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Guiding Principles
1. Make the Sustainable Choice
The concept of sustainability is considered in all Town decisions and policies. Most of the efforts required to make Jamestown more sustainable are voluntary actions from residents and business owners. Wherever it can, the Town will lead by example and implement sustainability measures and practices to demonstrate the benefits to the community as a whole.
2. Learn and Adapt
Information and research on many sustainability issues are evolving quickly, emergencies can occur, and funding opportunities can always shift. The Town will strive to be nimble, learning and adapting based on real world experiences and technology shifts, and not getting stuck doing things a certain way because that’s the way they’ve always been done.
3. Find the Critical Path
The Town’s available financial and human resources are limited. In an ideal world, we could tackle all of these issues at once, but we must be strategic and set priorities to follow a “critical path.”
4. Hear and Engage All Voices
The Town recognizes that it takes the collective efforts of its residents to make its vision a reality, and it should provide information and opportunities for the public to be part of the decision-making process. Equally, residents have a responsibility to be informed, involved, and engaged in the direction of their community.
5. Build a Shared Culture of Sustainability
To help cultivate a shared responsibility towards sustainability, the Town will also emphasize educational opportunities to support public awareness, responsibility, volunteerism, and cooperation with other organizations in town. The Town will encourage all members of the Jamestown community, including full- and part-time residents, visitors and tourists, community groups, businesses, and schools, to share in a culture that cares about its impacts on the island.
6. Recognize that No Island is an Island
Jamestown may literally be an island, but it is tied in many ways to the rest of Rhode Island, New England, and, indeed, the world. Being surrounded by Narragansett Bay, everyday life in Jamestown is directly connected to everything this resource has to offer and our actions directly affect its health. The Bay is an important environmental, economic, and cultural resource in the region and the state. Therefore, what happens in Jamestown cannot be separated from this broader context. Partnerships are encouraged to achieve our sustainability goals.