|
Earth Day 2024 Recap
A Success in Building Awareness, Understanding, Appreciation and Climate Engagement
| |
|
The Climate Collaborative is grateful to all of the Cape Cod organizations that led vibrant events and provided innovative educational opportunities in celebration of Earth Day. Teaching residents and visitors alike about our unique ecosystem and beautiful history is a wonderful way to build awareness, understanding, appreciation and engagement on behalf of our climate.
Offerings included documentaries showcasing local climate change and webinars about edible native plants to fun family celebrations put on by the Wampanoag Natural Resources Dept. and “Wish Tree” story time at Sturgis Library.
From Wareham to Provincetown, thousands of locals participated in a host of special activities in honor of Mother Earth. We are confident that the events helped to promote our collective responsibility to preserve our planet as a precious gift and ensure its resilience for generations yet to come.
| |
|
Barnstable Land Trust (BLT)
Take a look back at Barnstable Land Trust's Earth Day and Earth Month events! From the Garden Party with Sturgis Library and BLT in West Barnstable to the Earth Month Hunt for Poetry at Ropes Field with Cotuit Library and BLT in Cotuit, they were busy celebrating our planet! They also joined the Honor the Earth Fair in Mashpee and had a special Earth Day celebration with BLT's Walking Readers Group and Mary Oliver on the Pogorelc Trail in West Barnstable. Plus, they got creative on Make Mondays with Cape Cod CAN and BLT in Cotuit, making 'Planet People.'
| |
|
Mashpee Environmental Coalition & Mashpee Department of Public Works
This FREE Textile Recycling, Composting and Shredding Event was held last weekend at the Mashpee Senior Center. Since it is now illegal to discard any clothing or textiles in the trash, residents dropped off recycling bags of unwanted, torn, ripped and stained items including bedding, footwear, tablecloths, towels, and even stuffed animals. In addition, a secure shredding company was also onsite to safely destroy documents with confidential information.
| |
|
Truro CAN Celebrates Earth Day at Truro Public Library!
The day begun by reading All of Me Is Nature: Exploring My Five Senses Outside by Ashley Renee Jefferson followed by a scavenger hunt created by Lili Flanders of the Truro Climate Action Committee. Each participant planted some sunflower seeds in egg cartons to bring home.
| |
|
Harwich CAN Celebrates Earth Day
Earth Day 2024 was a vibrant celebration held at The 204 Cultural Arts Municipal Building. Attendees enjoyed presentations, exhibits and demonstrations by Cape Cod’s Environmental Community. Featured speakers included Maggie Downey from Cape Light Compact and Rand Berkert from the Food Forest Initiative.
| |
|
Mashpee Environmental Coalition Santuit Pond Preserve Planting Event
Organized by the Mashpee Conservation Department, over a dozen volunteers planted 320 - 6" Atlantic White Cedar seedlings in a retired cranberry bog within the Santuit Pond Preserve.
| |
|
Provincetown Conservation Trust
Successful rainy Earth Day! These hearty volunteers from the Provincetown Conservation Trust braved the rain and built a new trailhead for Whistle Path Woods which allows for a Commercial Street outlet.
| |
|
Avangrid Receives Federal of Decision for New England Wind
Completion of federal review represents a critical step in permitting for lease areas with potential to provide approximately 2 Gigawatts of clean, reliable power to the region.
Avangrid, Inc., a leading sustainable energy company and member of the Iberdrola Group, has announced that it has received the federal Record of Decision from the Department of the Interior for New England Wind. This represents a significant permitting milestone that brings the lease area closer to full federal approval for construction, with the Construction and Operations Plan. Approval is anticipated for July 2024.
The issuance comes after years of robust stakeholder engagement with Tribal Nations, members of local residential and fishing communities, and other ocean users. New England Wind, consisting of the New England Wind 1 and New England Wind 2 projects, has the potential to create thousands of jobs and provide enough clean, reliable energy to power nearly 1 million homes and businesses in the region. As the leading offshore wind developer in the United States, Avangrid is spearheading the development of the first-in-the-nation Vineyard Wind 1 project, currently under construction and delivering clean, reliable power to 30,000 homes and businesses in Massachusetts.
Read the full press release
| |
|
Earlier this month, our team curated a Special Earth Day Edition of our newsletter featuring Cape-based Earth Day events. Although Earth Day has passed, we can continue our efforts to celebrate and protect our region and planet.
