Photo shows a parking lot under several inches of water, with cars still parked.

Accelerating Climate Resiliency Grant Program

CHANGE FONT SIZE

MAPC >> Resources >> Environment >> Accelerating Climate Resiliency Grant Program

Accelerating Climate Resiliency Grant Program

MAPC is working in partnership with the Barr Foundation to accelerate climate resilience in the region by helping municipalities advance strategies that protect people, places, and communities from the impact of climate change.

The intent is to fund near-term interventions through local policy advances, analyses, and actions that drive long-term transformations. In particular, MAPC seeks to leverage projects with investments targeted to advancing climate equity and social cohesion.

Program Priorities

All proposals should target at least one of the seven funding priority areas:

Strategies that advance nature-based solutions for climate resilience
Municipal climate resiliency regulations, zoning, financing, or infrastructure
Support climate coalitions or convening
Initiatives to boost social resiliency - particularly among at-risk or vulnerable populations and/or neighborhoods
Local food system or community agriculture and resiliency measures
District-scale resilience pilots
Public outreach, marketing, and arts & culture

October 20, 2013. Weston, MA.
Weston Reservoir.
Metropolitan Area Planning Council.
© 2013 Marilyn Humphries

Updates

2021 Accelerating Climate Resilience Awards

Eleven grantees will receive funding for their climate resiliency projects! MAPC and the Barr Foundation awarded a total of over $700,000 in the FY2021 grant cycle. Learn more about the projects farther down on this page.

QUESTIONS?

Please contact Senior Environmental Planner Darci Schofield at dschofield@mapc.org or 617-933-0794.

Skip To:

FY2021 Projects

FY2020 Projects

Funded Projects: FY2021

Beverly Strategic Tree Planting Initiative

Partners: Karen and Thomas Blair-Urban Horticultural Consultants

Grant Amount: $75,000 one-year grant

The Beverly Strategic Tree Planting Initiative proposes a targeted approach to planting trees in environmental justice neighborhoods and parks that serve low-income neighborhoods. Tree planting will help reduce the damaging effects of Beverly’s heat islands, counter extreme heat within the community, and mitigate stormwater runoff in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods. The grant will support location confirmation, permitting, tree purchases, installation, maintenance, and community engagement.

Cambridge: Charles River Floating Wetland Phase II Expansion

Project Partners: Charles River Conservancy, MIT Sea Grant, Cambridge Public Schools, Cambridge Dept. of Public Works

Grant Amount: $52,250 one-year grant

The Cambridge Department of Public Works, in partnership with Charles River Conservancy, Inc., will install an additional floating wetland after successfully installing the first 700 square foot floating wetland on the Charles River in June 2020. Floating wetlands improve water quality, control toxic algal blooms, and improve fish habitat and health. They advance the City’s and CRC’s goal of restoring the Charles River as the quintessential urban beach that it was in the 1950s where, during the hottest days of the summer, families of all incomes and backgrounds gathered to swim and cool down. Generations of pollution and urban development degraded this public amenity rendering it unsafe for human contact. Cambridge and surrounding urban area are highly exposed to extreme heat.

This Accelerating Climate Resiliency Grant will support:

planning and permitting an additional floating wetland pilot in the Charles River
outlining and disseminating a permitting road map
engagement with the community about water quality and the expansion process

Canton Resilience @ Home

Partners: Canton Housing Authority, Neponset River Watershed Association, MA Audubon, Canton Public Schools

Grant Amount: $42,817 one-year grant

Resilience @ Home will build public knowledge about project climate hazards and what homeowners can do to minimize the impacts, focusing on vulnerable populations such as the elderly, low-income households, and person with disabilities. The program will include:

Three interactive virtual workshops “Know Your Hazards,” “Climate Proof Your Yard,” and “Beat the Heat”
Guides and brochures online and in print that address flooding, heat/drought, and climate resilience @home (interior and exterior)
Incentives like programmable thermostats, reusable straws/food storage containers, good climate behavior magnets.
Demonstration projects at Housing Authority

The grant will allow Canton to hire a consultant and fund outreach/engagement materials.

Chelsea Energy Resilience: Neighborhood Grid

Project Partners: Greenroots, Inc., The Neighborhood Developers

Grant Amount: $142,500 two-year grant

The Accelerating Climate Resiliency Grant will help create a micro-grid to improve building efficiency and resilience. Chelsea plan to install microgrid assets (battery storage, on-site renewable generation, and controls) in a cohort of buildings, including affordable housing, Chelsea's city hall and 911 center, the police station, and neighborhood health centers. Building improvements will also include energy and water efficiency retrofits and upgrades to create resistance to outages once renewable components are installed.

