Notes from the Editors
As we publish our 25th issue of this booklet, we’d like to pause and note a few changes along the way.
In 2004, we started out with the first directory of organizations in the Lehigh Valley that promote sustainable communities. That first issue included a handful of opinion pieces, and we soon realized that a platform for others’ voices was an important part of the publication;
In 2011, we changed the title to Sustainable Lehigh Valley, partly to recognize the importance of what we now call “Voices of the Valley”;
In 2020, we took another big step: eliminating page after page of detailed directory listings and improving the index, which lists organizations by their field(s) of interest and provides direct links to the online directory, letting us devote more space to writing and art;
Our 2021 editorial intern observed that “writing and art raise essential questions and help us see things more clearly. [The arts have] a wonderful ability to foster empathy and critical thinking in ways that data alone cannot.” (Hannah Flaven, Moravian University ‘22)
Last year, we ran into an unplanned change: the cost of paper has soared, so we’ve worked to make the PDF format more readable and cut back on the number of copies we print.
As the reality of climate change sets in and weather events become
more frequent and extreme, we call your attention to the importance of climate resilience. If you can write or draw, we’d love to know how you see this!
The Alliance has considered food a key element of sustainability since our founding in 2003, but organic regenerative growing is also a key to mitigating climate disruption. Don’t miss ‘Renewing our Relationship With Food’ and ‘Local Organizations With Unique Connections to the Food System’!
It amazes us how few open discussions we see about climate and sustainability! Your voice can help initiate the difficult conversations we need to have as we work for climate resilience and ensure that nobody is left behind! [Also see Principles of Environmental Justice]
For this issue, we added a section with writers’ and artists’ statements about their work. Check it out!
- SLV 2023 Table of Contents
- Voices of the Valley – Alphabetic List of Authors
- Sustainable Lehigh Valley booklet
Leave a Reply