FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Helena Peterson, Director
Coastal Hancock Healthy Communities
667-5352 office
667-5396 fax
667-7211 home
healthy@downeasthealth.org

Film Asks: Vibrant Communities or Sprawl?

Ellsworth, Maine, January 12, 2006 -- More traffic, more pollution, haphazard development, empty storefronts, less people walking and biking, disappearing open space and scenic vistas: how are these things related? They are all potential results of sprawl, a pattern of dispersed, low-density development. Local citizens are invited to learn about sprawl and its impact on quality of life on January 24th, 5:30 pm at the Hancock County Technical School cafeteria on Boggy Brook Road. Two local coalitions are sponsoring a viewing of the film “Save Our Land Save Our Towns”, by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Thomas Hylton.

The film highlights hopeful examples of smart development in an engaging and personal way, and helps all to understand how we ended up this way in so short a time. Following the film, there will be a brief discussion. The event is co-sponsored by Union River Healthy Communities and the Union River Watershed Coalition.

The event is the first of two community dialogues that will be held on the topic. The second dialogue will be held in February, and more details will be available at the January 24th event.

Admission is free, and those wishing to attend are asked to call 667-5352 to sign up, or to email healthy3@downeasthealth.org. Attendees are encouraged to bring a “bag dinner” if they wish.

Union River Healthy Communities is a community coalition whose membership is open to anyone with an interest in the goals of the coalition: to organize people and resources to improve the quality of life in the Union River region, through education, advocacy and action. The coalition is coordinated by Coastal Hancock Healthy Communities, a program of Downeast Health Services, a Healthy Maine Partnership funded by Maine DHHS Public Health, private foundations, and donations. The Union River Watershed Coalition provides leadership and assistance to organizations and individuals promoting the integrated social, economic, and ecological values of the watershed. Made up of diverse stakeholders, the URWC organizes a variety of public education, outreach, and water quality monitoring programs throughout the year.