The Town of Southbury was among eight Connecticut municipalities honored for achieving Silver Certification at the 2024 Sustainable CT Awards Celebration, held at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook, CT on November 13th. According to Sustainable CT, Silver Certification reflects advanced initiatives in sustainable practices and community engagement. This achievement highlights a proactive approach to sustainability and an extraordinary commitment to equity.
“Thank you to Sustainable CT for recognizing Southbury’s commitment to attain a more sustainable community,” said Jeff Manville, First Selectman of Southbury. “We will continue working with Sustainable Southbury, the Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition, and other interest groups to trial and implement appropriate initiatives to do our part toward creating a more sustainable future.”
To achieve Silver, Southbury earned 540 certification points, completed 30 sustainability actions, had a total of 8 action success stories and raised $12,785 through the Community Match Fund. One action was Southbury’s demonstrated dedication to food waste prevention through a series of initiatives and educational events in the community and allowing residents to drop off their food waste at the transfer station for free. This helped residents in town reduce their own food waste and save money in the process.
“Achieving Silver is gratifying,” says Chuck Litty, team leader for the certification effort and founder of the nonprofit, Sustainable Southbury. “Our goal is to help Southbury become an even more sustainable community. We built our grassroots organization on the framework of Sustainable CT and look at sustainability as an ongoing pursuit that we will continue to strive for.”
Sustainable CT highlighted Southbury’s dedication to watershed protection and restoration by supporting the Pomperaug Watershed Coalition in planting 31 native shrubs and perennials along Lake Stibbs to stabilize the streambank, capture excess runoff, and provide food and habitat for native wildlife. The town also supported three community events focused on maintaining the riparian buffer and existing rain garden, engaging the community, and highlighting the importance of watershed protection.
“Access to clean water is essential to the vibrancy of every community whether it comes out of your faucet to provide drinking water and water for sanitation or if it is in the river itself to sustain fish and wildlife.” said Carol Haskins, Executive Director of the Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition. “We are proud to work in partnership with Southbury and its neighbors on protection, restoration, and stewardship actions that underscore the importance of this vital resource and are committed to supporting climate resiliency actions to help Southbury achieve its Gold Certification in the future!”
Sustainable CT certifications are awarded based on the completion of a broad range of sustainability actions, from community building and thriving local economies to vibrant arts and culture and environmental stewardship. Municipalities must demonstrate significant achievements across thirteen impact areas to qualify for certification.
Certification is effective for three years, during which time the towns can continue to implement and build upon their sustainability initiatives. Sustainable CT provides a detailed framework and support for municipalities striving to enhance their sustainability and community well-being.
For more information about Sustainable CT and the certification process, please visit sustainablect.org.
L-to-R: Jacob Bartel, Sustainable CT fellow; Kevin Bielmeier, Southbury Economic Development Director; Chuck Litty, Founder, Sustainable Southbury; Carol Haskins, Executive Director, Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition.