Celebrating Earth Day,

Community-Development Style
By Julie Iffland, Executive Director, RACDC

Community Development was once considered the province of bricks and mortar, and not much else. At Randolph Area Development Corporation (RACDC), we see it as everything from decent housing to the protection of rare natural communities, and from grassroots energy to energy conservation.

So when local people pointed out to my predecessor, Jeremy Ingpen, that Randolph House, an RACDC housing project, is situated on property that includes flood plain forest across Prince Street, he worked with those people to treat it as a community asset instead of an abandoned lot. That portion of the flood plain forest, which is one of the rarest of natural communities in the state, is now an outdoor classroom with walking trails.

RACDC also sees opportunities in the current climate of double-digit inflation in energy costs. It’s our job to look for alternatives that treat our soil, air, water, and bank accounts like the endangered resources they are, and to find sustainable and affordable energy alternatives to invest in. Earth Day presents a perfect opportunity to do that, as well as to celebrate our Flood Plain Forest as a rare natural community in the heart of downtown Randolph.

The first Earth Day in 1970 was designed to encourage communities across America to celebrate our natural world and educate ourselves in its care. That’s why this year RACDC invites you to join us at the Chandler Upper Gallery on Earth Day, Sunday, April 22 from 1-4 p.m. We will dedicate the Flood Plain Forest and educate ourselves on practical renewable energy solutions for home and business owners. The event will include presentations by professors from Vermont Technical College on the work of their new program in Sustainable Design & Technology, and an introduction to solar hot water systems by Phillip Mulligan of the First Branch Sustainability Project. Vendors who sell and install these alternative energy options will also be present to share their expertise with everyone from the simply curious to the serious consumer.

We would like to believe that harmonious living comes naturally. The simple fact of the matter is that while it may look easy when it’s well done, successful communities, like ducks that gracefully navigate the length of a pond, succeed only with a lot of hard work behind the scenes. The more people involved, the more chance we have of success.

In the first words of "Silent Spring", Rachel Carson’s exposé of DDT that launched the environmental movement in America, she said: "There was once a town in the heart of America where all life seemed to live in harmony with its surroundings."  Please join us this Earth Day in doing our part to ensure that there always will be…right here.