Our Accomplishments
January 02, 2011
For an anecdotal list of accomplishments in Greenfield leading the way toward sustanability, click here.
For our 2011 report click here
For our 2010-11 annual report click here
For our 2009-10 annual report click here.
For a chronological list see the following:
Greening Greenfield (GG) Campaign's Accomplishments
Chronological listing
Greening Greenfield Energy Committee (GGEC),
Town of Greenfield actions, and major state and federal events and legislation that help us work toward sustainability
– 2006 –
Mayor Forgey signs the Mayors for Climate Protection Agreement
– 2007 –
March, 2007
Greening Greenfield (GG) campaign launched (Collaborative agreement signed between GGEC and Mayor Forgey
July, 2007
First Low Carbon Diet action study group held by GGEC
October, 2007
Ice Cream Social – 1st GG visioning meeting. Over 70 people who had signed on to the New England Wind Fund and helped raise $12,000 celebrated and shared their visions of a sustainable future.
November, 2007
Step It Up Campaign - Bill McKibbens first national grassroots climate change event. Over 50 attended an event at the Greenfield Solar Store.
December, 2007
Legislation celebrations! Green Communities Act, Global Warming Solutions Act, Green Jobs Bill and more passed! (GGEC supported the passing of this legislation)
– 2008 –
January, 2008
Commonwealth Solar Initiative announced, which changes the economics of installing PV!
GGEC promoted the idea of a PV Solar Park in the Greenfield Industrial Park.
GGEC worked with the Town and the Town applied for FREE building energy audits from MA Division of Energy Resources (DOER), making the town eligible for grants from the state for energy upgrades to town-owned buildings.
February, 2008
GG – Mayor Forgey passed a resolution making a commitment for the town to implement ICLEI Cities for Climate Protection program. 60 people attended.
March, 2008
Homeowner workshop offered for the first time by GGEC.
Info on audits, financing etc gathered and distributed. 40 attended.
April, 2008
Town Council endorsed PVCEP (Pioneer Valley Clean Energy Plan)
Greening Greenfield logo, brochure, web site, and “Carbon pledge/save $” information unveiled
Turtle Island Medicine Show presented by GGEC, 600 attended giant puppet show
September, 2008
State, Town & GGEC launch Idle Reduction campaign
October, 2008
Two Low Carbon Diet groups meet in area churches organized by GGEC
Homeowner workshop held for the 2nd time by GGEC. Energy analysis sheet announced. 75 attended
December, 2008
GGEC worked with the Town, and the Town joined the Franklin Regional Council of Government’s effort to bring an Energy Service Company (ESCO) to Franklin County. The ESCO offers full service audit, recommendations, financing, construction and monitoring. There is no direct cost to the town. They are paid out of the energy savings.
Town Energy Audit, Part 1 (Municipal report) researched and written by GGEC & the Town, was presented to town staff, and Town Council
Greenfield receives $250,000 grant from MA DOER for building energy upgrades as a direct result of building energy audits secured in Jan 2008.
– 2009 –
January, 2009
Barak Obama sworn in as President of USA. Stimulus $$ for energy efficiency and renewables announced. More fuel efficient vehicles and more.
PV – new tax rebates from the Feds. 30% of the cost of a PV system, with no cap can be claimed. Rebate can be spread over two years.
Greenfield Energy Audit, Part I & II, which was researched and written by GGEC & the Town, was presented to the general public, and feedback collected.
2050 Goals set by Mayor Forgey 1) Reduce climate change emissions by 80%. 2) Zero dollars spent on energy leave the region.
Field Trip to McNeil Station in Burlington, a 50 MW biomass facility.
February, 2009
Homeowner Workshop offered for the 3rd time. Held at GCTV and taped. Capacity audience of 75. David Knowles and Marc Kaufmann, presenters.
February & March, 2009
STEM training – Savings Through Energy Management – in over ten churches. Organized by GGEC & Interfaith Council
Expanded Learning Time (ELT) program on climate change solutions at the Middle School. Eight weeks, three times per week. (Stein, Judy, Carol, Wisty)
March & April, 2009
Film & Discussion Series – GGEC offered 6-week series at the Greenfield Public Library!
GGEC co-sponsored two workshops for business people on resources to reduce energy use and save $. March – with CDC & CET. April with Rep. Kulik and DOER
April, 2009
Biomass 101, Why Wood? GGEC organized eventing workshop in collaboration with CET, FRCOG, Co-op Power, & PVPC. UMass professor and DCR staff spoke.
Greenfield 10% Challenge launched at the Green Fair! Partnership with the Recorder Green Pages set up. Logo and lawn signs created. Web updated.
May, 2009
Mayoral Debate on Sustainability, moderated by Bob Pacquette, WFCR Morning Edition host.
Four Rivers Energy Extravaganza (FREE) held by Four Rivers Charter School students. (10% Challenge Partner)
June, 2009
New partners signed on to 10% Challenge: Community Action, Greenfield Business Association, YMCA, Greenfield Schools
10% Challenge for Greenfield businesses launched.
