SUSTAINABLE CONCORD COFFEE
Time-of-Day Electric Rates
with Laura Scott
Tuesday January 20, 8-9:00am
Come at 7:45 for coffee, treats & conversation
First Parish Church
20 Lexington Rd, side entrance
Free and open to all.
Laura will introduce the new time-of-day electric rates that CMLP plans to roll out to residential customers beginning April 1, 2026. She will talk about:
- Why CMLP chose time-of-days rates
- How they work
- The potential benefits and challenges for customers.
She will also touch briefly on the wider electric market and why time-of-day rates make sense in today’s world.
Laura Scott’s 38-year career spans commodities trading, finance, strategy and consulting in the North American electricity, natural gas, and oil markets. She currently serves as the Assistant Director for Power Supply & Energy Management at the CMLP where she helps maintain a reliable, cost-effective and forward-thinking utility that serves the needs of the Concord community.
SUSTAINABLE CONCORD COFFEE
Salt Pollution in the SuAsCo* Watershed
with Kim Kastens, PhD
Tuesday November 18, 8-9:00am
Come at 7:45 for coffee, treats & conversation
First Parish Church
20 Lexington Rd, side entrance
Free and open to all.
OARS (the Organization for the Sudbury, Assabet and Concord Rivers), the Green Acton Water Committee, the US Geological Survey, and other local environmental groups have documented that the level of salt in local streams, ponds, rivers, and groundwater has risen dramatically over the last 50 years, corresponding to rising use of road salt as a de-icer on roadways and parking lots. Elevated salt level is harmful to aquatic organisms that evolved to live in fresh water, and if it gets high enough and gets into the drinking water sources, it can be harmful to public health. Kim’s talk shows how surveys of tributary systems and continuous monitoring at key sites can be used to identify potential sources of salt pollution (not always road salt), track changes over time, understand the contribution of groundwater versus overland flow, and estimate overall salt transport. Kim will also present an overview of strategies that can be tried to minimize salt pollution without compromising road safety, and a call for a watershed-wide “Road Salt Summit” to bring together people who care about aquatic ecosystems, people who care about drinking water quality, and people who care about road safety, for sharing best practices, learning from experts, and building a regional strategy.
Kim Kastens chairs the Water Committee for Green Acton and is a water quality monitoring volunteer for OARS. She earned a B.A. in Geology and Geophysics from Yale University (’75) and a PhD in Oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography (’81). She retired as a research professor from Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University’s Earth & environmental science research institute, and then worked briefly at the Education Development Center in Waltham, leading their science education efforts. Her early research was in marine geology, and then she shifted her research direction to pioneer the emerging field of geoscience education research, research on how people think and learn about the Earth & environment. Her most recent ideas can be found on her Substack: Loops behind the News.
*The SuAsCo watershed refers to the Sudbury, Assabet and Concord Rivers.
SUSTAINABLE CONCORD COFFEE
Stop Private Jet Expansion (SPJE) Update
with Lara Sullivan, Project Manager
Tuesday September 16, 8-9:00am
Come at 7:45 for coffee, treats & conversation
First Parish Church
20 Lexington Rd, side entrance
Free and open to all.
Lara will provide an update on where the SPJE campaign stands and what’s next in the fight to stop private jet expansion at Hanscom or anywhere. The developers expect to file their next report, the Supplementary Draft Environmental Impact Report (SDEIR) in late Sept or Oct in response to EEA Sec. Tepper’s rejection of their DEIR in June 2024. We’ll be gearing everyone up to submit another tsunami of comments on the SDEIR, and we’ll discuss other actions as well to ensure the best chance of success this fall.
Lara Sullivan is the project manager for the Coalition to Stop Private Jet Expansion at Hanscom or Anywhere. She graduated from the University of Rochester in 2023 with a degree in Environmental Studies and Computer Science, and has been working on the SPJE campaign for over a year and a half.
SUSTAINABLE CONCORD COFFEE
Water Quality in Concord Rivers
with Elissa Brown, River Ambassador for the SuAsCo Wild and Scenic River Stewardship Council
Tuesday June 17, 8-9:00am
Come at 7:45 for coffee, treats & conversation
First Parish Church
20 Lexington Rd, side entrance
Free and open to all.
Water quality in the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Rivers has changed wildly over time—from pristine precolonial times to the days when sewage and industrial waste spewed from the many water-power fueled mills along the rivers. Today’s rivers have recovered significantly since those days but contain residuals of our historical past. Current regulations aim at further reducing contamination in the rivers, but contamination remains and knowledge of emerging contaminants is in its infancy.
