|  |  | Last week, I had the privilege of meeting with a neighboring municipality that is considering hiring its first sustainability position. It was fun, and I’m grateful they reached out because the conversation reminded me why I love what I do. What do I do, you ask? They asked the same question. My answer: everything! Sustainability is a broad field - from composting to climate change to complete streets to community engagement and everything in between. It’s a great job for learning, and I love sharing what I learn with you. To give our neighbors a taste of what I do, I shared the slides I usually present during Natick’s Citizen Leadership Academy. It was a good reminder that we’ve done a lot, that we have more to do, and that we need to be smart about how we invest our time and energy given the urgency of climate change and the limited resources we have to battle it. With this in mind (and as part of a municipal leadership class*), I recently made a list of the tasks I work on to see how I could optimize my time. Advancing our Net Zero Action and Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Plans are my main priorities, and I want to stay laser focused on these tasks. As part of the exercise, I assessed each task for impact, alignment with key plans and opportunities to partner with others. |  | The experience was eye-opening and is helping me stay focused on what matters. That said, I’m still working on it, hence why today - after being too busy to write you in August - I’m dedicating this newsletter to Natick’s *high priority* sustainability projects, plus a few bonus, fun news. I hope you find these projects as exciting and meaningful as I do! With gratitude, |  | Jillian Wilson Martin Natick Sustainability Director PS: Do you have any desire to receive this newsletter as a podcast? Or do you prefer receiving these love notes via email? Email me if you have an opinion! PPS: Do you work in publishing? If yes, please email me. I have a question for you! *Thank you Natick for investing in my growth as a municipal leader! | |  | Natick residents have been rocking the MetroWest Solar + Clean Heat Challenge, which provides discounts to residents on clean energy technology. This summer, more than 200 Natick residents signed up to have their homes assessed for solar and heat pumps, and many are now contracting the installation of these systems. Contracts have been picking up as summer winds down, and we recently passed our 200 kW solar goal! |  | If you’re interested in learning more about the program, want to talk to a volunteer about a proposal you received, or just want to meet up and enjoy some free food and fun… Please join us and our program installers for a Clean Energy Night on October 7 from 6:30 - 8:30 PM at Exhibit A in Framingham! Ace Solar, New England Ductless and Achieve Renewable Energy are sponsoring the outdoor event and will be providing free meal tickets for clean energy guests. There will also be a raffle and you could win a super cool Jackery solar-powered portable generator! | |  | Seriously, it is going to be fun and I am using it as my last hurrah before another Covid winter. I hope you do the same and that we can hang out at the event! | |  | No dam decision expected until next year! The Charles River Dam Advisory Committee (say that three times fast) has begun its deep dive into issues raised during the public input process the Town managed this summer. The Committee expects to address all the questions and concerns residents posed about the future of the dam as part of a series of meetings this fall and early winter. You can learn more by participating in Advisory Committee meetings, and even by joining the Committee on an upcoming field trip! This afternoon (on 9/22 from 4 - 6 PM, sorry for the late notice!) the Committee will hear a presentation from GZA, the Town’s dam engineering consultants, and will seek to learn more about potential flooding impacts. The agenda and dial-in info to this virtual meeting is available here. Remember, a recording will also be posted at http://natickma.gov/crdam. And on the morning of Saturday, 10/2, you are invited to join the Committee on a field trip to Andover, MA! The field trip will take us to the sites of two former dams on the Shawsheen River that were removed in late 2016 (photo above is of the Balmoral Dam). The field trip will likely NOT be recorded, so please consider meeting us in Andover if you are interested! The agenda and directions are available here. | |  | Fun fact: When I was 13, I helped move books as part of a “book parade” from a temporary library in Natick Center to the newly renovated and expanded Morse Institute Library - one of our community’s finest gems. Libraries have a special place in my heart, so I am THRILLED to be working on an exciting project to electrify the building - an action very much in line with our Net Zero Action Plan (priority #11). Nearly 30 years since that book parade (gasp!) and the expanded library’s grand opening, the mechanical equipment that made the Morse Institute cutting edge in 1996 is now obsolete or in need of replacement/major repair. Two critical systems are especially in need of replacement: the library’s building controls and chiller (air conditioning) system. The Town has been working with the UMass Clean Energy Corps, the Dept. of Energy Resources (DOER), Eversource, and an engineering firm to align these major replacements with Natick and the state’s net zero goals. In the spring, we completed a basis of design that would convert the chiller to a heat pump system (that can heat AND cool the building, thereby displacing one of the library’s two gas boilers), and we were recently awarded a grant from DOER to develop a bid package for the heat pump. (Thank you, DOER!) This fall we will be applying for a larger implementation grant to pursue this work, and we are also asking for capital funding at Fall Town Meeting to support what the grant can’t cover. I’ll be sure to keep you in the loop as this project progresses. | |  | The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) just published an updated map of Environmental Justice (EJ) neighborhoods and there are several in Natick. Do you know what an EJ neighborhood is? In Massachusetts, a neighborhood is defined as an EJ population if any of the following are true: the annual median household income is not more than 65 per cent of the statewide annual median household income; minorities comprise 40 per cent or more of the population; 25 per cent or more of households lack English language proficiency; or minorities comprise 25 per cent or more of the population and the annual median household income of the municipality in which the neighborhood is located does not exceed 150 per cent of the statewide annual median household income.
Historically, Natick’s EJ populations have been underrepresented in local government decision-making processes and are largely more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. This is (sadly) common, and Natick, Framingham and Ashland recently received a Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Action Grant from the EEA to work together and build relationships and resilience with these neighborhoods. (Thank you, EEA!) The project is kicking off this week and will involve an 18 month process to connect with EJ residents, learn from them and update municipal plans to ensure their voices are reflected. In Natick, we will be partnering with groups like Natick is United, Natick Desi, YMCA, Mass Audubon and others to build connections and advance this important work. Thank you to these organizations for helping us with our grant application and for engaging in this work! | |  | Here’s some happy news and opportunities I thought you might dig: Sheep! The Natick Water Dept needed a non-toxic option to get rid of poison ivy and brush at the reservoir. Their solution: partner with a local shepherd and have sheep do it for free. Here’s a picture of the sheep by the reservoir. The pen gets moved everyday and the hill will be cleared in about two weeks. The sheep eat the grass, so no lawn mowing, and the goat eats the poison ivy, so no chemicals. Yay Natick Water! (XOXOXO) Turn Plastic Bags into Pucks: At our last Earth Day Festival (pre-Covid), we had the great pleasure of hosting the founder of Obaggo, a startup company that is focused on making plastic bags easy to recycle. Obaggo is going to be launching an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign soon. If you’re interested, please sign up for updates from their website. Turn your Yard into a Carbon Sink: Our friends at Black Earth Compost have a new service! During the first week of October, you can sign up to have a yard or more of compost delivered to your home. Composting is great for soil and for combating climate change. Check it out! | | |
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