Accelerating Climate Resilience Grant Program

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Accelerating Climate Resilience Grant Program

Accelerating Climate Resilience 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 impacts of climate change.

The intent is to fund actionable resilience interventions that facilitate long-term, innovative changes leading to greater readiness for climate change. In particular, MAPC seeks to elevate projects that will advance climate equity, regional coordination, and social cohesion.

While the application deadline (Friday, September 15, 2023) has now passed, you can learn more about the Program and our application process by reading the Invitation for Proposals below.

Questions?

Van Du
Assistant Director, Environmental Planning
[email protected]

Francelis Morillo Suarez
Clean Energy and Climate Planner I
[email protected]

Program Priorities

We're supporting projects in the following categories:

- Nature-based solutions for climate resilience, such as green infrastructure, climate-smart parks, urban forestry, floodplain protection, and restoration of natural systems.

- Municipal climate resilience policy; including regulations, zoning, permitting, and inspectional services.

- Innovative financing or infrastructure investment program models.

- Capacity building through municipal staffing or climate coalitions/convenings, such as stormwater partnerships, regional climate networks, or watershed-based climate resilience initiatives.

-  Contributions to social resilience or cohesion, such as public space improvements, dialogues, gatherings, training programs, and public health improvements, particularly for populations or neighborhoods vulnerable to climate change.

- Projects that combine climate adaptation with climate mitigation.

- Local food systems or community agriculture resilience measures.

- District-scale climate resilience pilots that are scalable and replicable.

- Innovative public outreach, engagement, and education efforts; including artistic, cultural, or creative projects that advance climate change knowledge or action.

Funded Projects: FY2024

Acton: Greening the Red House: A Living Example of Community and Climate Resilience

Project Type: Capital

Partners: Acton Water District 

Grant Amount: $37,600

Boston: Building Climate Resilience Through Immersive Education and Training

Project Type: Capacity Building

Partners: Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation, University of Massachusetts Boston, Sustainable Aquaculture Program and Environmental Innovation Clinic, Wentworth Institute of Technology

Grant Amount: $45,000

Braintree: Watson Park Stormwater Retrofits

Project Type: Capital

Partners: N/A

Grant Amount: $20,000

Cambridge: Community Center Resilience Hub Solar Panels

Project Type: Capital

Partners: Cambridge Community Center, Climable, CESI

Grant Amount: $50,000

Chelsea: Urban Garden and Green Roof Design Pilot

Project Type: Technical Assistance/Design

Partners: Chelsea Senior Center, Chelsea's Department of Housing & Community Development, Green Roots

Grant Amount: $15,000

Everett: Main St. Meadows, Making Everett Cool

Project Type: Capital

Partners: Neighborways Design

Grant Amount: $20,000

Hopkinton: HopPlanning for Climate

Project Type: Capacity Building

Partners: Hopkinton’s Sustainable Green Committee (SGC), Cconservation Committee, Youth and Family Services, Planning Board, Hopkinton, Senior Center

Grant Amount: $35,000

Hull: Cadish Avenue Resilience Project

Project Type: Technical Assistance/Design

Partners: Stone Living Lab

Grant Amount: $50,000

Ipswich: Leveraging Rainwater Harvesting to Promote Accessible Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies

Project Type: Technical Assistance/Design

Partners: Earthwater Design Solutions, Inc., Ipswich Housing Authority

Grant Amount: $33,000

Wayland, Ashland, Framingham, Natick, and Weston: Empowering Climate Resilience for Aging Residents

Project Type: Capacity Building

Partners: HeatSmart Alliance, MassEnergize

Grant Amount: $44,000

Funded Projects: FY2023

Beverly: Public Art to Illuminate Clean Energy Futures with Beverly Public School Students

Partners: Beverly Public Schools

Grant Amount: $20,100

Cambridge: Shade is Social Justice

Partners: Cambridge Arts, Harvard Office of Sustainability, MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, and more

Grant Amount: $100,000

Chelsea: White Roof Pilot for Heat Mitigation

Partners: GreenRoots, Chelsea Boys and Girls Club

Grant Amount: $85,000

Malden: Beat the Heat: Cooling the Wicked Hot Outdoors

Partners: Mystic River Watershed Association

Grant Amount: $100,000

Medford: Staff Capacity for Climate Change Zoning & Policy Capacity Building

Partners: N/A

Grant Amount: $75,000

Milton: Energy Resilience: Winter Valley Microgrid

Partners: Milton Residences for the Elderly

Grant Amount: $50,000

Milton and the Neponset River Watershed Association: Neponset Estuary Climate Resiliency Group

Partners: Neponset River Watershed Association, Boston Harbor Now, and other local community organizations in Boston and Quincy

Grant Amount: $44,450

Natick: Tiny Forest and Tree Planting

Partners: Bio4Climate (non-profit), Natick High School Earth Club, and Natick Sustainability Committee

Grant Amount: $57,000

Norwood: Green Stormwater Design at Senior Center and Emergency Shelter

Partners: Neponset River Watershed Association

Grant Amount: $50,000

Reading: Mattera Cabin Community Garden Phase II

Partners: Community Garden Collective

Grant Amount: $42,500

Scituate: Development of a Resilient Waterfront Park in Scituate Harbor

Partners: Scituate Harbor Redevelopment Commission

Grant Amount: $100,000

Watertown: Edible Watertown

Partners: Watertown Community Gardens, Watertown School Gardens

Grant Amount: $70,600

Winchester, Arlington, and Stoneham: Sustainable Landscape Handbook and Trainings

Partners: N/A

Grant Amount: $40,400

Funded Projects: Second Round of FY2021

Arlington: Remembrance of Climate Futures

Partners: Arlington Commission for Arts & Culture, Arlington Public Schools Green Team, artist Tom Starr

Grant Amount: $17,350

Short Description: Series of public art markers created by Arlington students.

