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Reminder Assistant Editor SPRINGFIELD Springfield, Vt., may have beaten out the City of Homes when it came to hosting the premiere of the "The Simpsons Movie," but the Vermont city isn't even mentioned on Country Home Magazine's top 100 Green Cities in America. Springfield, Ore., was ranked 18th and Springfield, Mo., came in at 86th. Mayor Domenic Sarno's city took the number four spot on the list of the best green cities, and he plans to bring it all the way to the top. "We want to make Springfield the hub of 'green' in Massachusetts," Sarno said. "We're taking it to the next frontier." One of the steps toward doing that was announced at a press conference in the mayor's office last Tuesday morning, when Sarno was joined by Judy Matt, president of Spirit of Springfield, Barbara Campanella, vice president of marketing and external affairs at Western New England College (WNEC) and Patrick Sullivan, executive director of Springfield Parks, Buildings and Recreation Management. The group announced an upcoming "Green City Forum," which has goals of highlighting green space protection and enhancement as well as opening a discussion of sustainable building techniques. The forum is scheduled for April 4. "We're bringing together this event to show how going green can help our municipality by making the area more aesthetically pleasing and by bringing in more jobs," Campanella said. "The recreation [areas] of Springfield are symbolic of new life coming back to the city," she added. Sarno announced the forum will feature lectures from Congressman Richard Neal, Dr. David Nowak, an urban forester for the U.S. Forest Service, Paul Fisette of the Department of Natural Resources Conservation at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Dr. John Mullin, director of the Center for Economic Development and Dean of Graduate School at UMass and Dr. Jamison E. Colburn, professor of law at WNEC. Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation Richard Sullivan will serve as master of ceremonies. "After Pat Sullivan came up with such a great idea, we decided to put this forum together," Matt stated. "People come here to be educated, for healthcare and for jobs because we're green." She added that the forum will be open to the public and all municipal employees, including those from other cities, will be invited as well. Matt said the forum will be of great benefit to other local cities and towns and that she and the mayor are hoping for 120 to 150 interested employees and citizens to attend. "We are excited about this," Sullivan said. "The mayor wants the city to be one of firsts again. Hopefully, this forum will be the first of what will become a yearly event." "Green is the wave of the future," Sarno said. He believes the forum and the changes it may bring about will bring long-term capital commitments to the city, mesh with the local arts and "get bodies and events in the downtown area." "Gov. Patrick is hot to trot when it comes to the environmental aspect," the mayor added. The local colleges are excited for the green forum as well. UMass and WNEC are partnering to sponsor the event, and Campanella sees the focus on going green as "another feature to attract students to the region." "We'll be protecting future generations and enhancing our environment to learn," Campanella told Reminder Publications. She said WNEC actively recycles and encourages all its students to do the same. "This might bring about the rebirth of an industrial city," Sarno stated. "We want to take a leadership role when it comes to this. We want Springfield to be attractive and this green initiative is a great first step." Matt added, "By helping others, we help ourselves." "Springfield: Green City Forum" will take place April 4 at CityStage. The fee for the forum, which includes a lunch, is $75 per person and $30 per person for students and municipal employees. Pre-registration is required by March 24 and is available online at www.spiritofspringfield.org/greencityforum. For more information, visit the Web site or call Spirit of Springfield at 733-3800. | ||||||