Improvements will allow building residents and employees to shelter in place without fear of extreme heat or cold, loss of medication/medical equipment, or loss of elevator accessibility. All microgrid work will be accompanied by extensive public outreach efforts spearheaded by GreenRoots.

The City and GreenRoots are committed to a city-wide microgrid and have already invested substantial time and funds in its design. This grant will support community engagement, microgrid design, and pilot installation.

Framingham: Lake Waushakum Resiliency Design

Partners: Framingham Parks & Recreation Commission, Town of Ashland, Coburnville-Tripoli Neighborhood Association, Waushakum Pond Association, Downtown Framingham, Inc.

Grant Amount: $52,500 one-year grant

Funding will support feasibility, design, and permitting for retrofitting Waushakum’s public beach, installing green infrastructure, and enhancing the property and bathhouse to mitigate extreme heat.

The public beach at Lake Waushakum is susceptible to closures due to poor water quality. With a stormwater outfall located right in the beach area, Waushakum Beach closed from opening day of the 2020 season until mid-July. The high bacteria contamination is directly related to polluted runoff from storms and has intensified as the city experiences more extreme rain events. The neighborhood is a highly urbanized watershed: almost 50% of the watershed covered with impervious surfaces. Because the area is highly developed and has aging infrastructure, the stormwater system cannot handle extreme storms. Even moderate storms have big impacts. The large amount of impervious space creates an urban heat island effect and the area experiences higher temperatures than surrounding areas. The project will identify the most beneficial means of mitigating risks using nature-based solutions and strategies.

Malden River Works for Waterfront Equity and Resilience

Partners: Mystic River Watershed Association, MIT (Urban Studies and Center for Environmental Health), and the Malden Riverworks Steering Committee

Grant Amount: $52,500 one-year grant

The project goal is to transform the City’s Department of Public Works (DPW) yard on the Malden River for better climate change preparedness and to create a vibrant, climate resilient public riverfront park. This project will be a major step in reclaiming the Malden River after hundreds of years of contamination and neglect.

Led by a new coalition of community leaders of color, youth, environmental advocates, and government stakeholders as the newly formed Malden River Works Steering Committee, this project has already implemented a community-led design process that will continue into the upcoming phase: design and engineering development. Funding will support design for the project.

The MRW park will address sea level rise with an elevated greenway path and lawn area and the option to incrementally increase flood protection. It reduces urban heat island effect with green infrastructure solutions: bioswales, bioretention basins, permeable paving, and over 75 new trees.

Growing Food and Social Resilience in Natick

Project Partners: Natick Housing Authority, Natick Service Council, Natick Community Organic Farm, Keefe Tech High School

Grant Amount: $141,793 two-year capital grant

The Town of Natick plans to reduce food insecurity and build social resilience among vulnerable populations who are disproportionately impacted by climate change with a three-pronged approach:

Construct a community garden with 55 ADA accessible raised beds at the Natick Housing Authority’s main campus.
Ensure vulnerable populations have multiple ways to access affordable, healthy food.
Foster relationships through educational programs and community cohesion best practices that prepare vulnerable populations to respond to climate change through social resilience and organic food.

Funding supports community garden beds, donating and subsidizing output to vulnerable populations and food banks, and a portion of the salary for a farm coordinator to build community cohesion.

Somerville: Solutions to Build a Heat Healthy Community

Project Partners: Somerville Health and Human Services, Council on Aging, Shape Up Somerville

Grant Amount: $52,250 one-year grant

This project will build capacity for collaborative heat resilience planning and action among residents, community-based organizations, and City staff.

Through a Heat Health Assessment & Strategy Toolkit project with MAPC, Somerville has learned that overcrowded housing is a common issue for low-income, immigrant families, who often don't have air conditioners. The Somerville Homeless Coalition discussed the lack of access to water and public showers for unsheltered residents this summer due to restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The project will include:

Formalizing and supporting ongoing cross-jurisdictional engagement through a Heat Health Advisory Group.
Building the capacity of community organizations to work on heat resilience with Action Team Leaders from Somerville community-based organizations.
Engaging deeply with residents who are most impacted by heat through the creation of two Heat Health Action Teams.
Funding small-scale pilot interventions that respond to the needs identified by the Heat Health Action Teams.