July, 2009
Mayor Bill Martin took office
Town signed on to ESCO program with Siemens Technologies – Invest Grade Audits commenced in August
August, 2009
One Gallon Challenge, 100-mile efficiency rally was kicked off in Greenfield. Six cars drive to the Boston GreenFest
September, 2009
Town applies for Green Communities Designation which would make the Town eligible for state funding and more.
Seminar: Why is 350 the Most Important Number in the World? 350.org explains that scientists believe that if we do not reduce CO2 in our atmosphere to 350 parts per million, we will cause catastrophic feedback loops to unstoppable climate change. A video of the program is available at www.GCTV.org
October, 2009
Homeowner workshop: Deep Energy Retrofits & Utility Programs offered by the Western Massachusetts Green Consortium, Beyond Green, and WMECO. A video of the program is available at www.GCTV.org
Co-sponsored Climate Action Carnival, a 350.org event organized by Sandra Boston and area groups. Over 300 people attended.
Study Group launched to prepare for Greenfield Master Planning by reading 2008 Greenfield Energy Audit, ICLEI's Sustainability Planning Tool kit, and inviting planners from Keene and Easthampton to talk about what they did in their towns.
November, 2009
Greenfield Energy Audit posted on GGEC web site. Sustainable plan section of the web site updated and people invited to make comments, add resources etc.
News release about the posting of the Audit, and the commitment of Town to update its Master Plan soon, and infuse it with the concepts of sustainability. Master planning is a town-wide participatory process.
Workshop held for renters on how to save energy. The Workshop was co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Municipal Association.
December, 2009
Greenfield 10% Challenge reaches half-way mark. 400 households have signed up to reduce their energy use by 10% by the end of 2010.
– 2010 –
January, 2010
Greenfield 10% Challenge New Years Party! First annual???
Greenfield Energy Audit Study Group begins to meet
GGEC receives grant from the Chorus Foundation via Center for Ecological Technology for its 10% Challenge efforts.
February, 2010
Awakening the Dreamer & Changing the Dream Symposium offered by GGEC and the Pachamama Alliance
March-April, 2010
Spring Film Series held at the YMCA with lots of partners, to discuss how we, as a community, can prepare for and celebrate the changes that will come with the end of cheap energy. Films included: A Convenient Truth; Dirt; and What's on Your Plate?
April, 2010
What is a Rain Garden? Workshop offered by Ed Himlan, Massachusetts Watershed Council, on rain gardens, low impact design, keeping our rivers clean and replenishing our water table and repairing the Earth. Partners included the Greenfield Library, several watershed councils and gardening clubs.
May, 2010
Greenfield designated a Green Community – first in the state!
Greenfield joined EPA’s New England Community Energy Challenge
84% of survey respondees say the 10% Challenge has helped them change their behavior and helped them reduce their energy use.
June, 2010
GGEC joins Transition Towns, an international grassroots movement
New businesses join our 10% Challenge. Major 10% Challenge Partners to date: Recorder, YMCA, Four Rivers School, Community Action, Greenfield Business Association (GBA), Town of Greenfield Schools, Sandri Companies, Greenfield Community College, Baystate Franklin Medical Center.
September, 2010
GGEC offers a workshop to members of the Landlords Business Association about how to find $$ to reduce energy use and upgrade their properties.
October, 2010
Greenfield receives Gov. Patrick's Leading by Example Award for its efforts to reduce energy use and move toward sustainability.
November, 2010
The Barr Foundation awards Greenfield and Serrafix Corp, an environmental consulting and venture capital firm, a grant so that they can work together to develop energy-saving strategies to achieve a 20% reducton in energy use in public, residential, and and commercial buildings by 2020.
GGEC co-sponsors event held by Just Roots to envision how people would like to see the Town Farm used, as a cornerstone of a sustainable food movement for Greenfield.
GGEC offers a Save $$ - Save Energy workshop for renters, homeowners and landlords on how to find $$ to do energy upgrades to their homes. GCTV posts video of the workshop.
GGEC releases one-stop-shopping guide called How to Find $$ for an Energy Upgrade, and supporting video.
GGEC launches a Transition Town effort in Greenfield by hosting a discussion and movie called In Transition. The movie was produced by the Transition Towns movement, which aims to help communities transition to a fossil fuel free world. Over 80 attended.
December, 2010
10% Challenge Success! We exceed our goal of getting 10% of the households in Greenfield to pledge to cut their energy use by 10% by the end of 2010. 900 households signed up. The Recorder donates a free full page ad to celebrate!
Winsert Workshop. GGEC hosts its first hands-on workshop teaching people how to make insider storm windows called 'winserts." 2-page handout on how to do it, and where to find the materials, video of how to build the frame and more.
- 2011 -
February, 2011
Greenfield Energy Report Card published. It shows that Residents are saving $$ by reducing their energy use in their homes, and are helping us move toward achieving out 2050 goals.
March, 2011
Greenfield's Past - Greenfield's Future. GGEC partners with Pioneer Valley Institute (PVI) to bring Dr. John Mullin, UMass Planner, to Greenfield to learn about our past, and vision/brainstorm our future.
