Members of the Woodstock Town Council and Chamber of Commerce with Bike Rack on 4/22/10

On the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day members of the Town Council and Chamber of Commerce gathered to officially welcome two bright red bicycle-shaped bike racks to Woodstock. The new racks were purchased with funds raised through last summer’s Roots of Woodstock Live Concert and Eco Raffle. The racks are intended as functional sculpture—signaling to visitors and residents that Woodstock is serious about its 2007 Zero-Carbon Initiative. One rack is located in front of the Woodstock Chamber booth at 10 Rock City Road. The second is at H. Houst & Son (an Eco Raffle sponsor), 4 Mill Hill Road. In honor of the occasion publisher WoodstockArts designed a 20.4 mile bicycle route featuring “Stories of Woodstock.” Click here to download the PDF.

Other green initiatives underway in Woodstock during this 40^th anniversary year include the following:

• The Chamber’s Experience Woodstock Card. Available to residents and visitors for just $25, this card is a passport to a festival of special offers at many of Woodstock’s leading shops, galleries, performance spaces and other venues in the area. Its purpose is to encourage everyone to think globally but shop locally, thereby helping Woodstock and the environment. The card is currently accessible online at the Chamber web site, as well as at Lotus Fine Art & Design (33 Rock City Road), Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty (11-13 Mill Hill Road) and Rondout Savings Bank, (295-4 Route 375, near the Hurley Ridge Market in West Hurley).
• Publication of the 2010 Woodstock, NY Travel Guide, devoted this year to “celebrating 40 years of Earth Day.”
• Walkable Woodstock, being organized by Robin Segal, chair of the Woodstock Chamber’s Green Committee, with a map and web site. Visitors will be encouraged to enjoy auto-free vacations in Woodstock by walking to the many treasures that Woodstock offers within a half-mile of the Village Green.
• Liz Simonson’s workshop inspired by local author David Gershon’s Low Carbon Diet: A 30 Day Program to Lose 5,000 Pounds.
• Publication of The Green Guide, a downloadable Woodstock Environment Commission document designed to help us conserve our natural resources. It’s available on the Town web site at www.woodstockny.org.

Bike racks to be purchased for Woodstock

Forty years ago the ’69 Woodstock festival triggered many new trends. One such, the back-to-the-land movement, helped bring eco-consciousness to the forefront. The following year Earth Day was created. In March 2007 the Town of Woodstock passed a Zero-Carbon Initiative, pledging to neutralize Woodstock’s carbon footprint by 2017.

In a nod to these go-green efforts, the 8/15/09 Roots of Woodstock Live Concert was designated a Zero-Carbon fundraiser. This 40^th anniversary tie-in event, held at Woodstock’s Bearsville Theater, included an Eco Raffle with prizes contributed by a dozen of Woodstock’s leading businesses. Monies raised were to be used for the purchase of Energy Star refrigerators or bicycle parking racks.

Given the relatively modest amount raised by the raffle in this challenging economy ($1,166), the concert producers together with the Woodstock Environmental Commission (WEC) have determined that the money should be used for bike racks. The Town of Woodstock plans to purchase four racks, and the Roots producers will buy several more with the raffle proceeds. David Lewis of the WEC has offered to coordinate placement of the racks throughout the town.

Greg Stanton Organizing the Volunteers

The June 6th Spring Clean-Up Event in Woodstock, NY was a big success. Well over 100 volunteers turned out, and the bicycle teams picked up numerous bags of trash from roadside collectors distributed all over town. This was another event in support of Woodstock’s Zero-Carbon Initiative. Thank you, Greg Stanton, and all those who participated, including corporate sponsors!