In 2017, LWVPA developed the Reimagine project, a sustainability initiative with the goal of creating a sustainable future, which fulfills the needs of our current generation while ensuring a balance between economic growth, environmental care, and the social well-being of future generations.
The Reimagine program works with local community groups to explore and develop environmentally and economically sustainable communities. Members collaborate on projects which create a sustainable economy in local communities/counties. This program started with a visioning session in Beaver County and then a sustainability summit in Indiana County. The Reimagine Project has spread to Butler, Fayette, Cambria, and Blair Counties and the Ohio River Valley. We recently established programs in the Turtle Creek Watershed and Ursinus college. These projects continue to add sustainable value to their respective communities.
This fall, the Reimagine program will hold its first ever "Reimagine Sustainable Development Week.” This event will celebrate current sustainability projects in all Pennsylvania counties and assist counties in developing these projects further.
This is an exciting opportunity to collaborate with your community members and partner organizations to show the incredible progress Pennsylvania citizens have made towards sustainable communities. This will be a week of collaboration and education for the betterment of all. Taking a stance against climate change can be a way to grow your League membership.
Reimagine Week will include walk audits, solar tours, gardening presentations, sustainable dining, and presentations on various topics. Local Reimagine projects will each feature visioning sessions to introduce the concept of visioning or to expand on current local work already being done. This will be our chance to create educational messaging around the hope and optimistic future that the Reimagine project can provide.
Want to get involved? Please get in touch with Kathy Cook, kathy.cook@palwv.org, or Heather Harr, heatherharr007@gmail.com, to schedule a consultation on planning a sustainability week for your chapter.