Welcome to Unitarian Universalist Society East
Sunday Services at 9:00 and 11:00
Sustainable Living & Climate Action
UUSE is committed to ongoing efforts to save our planet through green action. We are a certified Green Sanctuary.
Green Sanctuary News
Green Sanctuary News
How are you honoring Earth Day, which was on April 22? It’s a time to recognize what we do to protect and preserve our planet. Are you planting seeds in your vegetable garden? Are you adding native plants to your landscape? Or participating in a cleanup in your community? Whatever you do, big or small, can make a difference.
Here at UUSE, on the second Sunday of each month, the Sustainable Living Committee sells Fair Trade coffee, tea, and chocolate after both services. Stop by our table to purchase products and learn more about sustainable living and what you can do to protect the environment. You can also pick up free literature with tips on how to Fight Climate Change with Diet Change. We’re happy to answer any questions you might have!
Did you know we have a pollinator garden? That’s right! Tucked in the corner on the lower level by the parking lot, there’s a little oasis of native plants that support bees, butterflies, and birds. If you’d like to learn more, stop by for a chat or pick up some gifts for your own garden at our seed and plant swap during the Mayfair on May 3.
Statewide, local environmental activists have joined together to propose an amendment to the Connecticut Constitution that will protect the right to healthy air, water, and soil. If passed, the Connecticut Environmental Rights Amendment (SJ36) would ensure that environmental rights are protected in every level of government decision-making. While still in the early stages, momentum is building for legislative action that would enshrine environmental protection in the CT Constitution for future generations. Learn more: https://ctgreenamendment.org/
Take Action! Contact your state representatives and ask them to bring the resolution proposing the CT Environmental Rights Amendment to a vote! Visit Action Network.
Go Solar!
The Sustainable Living Committee is thrilled to report that UUSE has contracted with Connecticut solar provider, Savkat, to resume our popular solar program! Savkat has agreed to donate $25 to UUSE for every appointment and $1,000 for every signed solar contract. The program begins immediately, and is available to all UUSE members, family, and friends. Just tell them you were referred by UUSE!
We will be hosting several informational sessions with our Savkat representative on Sunday mornings during coffee hour to answer any questions congregants may have. If you're interested in learning more about getting solar installed, you can make an appointment at this time.
Already know you want to reduce your carbon footprint by installing solar? You can contact our Savkat representative, Jordan Bernstein, right away! His contact info is below.
Thank you for caring about our planet!
Jordan BernsteinLead Manager
203.441.7961
Schedule a Meeting
Green Actions You Can Take
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Join our ecological landscaping team
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Help with recycling and composting
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Help sell "Fair Trade" coffee, tea, and chocolate after Sunday services
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Help with the annual organic veggie garden
About the Green Sanctuary program
UUSE has been a certified Green Sanctuary congregation since the spring of 2006. The Green Sanctuary program was developed and begun by the UU Ministry for Earth for UU congregations. The program at UUSE was led by the Sustainable Living Committee with approval and involvement of the policy board, staff, various committees and the full congregation. Goals and projects were developed in four different areas: worship, religious education, sustainable living and social/environmental justice. Our Action Plan for 2005 included 15 different projects, heavily focused on our response to global warming. It included implementing recommendations from an energy audit, starting our children’s organic vegetable garden program, starting recycling and composting programs, working with other state and local organizations on common goals, and much more. The congregation-wide support and success of the program led us to seek out the greenest way we could afford to implement our planned building and expansion project.
Between 2007 and the spring of 2010 we were deep into the planning, fundraising for and implementation of our building project. The Growth of the Green Sanctuary Program allowed it to become a project of the UUA. And by 2011 we were encouraged to apply for Re- accreditation. Our application for Re-accreditation included various projects in the areas of worship and celebration, religious education, sustainable living, and active environmental justice efforts, such as helping to pass CT’s first environmental justice law, working with local groups to start school and other community gardens and to help low-income residents benefit from CT’s Home Energy Solutions program. We documented all the work done in the UUSE building project including energy conservation work, the geo-thermal system and eventual solar panel system, and Energy Star certification with a 98% score in 2013, as well as various ecological landscaping projects. On February 17, 2013 we received the notice we were awarded Green Sanctuary Recertification. We were encouraged to continue our efforts to become a net zero facility and continue with our outreach and advocacy work.