Arts
In a meeting held the evening of Jan. 19, community members and Dartmouth faculty and students joined together to map out a long-term environmental plan for the Upper Valley as part of the Valley Vital Signs Project.
The environmental group, one of 14 areas within the Vital Signs Project, is working to develop community indicators that measure water quality, air quality, energy efficiency, energy sources, waste recycling and production and hazardous waste in the Upper Valley.
According to Vital Signs Coordinator Delia Clark, the project intends to use indicators to identify strengths and weaknesses in the community's social, economic and environmental structure.
While the selection of community indicators remains early in its development, current possibilities suggest an Audubon bird species count, drinking water quality, the amount of solid waste recycled and barrels of trash collected per year.
Environmental Studies Professor Diana Wright, a member of the group, said the chosen indicators, to be effective, must "speak to the heart."
"We're trying to make people aware of what's happening, to ask themselves, 'What is the direction we're heading?' and 'Which direction do we want to go?" Wright explained.
Greg Richards '96, in charge of finding an indicator for biodiversity in the roughly 37 townships of the Upper Valley, said the project is "an effort to define the values of a community ... and to track those values over time."
According to Richards, measurement of the indicators will be a "big challenge for the environmental group."
"We need to find indicators tailor-made to the Upper Valley," he said.
Staff member of Environmental Measurement Jennifer Weyner said the project would allow "average people to look at the indicators and see how we're doing."
The individuals involved believe "very deeply in what we're doing.
