Green Team
ABOUT US
Sustainable Boonsboro is the name of Boonsboro's initiative to become certified in the state-wide program sponsored by the Maryland Municipal League and the Environmental Finance Center at the University of Maryland.
Using best practices in resource areas like water, energy, planning, health, food, and economy, a municipality can earn points toward sustainability certification. The program is open to all municipalities in the state and helps them choose a direction for their sustainability efforts.
​
To become certified, Boonsboro:
-
Adopted a town resolution for participating in Sustainable Maryland Certified (Resolution 2013-01)
-
Created a Green Team to coordinate efforts
-
Developed an Action Plan
-
Earned a minimum of 150 points required for certification by implementing projects that promote sustainability.
The Town of Boonsboro was first certified in 2014. Since then, the Town has been re-certified every three years (2017, 2020, and 2023) when more community-based initiatives were adopted.
GREEN TEAM'S MISSION
To promote environmentally sound practices that encourage town leaders and residents to live sustainably in our thriving historic community.
GREEN TEAM'S VISION
To encourage residents to maintain a lifestyle that enhances the town’s natural and human resources for future generations through education, planning, and sustainable actions.
GREEN TEAM
Green Team Chair, Kathy Vesely was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, but has lived in Boonsboro for 25 years. She was a
“career” military wife and lived in many places—California, New York, England, and Maryland. She
became involved with a dedicated group of environmentally-conscious women in Boonsboro and was a
founding member of both the Boonsboro Green Fest and the Boonsboro Environmental Commission
(the first environmental commission in the county). She has been an anti-fracking activist and is the past Chairperson of the Boonsboro Environmental Commission. She continues to fight for the environment any way she can.
Green Team Member Barbara Blass Wetzel has lived in Washington County since 1973 and in Boonsboro since 1985. She first became
active in community issues when she joined the grassroots effort in 2007 to bring curbside recycling to Boonsboro residents. Besides being a founding member of the Recycling Task Force, she also has been a member of the Boonsboro Green Fest Committee since its inception in 2009, a member of the Boonsboro Town Council from 2008-16, and a
current member of the Boonsboro Environmental Commission (since 2019) and the Tree Board. A native Michigander, Barbara graduated from Central Michigan University with a degree in journalism and worked for several daily and
weekly newspapers. Later she held positions in public information and marketing and, along with her family, operated two local businesses.
Eric Kitchen is a life-long resident of Boonsboro. After nearly 40 years, he retired from the National Institute of Standards and Technology where he was the senior administrator for the Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory. Before being elected as a Town Council Member in 2022, he served on the Boonsboro Utilities Commission. In his spare time, Eric enjoys fishing and muscle cars of the sixties and seventies.