Springfield recognized as 'green'

SPRINGFIELD - Its reputation beset by financial woes and political corruption, Springfield can feel a measure of solace in an upcoming magazine study that rates it the fourth greenest city in America.

Only Burlington, Vt., Ithaca, N.Y., and Corvallis, Ore., in that order, scored higher in the "Best Green Places" survey by Country Home magazine. Some 379 metropolitan areas, home collectively to more than 80 percent of the nation's population, were rated on everything green, including watershed purity, mass transit, recycling programs, power use, air quality and farmers' markets.

The study appears in the magazine's April issue, which reaches newsstands March 20.

"The news is not surprising to us," said Azell Murphy Cavaan, Springfield's community relations director.

"A lot of times, when you live in a city, you tend not to appreciate that city's richness, and this placement in Country Home magazine reminds Springfield citizens of how rich our city is," she said.

The magazine drew on data from various federal agencies, including the Census Bureau, Department of Transportation, Department of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency.

"We are seeing a real interest by readers in exploring eco-friendly choices," said Country Home Editor-in-Chief Carol Sheehan. "We wanted to find out who in America is actually taking action, where they are, and what they are doing."

Rounding out the top 10, in order, were Wenatchee, Wash.; Charlottesville, Va.; Boulder, Colo.; Madison, Wis.; Binghamton, N.Y.; and Champaign-Urbana, Ill. Other Massachusetts communities high on the list were Pittsfield, ranked 14th, and Barnstable, ranked 22nd.

Along with rating each community in various green categories, the magazine cited its top choices for unique, eco-friendly programs or features. Springfield was singled out for the ReStore Home Improvement Center on Albany Street, a project of the Center for Ecological Technology.

"It accepts donations of home improvement materials and sells them to the public at low prices in a convenient retail setting. Inventory includes used and salvaged materials and surplus stock from the building industry," the editors noted.

Burlington was cited for a compost facility that collects the city's home and business food scraps and yard wastes. Once it is finished composting, this nutrient-rich soil is purchased by local farmers, gardeners and landscapers.

Ithaca was cited for the number of its residents who walk to work - nearly 5,000, or 16 percent of the population. Corvallis was singled out for the fact that more than 15 percent of its residents, as well as the city government, purchase renewable energy.

Springfield has several green assets. The city has long had a model drinking water system, primarily because of the decision by city officials to purchase plentiful watershed lands, more than 12,000 acres, in Blandford and Granville, for its main reservoirs. The water from Cobble Mountain and Borden Brook reservoirs is so pure that city officials once considered bottling it and selling it through supermarkets and other stores.

"We're lucky we can just turn on the tap and drink such good water. A lot of communities don't have that resource," Cavaan said.

At the same time, the regional recycling program, in which most Western Massachusetts cities and towns bring their used metal, glass, paper and plastic to a processing facility on Birnie Avenue in the city, is considered a model of its kind. Established in 1990, it has helped create an infrastructure of businesses in the region that use recycled goods to create new products.

If there is a category in which the city loses green points it is in air quality. In the 1990s, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rated Greater Springfield one of the 10 metropolitan areas and geographic regions with the worst smog problems in the country. Only in 2001 did the region manage to escape the agency's list of regions consistently failing to meet the smog standard.

However, most of the smog is not the city's creation. In summer, the region receives much of the windblown pollution produced by metropolitan New York's early morning commute.

Springfield can boast three thriving farmers' markets, heavy use of the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority's mass transit system, and a world-class city park in the 735-acre Forest Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed New York City's Central Park.

"Springfield has no shortage of parks and green spaces in the city. And the city plans to spend $1 million this year for plantings and bringing fully mature trees into the city," Cavaan said.