July seems like a good time to offer a more personal reflection for my monthly column. I also want to report on some of the changes I have observed in our community that appear to be moving us in a positive direction. The recent BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico continues to be in the news. It serves as a disturbing reminder that we still have significant work to do in our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and develop more sustainable practices. For me it offers a big wake-up call. Although we are all trying to do our part in living lighter on the planet, there is still a lot of work to be done.

During the past several months I have noticed positive changes around Town demonstrating that folks are paying attention. It's great to see people walking in and out of the Shelburne Supermarket with a variety of reusable bags for toting their groceries and that the plastic bags are now history. I've been frequenting our new green store, Home Ecology and getting to know the new owners. The inventory is impressive and growing and it seems like more people are discovering it as summer moves forward. Even the library seems busier with more people borrowing books and movies. Our resale shop SCHIPS has been bustling with activity and is always looking for used items to replenish the inventory.

Garden plots have sprung up everywhere, and folks are participating in local CSAs and making regular visits to Saturday's Farmers Market on the Parade. The Shelburne Community School (SCS) hosted its annual summer gathering this week to plan for the coming year. This group comprises parents, teachers, school administrators, and food service personnel. They are committed to bringing more local food to our public schools and represent a great collaborative effort. Local food is clearly becoming mainstream and a way of life, one that will only benefit our community in a variety of ways including health, economic, and sustainable lifestyles.

I just finished reading Amy Seidl's book, "Early Spring," in which an ecologist and her children wake to a warming world. The book explores climate change through family walks in the woods and seasonal events throughout the year. It brings home the message of global warming by considering how it has altered her life and those in her community. Seidl's writing offers a great perspective on the impact of global warming on our backyard landscape and clearly shows that in Vermont seasonal changes are present. The book made an impression on me and I look forward to reading her next book, still in progress, which focuses on adaptation to the changes.
My summer visits with my eight-year-old friend John have been focused on his contagious enthusiasm for saving the planet. A growing collection of his stories and drawings are impressive and include motivating messages such as "Help Save Mother Earth" and "Recycle, Reuse and Compost." John enthusiastically articulates his messages clearly to his friends of all ages, reflecting the power of young role models on this important issue, too. Stay tuned as he has offered to share some of his stories and drawings in a future column.

I recently visited a friend in Lincoln, Mass., who has a long tenure in the environmental field. He shared the work he was doing to help his small community lower their carbon footprint. His current focus was on reducing energy use through helping people to adopt more sustainable practices in their home. When I elaborated on all of the things that are happening in our community, he was quite impressed. I returned to Shelburne with a sense of pride and an even greater commitment to do more.

Shelburnites please keep up the great work and stay in touch. Share your personal initiatives, goals, and environmental stories with us. By doing so we can continue to inspire, inform, and educate each other to adapt to the changing landscape in our fast-paced world. I look forward to the next phase in our Town's "Living Eco-nomically."