OLD SAYBROOK - Preserving and sustaining what residents cherish about Old Saybrook-its natural resources, mix of residents and social structures, small-town character, and local economy-while reducing the impact on the environment is at the core of a new Conservation Commission initiative called Sustainable Saybrook-not too tall an order. But helping to guide the commission's community engagement and sustainability education initiative is Sandy Prisloe, who provides staff support to both the Conservation Commission and the town's Inland Wetlands Commission.

As the town's wetlands enforcement officer, Sandy works with homeowners to adjust their projects to avoid impacts to wetlands.

"I try to encourage homeowners to shift or move a proposed development or structure where possible to an area outside of the upland review area or at least as far away from the wetland as possible," says Sandy. "I like to think my role is education as opposed to enforcement-to explain why wetlands are valuable, why they are regulated, and how homeowners can minimize impact."

In his role as shepherd for the Conservation Commission's new Sustainability Initiative, Sandy taps his many years of experience with geographic information systems and as an educator of public officials about land use, planning, and natural resources.

Helping to find and share with the community tips to reduce the carbon footprint is one element of the new initiative. And even small changes can make a difference. Switching from a conventional type font like Times New Roman to an Ecotype font that uses less ink per letter can reduce the amount of computer printer ink needed by 20 percent.

"Changing behaviors can yield both a financial and an environmental savings," says Sandy. "This initiative has been really fun to work on."

Sandy is just completing his first year working for the Town of Old Saybrook after having spent most of his career with the State of Connecticut. For 14 years, he was an environmental analyst in the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP, recently renamed Department of Energy and Environmental Protection) Natural Resource Center, a non-regulatory group that first introduced geographic information system (GIS) mapping to the state.

"The whole idea was that for the state to make good environmental decisions, it needed really good information on water, soil, and systems. The group was established to collect and distribute data and mapping of geology, soils, and resources," he says.

"When I first started at DEP, we used pencils, mylar, and typewriters," Sandy notes, but it wasn't long before computerized geographic information systems became the standard technique-and Sandy's special area of expertise.

After leaving DEP, he did GIS consulting for six years before rejoining the state to work for 11 years in the University of Connecticut Agricultural Extension Service's Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR).

"Twenty years ago CLEAR began offering workshops for municipal officials [Non-Point Education for Municipal Officials or NEMO] that focused on [exploring] the linkages between land use and water quality. We [taught] them what they could do to minimize impact like using pervious pavement and grassed swales. Old Saybrook was always put forth as a shining example and model for implementing NEMO principles," says Sandy.

So while he enjoyed the hiking, kayaking, and travel of his retirement, when the Old Saybrook 29-hour-a-week staff opening arose a year ago, he decided to return to environmental work in this model town.

Sandy also provides his environmental expertise to his hometown of Chester. Currently, he serves on the Camp Hazen Board of Directors-he previously was its president-and also for the past decade has been on the town's Conservation Commission, the past six years as its chairman. In July of this year, the Conservation Commission's Energy Task Force developed the town's first comprehensive energy plan for reducing energy use.

One concrete result of the plan is a Board of Finance-ordered change requiring town departments to have a separate line item for their energy spending.

Encouraging a sustainable environment for future generations to enjoy is the thread that binds Sandy's volunteer and his paid experiences-and fuels his commitment to the success of the new Sustainable Saybrook initiative.