Today is Earth Day: How are you celebrating?
Happy Earth Day! It's been several months since we sent an update via the Sustainability Newsletter and Earth Day is a fitting time to hit restart. The last newsletter celebrated the publishing of the Climate Action Plan (more on that below). Shortly after the plan went live, the Sustainability Director (AKA the person writing this newsletter) went away on parental leave. Now we are back, and it's a perfect opportunity to shift the focus of this newsletter, from planning for climate action to action. For ideas on how to commemorate Earth Day...keep reading!
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Earth Week Actions & Events
There are several exciting sustainability initiatives happening right now and Earth Day is a great motivation for getting involved.
There are three things you can do today, from the comfort of your phone or computer:
- Seek support or guidance to make your home more sustainable by switching to clean energy technologies: Schedule a meeting with a trained volunteer Energy Coach from the community by visiting abode.energy/acton.
- Save water! Take the pledge together with the Town of Acton and the Acton Water District: visit mywaterpledge.com and search for Acton, Massachusetts to take the 4-step conservation pledge.
- Sign up for Energize Acton to join your Acton friends and neighbors and keep track of actions like installing solar or switching to an induction stove. Visit energizeacton.org!
If you want to get moving this week, there are three exciting events you can participate in during #EarthWeek!
- Join the Acton Water District, AB PIP STEM, and EnergizeActon at the start of the week with a guided Acton Water Wise Nature Walk on Wednesday, from 3:00-4:30PM. Register here!
- Kick off the weekend with a tree planting in celebration of Arbor Day at the Acton Memorial Library on Friday at 9:30AM. Did you know that Acton is a Tree City USA? The Town has received national recognition for making trees a priority and meeting several targets, including establishing an annual forestry budget.
- And finally, top off Earth Week with a tour of clean energy homes around Acton. Explore solar, uncover the exciting world of ground-source heat pumps, ask questions about the transition to air-source heat pumps, and so much more. Click here for information about the homes on this year’s tour and to register click here.
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ICYMI: The Climate Action Plan was published last summer!
In case you missed it (ICYMI), the Town of Acton’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) is here (in both English and Simplified Chinese). The CAP is the result of more than 20 community engagement activities and over a year of workshops, conversations, and analysis and provides a strategic framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building community resilience. The plan builds a roadmap for Acton, in 22 strategies and over 50 actions, to make informed decisions regarding where and how to achieve the largest and most cost-effective emissions reductions and guide Acton towards its goal of net-zero emissions by 2030. We are grateful to the community and Town staff for their active participation in the year-long process, and look forward to putting our goals and actions into hard work!
The Town also partnered with the Acton-Boxborough Regional School District (ABRSD) to develop an Electrification Roadmap. The Roadmap outlines the capital, operational, and conversion costs for electrifying the top seven energy-consuming municipal and school buildings, which will help move ABRSD and the Town towards carbon neutrality. These buildings include the Public Safety Facility, Town Hall, Memorial Library, Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, RJ Grey Junior High School, the Administration Building, and the Parker Damon Building.
Yours in Climate Action and Earth Day celebration,
The Sustainability Office
Questions? Reach out to sustainability@actonma.gov or call the office at 978-929-6515.
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