WALTON _ Joining forces to harvest the bounty of the Earth and share it with the community are the goals of the recently formed Walton Area Group for Sustainability.
Dave Baker of Walton organized the group, which includes participants from communities including Franklin, Treadwell, Hamden, Masonville, Colchester, Trout Creek and Hancock.
Baker said the group is a clone of the Environmental Working Group in Otsego County.
Twenty-four area residents gathered at the William B. Ogden Library in Walton to form WAGS _ a group of concerned citizens united to address issues of sustainability in the region and strengthen community bonds.
"It's the standard green hippy concepts," Baker said Monday. "We are concerned about the uncertain energy future, and if fossil fuels are going to go away, we have to figure out how to relocalize our food supply."
WAGS will meet again at 6:30 p.m. today at Danny's Restaurant in Walton, and Baker said the meeting is open to the public.
Baker said the group will focus on issues and avoid politics.
"We have a lot of lofty ideas we want to focus on," Baker said. "We want to form a tightknit community where the fruits from our gardens will be shared at our farmers' market, at local food banks and Meals on Wheels."
Baker said the group plans to hold seed exchanges, help each other cultivate gardens, work in community gardens and encourage people to grow kitchen gardens.
WAGS member Margaret Bazura of Walton said her concept of sustainability is conserving an ecological balance by avoiding a depletion of natural resources.
"It's nurturing, not exploiting. It's all about balancing the demands of the present with the needs of the future," Bazura said in a media release.
"Like it or not, it is the season of change," said Teri Stratford of Walton. "How we meet those changes will determine how well we live and how hard the hardships will be. Oil depletion, climate change and the resulting economic downturn are having an impact right now, and as time goes on, they will have more and more impact on our daily lives."
Baker said working together to grow and share food will tighten community bonds.
Baker said possible future WAGS projects include:
ä Composting techniques _ gathering food waste from restaurants and stores in a community composting facility.
ä Expanding local farmers' markets.
ä Creating a plant and seed exchange.
ä Exploring ways to inform residents of various topics regarding sustainability and specific things possible right now. That also includes gathering local knowledge from residents, particularly senior citizens.
ä Exploring establishment of a community kitchen utilizing existing church kitchens, and a community garden, as proposed by Rebecca Morgan, on a 15-acre site along Back River Road. With that comes learning to grow vegetables/food and tapping the knowledge of experienced gardeners.
People interested in more information may e-mail Dave Baker at davabak@yahoo.com.
