Two Dedicated and Long Term Volunteer Leaders Stepping Down

I arise in the morning torn between a desire to save the world and a desire to savor the world. This makes it hard to plan the day. E.B. White

Two of Sustainable Hanover’s most dedicated, effective, and long term volunteers are stepping down from their leadership roles. Susan Edwards is ending her sojourn as Chair of the Waste Reduction and Recycling initiative and Marjorie Rogalski, as Co-Chair of Sustainable Hanover.

Susan Edwards - Waste Reduction and Recycling

No Hanover volunteer has done more to reduce waste and encourage recycling than Susan Edwards. Susan admits to “always having been interested in the environment.” She grew up during and post World War II in England where her original family of six did “not have a lot of stuff,” repurposed what they had, composted, gardened, and lived by the motto “waste not, want not.” She has continued those traditions and lived by that motto ever since.

In 1970 Susan crossed the pond so that her husband Brian could complete a postdoc in physiology at McGill University while she continued her work as a physical therapist. Four years later, they moved to Hanover.

In the late 1970s, Hanover faced a serious challenge. The Lebanon landfill would be full within a decade and expensive to replace. This led to Hanover establishing an Ad Hoc Solid Waste Study Committee that morphed into an official Town Recycling Committee.  Susan was one of the early shakers on this Committee.

Susan isn’t quite sure when she became involved, she claims it was not before 1981 when the Town built a new Recycling Center. But she was there in 1983 when the Town encouraged Dartmouth to start recycling and in 1993 to promote composting when NH passed a law barring leaves/yard waste from going into landfill. With others, she advised the Town in 1990 to institute curbside recycling and in 2012, single sort. When attention subsequently shifted to reduce and reuse, Susan came up with the idea of what became the very popular Community Yard Sale. She has been running it since 2010. After a two-year hiatus during COVID and to the delight of many committed sellers and buyers, the Yard Sale returns this Sept 3rd for its 11th year under Susan’s able stewardship.

While the Yard Sale is undoubtedly Susan’s flagship contribution, she’s been involved with countless other efforts. She influenced the responsible collection and management of household hazardous wastes from which we all now benefit. She encouraged folks to reduce other waste by using cloth instead of disposable diapers, town instead of bottled water, and cloth instead of paper or plastic bags at the COOP. She’s also been pivotal in recycling plant pots, metal, appliances, Christmas trees (“Merry Mulch”), styrofoam, and more!

Marjorie Rogalski - Climate Change and Sustainable Hanover

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, a larger and more complex challenge was emerging - climate change. Marjorie Rogalski remembers going to a sobering talk on this subject by the Donella Meadows Institute at the Howe Library and coming away with a compelling need to “do something.” She joined the national Sierra Club’s local Cool Cities Campaign that emphasized reducing carbon through things like energy audits, weatherization, anti-idling and more efficient streetlights. This effort triggered conversations with Town Manager Julia Griffin who invited several members, including Marjorie, to join the existing Recycling Committee. Marjorie accepted the invitation just as discussions were underway to increase this committee’s scope.

Marjorie (and Susan, too!) were there in 2008 when the Recycling Committee morphed into the Sustainable Hanover Committee with the mandate to address a wider range of and larger sustainability issues. According to Marjorie, things “took off” in 2013 when Sustainable Hanover began promoting electricity generated from renewable sources. Members met with Hanover’s large electricity consumers to enlist their participation in purchasing renewable energy certificates (RECs). Within a year, Town government, Dartmouth College, the School District, Kendal, Dartmouth Printing, Hypertherm and the Food Co-op purchased enough RECs to qualify Hanover as an official EPA Green Power Community.

In 2016, Marjorie agreed to co-chair Sustainable Hanover. In this position, she supported the Hanover Green Power Initiative that enabled retail residents to purchase green power. In collaboration with Vital Communities, she helped launch the first of three solarize programs. In 2017, she embraced the Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 campaign, and, when voters overwhelmingly supported these goals at the 2017 Town meeting, led efforts to implement them. Under Marjorie’s watch, the scope of Sustainable Hanover crystallized, best described by its three pillars -- community, energy, and environment. Its many initiatives all have Marjorie’s mark.

Marjorie’s Co-Chair has been Yolanda Baumgartner, whom Marjorie had successfully recruited several years earlier. Yolanda recently said about Marjorie, “She has been a great partner. The fact that I have any momentum after all these years is very much related to Marjorie's generous support and encouragement.”

As Susan and Marjorie move on, we can all agree that they have done more than their fair share in trying to save this world for future generations. We honor them, their leadership, and their many contributions with awe and gratitude. Even though they promise to contribute in smaller ways, we are sad to see them step down and wish them the very best. May they now have more time to savor the world’s many treasures!