Center For An Ecology-Based Economy

Programs: Electric vehicle (ev) charing infrastructure in western maine - thanks to the vision and generosity of anonymous donors, we began to identify key places and install charging stations in and around the area to promote the use of electric vehicles and reduce "range anxiety" for ev drivers. The project began in 2017 and will end at in the fall of 2018. Because of it, we have been able to install three key stations so far, and look forward to installing the remaining stations soon. The project also includes educational material for high school students and the public in the form of signage and brochures.

educational events and project management for our four working groups included the annual foothills food festival on august 12, 2017 with an attendance of 1500 people; the annual ev expo on september 16, 2017 with an attendance of 500 people, giving them the opportunity to test drive electric vehicles from area dealership and learn about "filling your tank with the sun," linking solar power to electric vehicles in an effort to reduce our dependance on fossil fuel and help to mitigate climate change.

the community bikeshare program used grant funds for bikes, bike parts, accessories, marketing, and management. The program is a free community service that the public can use to run errands, get some exercise, and go to meetings. We encourage people to "take a bike instead" in an effort to reduce the use of cars, calm traffic, and help people feel more comfortable riding bikes everywhere. The more people see bikes on the road, the more inclined they are to choose to ride a bike themselves. Our rural community is highly dependent on cars and when gas prices have soared in the past, some were unable to get to work. The bikeshare helped to alleviate this problem for some. We also encourage the use of electric-assist bikes, so that our hills are not a barrier for people to community into town. Most errands happen within a mile radius of our flat terrain within the town center, so it's easy for people to choose to ride. We have had up to approximately 100 people registered over four years.

edible main street (ems) has been enjoyed by many as a conversation starter, a place to learn about edible plants, and a way for people to grab a few herbs or greens for their meals. Ems is a project with many community partners to demonstrate how easy it is to grow food, teach people how to do it, and show that edible plants can be just as beautiful as ornamental plants on main street. We have 16 planters total that have been constructed as raised beds at hip height so that they are accessible to everyone and easy to manage. Community partners help to water the planters and keep them growing. Main street businesses have adopted planters to take care of during the growing season. Healthy oxford hills and the alan day community garden both use ems as an opportunity to teach low-income residence how to grow and use herbs for cooking, as well as to teach the youth leadership program how to manage the project.