Willimantic, CT — On March 21, Eastern Connecticut State University’s Institute for Sustainable Energy (ISE) teamed up with officials from the Town of Windham and the environmental group Second Nature for a day-long workshop creating a community resilience plan. Resilience planning helps organizations and municipalities to be better prepared for emergencies.
Members who participated created a plan for Eastern as well as the outside community. “The workshop helped us understand some of Eastern and the town’s vulnerability areas,” said Laura Miller, energy technical specialist for education and training. “We were able to review old and current plans to see what needed to be changed or evolved.”
Participants broke into three groups and were asked to highlight vulnerabilities and strengths of different aspects of the campus and community such as infrastructure, environment and social capacity. At the end, the three groups joined together to share their findings. “We got a lot done,” said Miller. “We are hoping to have another workshop in the future because it’s important to maintain a connection with the community.” Each group created a map as well as a key vulnerability sheet to share.
ISE interns and faculty members facilitated the sessions. “Town members expressed the need for continued contact with our campus, “said Miller. “When the event was over, they wanted to keep going. It was a very successful workshop.”