Utilizing our own collaborative verbs, here are some upcoming events to participate in, along with suggestions on how Cape Codders can contribute to building a more sustainable future:
Educate and Communicate: Volunteer with the Barnstable Land Trust’s Weeding Wednesdays or Green Team. Learn more at Barnstable Land Trust
Act: Join the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) on May 16th at 12:00pm for a State of the Waters presentation by Andrew Gottlieb, Executive Director, APCC. This free Zoom event will highlight Cape Cod's water quality assessment and suggest actions for improvement.
Convene and Collaborate: Learn about energy-saving rebates and community initiatives at the Energy Education Presentation by the Cape Light Compact on May 9th, 5:30-6:30pm at the Brooks Free Library in Harwich. It’s a great opportunity for you to learn more about saving energy while helping the planet.
Advocate: Attend a town meeting and speak up about environmental issues that are important to you!
| |
Cape Light Compact Energy Education Series | |
The Cape Light Compact, along with several local climate committees and town action groups, presents an Energy Education Presentation "Rebates to Save Energy and Reduce Your Carbon Footprint."
Join Compact staff to discover their community initiatives, energy efficiency programs, and homeowner incentives, including heat pump rebates, appliance rebates, weatherization incentives, home energy assessments, and the Mass Save Heat Loan. Tax incentives and residential solar options will also be discussed.
The presentations, with time for attendee questions, are free and don't require registration. Dates and locations are listed, and for those unable to attend, information is available at CapeLightCompact.org or by calling 1-800-797-6699.
| |
|
How Healthy are Cape Cod's Waters? | |
May 16th, 2024 | 12:00pm
Location: Zoom
Join the Association to Preserve Cape Cod for their State of the Waters project, a presentation by Andrew Gottlieb, Executive Director, APCC.
This annual water health report provides an assessment of Cape Cod’s water quality and is designed to help everyone understand the water quality problems that the Cape faces, and the actions that we need to take to improve and protect our waters.
| |
|
|
July 18th, 2024 | 8:00am - 2:30pm
Location: Cape Cod Community College, Tilden Arts Center Auditorium
The Net Zero conference brings together climate leaders to focus on solutions for reducing carbon emissions, strengthening regional resilience to climate change impacts and building a net-zero, decarbonized future. The event will feature educational sessions, inspiring keynote speakers, and networking opportunities across industries.
| |
|
Get to know Farming Falmouth | |
Farming Falmouth is a 501c3 non-profit with a mission to build a better food future – better for people and for the planet. Industrialized food systems destroy topsoil, create chemical run-off, cause human health problems and generate food waste and emissions. While it’s easy to feel overwhelmed as an individual, there’s strength in numbers.
Farming Falmouth offers opportunities for shared action. Join a farm-gleaning team or donate your excess backyard produce – you’ll provide fresh food for the Falmouth Service Center instead of sending it to a methane-producing landfill.
| |
|
EPA's Position on Machine Gun Range Unclear After Report | |
Environmental activists and concerned citizens await updates from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) nearly a year after a draft report raised alarms about a proposed machine gun range on Joint Base Cape Cod.
The EPA's draft report highlighted risks of contamination to the drinking water if the range were built. Despite calls for action from groups like the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, the EPA has not provided a timeline for finalizing its report. Activists remain vigilant, urging the EPA to prioritize the protection of the community's water resources.
| |
|
Mass. Continues on Green Path, But Fossil Fuels Are Still a Problem | |
Gov. Maura Healey has added a new Office of the Energy Transformation that the administration says will execute a 'community-by-community decarbonization strategy.'
Massachusetts has been gradually adopting cleaner energy sources and reducing carbon emissions is required under state law. But fossil fuels remain in widespread use and businesses and residents face significant transition costs.
The new Office of the Energy Transformation 'will provide leadership in strategic planning, roadmap development, and stakeholder engagement to advance the transformation of the state's energy delivery ecosystem,' the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, led by Secretary Rebecca Tepper, said in its Friday morning announcement.
| | |
|
We are a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is reduce the Cape & Islands' contributions to climate change and protect our region from its potentially devastating impacts.
We depend upon the generosity of our stakeholders to conduct our work. All donations are tax deductible as allowed by law.
| |
|
We welcome climate news from your home, school, business, town, faith community, or organization. Please submit your news, events, or article ideas to info@capecodclimate.org. | | | | |
