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(Photograph provided by EcoNatick)
I hope that your summer has not been too uncomfortable. As I am sure that you heard, several days in July were the hottest average global temperatures in human history! This does not bode well and makes our work at MassEnergize all the more important! Thank you for your continued support and interest.
As always, please reach out to let us know what else we can be doing to support you or your community on the road to a healthier planet for all!
(Photo Courtesy of Debby Marion)
One year after EcoNatick launched its MassEnergize website, the 2023 Earth Day Around Natick Festivalhelped EcoNatick.org achieve the highest engagement of any MassEnergize community platform for the month of April.
“When we organized Natick's Earth Day in 2022, we wanted to do something new that would grab people’s attention,” said EcoNatick’s co-facilitator Debby Marion. “We printed up lawn signs and reached out to local businesses, schools, and organizations. We asked people to share their own Earth-friendly projects, and their creativity surprised us! We had a heat pump demo, a bike tour, goat-scaping, an activist art build, trail cleanups, and even a geology tour called 'Natick Rocks'!
For Earth Day 2023, EcoNatick kept the weekend-long distributed festival model and added an Earth Friendly Fair with tables and booths on the Town Common. These included an electric vehicle petting zoo, home insulation services, and demonstrations from local climate activists. A popular tent offered kids the chance to make signs supporting No-Mow-May. You can find a detailed list on EcoNatick’s website.More information about how to host a similar event in your community is detailed in thisMassEnergize playbook.
Building off the success of two Earth Day festivals, EcoNatick continues working at the local level, encouraging residents to adopt sustainable practices. “Every day is Earth Day!" said Debby. She added that the team has also hosted online forums for local elected officials, asking how they plan to bring a climate crisis lens to their respective roles.
"There is still so much more to do," she said. The EcoNatick team will begin focusing on specific "passion projects," such as preserving mature trees, turning off idling cars, promoting renewable energy in new construction, and acquiring electric school buses. “People want to see the results of what they do in areas that matter most to them," Debby said. "When you can do that as part of a team, it's fun, rewarding, and good for the Earth."
As EcoNatick team members explore the next steps for the organization, they hope to engage with many spirited volunteers who share this vision. If this sounds good to you, contact the EcoNatick team to learn more!
As we continue to fuel our commitment to empowering communities and driving sustainable impact, we wanted to take a moment to remind you of the MassEnergize Resource Center!
The Resource Center serves as your one-stop destination for a wealth of tools and information ranging from event organizing to best practices for your MassEnergize platforms. You'll also find past Community of Practice recordingsand various tools and resources shared by other communities, all thoughtfully curated to elevate your community initiatives.
Don't forget to keep an eye out for two exciting upcoming playbooks! First, we'll be diving deep into "Fundraising for Your Organization," equipping you with effective strategies and tools to secure the necessary funding for your local climate action initiatives. Next, get ready to unravel the mysteries of "Interpreting Your Google Analytics Report," turning your monthly website data into actionable insights to amplify your outreach!
The MassEnergize Resource Center is here to support you on your journey to achieve your community goals! If you have any questions about the Resource Center, please contact support@massenergize.org. Your feedback is invaluable to us, and if you have any suggestions for possible playbooks or resources you'd like to see in the future, we'd love to hear from you!
Celebrating Pollinators promises family fun and learning with gardening activities, pollinator crafts, and games. Meadowscaping for Biodiversityempowers youth to heal the planet through nature-based solutions. For more information, email bpassero2013@gmail.com, call 508-746-1539, or look at this web page from Green Newton.
Eating more plant-based food is an immediate and DELICIOUS way to put less CO2 into the atmosphere.
Please join us at this fun potluck picnic to celebrate plant-based meals. We are not saying that people should give up all meat; rather, we are saying that vegetable dishes are downright yummy (and also good for the environment!).
Best of all, if you already have inspiring vegetarian or vegan recipes in your home repertoire, please bring one of your favorites.
Join a virtual public forum to learn more about the Town’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan and provide comments on the draft plan. The Resilient Lexington plan builds upon a solid foundation of climate leadership and charts the path forward to a more sustainable future. The draft plan is the result of a year-long planning process, which has involved a combination of greenhouse gas analyses, public engagement, and close guidance from a working group made up of Town staff and representatives from Town committees and community organizations. Learn more about the Climate Action & Resilience Plan.
12th annual tour of home and community vegetable gardens in Framingham, sponsored by Transition Framingham, supported by Energize Framingham. This year we will focus on gardens south of route 9. Stay tuned for more details (where to meet, etc.) This is always a fun and educational event.
Do YOU happen to have a home vegetable garden south of route 9 that you would like to feature on the tour, or know someone who does? We are still looking to add a few more stops -- please contact Mary Memmott if interested - email memmottm@gmail.com, or call/text 508-202-2229.
A recent NPR/Ipsos poll suggested that a majority of American parents and teachers want their kids to learn about climate change. But the poll also confirmed that there is hardly any climate education in our schools: “most teachers aren't actually talking about climate change in their classrooms.”
Massachusetts is no exception. “Massachusetts, a science and biotech center, ranked very low in a study of climate change curriculum policy,” concluded Renee Cho, author and regular contributor to the Columbia Climate School earlier this year.
During the summer, we like to spend time with friends and family and take a break from the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives. Unfortunately, the summer months are also when our CO2 emissions are the highest. From long road trips to the extreme usage of air conditioning, we are all contributing to the billions of tons of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) emitted each year. While the problem is big, we can make small changes to our everyday lives and contribute to a cleaner environment.
This Blog Postdetails 5 ways to reduce your ecological footprint this summer.
The call for sustainable solutions in all aspects of our life has grown in recent years due to climate change. Among the strategies aimed at reducing our carbon emissions within the transportation sector, one particular solution stands out: electric vehicles (EVs). Transportation accounts for the largest portion of total US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at a staggering 29 percent. In fact, highway vehicles alone emit over 1.4 billion tons of greenhouse gasses every year. Embracing EVs will be a crucial step towards a cleaner and greener future, as they offer a combination of environmental benefits, lower costs, and technological advancements. But should you invest? Click here to read the blog post.
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