Wenham: Development Regulations for Climate Resilience

Grant Amount: $49,875 one-year grant

The Accelerating Climate Resiliency Grant will support a project to evaluate and update by-laws, regulations, zoning ordinances, and other planning instruments to increase resilience against the effects of climate change. One goal will be to reduce the effects of flooding through low impact development and stormwater management.

Land use regulations in Wenham are out of date and updated on an ad-hoc basis. This project seeks to review and overhaul its land use and zoning regulations to reflect climate change projects and:

Require low impact development and green infrastructure in new development
Create new standards for parking, driveways, and streets to reduce impervious surfaces
Prioritize and incentivize the conservation of open space as flood storage
Apply FEMA floodplains standards to areas of known, documented local flooding

The project includes a robust community engagement approach to educate the pubilc and encourage approval of regulations. Community engagement will include a mapping tool, webinars, online community workshops, and meeting with municipal boards and commissions.

Winchester Sustainability Director: Rapid Implementation of Winchester's Climate Action Plan

Partners: Winchester Climate Action Advisory Committee

Grant Amount: $52,500 one-year grant for capacity-building

This Accelerating Climate Resiliency Grant would support the salary of a sustainability director who would implement Winchester's 2020 Climate Action Plan.

The plan includes enhancing community resilience (public health, green infrastructure, resilient town operations) and reducing carbon pollution. The Spring 2020 Wincheter budget included a line item for a Sustainability Director, but it was deferred by Finance Committee due to COVID-19 budget shortfalls. Funding would support the salary and immediate hire of the director, and Winchester is committed to matching funds for a competitive salary.

Woburn Senior Center Community Garden

Grant Amount: $29,376 one-year grant

Woburn plans to develop raised community garden beds at the Senior Center. Beds will be elevated so seniors can sit or stand easily. 22% of Woburn senior live in environmental justice neighborhoods. Community gardens will help create social cohesion, and the green infrastructure will help address urban heat and manage stormwater and flooding. The grant will support site preparation, four raised garden beds, rain barrels, and irrigation.

Funded Projects: FY2020

Strengthening Social and Climate Resilience in East Boston

Grantees: Boston Public Health Commission & The Harborkeepers

Grant Amount: $44,995

East Boston is a coastal low-lying neighborhood that is highly vulnerable to climate impacts and with a diverse socioeconomic makeup. East Boston must accelerate resiliency-building to prepare for increasing climate risks and meet the city's Climate Action Plan goals.

This project aimed to educate local residents about climate impacts and community and emergency preparedness. The Boston Public Health Commission and The Harborkeepers developed four community preparedness workshops, three document-scanning events, and more activities to build relationships and encourage social cohesion.

Tree Box Installations for Stormwater Management in Braintree

Grantee: Braintree Department of Public Works

Grant Amount: $38,755

Using grant funds, the Braintree Department of Public Works installed three tree box filters at three different locations in town: Hollingsworth Park, Daughraty Gym, and Stetson Street. Tree box filters are a stormwater management best practice, capturing runoff and cleaning it of pollutants before discharging it into a wetland area.

The Town installed signage at the Hollingsworth Park and Daughraty Gym locations (which are frequented by pedestrians) to educate residents and visitors about the benefits of tree box filters.

Sustainable Landscaping in Concord

Grantee: Concord Sustainability Division

Grant Amount: $26,000

Attachment - Concord Sustainable Landscaping Project Photos

Concord created three sustainable landscaping demonstration gardens located at the Concord-Carlisle High School, Junction Park, and the Concord Free Public Library. Each features three species of ground cover that require less maintenance and less water than standard turf lawn. They were planted with the help of 46 students and volunteers. The project also included creating a Sustainable Landscaping Handbook, workshop videos, 15 blog posts, and 17 social media posts all available on the Town's "Greenscapes" page.

Snug Harbor Resilience Master Plan in Duxbury

Grantee: Duxbury Planning Department

Grant Amount: $24,800

Duxbury's Snug Harbor is a significant cultural, recreational and commercial center. It contains the headquarters of one of the larger shell fishing companies in the state, the Duxbury Bay Maritime School, Harbormaster, public pier, marinas, and historic structures from the Shipbuilders era. Restaurants, inns, churches and other businesses create a vibrant and beloved hub of activity.

Sea level rise and storm surge have damaged buildings and infrastructure in the area and more is expected in the future. The Town worked directly with stakeholders to discuss their concerns, hopes, awareness, needs, and experiences to help set a vision of resilience for Snug Harbor. The plan identifies near- and long-term solutions for creating a resilient Snug Harbor that best serves the stakeholders' needs and protects this community asset.

