Your latest local news on sustainability and climate change action!

IN THIS ISSUE

Framingham Community Electricity taking comments
7 open space/recreation projects get the nod
Climate Action Plan kickoff
Curbside composting update
FSU to map heat islands
Briefs: FSC’s new youth member, No Mow May, garden plots, video series
FHS students take on Costa Rica
Upcoming events | In the news | What we’ve been reading

CITY NEWS

Framingham Community Electricity update

A 30-day public comment has begun on Framingham Community Electricity, a group electricity purchasing program for Framingham residents and businesses. Sustainability Coordinator Shawn Luz and consultants at Mass Power Choice presented the plan to the City Council on May 2.

The city will use its collective buying power to provide more stable rates, consumer protections (like the ability to opt out), and the option of getting more electricity from renewable sources. (Proposed plans include Basic, Standard Green, and Green Plus, with increasing amounts of renewable electricity.) The city will select the electricity supplier, but Eversource will still deliver the electricity, and the bill will still come from Eversource.

Comments must be received by 5 p.m. June 1, 2023. The plan then must be approved by the Department of Public Utilities before soliciting bids from energy companies. No action by residents or businesses on an Eversource basic plan is required to be enrolled (anyone enrolled with an electricity supplier other than Eversource will need to opt in).

10 open space/recreation projects approved by City Council

In 2020, Framingham joined about half of Massachusetts communities in adopting the Community Preservation Act (CPA), which uses local property tax surcharges (averaging $50 per residence per year) with a match from the state. On March 27, the Community Preservation Committee voted to advance 10 of 11 proposed projects. They deferred just one project: purchase of a conservation restriction for 43-45 Nixon Road.

On April 25, the City Council voted to fund all 10 recommended projects, including seven open space/outdoor recreation projects:

• An accessible dock at Lake Waushakum Beach, to provide easy boat access for people with mobility limitations. ($110,000).

• An accessible walking path and two scenic viewing platforms and ramps on the Carol Getchell Trail in Saxonville, which runs along the Sudbury River ($250,000).

• Improvements to the Arlington Street Park, located near downtown Framingham, including playground equipment and a splash pad ($250,000).

• Design work for the Chris Walsh Memorial Trail, which will provide residents of downtown Framingham with access to the Farm Pond area ($31,000).

• 11-acre land purchase at 103 Guild Street, preserving the area as a wetland ($250,000)

• Design study for new community garden sites at two southside city parks, Roosevelt Park on Fay Road and Bates Road Park off Hollis Street ($40,000).

• Improvements to the Temple Street Park, including an upgraded playground ($34,000).

Nine projects received a unanimous 10-0 vote. The Temple Street Park project was approved in a separate 9-1 vote after discussion. Councillor Michael Cannon argued against funding the project, arguing that the location was unsafe because of the proximity to the Mass Pike and the difficulty of crossing Temple Street. Councilors Tracey Bryant, Adam Steiner, and Christine Long, as well as a neighborhood resident, spoke in favor of the project, arguing the park was overdue for improvements. Councilor King argued against it but ultimately voted with the majority.

Climate Action Plan kicks off

Framingham kicked off its Climate Action Plan at the Earth Day Festival on April 22. Under the leadership of City Sustainability Coordinator Shawn Luz, the plan will guide efforts to make the city more sustainable and get to net zero emissions by 2050.

All residents are invited to get involved! More info at framinghamma.gov/CAP.

Keep up with the Climate Action Plan and other city initiatives by subscribing to the City’s new Framingham Sustainability newsletter. Email [email protected] to be added to the list.

Curbside composting update

There was a lot of interest in composting at the Framingham Earth Day Festival! We now stand at 324 Framingham subscribers to Black Earth Composting’s curbside service, up from 311 on April 14.

Energize Framingham hosted a survey at Earth Day to gauge Framingham residents’ interest in composting and curbside pickup of food scraps. With a huge shoutout to Nanette Magnani, here’s the tally:

• 59 people reported, “I already compost” (many in their backyards)

• 6 said, "Sign me up now” (we directed these folks to Black Earth Compost’s 15% Earth Day discount)

• 16 people indicated, "I will sign up if the cost drops to $4-5/month"

• 8 indicated, "I will sign up if I get a free bin”

• 47 people declared, “I will compost if it is a service provided by the city.”

City Councilor Janet Leombruno stopped by our table, asked for a photo of the final survey, and brought Mayor Sisitsky over to talk up citywide composting. (He was polite but noncommittal). We appreciate the support of Councilors Leombruno and Mallach and look forward to possible next steps!

