“Getting it Right” Looks Like a Bookstore Full of Changemakers
Last night, a group of Bedford 2030 bookclubbers packed into the Katonah Reading Room for a lively conversation on what it means to “get it right” in Bedford, celebrating our summer read of What If We Get It Right? by Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. Moms, teachers, mental health pros, local business owners, and passionate doers showed up ready to talk climate, waste, kids, and the future of Bedford.
The vibe? Electric, visionary, and totally inspirational.
Worries, Yes, & Hope, Sometimes—But Action, Always
It would be inauthentic for us to talk about climate change without diving into our worries: polluted oceans, declining wildlife, dismantled educational systems, climate migration injustice, and the fear that young people will (or already do) feel hopeless—they were all present in our conversation. But what made the night special wasn’t the anxiety; it was the ideas. Real, actionable, “let’s-do-this-together” solutions.
One Change, Huge Impact
We wondered, what one change could we make as a community that would have a huge impact on Bedford? Climate change is all of our problem, but it’s also personal and different for everyone. From composting in town instead of shipping it away to having accessible education on climate-friendly finance, attendees were thinking practically and creatively.
Other brilliant, big ideas:
- More civilian legislative action and elected officials speaking up about climate
- Town-wide reusable takeout containers
- Increased access to garden allotments and an easier process to donate them
- Decarbonized prisons and schools
- Electric school buses and sustainability action from our school districts
- Taxes on climate-harming products and producer behavior
- Making pesticides illegal and labeling harmful materials
The takeaway? Climate action isn’t always cute or fun tasks, like tree planting. Attending school board meetings, sorting your waste, writing letters to officials—these “non-sexy” actions add up, especially when a community takes them on together.
Why Bedford Makes Us Proud
Bedford is already part of the climate solution, and we’re proud of it. With our epic trees, bike paths, walkable streets, caring local businesses, creative spirit, and like-minded community members, we have a strong foundation to dream big and take action. Bedford is primed to lead the way toward a clean, healthy future—for our own town and the communities around us.
Dreaming of 2030 in Headlines
To end the night, we asked attendees to peer into their dreamscape—what climate-win headline would you love to see in the newspaper to ring in 2030?
Here are some of the inspirational local news headlines we envisioned:
- Young Entrepreneur Invents ‘House Atmosphere Paint’ that Absorbs Massive Amounts of Carbon
- 100% of Municipal and School Bus Fleets Have Gone Fossil-free
- New Climate Resilience Hub Opens in Bedford
- Solar and Wind Power Replace Oil Use in ALL Bedford Households
- BCSD Goes Green!
- Town of Bedford Installs 5 MW Solar Array on Commuter Lots
- Bedford Chosen as Model Town for Reducing Energy Use by 50%! Towns Around the Country are Following in its Footsteps
- Bedford Goes Plastic Free!
With Community Like This, We Can Get It Right
Alone we can make a dent, but together we can make an impact.
We were energized and deeply impressed by the incredible changemakers who showed up to celebrate each other’s bold ideas and rally around climate action in our community. Seeing solutions through the lens of our neighbors left our team inspired, motivated, and ready to lead. We’re rolling up our sleeves and moving forward to keep getting it right here in Bedford.