Elissa Brown spent most of her career in the environmental consulting field primarily working with soil and groundwater quality issues—from Safe Drinking Water Act compliance to assessment and remediation of hazardous waste sites. After 30 years, she retired from private practice to become the Conservation Agent for the Town of Dedham working to protect wetlands and manage stormwater.
Since her retirement from Dedham, she has served as the River Ambassador for the SuAsCo Wild and Scenic River Stewardship Council. In that role, she serves as “boots on the ground” for the council, spreading the word about the unique value of our rivers and coordinating with other stakeholders in advocating for their protection. She also spends a lot of time paddling on the rivers, maintaining put-ins, and helping out with such efforts as aquatic invasive species removal and water quality sampling. Over the years, Elissa has served on Concord’s Natural Resources Commission, Planning Board, Public Works Commission, and a variety of other ad hoc committees. She has a bachelor’s degree in Geology and a master’s degree in Geochemistry.
SUSTAINABLE CONCORD COFFEE
Preview of Selected Town Meeting Articles
with Sven Weber, Stephan Bader, Gwen Shipley, and Will Kemeza
Tuesday May 20, 8-9:00am
Come at 7:45 for coffee, treats & conversation
First Parish Church
20 Lexington Rd, side entrance
Free and open to all.
This month we continue the tradition of holding presentations and discussions of selected Town Meeting articles, in preparation for the Town Meeting on June 2nd at 6:30pm.
Sven Weber, Chairman of the CPW Board, will be presenting Article 8, Debt Exclusion for Road Maintenance. In order to recover from a decade on underfunding road maintenance, the Town is asking for a sum not to exceed $27,500,000 to fund the Town’s Five-Year Road Maintenance Program, including, without limitation, the costs of engineering, design, site preparation, construction, landscaping, paving, traffic signalization improvements, and pedestrian and bicycle improvements.
Sven will also talk about Article 34, Stormwater Enterprise Fund Expenditures, a program designed to encourage property owners to minimize their impact on the municipal stormwater system by offering credits for approved stormwater management activities.
Stephan Bader will talk about Article 28, Ranked Choice Voting, and Gwen Shipley will present Article 36, Citizen’s Petition to Ban Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARS).
Finally, Will Kemeza will present information on some items in the Community Preservation Appropriation Recommendations, Article 47, including work on the Thoreau Athletic Fields and Greenspace, and Design and Cost Estimation for the Gerow Recreation Area.
SUSTAINABLE CONCORD COFFEE
Growing Food, Growing Community
with Jennifer Johnson, Executive Director, Gaining Ground
Tuesday April 22, 8-9:00am
Come at 7:45 for coffee, treats & conversation
First Parish Church
20 Lexington Rd, side entrance
Free and open to all.
This month we continue with our “think local, act local” theme by learning about sustainability, climate impact on agriculture, and community resilience from Jennifer Johnson of Gaining Ground. She is passionate about equitable access to healthy food and the healing power of nature. She has found her dream job at Gaining Ground and loves working with Gaining Ground’s staff, board, volunteers, and partners to grow food and grow community.
She earned a degree in communications from Boston University and completed the in-residence Business for Impact program at Georgetown University. Jennifer began her career in marketing communications before pivoting to non-profit development and management. She lives with her family in Concord and enjoys reading, running, hiking, gardening, and kayaking.
SUSTAINABLE CONCORD COFFEE
Meet the Candidates for Select Board & School Committee
Tuesday March 18, 8-9:00am
Come at 7:45 for coffee, treats & conversation
First Parish Church
20 Lexington Rd, side entrance
Free and open to all.
Some of the candidates for the April 8th election for Select Board and School Committee will be present to introduce their campaign platform and take questions. ConcordCAN is appreciative of their time and commitment to service. Each candidate will have five minutes to introduce themselves and their platform, followed by a 15-minute Q&A session.
For more information about the April 8th election, visit the Elections & Voting page on the town’s website.
A First Parish Forum
What Opportunities Do the Recently Passed Climate Bill Provide for Action in the Coming Months?
With Senator Michael Barrett & Elizabeth Henry, President of the Environmental League of MA
March 16, 12:30-2:00pm
First Parish Church
20 Lexington Rd
And virtually: Zoom link
Mike Barrett, author of the climate bill, is State Senator for eight Massachusetts communities: Bedford, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Concord, Lincoln, Waltham, Weston and Lexington. He serves as Senate Chair of the Legislature’s Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy.
