Chelsea’s Sustainability Fair
A ‘Motivational Extravaganza’
By Cornelia Cesari

Parked in front of the Chelsea School Saturday, April 12 was an older Mercedes with a large jug of deep fry oil on the roof. Its owner, Todd Tyson, stood by the open trunk, showing passersby the tank and filtering system of the vehicle, which is powered by discarded French fry grease. This was just one of the many affordable ideas presented at the Sustainability Fair, a motivational extravaganza in carbon footprint reduction.

"Conscience is motivational but pocket book issues create action," reflected Phillip Mulligan, of the First Branch Sustainability Project. "The price of fuel will keep pushing this engine forward and I hope our group will be able to offer a clearinghouse for options and an entity that fosters organization."

Inside, the gym was filled with booths and activities addressing food, consumer practices, and home heating and improvements. Visitors received five slips of paper to place in cans of their choice to vie for door prizes such as composters, books, battery chargers, and home energy audits.

Local food products were available, as were many other earth-friendly items, including compact fluorescent light bulbs. 411 CFLs were sold by the South Royalton and Chelsea Schools as a fundraiser, prior to the event, and Welch’s True Value Hardware sold out of CFLs at the fair.

Filmmaker John O’Brien was on hand to screen a 20-minute preview of his latest, "The Green Movie." Viewers of all ages watched for their own faces in the footage of this environmental comedy with, in O’Brien’s words, "a cast of thousands."

Interest groups for ongoing work were formed and filled on a scattering of clipboards. The ones with the most interest were public transportation, green investing, permaculture/wild edibles, food issues and extending the growing season.

The ambitious event was organized as a follow-up to last year’s Solar Hot Water Initiative. Like that initiative, which exceeded its goal of facilitating conversion in 50 households, Saturday’s fair surpassed expectations.

"We were hoping for at least 200 people and thought that we could get 300," shares Mulligan, who noted that ultimately, over 700 area residents attended the fair. "This is the second year we have done a program where we have been blown away by the turn out and participation."

"If people have fun here today, that’s great," Mulligan added, "but if they can go home and find something to do, that’s what it’s really about for me."

A sampling of what can be expected in the communities of the First Branch: more bicycle commuters, more laundry hung out on the line, more food being grown, and timers on water tanks.

Another initiative launched this weekend at the Sustainability Fair is the Reusable Bag Drop and Swap. Each family was invited to take a free bag, which could be silkscreened and/or decorated at the Fair. FBSP purchased 500 of the bags and gave away half of them on Saturday and most of the stores in the First Branch valley have agreed to set up a bag rack. Citizens are also welcome to drop off clean bags they don’t need, and the stores will use the cotton bags at the request of customers.

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