2008.01.19 Meeting Minutes

I. Welcome:

Ben Cowie-Haskell - welcomed everyone and provided a reading by George Bernard Shaw and the fact that Earth’s atmosphere is 30 miles thick, the distance from Marshfield to Boston.

Ned Bangs, Rec Dept Director – Many sustainable initiatives undertaken or envisioned for facility: recycling in effect and have started children recycling, greenscapes demonstration garden, interested in wind at facility, lights on sensors, energy saving switches, raised bed organic vegetable gardens, and rain barrels. NStar Energy Challenge made recommendations for electricity conservation and solar energy. Rec Center is one of 3 or 4 town buildings where solar will be installed.

II. Roundtable introductions (all) Introductions and interests

Gia Lane Marshfield Energy Comm – co-founded Marshfield town Energy Committee, mission to promote energy conservation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Focus on municipal facilities and education for public. Currently working on educational seminars, wind, and a greenhouse gas inventory to get a baseline of emissions. www.marshfieldenergy.org

• organic gardening concerned with food quality, energy, interest in less consumerism, wants to start CSA (garden).
• Motivated by responsibility, interest in animals
• alternative energy
• educated homeowners for incentives available, green landscaping and gardening, wants to learn more in general
• gardening, clean water, self-reliance
• energy savings, see what group is about
• organic landscaping and farming
• sustainable energy technology, driving the economy with technology
• general interest in environment wants to learn and contribute
• works for Audubon, previous volunteer work related to birding, nature and habitat restoration
• interested in conservation wants to take more action, involved with Audubon
• alternative energy interested in tidal, wind and geothermal, work experience related to battery development, consciousness raising important
• boater has seen changes in marsh and rivers in town, concerned with commercialism, interested in wind
• interested in energy efficient homes
• concerned about misinformation, cost of efficiency or energy projects goes beyond the individual project , part of costs are related to big picture like money flowing out of country for oil, costs of war.

III. Overview of Sustainable South Shore: Judeth Van Hamm

• Feb 10th next meeting at Norwell First Parish, also meetings in May, Nov. and August.
• Recently purchased thermal imaging camera. Katherine Rossmore Shields from Mfd has been trained to use camera and provide the service to residents when the camera is assigned to Mfd.
• Apr 18th 6th Annual Sustainable Living Festval at Nantasket Beach Hull
• Energy cost cutting guide going on web
• Low carbon diet groups – see empowerment institute, Cool Mass (climate change café), work toward being off the grid and off oil are goals
• Website: www.sustainablesouthshore.org

IV. Roundtable discussion: What’s your vision of a Sustainable Marshfield?

Educating homeowners on efficiency, Story of Stuff (google it!) - great way to get school kids engaged, community supported agriculture (CSA), sustainable education booth at farmers market, coordinate with local groups, transition Massachusetts for networking http://transitionmassachusetts.ning.com, should have mailing address and locally relevant website

V. Roundtable discussion: What kind of activities/projects would you like to see this group initiate in the short-term and long-term?

Everyone was given three yellow stickies and asked to right on each one an activity that Sustainable Mrfd could engage in. Everyone placed their stickies on the wall and all 66 stickies were then organized according to themes. What emerged were four main themes that SusMrfd could potentially focus on:

1. Public outreach: website, networking, growing the membership through marketing,
2. Alternative energy/renewable energy: wind, solar photovoltaics, tidal, wave, conservation
3. Transportation alternatives: better and safer bike paths, more sidewalks, zero emission bus to Greenbush train station,
4. Sustainable food sources: more locally grown, organic food choices, community supported agriculture, sustainable landscaping

Other ideas that emerged were: water conservation, reducing water pollution, seeking federal/state grants for town energy projects, ways to make sustainability doable, reuseable shopping bags, promoting low-cost (<$2000) systems residents can install.

VI. Next Steps:

Action Items:

1. Revisit list of activities and flesh them out more
2. Create a website that can be used as an outreach tool and a collaborative tool for the group. Team leads on this are Michael Sullivan and Tammy Serata.

Meeting Dates – agreed on Sunday, Feb. 22 from 1-3 at the Marshfield Rec. Dept, 900 Ferry St. Tammy will provide a reading and Bob Bale will provide a relevant fact.