Sustainability Committee


Meetings

View agendas and minutes.

Members

  • Zana Cranmer
  • Orian Greene
  • Margaret Sobkowicz Kline
  • Priscilla Ryder
  • Lisa Vernegaard (co-chair)
  • Sally Warner
  • Kate Wheeler (co-chair)

Contact Us

SustCom@townofmaynard.net

sustainability-word-cloudMission Statement

To provide Maynard with solutions to successfully prepare for present and future climate, energy, and environmental challenges.

This may include, but is not limited to:

  • Evaluating energy efficiency of buildings and operations within the town
  • Evaluating Community Choice Aggregation
  • Conducting environmental cost-benefit analyses
  • Preparing grants that forward Maynard's environmental efforts
  • Working to forward sustainability goals of the master plan and other guiding documents
  • Coordinating with other boards and committees on sustainability best practices


Progress Report | March 2024

The Maynard Sustainability Committee was established in February 2022 and has been working to implement several of the priorities identified upon formation of the committee. An overview of our priorities and work accomplished can be found in the Sustainability Committee Summary of Progress Report from March 2024.                                               


Maynard Power ChoiceMaynardPowerChoice logo

The Sustainability Committee is working with the Town of Maynard to develop a plan for a consumer-friendly group electricity purchasing program called Maynard Power Choice. For more information, please visit the Maynard Power Choice website.


MVP 2.0 Climate Resilience Grant

The Town of Maynard was awarded a grant from the Massachusetts Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program for equity-based climate action and resilience planning. The question we are working to answer is: What challenges will the town face as a result of more extreme weather (e.g., flooding, storms, heat) and how can the town plan ahead to meet these challenges? What can we all do to be more prepared?

In 2020, Maynard worked with the MVP program to identify resilience priorities (findings are available here). As part of this current MVP 2.0 program, we are updating those priorities to focus on equity and vulnerable populations in town. Vulnerable populations in Maynard include (but are not limited to) seniors, youths, residents with accessibility needs, individuals and families who qualify for (and/or utilize) affordable housing, historically marginalized populations, immigrants and non-native English-speaking residents. The grant includes $50,000 of funding for a seed project (see a list of projects in this budget range). We want your input to pick the best project for the town! There will be three events to help identify an appropriate project:

  1. What is climate change?

Speaker: Dr. Sally Warner
Date: Wednesday January 29, 2025 at 7 PM in the Maynard Fire Station

Recording of this talk: https://youtu.be/j0O8pi8IQp4?si=rodXSeI3MebnTg3T

  1. How will climate change affect me and Maynard?

Panelists: Julia Flanary, Lucas Lin, Amy Loveless, Christopher Troiano
Date: Wednesday February 26th at 7 PM in the Maynard Fire Station

Recording of this panel: https://youtu.be/VA5I9m10umE?si=WqK2cD1JJjDHjptC

  1. How do we build resilience together?

Interactive, participatory workshop to generate and rank project ideas
Date: Sunday March 9th at 1 PM in the Maynard Fire Station and on Zoom (https://bit.ly/mvp_event3_zoom)

Use this form to submit questions and project ideas.

You can find more information about climate hazards in Maynard’s recent Hazard Mitigation Plan. You can learn more about the MVP 2.0 program in the MVP 2.0 Process Guide.

MVP Event Series Flyer Feb rev



Sustainability Presentation: Resilient Municipal Buildings