Sustainable Milton Preserves the Ecosystem

Imge Ceranoglu is the president of Sustainable Milton, a group dedicated to creating a community that acts to preserve our ecosystem as a whole. By raising awareness, educating people about sustainable living and making products available to support it, the organization has broad influence, from homeowners’ energy bills to town-wide projects. Ceranoglu spoke with columnist Julie Fay about the organization and her thoughts about sustainable living.

When people think of Sustainable Milton, what comes to mind?
We try to help people conserve energy and reduce waste in all forms. We try to get people away from using plastic bags and water bottles, encouraging them to use reusable totes and stainless steel bottles, instead. We encourage residents to use compost bins and rain barrels, as well as have home energy audits. We want to bring the information that’s out there to people, to let them make their own decisions.

We are well-known for our annual Green Home Fair, during which we invite all sorts of groups and vendors associated with green and sustainable living to exhibit. We have solar panel companies, energy audit groups, green landscaping and architecture organizations and even “clean” cosmetics. We bring all sorts of platforms to Milton residents, so they can make choices (about how) to lower their carbon footprints and environmental impact so that our planet can be maintained for longer. (The next Green Home Fair will be in April of 2012.)

How does the group act in a broader sense for the town?
Our board members work on several town committees, including the alternative energy committee, the wind committee, the biking committee and the solid waste advisory committee, to make sure that everything in the town can be as sustainable as possible. We also provide free movie nights at the Milton Public Library on sustainable living topics. We’ve sponsored “ecoteams,” or groups of people working to reduce their carbon footprint, based on the book “The Low-Carbon Diet.” We will also be creating a course through Milton Adult Education for the winter/spring session to educate people about what they can do around their homes to reduce their carbon footprints and save money, too.

How would you define “sustainable living?”
It’s leaving the world better than it was before. That’s what we’re striving for; instead of depleting our resource, let’s try to make sure we maintain what is here and if possible, increase our resources and lessen our impact.

Why is sustainability important to you?
I have a background in environmental science, and am interested in this area in general because I love nature and spending time outside. Even when I was a kid, watching documentaries, it was very clear to me that I wanted to do something to make sure we could keep as much diversity in the world as we could.

When I moved to Milton, and after my kids grew up a little bit, I was able to be more active. I started going to some of Sustainable Milton’s meetings and events, and I enjoyed being around like-minded people.

The rewarding part is creating a sense of community. When you can reach people and they understand that every choice they make affects everyone else, and if you can have those choices affect people in a positive way, and get people to see that, that’s very fulfilling.

What’s something people might not know about Sustainable Milton?
Sustainable Milton helped the town apply for “green community” status. With this state designation, Milton is now able to access $150,000 of state funding for energy efficiency projects. It was a big achievement, and we were involved in that.

What are the top three sustainable living tips you would offer?
Number one would be to stay away from plastic, like bags, water bottles and disposable coffee cups. Use reusable bags, bottles and cups.

Secondly, eat locally and organic as much as possible. Learn about CSA (community-supported agriculture) programs, some of which have locally-sourced meat and fish available now, like at .

Thirdly, get an energy audit done for your home. It will give you a baseline of what you’re doing in your house and how much energy you’re losing, and the steps you can take to change that. Audits are free, and you’ll often end up with products that can really help, like energy-efficient light bulbs and low-flow shower heads.

For more information about sustainable living ideas, visit http://www.masssave.com/. To register for a free home energy audit, visit http://nextsteplivinginc.com/1320-2/?program=Milton. To learn more about Sustainable Milton, visit www.sustainablemilton.org.