Beverly/Salem: Community Outreach Campaign for Building Retrofits

Project Partners: Cities of Beverly and Salem

Grant Amount: $50,000

Short description: Targeted community outreach campaign to retrofit buildings to be more energy-efficient.

Boston Food Forest Coalition

Partners: Boston Department of Neighborhood Development, Boston Food Forest Coalition

Grant Amount: $50,000

Short description: Train local community members to maintain food forests, create educational signage for visitors, and hold summit.

Brookline: Tech Buddies Program

Partners: Brookline Housing Authority; Brookline Center for Community Mental Health; Brookline Council on Aging

Grant Amount: $28,000

Short description: Provide user-friendly tablets and internet access to seniors.

Chelsea/Revere/Winthrop: Social Vulnerability Assessment

Partners: City of Chelsea, City of Revere, Town of Winthrop, GreenRoots, Mystic River Watershed Association

Grant Amount: $50,000

Short description: Social vulnerability assessment for climate-vulnerable communities in Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop

Marlborough: Tree Planting Initiative

Project Partners:  Boys and Girls Club of Metro West

Grant Amount: $44,500

Short description: Strategic tree planting in Environmental Justice neighborhoods

Medford: Resilience Hubs

Project Partners: Medford Housing Authority, Climate CREW, Medford Health Matters, Wayside Youth & Family Services, Safe Medford, Medford Food Security Task Force, Regional Mystic Collaborative

Grant Amount: $29,330

Short description: Conceptualization and community-building for equitable, community-driven resilience hubs

Revere/Saugus/Lynn/Everett/Malden: Regional Resiliency Working Group

Partners: Municipalities – Revere, Saugus, Lynn, Malden and Everett; Saugus River Watershed, Alliance for Health and the Environment; Riverside Association; Point of Pines Beach Association

Grant Amount: $46,000

Short description: Establish a regional resiliency working group with a focus on regional flood protection.

Salem: Mack Park Farm and Food Forest

Partners: Salem Pantry

Grant Amount: $45,019

Short description: Construct a solar-powered storage building and water catchment system as part of the Mack Park Farm & Food Forest municipal agriculture project.

Stoughton: Community Pollinator Gardens

Partners: Mass Audubon Museum of American Bird Art; Recreation Dept, Environmental Affairs and Conservation Commission, Stoughton Public Library, Youth Commission, and Stoughton Diversity and Inclusion Organization, Public Works, and Council on Aging

Grant Amount: $20,000

Short description: Create three pollinator gardens accessible to the town's senior population.

Stow: Climate Resilience Coalition

Partners: OARS, Sudbury Valley Trustees, MetroWest Conservation Alliance, municipalities – Acton, Bedford, Bolton, Boxborough, Lexington, Lincoln, Stow, SuAsCo Wild & Scenic River Stewardship Council (RSC), Massachusetts Ecosystem Climate Adaptation Network (MassECAN)

Grant Amount: $15,000

Short description: Establish a Climate Resiliency Coalition with the 13 MAGIC municipalities in the SuAsCo watershed.

Funded Projects: First Round of FY2021

Beverly Strategic Tree Planting Initiative

Partners: Karen and Thomas Blair-Urban Horticultural Consultants 

Grant Amount: $75,000 one-year grant

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

Canton Resilience @ Home

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

Grant Amount: $42,817 one-year grant

Chelsea Energy Resilience: Neighborhood Grid

Project Partners: Greenroots, Inc., The Neighborhood Developers

Grant Amount: $142,500 two-year grant

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

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

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

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

Wenham: Development Regulations for Climate Resilience

Grant Amount: $49,875 one-year grant

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

Woburn Senior Center Community Garden

Grant Amount: $29,376 one-year grant

Funded Projects: FY2020

Strengthening Social and Climate Resilience in East Boston

Grantees: Boston Public Health Commission & The Harborkeepers

Grant Amount: $44,995

Tree Box Installations for Stormwater Management in Braintree

Grantee: Braintree Department of Public Works

Grant Amount: $38,755

Sustainable Landscaping in Concord

Grantee: Concord Sustainability Division

Grant Amount: $26,000

Snug Harbor Resilience Master Plan in Duxbury

Grantee: Duxbury Planning Department

Grant Amount: $24,800

Youth Stewardship of Northern Strand Green Infrastructure Sites in Everett

Grantee: Everett Office of Planning and Development

Grant Amount: $30,000

Integrating Land Use Planning and Water Conservation in Ipswich

Grantees: Ipswich Utilities Department & Ipswich River Watershed Assocation

Grant Amount: $19,550

Community Gardens at Public Housing in Medford

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

Grant Amount: $31,105

Burke-Memorial Elementary School Rain Garden in Medway

Grantee:
Town of Medway

Grant Amount:
$50,000

Equity and Climate Resiliency in Needham

Grantees: Needham Public Health Division and Green Needham

Grant Amount: $26,089

Long Beach Living Shoreline Project in Rockport

Grantee: Rockport Department of Public Works

Grant Amount: $32,500

Peggoty Beach Managed Retreat Feasibility Study in Scituate

Grantee: Scituate Department of Planning and Development

Grant Amount: $35,000