At AVANGRID and United Illuminating (UI), we know local communities can be powerful agents for change. We have a solid history of working with municipal leaders and local clean energy task forces and the results are clear.

From benchmarking energy consumption to formalizing a pledge to reduce that consumption and more, the legacy of our Clean Energy Communities program, provided our municipalities for many years with vital resources including technical assistance, outreach campaigns, clean energy certification programs, and even Bright Ideas Grants to drive more local energy efficiency projects. These award-winning programs inspired what became Sustainable CT, an organization now committed to building on the work of Connecticut’s utility companies.

Drawing upon this vision to create more sustainable, resilient and vibrant communities across the state, Connecticut Public Television partnered with Sustainable CT sought out organizations in certified communities solving these challenges at a grassroots level. With support from the Avangrid Foundation, CPTV showcased these stories in Re:source:ful – Growing Sustainable Communities, a new film documenting how organizations from the coast to the valley to the capital city are making our Connecticut communities leaders in sustainability.

CPTV is Connecticut’s only statewide, community-owned public media resource, providing accessible programming that informs, educates, entertains and inspires audiences in Connecticut and beyond. CPTV seeks to be an essential source for truth and ideas that connects Connecticut’s citizens more closely to their communities and to the world – and through its Emmy award-winning journalism and storytelling highlights what makes our state an extraordinary place to live, work, and play.

As Re:source:ful shows, Connecticut is full of amazing stories, including:

• A partnership between Bristol Public Works and the city’s elementary schools, installing full classrooms outside—complete with chalkboards and stools—to bring students closer to nature, teach them about taking care of the environment and to complement the community gardens.
• A tree planting program in New Haven started as a partnership between Yale School of Forestry and the city to increase its tree canopy and create a community greenspace for all. To promote community-based land stewardship, residents have a voice in where they would like trees planted.
• Hartford’s BiCi Co., a community bike shop selling up-cycled bicycles, teaching bike safety to area residents and serving the city’s need for efficient, safe and inexpensive transportation. BiCi Co. also runs “Earn a Bike” programs for local youth, as well as a “Bikes for Jobs” program for people re-entering society from the prison system, helping them get to work, programs and meetings.
• Community gardens and farmers markets across the state in Newtown, New London/Groton and Bridgeport and associated programs donating thousands of pounds of food to those in need. Watch Bridgeport in action below!
• Connecticut’s new Barn Quilt Trail, debuting in New Milford. Giant quilt murals are being hoisted onto barns to pay tribute to the farming community and agricultural history of the region. The “quilts” are installed on working farms as well as historic barns that have been preserved.

Re:source:ful premiered Saturday, September 26 on CPTV’s local channels and is available on demand on CPTV’s website, on YouTube, and on the free Connecticut Public mobile app. Check it out!

Re:source:ful, in partnership with SustainableCT, is just one of many initiatives the Avangrid Foundation supports, and we continue to track the progress of towns our working toward ambitious goals this year. (See how your town is doing here!)

The Avangrid Foundation is committed to sustainable development and being dynamic stewards of our communities and environment in accordance with the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, and in partnership with grassroots efforts making real impact at a local level.

This action supports: