Sustainable MetroWest
In the heart of the MetroWest where Sudbury, Maynard, Marlborough and Stow meet, stands the Assabet River Wildlife Refuge visitor center building open to the public since 2010 – an appropriate site for a recent Sustainable MetroWest gathering.
The event was attended by 32 MetroWest environmental leaders and representatives to initiate, renew, and strengthen cross-community relations. They delivered summaries of successful initiatives, best practices, lessons learned, future plans, and cross-community collaboration ideas.
They came from 18 MetroWest communities, representing a respectable cross section of MetroWest communities: Acton, Ashland, Ayer, Bolton, Boxborough, Carlisle, Concord, Framingham, Groton, Harvard, Hudson, Littleton, Marlborough, Maynard, Stow, Sudbury, Wayland, and Westford.
Lunch was followed by group discussions centering on energy including incentivized solar projects and other cost saving energy technologies, local land and aquifer protection, local food availability via farmer’s markets, community farming, youth programs, and future community events.
Jen Boudrie, the event organizer, noted that the work of each environmental organization contributes significantly to its community’s sustainability. “This event is an opportunity learn from and inspire each other, and collaborate in the MetroWest region.”
Kaat Vander Straeten, who represented Wayland, shared the successes of last year’s Solarize, the Hannah Williams Playground Ecological Garden, and many other projects. “It is inspiring to see that there are so many communities around us are working on the sustainability of the region, to share ideas for collaborating and to learn from one another,” she said.
Covered by the Wayland Patch