By Benita Goldstein
The concept of sustainability is perhaps an age-old idea. Defined as “the ability to continue something for a long time without harming the environment or people,” this method can be used for the benefit of a town or city.
An example of utilizing sustainability to benefit a city is underway in Delray Beach, where the city’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience (OSAR) now employs two people, Kent Edwards and Chris Chitester. Their goal is to educate people, letting them know they can make a difference.
Edwards started in this role three years ago, coming from a background in environmental sciences. Chitester has been in his position for almost a year, and his background is in construction and building science.
Edwards works to educate people on numerous topics including eliminating invasive plants such as carrotwood and Brazilian pepper, which do great harm to native habitats and the environmental functions they provide.
Edwards also introduced programs encouraging tree planting by offering people free trees to plant on their property. More than 6,000 trees were given away and planted in the last three years.
Teaching respect and awareness on an ongoing basis can make all the difference in how people move forward. For a place like Florida with lots of beaches, people interact with nature a lot. Even understanding the look of a healthy dune is important.
Outreach helps create change. Edwards’ aim is to inform people by getting them engaged in the process; letting them know their voice counts. And how does he actually do this? Through outreach where people take surveys asking them for their input.
Edwards created a Climate Action Planning Survey in which the six areas covered are water, waste transportation, energy in the built environment, the natural environment, green infrastructure and climate resilience.
Yes, it matters when people know their thoughts can make a difference. Clearly, the more people are informed, the more they want to speak up and be involved.
While issues such as sea level rise impact the whole planet, the public can help lessen the rise by doing simple things. There is “low-hanging fruit” in ways to conserve, such as saving electricity by turning off the lights or turning up the thermostat.
These are examples of reducing one’s carbon footprint by using the concept of mindfulness. This is part of the outreach as well. Informing, supporting and connecting people to these concepts is clearly the goal.
In the process of reaching out to people, Edwards has found that an overwhelming majority care about these issues, with a very small percentage of people either not caring or intentionally violating standards. Most people want a positive future for their children, which is a simple idea but one that is familiar and relatable.
For Edwards, this is only the beginning. He works closely with his counterparts in other cities such as Boca Raton and Boynton Beach. Even the thought of regional outreach with more than 50 cities across the Southeast participating may not be too far off in the future.
But environmental sustainability starts with the local community. His workshop at a recent event at the Arts Warehouse in Delray featured an exhibit of different posters asking the public for their opinion on a variety of environmental topics.
As I checked off my responses, I felt both engaged and a sense of accomplishment. Edwards encourages public participation in which people express their ideas in return for achieving a sense of purpose and value in their lives.
Sustainability is our future, and we clearly have a say in the matter.
Benita Goldstein is a writer in Delray Beach. Banner photo: Two volunteers planting a tree together (iStock image).
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