Elizabeth Henry, current President of the Environmental League of Massachusetts, is committed to making Massachusetts lead the nation in environmental policy and getting on a pathway to net zero emissions.
This event is sponsored by the Environmental Action Team of First Parish in Concord, and co-sponsored by ConcordCAN, the League of Women Voters of Concord-Carlisle, Mothers Out Front, Stop Private Jet Expansion, and others.
SUSTAINABLE CONCORD COFFEE
Advancing Sustainability in Concord
with Eric Simms, Sustainability Director
Tuesday Feb 18, 8-9:00am
Come at 7:45 to enjoy coffee, treats, and conversation.
First Parish Church
20 Lexington Rd, side entrance
Free and open to all.
Concord continues to pursue a number of different avenues to lower its greenhouse gas emissions and to address the town’s vulnerably to climate change. Together with members of the Climate Action Committee and the CMLP, actions have been taken to lower greenhouse gas emissions by 37% since 2008, but there is still work to be done to achieve Concord’s near-term goal of 50% GHG reduction by 2030 and longer-term goal of 85% by 2050.
A significant contribution to Concord’s success in recent years has been the result of CMLP reaching the goal of purchasing 100% carbon-free electricity in 2023, but much work remains to eliminate the use of fossil fuels from the two largest sources of GHG emissions – existing buildings and vehicles. In addition to mitigation, Concord also needs to accelerate efforts to prepare for the increasing impacts and vulnerabilities associated with climate change, including storm damage, flooding, drought, and increasing temperatures.
Eric Simms has been Concord’s Sustainability Director since 2022.
SUSTAINABLE CONCORD COFFEE
Building Sustainable Housing
with Dan Gainsboro
Tuesday January 21, 8-9:00am
Come at 7:45 to enjoy coffee, treats, and conversation
First Parish Church
20 Lexington Rd, side entrance
Free and open to all.
Concord is one of a small group of towns that has joined a pilot program that requires all new construction to be fossil free. If you are wondering about such construction, Dan Gainsboro has many years of experience in building all-electric houses. He will speak to his methods of building houses that are energy efficient, comfortable living spaces and, at the same time, creating village-like communities that naturally encourage social interaction of the residents.
Dan is a Concord resident and Director of NOW Communities, which specializes in creating community-focused neighborhoods that emphasize sustainability and energy efficiency. The firm’s first major residential development, Concord Riverwalk, was an immense success – earning acclaim from planners, architects, and environmentalists alike, and generating tremendous demand for its cottage-style units. NOW Communities has been recognized with some of the architecture and urban development industry’s most prestigious awards, including Builder Magazine’s Project of the Year, the National Association of Homebuilder’s Community of the Year, and the American Institute of Architects’ New England Design Honor Award.
SUSTAINABLE CONCORD COFFEE
Why Should We Care About Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARS)?
with Gwen Shipley & Meaghan Sinclair
Tuesday November 19, 8-9:00am
Arrive at 7:45 am to enjoy coffee, treats, and conversation.
First Parish Church
20 Lexington Rd, side entrance
Free and open to all.
Raptors, foxes, coyotes, and other predators keep our ecosystems in balance. But rodent poisons—specifically second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs)—harm thousands of these creatures in Massachusetts each year after they eat a poisoned rodent. SGARs can also harm children and pets who eat the poison itself. Come learn about this issue and what we can do in Concord and statewide to help ban their use.
Gwen Shipley is an award-winning biology teacher at Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall School and an enthusiastic birder who volunteers at Drumlin Farm. She is also a co-leader of Mass Audubon’s Council (an advisory board) and one of their Nature Champions. Meaghan Sinclair is an accomplished wildlife photographer who who is interested in the intersection of mental health and time spent outdoors. She is currently working toward her Mass Audubon Field Naturalist certification.
The Great Pumpkin Smash
Sunday November 3, 10am-2pm
Codman Community Farms
58 Codman Road, Lincoln
Mothers Out Front welcomes everyone to their Annual Great Pumpkin Smash. It’s lots of fun for all ages, provides food for the Codman Farm pigs, and keeps pumpkins out of landfills.
Webinar: Stop Private Jet Expansion at Hanscom or Anywhere
If you missed the webinar last month by Susan Solomon, professor of atmospheric chemistry at MIT, founding director of the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, and author of the book Solvable: How We Healed the Earth, and How We Can Do It Again, you can watch the recording by clicking on this link.
