View this email in your browser

Hi neighbor!

Valentine’s Day is coming up and I’m a firm believer that living sustainably is an act of love. ❤️

It’s an expression of self love and love for others. It also feels good, and, to paraphrase Jackie DeShannon’s famous song, the world needs more of it.

So, this Valentine’s Day, I’m joining Natick Neighbors Compost on a mission to spread our love for sustainability. Will you join me?

Our goal is to send 250 messages of love for sustainability locally!

We’ve got free postcards with stamps to share, and are looking for volunteers to write and send them to their Natick friends and neighbors. The idea is to tell the people you love about the sustainable programs you love, and to inspire them to take action. You can write about compost or solar panels or your favorite trail. Whatever you love and want to share!

You can sign up to write five postcards or more. Want to learn more before you sign up? We made a guide with more info, suggested messages and other helpful tips. I hope you’ll consider participating! We all need a little more love in our lives.

And don’t forget to read the rest of this email, my monthly love letter to you. There’s a call for artists, a grant for EV planning and more dam updates. I hope it brightens your day!

Love,

Jillian Wilson Martin

Sustainability Director

Town of Natick

*This newsletter was proof read by a second grader at Johnson Elementary. Thank you, Winnie!*

The new Erica Ball community garden is on track to open this spring and we are excited to host a new public art project at this site.

The Erica Ball garden is envisioned as a community space where Natick residents can grow their own food, connect with neighbors, and spend time outside. Approximately 40 plots are available for residents to rent annually, and low income households have priority access. We are accepting applications and hope you’ll consider renting a plot!

In constructing the garden, a large maple tree had to be cut to provide enough sunlight to support a garden. This was a hard decision to make, and the bottom of the tree (approximately 10 feet of stump) was preserved for use as public art.

The Town is hiring a chainsaw carver to carve the remaining stump, and is partnering with the Natick Center Cultural District to host a call for local artists to help us design what will be carved.

What do you think should be carved? We invite you to participate in our call for artists. The artist with the winning design will receive $500!

The Charles River Dam Advisory Committee is meeting this afternoon, from 4-6:30 PM (you can join virtually here), and we have a packed agenda. During the meeting, we will:

• Hear from Mark Jacobson, of Paddle Boston, about what it’s like to kayak in S Natick

• Review findings from the recent public input survey on community use and recreation

• Learn about potential alternative methodologies to repairing the dam

• Learn more about a grant the Town received to complete a preliminary design of spillway removal

• And more!

After today’s meeting, the Committee is expected to pause for a few months, while we wait for some additional design work to be complete. We expect to resume meetings in May, with the goal of making a recommendation to the Select Board by the end of the summer. You can see our updated workplan here.

I’ve personally learned so much as a member of the Dam Committee, and am curious to hear your ideas on how to best share findings with the public. All of our meeting materials, including summary notes, video recordings and slides are available at http://natickma.gov/crdam, but I realize it’s a LOT of information.

We are exploring the possibility of making short video FAQs on key topics or even a podcast. What do you think? What resources would help you get more informed on the pros/cons of the different options? I’d love to hear your ideas!

Great grant news!

Natick received a Municipal Energy Technical Assistance (META) grant from the MA Department of Energy Resources (DOER) to assess opportunities and develop recommendations for transitioning our municipal fleet to electric and/or hybrid vehicles in accordance with our Net Zero Action Plan.

The Town’s fleet currently includes about 170 vehicles, from garbage trucks to police cruisers to passenger cars. Combined these vehicles are estimated to emit more than 1,790 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per year.

The grant will help the Town develop a multi-year vehicle replacement strategy that identifies:

• Initial and total-cost-of ownership of vehicle replacement

• Estimated energy, fuel and emissions savings

• Timeline based on replacement needs and market availability

• Recommendations for charging equipment

• Available grant opportunities to offset costs

• And more!

It should be a useful planning tool for Public Works and we are thankful to DOER for their support. I’m also personally grateful to Jeremy Marsette, our Director of Public Works, and Ken Fisher, our Equipment Maintenance Supervisor, for their enthusiasm and partnership on these efforts. Thank you!

We are excited to announce the MetroWest Solar + Clean Heat program has been extended until March 31, 2022! We have been thrilled by residents’ participation, and are happy to be able to extend the program.

It’s great timing for an extension because, in 2022, additional incentives for air-source and ground-source heat pump technologies are expected to become available through the Mass Save Program. The Department of Public Utilities is scheduled to finalize the details of that program by the end of January and the program website will be updated when the incentives are approved.

If you remain interested in the program, but haven’t scheduled your no-cost home assessment, now is the time!

If you remain interested and already completed a no-cost assessment, be sure to reach out to the installer(s) you have been working with. They should be able to provide you with updates on changes to costs, equipment availability, and Mass Save incentives that may have occurred since your last communication.

Should you have any questions or need help locating contact information for each of the installers, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the municipal team at metrowestcleanenergy@gmail.com.