FSU: A composting success story

Kudos to Framingham State University! The university has its own climate action plan, and at Earth Day announced that it had composted 117 tons of food waste in the past year, equivalent to the approximate weight of 17 African Elephants! With our state’s landfills projected to be full by 2030, other schools should learn how FSU, with a 6,000+ student body, diverts its food waste, one dish at a time. – Hiranmayi Narasimhan

FSU to collaborate on heat mapping project

Eliza Rubel

The City of Framingham has identified extreme heat as a top hazard for residents. This threat is intensified in urban heat islands, areas that experience higher temperatures than surrounding locations (typically increases of 1-7 degrees Fahrenheit). Heat islands occur when man-made, heat-absorbing surfaces like black asphalt replace natural materials like trees, soil, and water, which lower temperature through evaporative cooling.

This summer, Framingham State University’s McAuliffe Center will collaborate with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) to map urban heat islands in Framingham, Natick, Ashland and Holliston as part of the 2023 Urban Heat Island Mapping Campaign. The project, among just 18 projects selected by NOAA, will collect air temperature and humidity data with the help of volunteers and high school summer interns and identify areas where residents are most vulnerable.

Join the Heat Watch Campaign to help by driving in Framingham for just one day to collect heat data with the McAuliffe Center’s Community Science Team. The targeted data collection day is July 13 (subject to change).

BRIEFS

Meet the FSC’s new youth member

Hiranmayi Narasimhan, a current sophomore at Framingham High School, is joining the Framingham Sustainability Committee as its new youth member. She writes, “One goal I have is to increase sustainability in schools. I was compelled to step up to this responsibility because of my passion for helping the environment. I believe that in sustainability there is unity of people from all backgrounds.”

Appointed by the Mayor, Hiranmayi fills the youth member seat left vacant by Emma Rothwell, who graduated in June 2022. In her free time, Hiranmayi likes baking, spending time with friends and family, and learning biology and statistics.

No Mow May: Help our pollinators

Join our Energize Wayland neighbors and let your lawn grow luxuriously in May! Our native pollinators, especially bees and bumblebees, emerge from their winter homes in the spring and struggle to find adequate pollen and nectar. They will thrive on the small blossoms of clover and violets if we postpone mowing until summer. More on No Mow May

Last call on community garden plots

A few plots are left at the Victory over Hunger Garden at the Beacon of Hope United Methodist Church (shown here) and the Pratt Street Community Garden. Contact Mary Memmott (508-202-1039, [email protected]) if interested.

New resource: Video series

The Framingham Sustainability Committee Sustainability Series, a library of videos created in partnership with the Framingham Public Library, covers solar energy, electric vehicles, energy efficiency, heat pumps, and more topics to come. Check them out at: framinghamma.gov/sustainabilityseries.

FEATURE: FHS students take on Costa Rica

Eliza Rubel

Twenty-two Framingham Environmental Science students spent April vacation in Costa Rica for hands-on learning in rainforest and sea turtle ecology with Ecology Project International (EPI).

In the beautiful, biodiverse Tirimbina Rainforest Preserve, students investigated jungle ecosystems through day and night hikes, learned about aquatic macroinvertebrates (large water bugs like dragonfly nymphs) during aquatic field work, and discussed the natural and human-caused threats to these important rainforest habitats.

The next stop was the Pacuare Nature Reserve on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast, accessible by a 30-minute boat ride through wildlife-filled canals (watch out for crocodiles!). Researchers and field assistants work at Pacuare to protect nesting Leatherback sea turtles from human threats.

Students participated in the nightly turtle census, patrolling the beach for nesting Leatherbacks, collecting eggs and data on the mothers, and transporting eggs back to a hatchery. The census is conducted in total darkness in four-hour shifts, starting at 8 p.m., 10 p.m., and 12 a.m. – a truly unique experience. Over three nights, all groups got to see the massive Leatherback turtles nesting, returning to the ocean, or making a “false crawl” up the beach without laying their eggs. Groups lucky enough to see the Leatherbacks laying got to collect the eggs and measure the mother turtle (who is about six feet long, and between 1500 and 2000 pounds!). By day, students pursued independent research projects on topics ranging from leaf-cutter ants to shoreline biodiversity.

The group is now back in Framingham, feeling inspired to put their new conservation knowledge into action in their own community.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Thursday, May 4, 7 p.m. Let’s Get Future-Fit: Envisioning Metrowest Beyond the Climate Emergency 
Main Library, Costin Room and YouTube.com/Framingham Public Library. What could Framingham and the Metrowest area look like if we finally take the climate emergency seriously? How do we transform everything — our neighborhoods, economy, food and transportation systems, and more — in a way that is just and equitable? With Dr. Sabine von Mering, Brandeis University.