GGEC partners with Town of Greenfield & FRCOG to bring Dr. David Cash, Assistant Secretary for Policy at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and the Environmental Affairs, to talk about Massachusetts Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2020, which lays out how we will cut climate change emissions by 25% by 2020.
During our Spring Film Series we showed three movies and held discussions at the YMCA in Greenfield: “A Convenient Truth”, about ideas carried out in Curitiba, Brazil, to address myriad ecological problems present and future; “Dirt”, about how this vital resource can be nurtured; and “What’s on Your Plate,” where school children from the city learn how food is produced, both industrially and organically. A fourth gathering was a panel discussion with several of our co-sponsors. Over a hundred people attended one or more of the films.
April, 2011
Local Food: Building Our Delicious Future. GGEC partners with Pioneer Valley Institute (PVI) to bring John Waite, CDC director; Tom Clarke, Clarkdale Fruit Farms; Jason Dean, Foster's Super Market; and Glenn Brunetti, Chartwell's Food Services to Greenfield to talk about how we can create jobs and increase the amount of local food we eat from 5% to much more!
May, 2011
The Town receives an EPA Climate Showcase Community grant. This 3-year $160,900 grant aims to help residents find funds to do energy upgrades to their home. GGEC co-wrote the grant and is collaborating with the Town on this project called the Greenfield Energy Smart Home program.
September, 2011
Greenfield puts its Town Farm into APR (Agricultural Preservation Restriction) and Just Roots receives a 15-year contract to manage the 60-acre farm on Leyden Road.
GGEC holds a workshop called Free $ for Energy Upgrades for renters, landlords and homeowners. Greenfield's Energy Smart Home program is kicked off, a new 2-pager describing how to find $$. To contact Energy Smart Home click This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or call 413-772-1389
October, 2011
Tropical storms, Irene and Lee drop over 16" of rain on the region causing floods that destroyed roads, bridges, and farmland, cuts off power to thousands of people for days, and caused sewage treatment plants to fail. The media tells us to expect more frequent severe storms like this as a consequence of global warming.
Energy Smart Home program's door-to-door canvassing began in Precinct 8.
November, 2011
GGEC holds its first community-wide forum called: Creating Greenfield's Future: Our Food, Economy, and Community. The over 130 attendees gave high marks to the event held at GCC new facility. The event was kicked off by Mayor Martin; Jim Barry, who represented Gov. Patrick's office; and Ben Hewitt, Author of The Town that Food Saved. Attendees then discussed our future in 10 workshops. A report on the ideas generated will be written and given to the Planning Board for consideration during our Master Planning process in 2012.
-2012 -
Winter/Spring Film & Discussion Series
Gasland (November, 2011) Gasland explores the environmental impacts of fracking, a technology used to extract natural gas, and the political landscape that enables corporations to use this technique, and calls citizens to speak up and stop the use of this technology. more
A Sea Change (January, 2012) A grandfather and grandson explore the mystery and the beauty of our oceans and the changes being caused by climate change and what we can do. A Sea Change is both a personal journey and a scientifically rigorous, sometimes humorous, unflinchingly honest look at reality. more
Carbon Nation (February, 2012) Carbon Nation is a climate change solutions movie that has played in mainline theaters across the nation. It’s an optimistic, non-preachy, non-partisan, big tent film that celebrates energy solutions that could make every-day Americans more financially secure, which makes it appealing to people of all political persuasions. It offers inspiration and invites action. more
The Growing Edge (March, 2012) This film by Donna Read and Starhawk shows the many ways permaculture principles can be incorporated in our communities with concrete ideas that are exciting and attainable. The goal of permaculture is more than sustainability. It is about abundance, regeneration and healing. It shifts our thinking---from separation to connection, from isolation to interdependence.
February, 2012
Annual Energy Use Report Card published. Our report card documents our average annual household energy use for heat and electricity as a way of assessing progress of our 10% Challenge as well as progress toward reducing our energy use by 80% by 2050. We are making progress in some areas, but not in others. Click for one-page report with graphs.
April 21-22, 2012 at the Home Show & Green Fair –Display & Workshops
We had an informational table to sign up folks for our 10% Challenge. We also held two workshops with the Town of Greenfield to support our collaborative programs, Energy Smart Homes and Energy Smart Businesses, which aim to help people find funds to do energy upgrades to their homes or businesses.
May 5, 2012
W. MA Science & Sustainability Expo. Over 150 children, parents, volunteers and visitors participated in our first Expo, which showcased the work of educators and youth in grades 4-12. Teams participated in the competitive KidWind Challenge, and the non-competitive Youth & Educator’s Showcase, and the Green “Dollhouse” Challenge. Photos and more
Other Collaborative efforts and co-sponsorships:
We worked with the Town of Greenfield on Energy Smart Homes, Energy Smart Businesses, the annual Home Show/Green Fair, the Main Street beautification project, and helped define and create a new Sustainablity Advisory Committee. We also co-sponsored numerous events such as the Emergency Preparedness Meetings, To Bee or Not to Bee puppet show, and readings organized by John Burkowitz.
