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Welcome to the July edition of our newsletter! Summer is officially here, and with it the ever hotter days of a changing climate. Do you need help beating the heat? Our communities offer lots of resources for steps you can take to both protect yourself and your loved ones (including pets!), as well as actions to help cool our planet! Try to stay cool this July!
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!
PlugIN 2.0 wrapped up in June following a successful 10-month outreach campaign that promoted clean energy incentives and rebates across seven MetroWest communities. The initiative fostered collaboration among these towns through joint outreach, marketing, and events—including webinars—with a strong focus on increasing awareness and adoption of heat pumps, rooftop solar, and community solar.
Here's the impact:
Nearly 600individuals registered for webinars encouraging home electrification. Participants learned about topics including heat pumps, home and community solar, and induction cooktops.
Webinars were not the only place where plugIN saw strong engagement. The campaign included the opportunity for MetroWest residents to work with volunteer coaches – who are local community members trained to help participants get started with heat pumps or home solar. The plugIN website (plugINmetrowest.org) connected community members to coaching and other electrification resources.
As the program concluded a very successful run, we conducted a survey to assess community interest in continuing the campaign if additional funding is secured.
100% of respondents said they were interested in continuing plugIN!
Want to learn more? While the program is wrapping up, information and resources will remain available at http://pluginmetrowest.org.
Energize Boxborough, a project of the Boxborough Sustainability Committee, put together a fantastic, interactive booth at the town’s annual Fifer’s Day on June 21st.
Community members learned about a variety of waste reduction measures, and were able to put the knowledge into practice right away by picking up a free reusable dishcloth and entering for the chance to win a kitchen compost bin.
Attendees could also share their opinions on multiple upcoming Energize Boxborough initiatives. Many voted on the exterior design of the Swap Shed, a new space at the Boxborough transfer station where residents can share household items.
And fairgoers were eager to add stickers to a display board, indicating which focus areas and strategies were their highest priority for Boxborough’s first Climate Action Plan.
Marjorie Kamp decorated the booth with hand-made fabric signs encouraging sustainability. Marjorie runs a discussion series on the 2040 Book in person or via zoom where participants can create a Personal Climate Action Plan to reduce their carbon footprint. Interested? Contact marjoriek@comcast.net.
Energize Boxborough was established in November of 2021 following a town-wide Climate Change Survey. In the past few years, Energize Boxborough and the Sustainability Committee have reached milestones including:
launching a partnership with Black Earth Compost to begin residential compost collection at the Transfer Station,
establishing Boxborough as a “Green Community” in order to get state funding for energy efficiency measures.
As Sustainability Committee Chair Kate Davies explains,
Boxborough's community leaders both empower household climate action through the Energize Boxborough platform, and work closely with local government to "make sure that sustainability is embedded in all the work the town does."
MassEnergize's Climate Communications Intern, Eliza Rubel, created photo and video content with Energize Boxborough on Fifer’s Day.
We were excited to welcome Lisa Paul from Cooler Communities, Natalie Daly fromChrista McAuliffe Center, and David Roman Ubeda from Mass Save for an info-packed June Community of Practice meeting!
Lisa discussed how Cooler Communities brings climate solutions and sustainability to K-12 schools, giving valuable advice on integrating climate education into the classroom and the broader community.
Natalie shared strategies for engaging youth in climate action, including connecting with schools and teachers, tabling, and getting playful with outreach efforts.
David gave an overview of the ConnectedSolutions Program, which helps residents earn money by reducing their energy use using behind-the-meter technologies at key times.
Looking for slides and resources? Visit the MassEnergize Resource Center to access presentation materials and full resource links.
This was our final meeting before the summer break. We'll be back on September 8th with new sessions and plenty of community sharing. Enjoy the warm weather and stay tuned!
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