Vandergrift Improvement Program
The town of Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, is part of the Main Street program for economic redevelopment. Vandergrift in particular has chosen to work towards revitalizing the town by becoming an eco-municipality. The section of the project that focuses on sustainability is following the Natural Step method pioneered in Sweden. VIP Main Page
Current Efforts
Ideas put into practice so far include starting a farmers market that meets in the center of town, improving the towns recycling program, and beginning to educate the population at both the grade school and adult levels.
Affiliates
VIP is working with several other organizations to help with the town's transformation. Among these is the University of Pittsburgh chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World. This group is researching a new form of alternative energy, to be tested first in the river around Vandergrift. The group is also slated to help with the redesign of two buildings into sustainable locations for both businesses and as models for other changes.