Youth Stewardship of Northern Strand Green Infrastructure Sites in Everett

Grantee: Everett Office of Planning and Development

Grant Amount: $30,000

Jon Norton Community Rain Garden in Everett

The Jon Norton Community Rain Garden transformed nuisance flooding along the Northern Strand Trail into a space for bees, butterflies, birds, humans, and native plants to grow together. The rain garden catches, absorbs, and infiltrates stormwater into the ground.

Lead artist Carolyn Lewenberg worked with a design team of eighth-grade students from the Madeline English School to identify goals three in addition to flood mitigation: to create a welcoming space, beautify the neighborhood, and help the environment. The garden includes cloud-shaped benches and three murals. Design implementation was offered in-kind by the Everett Department of Public Works and contractors from National Grid.

Integrating Land Use Planning and Water Conservation in Ipswich

Grantees: Ipswich Utilities Department & Ipswich River Watershed Assocation

Grant Amount: $19,550

The Town of Ipswich's public water supply is under threat due to supply limitations, water quality issues, increasing demand, and—increasingly—the current and anticipated impacts from climate change. This project sought to analyze the current situation and make recommendations to make the Town's water supply more resilient to these threats.

The project identified a series of measures the community can take to minimize the impact of new development and reduce water demand elsewhere in the community to offset new demand and make the current water supply more resilient in the future.

Community Gardens at Public Housing in Medford

Grantees: Medford Planning Department, Mass In Motion, and Affordable Housing

Grant Amount: $31,105

Medford worked with a garden contractor and residents to improve community gardens at Walking Court, a state-funded housing development for seniors and people with disabilities. The improved gardens include 10 raised beds and an accessible elevated bed. Additional improvements include improved soils and dozens of new fruit trees and berry bushes at Walking Court and the Willis Avenue public housing development.

Burke-Memorial Elementary School Rain Garden in Medway

Grantee:
Town of Medway

Grant Amount:
$50,000

Medway constructed two rain gardens at the Burke-Memorial Elementary School to reduce the impact of flooding on the school’s athletic fields. Increasingly intense and frequent precipitation events coupled with a larger impervious surface area has resulted in chronic localized flooding in the lower fields. The fields are unusable for sports or recess for much of the year due to the flooding. However, the new rain gardens are engineered to collect and store runoff from the playground and basketball courts, allowing it to slowly seep into the soils. This natural process helps to reduce flooding and also helps filter the runoff as it soaks into the ground and replenishes ground water.

The rain garden project will serve as an educational tool for students, parents, municipal staff and the general public to show how nature-based solutions can build our community’s resiliency to climate change.

Equity and Climate Resiliency in Needham

Grantees: Needham Public Health Division and Green Needham

Grant Amount: $26,089

The Town of Needham Public Health Division (NPHD) implemented the Needham Equity in Climate Change Resiliency Project to advance equity and increase protection of older adults with respect to climate change. NPHD’s project focused on extreme weather events – such as extreme heat, cold, and storms – because they are getting stronger and more frequent due to climate change.

During this project, NPHD: 1) hosted three interactive workshops for older adults on extreme weather events; 2) designed and distributed a relevant brochure; and 3) conducted comprehensive public outreach to actively engage older adults and their caregivers on the topic of extreme weather. Materials were translated in three different languages.

Long Beach Living Shoreline Project in Rockport

Grantee: Rockport Department of Public Works

Grant Amount: $32,500

For many decades, coastal storms and sea level rise have eroded Long Beach Road in Rockport where the roadway meets the shoreline of the adjacent Saratoga Creek. The Nor'easters of 2018 resulted in additional erosion that degraded a significant portion of the marsh at Saratoga Creek, damaged and undermined a sewer manhole structure, and caused increased erosion. This project created engineering designs and permitting for a living shoreline and infrastructure relocation to restore the eroded salt marsh area and maintain the adjacent roadway and utilities.

Peggoty Beach Managed Retreat Feasibility Study in Scituate

Grantee: Scituate Department of Planning and Development

Grant Amount: $35,000

Several residents of Peggotty Beach whose homes were eroding seaward approached the Town of Scituate with interest in determining whether it would be feasible to complete a managed retreat land swap with the town. Previous coastal planning assessments recommended pursuing managed retreat at this location.

This project provides a comprehensive outline and approach of all of the complexities in completing a land swap and catalogues residents' interests and concerns about their future at Peggotty Beach.