business owners, citizens and local organizations on a semester-spanning final project since February.
Laura Baasland proposed the town adopt an annual Green Festival to celebrate environmental successes, spread awareness about ongoing initiatives, recruit volunteers and put likeminded community members in touch with one another.
“We envision the Green Festival as a day filled with fun, food, music, crafts, games and local vendors – things all you guys are used to,” she said, adding the day could double as a collection for hazardous materials that could then be recycled.
“We believe that the Green Fest would be a great way to not only bring the community together and have a great time, but for community members to be able to take ownership of this community and its sustainability efforts,” Baasland said. “We know that this tight-knit community loves to throw a party and we also know how committed you are to being green.”
Daniel Hines and a group focused on economic development worked with Economic and Community Development Director Ivy Wells and others to create a reusable shopping bag he said would help eliminate plastic bags in the town’s waste system.
“Plus, with an incentive to shop local, it not only helps to boost the local economy, but also the sense of community,” he said.
Baasland said the bag would include logos of participating businesses and the shops, in turn, would provide discounts to users. He said an ad campaign on Facebook would be launched soon.
Jessie Todd and a group of students who focused on ecology toured the town spray irrigation site, treatment plant and off-land wetlands facility with Public Works and Water Resources Director Jane Kreiter.
She said the group wanted to establish pollinator gardens at the spray site and asked the town to provide about $200 to purchase fencing for the project.
“The fencing will help protect the gardens from being mowed or stepped on,” she said. “With the help of Mrs. Kreiter, the Town of Berlin and Maryland Coastal Bays, we will build two 10-by-10 gardens at the spray site on May 17. The will be filled with native pollinator-friendly plants.”
Todd said the gardens would add biodiversity to the site.
“We want to give a big thank-you to Mrs. Kreiter as well as Maryland Coastal Bays for helping us move our project from a proposal to actually becoming obtainable – to the surprise of our professor,” she said, drawing a laugh from those in attendance.
Deondre Todd worked to create a green business recognition program in the town that would highlight sustainability efforts by business owners. He said he used a similar program in Montgomery County as a model and worked with Gilbert’s Provisions owner Toby Gilbert to design a logo that would be displayed in participating businesses that meet the criteria.
“We hope this will help make local businesses become profitable as well as strive for larger ideas and projects in sustainability, while reducing the overall footprint of the town,” he said.
He said qualifications and guidelines for certification would be submitted to Wells by the end of the semester.
“This seems like a natural next step on the green initiatives and some new, fresh ideas,” Mayor Gee Williams said. “We really appreciate your time and thoughtfulness that you gave to this project. It’s something that looks like it has a very good potential on surviving you for many years.”
The students had been working with town officials, business owners, citizens and local organizations on a semester-spanning final project since February.
Laura Baasland proposed the town adopt an annual Green Festival to celebrate environmental successes, spread awareness about ongoing initiatives, recruit volunteers and put likeminded community members in touch with one another.
“We envision the Green Festival as a day filled with fun, food, music, crafts, games and local vendors – things all you guys are used to,” she said, adding the day could double as a collection for hazardous materials that could then be recycled.
“We believe that the Green Fest would be a great way to not only bring the community together and have a great time, but for community members to be able to take ownership of this community and its sustainability efforts,” Baasland said. “We know that this tight-knit community loves to throw a party and we also know how committed you are to being green.”
Daniel Hines and a group focused on economic development worked with Economic and Community Development Director Ivy Wells and others to create a reusable shopping bag he said would help eliminate plastic bags in the town’s waste system.
“Plus, with an incentive to shop local, it not only helps to boost the local economy, but also the sense of community,” he said.
Baasland said the bag would include logos of participating businesses and the shops, in turn, would provide discounts to users. He said an ad campaign on Facebook would be launched soon.
Jessie Todd and a group of students who focused on ecology toured the town spray irrigation site, treatment plant and off-land wetlands facility with Public Works and Water Resources Director Jane Kreiter.
She said the group wanted to establish pollinator gardens at the spray site and asked the town to provide about $200 to purchase fencing for the project.
“The fencing will help protect the gardens from being mowed or stepped on,” she said. “With the help of Mrs. Kreiter, the Town of Berlin and Maryland Coastal Bays, we will build two 10-by-10 gardens at the spray site on May 17. The will be filled with native pollinator-friendly plants.”
Todd said the gardens would add biodiversity to the site.
“We want to give a big thank-you to Mrs. Kreiter as well as Maryland Coastal Bays for helping us move our project from a proposal to actually becoming obtainable – to the surprise of our professor,” she said, drawing a laugh from those in attendance.
Deondre Todd worked to create a green business recognition program in the town that would highlight sustainability efforts by business owners. He said he used a similar program in Montgomery County as a model and worked with Gilbert’s Provisions owner Toby Gilbert to design a logo that would be displayed in participating businesses that meet the criteria.
“We hope this will help make local businesses become profitable as well as strive for larger ideas and projects in sustainability, while reducing the overall footprint of the town,” he said.
He said qualifications and guidelines for certification would be submitted to Wells by the end of the semester.
“This seems like a natural next step on the green initiatives and some new, fresh ideas,” Mayor Gee Williams said. “We really appreciate your time and thoughtfulness that you gave to this project. It’s something that looks like it has a very good potential on surviving you for many years.”