Bristol Receives 'Sustainable CT' Funding for Outdoor Classrooms

Willimantic, CT (01/28/2020) — Bristol is among seven Connecticut municipalities to recently received funding from the Sustainable CT Community Match Fund for a sustainability-oriented community project.

Bristol's Public Works Department and Board of Education has full funding to build outdoor classrooms in all Bristol public schools. The city raised $7,475 from a crowdfunding campaign supported by 50 individual donations-the Sustainable CT match brings total funding to $14,950. The project is now in the planning phase; classrooms are expected to be completed by May 2020.

The Sustainable CT Community Match Fund doubled the funding available for each project with a dollar-for-dollar match. Sustainable CT is an initiative of the Institute for Sustainable Energy at Eastern Connecticut State University meant to assist communities in becoming more resilient and sustainable.

"Your donations will help create an outdoor classroom in every Bristol Public School," said Lindsey Rivers, public works analyst for the City of Bristol, of the crowd-funded effort. "Over 7,800 students will now be able to go outside and learn about nature and our natural environment. We've already made strides towards this in the Public Works Department while partnering with Bristol Public Schools. We built vegetable gardens at all the schools, allowing all our students to get their hands dirty by planting and maintaining their very own veggie gardens each season."

About Sustainable CT and Community Match Fund

Sustainable CT is funded by the Hampshire Foundation, Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation and Connecticut Green Bank. The Sustainable CT Community Match Fund is an innovative funding resource that provides a dollar-for-dollar match to all donations raised from the community, doubling local investment. The program is helping to bring projects across the state to life by providing fast, accessible funding as well as fundraising coaching and support to residents and organizations with great ideas to make their communities more sustainable.

Anyone in a Sustainable CT-registered municipality (more than 50 percent of the state) is eligible to receive this funding, meaning that schools, nonprofits, community groups and individual residents can all propose projects and access the matching funds. To start a Community Match Fund project, visit ioby.org/sustainablect or contact Sustainable CT's Abe Hilding-Salorio at hildingsalorioa@easternct.edu or 860-465-0256.

"Through the Community Match Fund, we aim to put residents at the forefront of creating positive, impactful change," said Hilding-Salorio, community outreach manager for Sustainable CT. "Match Fund projects are community led and community funded, demonstrating the power of people working together to make change in their communities."

Sustainable CT, an initiative by the Institute for Sustainable Energy at Eastern Connecticut State University, provides a roadmap of sustainability best practices for towns, technical assistance, funding and recognition through certification. Forty-seven towns and cities across Connecticut have earned the prestigious Sustainable CT certification, demonstrating accomplishments in nine impact categories including inclusive and equitable communities, cleaner transportation, vibrant arts and culture, natural resource stewardship and affordable housing. Find more information at www.sustainablect.org.

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