INTRODUCTION

Like many cities, Burlington faces a number of environmental challenges that can potentially affect human health and ecosystems and have an impact on the local economy. Burlington is increasingly making decisions about these problems with good science and a fair and inclusive public process.

The Burlington Eco Info Project's goal is to provide public access to clearly communicated, time-relevant (timely or real-time), useful, and accurate environmental monitoring data in an ongoing and sustainable manner. This two-year pilot project, made possible by funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will enable residents and policymakers alike to have expanded access to important environmental information, providing for improved decision-making.

This project is funded by an Environmental Protection Agency EMPACT grant. EMPACT stands for Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking.

The Burlington Eco Info Project has had a dialogue with the Burlington community through presentations, small group meetings, mailings, and the distribution of survey cards to learn about the community's priorities for environmental information. Read more about BEIP's public process and the Community Advisory Board. Over 500 community members responded to the survey with an equal representation of youth and adult residents. The most important environmental issues that they want to know more about were water quality issues, air pollution, waste, and transportation.

PARTNERS

PROJECT STAFF AND CONTRIBUTORS

Burlington Community and Economic Development Office
Betsy Rosenbluth, Project Coordinator
Michael Monte, CEDO Director
Nick Warner, CEDO Special Projects Manager

University of Vermont
Deane Wang, Associate Dean - School of Natural Resources
Elizabeth Royer, Eco Info Webmaster
Wesley Wright, Computing and Information Technology

Leahy ECHO Center for Lake Champlain
Phelan Fretz, Executive Director
Rachel Jolly, Youth and Volunteer Programs

Green Mountain Institute for Environmental Democracy
Ken Jones, Executive Director

Vermont Monitoring Cooperative
Phil Girton, Data Librarian