Saturday, May 6, 9-11 a.m. Route 135 Litter Cleanup with Keep Framingham Beautiful
Meet at Tosti's Service Center, 47 Waverly Street, Framingham

Saturday/Sunday, May 6, 7, 13, 14, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Stearns Farm Seedling Sale
862 Edmands Rd, Framingham

Wednesdays, May 10 and May 24, 7 p.m. Framingham Sustainability Committee meeting
Agendas and Zoom link posted on the city meeting portal 

Saturday May 13, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Cooler Communities Fair
Harmony Grove Elementary School
Framingham Public School students show their projects on climate change, energy efficiency, and related subjects, plus lots of information for parents and community members on how to save on energy bills and live in more climate-friendly ways.

Monday, May 15th 2023, 7:30-8:30 p.m. Indigenous People and Future of Climate Change
Congregation Or Atid in Wayland hosts Chéri Smith, founder of the Indigenous Energy Initiative. Free, on Zoom. Register

Carbon Countdown 2023. Free virtual events:

• Tuesday, May 16th, 7:00 p.m. Massachusetts Climate Chief MelissaHoffer speaks on an equitable and sustainable vision for Massachusetts

• Saturday, May 20, 9:30-11:00 a.m. Senator Mike Barrett on connecting citizen activists to the legislative process, and Climate Solutions Breakout Sessions.

Register

Thursday, May 18, 7:00 pm, 350 MetroWest Node meeting
Register

IN THE NEWS

Framingham

U.S. Department of Energy Announces $13 Million to Support Community Geothermal Heating and Cooling Solutions
Framingham is one of 11 communities across 10 states have been selected.

NOAA, communities to map heat inequities in 14 states, 1 international city (NOAA)

Framingham State, NOAA Project Seeks To Understand Extreme Heat (Patch)
Framingham and Brockton are among among just 18 projects selected by NOAA.

*Framingham is leading the way nationally with these two efforts!

State and regional

Mayor Wu announces expansion of Boston’s food waste curbside collection program (Boston Globe)
Service will increase from 10,000 households to 30,000 across the city starting in July. Cambridge and Newton also have citywide composting programs in place.
(Ed. note: Energize Framingham has helped recruit enough curbside composting subscribers to lower the price of a monthly subscription by 30 percent. Two local residents to describe how it works.)

Electric school buses serve as mini power plants during the summer (WBUR)
Beverly Public Schools is one of the first in the country to use its electric buses for more than transportation: they send electricity back to the grid.

Medford Outlines Tree Planting and Maintenance Strategy for 2023 Season
The City of Medford aims to plant more than 200 trees this year as part of its continual tree canopy strategy.

Healey touts ‘a ton more money’ for municipal climate planning (State House News Service)
The Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) 2.0 pilot program will select up to 30 municipalities, five in each region of the state, to undergo an expanded MVP process over the next two years.
(Ed. note: Framingham just updated its MVP plan for the years 2023-2028.)

Innovative low-income battery pilot finally wins approval in Massachusetts (Renewable Energy World)
The Cape & Vineyard Electrification Offering, a first-in-the-nation energy storage pilot, will offer free batteries, solar PV, and heat pumps to income-eligible customers.

Jury holds key to fate of $1 billion Hydro-Québec/Maine transmission project (Montreal Gazette)
A $1 billion transmission line bringing Quebec hydropower power to New England, rejected by Maine residents, now comes down to a jury of nine regular folks.

Seven States in Northeast Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub Announce Submission of $3.62 Billion Proposal to U.S. Department of Energy for Funding and Designation as National Hub (NY.gov)
Massachusetts joined with New York, New Jersey, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Vermont to compete for funding for clean electrolytic hydrogen projects under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

New York takes big step toward renewable energy in ‘historic’ climate win (The Guardian)
The bill, included in the state’s new budget, will require the state’s public power provider to generate all of its electricity from clean energy by 2030.

Watch: Top trends in climate and energy in New England (Canary Media on YouTube)
An informative panel breaks down climate and clean energy trends in New England, covering both the promises and the barriers to decarbonization. Panelists include Miriam Wasser, WBUR, and Sabrina Shankman, Boston Globe.

WHAT WE’VE BEEN READING

Less is More by Jason Hickel
The recent Framingham Repair Cafe generated a strong sense of community and long-term value with an infinitesimal effect on the Gross National Product. Less is More says it is about “degrowth”; better to say it is about shifting to a different form of growth. Beginning with a history of economic and social dynamics, it’s an easy read, with a reminder that the person who created the GNP statistic cautioned government officials not to use it for policy purposes. The key warning is that capitalism is real but “growth capitalism” will drive the planet off a cliff. The book closes with ways to create a sustainable presence of human beings: we can call it “community”! –Tim Brainerd

ABOUT US

Energize Framingham provides climate education, outreach, and advocacy to promote a healthy, equitable, and resilient community.

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