SUSTAINABLE CONCORD COFFEE
A Presentation on Mothers Out Front
with Betsy Olsen-Mackowski
Tuesday morning, Oct 15, 8-9am
Arrive at 7:45am to enjoy coffee, treats, and conversation
First Parish Church
20 Lexington Rd, side entrance
Free and open to all.
The vision of Mothers Out Front is to harness the collective power of mothers to influence policy changes. Since its founding in 2013 Mothers Out Front has grown into a nationwide grassroots organization focused on climate justice, community organizing, and environmental advocacy. Mothers Out Front is a great option for volunteering because of its local roots, focus on the future, and urgency to empower each of us to turn anxiety into action.
Their events always have engaging components for families and children. They also have a toolkit template that is used consistently so that we can amplify our voices by working together. Legislatively, they have been pressuring the State House and Senate to reconvene to pass the state climate bill. They do a monthly program at Fowler on the last Saturday of the month called the Sustainability Studio. It involves story time and a craft for younger children and families.
Betsy Olsson-Mackowski has lived in Concord with her husband and two children since 2012. She has always been passionate about the natural world and what it can teach us and how interconnected we are with it. She likes to say that she likes the environment because we can’t live without it. With our beloved Laura Davis moving the Petersham this summer, Betsy has committed to taking on more of a leadership role.
SUSTAINABLE CONCORD COFFEE
Environmental Campaigning—Taking Action Now
Tuesday June 18, 8-9am
First Parish Church
20 Lexington Rd, side entrance
As we see more and more effects from climate change in the form of severe flooding, intense storms, and raging wild fires, it has been increasingly imperative that we have a government leadership that will act to sustain a livable planet. Given the enormous stakes in the November election at all levels of government, we must elect environmentally-oriented candidates and prevent a climate-change denying government from dismantling regulatory agencies and allowing fossil fuel companies to drill where they want, when they want.
Getting involved is essential; we are a powerful force when we all take action. ConcordCAN has invited multiple speakers who will talk about what we can do to help to get out the vote and elect candidates who support environmental issues. If you are a long-time activist, you will learn about new organizations and tactics. If you are a newcomer to campaign volunteering, you will learn how easy and useful it can be to get involved.
Specific organizations include:
Climate Impacts of Proposed Private Jet Hangar Expansion at Hanscom Field
with Neil Rasmussen from Save Our Heritage
Tuesday May 16, 8-9am
Tri-Con Church, Walden St and on Zoom
Massport is planning a massive hangar build-out for private luxury jets at Hanscom Airport, representing the largest single development in Hanscom’s history. If carried out, these plans will dramatically increase greenhouse gas emissions and undercut town, state, and national climate goals at a time when climate scientists are warning us to dramatically decrease our emissions.
Private jets, which typically carry four to five passengers, generate nearly six times more CO2 per flight than a typical passenger car generates per year and are up to 14 times more polluting, per passenger, than commercial planes. For this reason, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport has proposed a ban on private jets. France is also considering a ban.
The Hanscom project would nullify the climate benefits of approximately 1/3 of all the current solar energy installations in Massachusetts. For this reason alone, expansion of private plane facilities should not move forward here – or at any other airport.
In the era of Zoom meetings and an abundance of more efficient travel options, there is no benefit to the Hanscom project that would compensate for the harms to the climate it would cause.
We cannot allow the convenience and luxury of the privileged few to accelerate the catastrophic effects of climate change on billions of people.
Please sign this petition to Governor Healey to demand that she stop this expansion. NOTE: When you see a donation page, you can close out of it. Donations go to iPetitions, not our cause.
The proposed development would:
- Add nearly 500,000 square feet of hangar space on 49 acres of mostly undisturbed land
- Add 27 private jet hangars for up to 81 additional private jets
- Add more than 36 acres of rainwater-impervious area
- Impact 35 environmental justice populations within a 5-mile radius
- Clear-cut mature trees that are the most efficient CO2 carbon sequestration technology
- Harm local wildlife and biodiversity
“Our world needs climate action on all fronts: everything, everywhere, all at once.”
—UN Secretary General António Guterres
“The Hanscom Field expansion is the single most ludicrous idea I’ve ever heard. They ought to rename it Carbon Dioxide Field. Find a way to knock that down fast.”
—Bill Mckibben, in a talk in Concord on 4/2/23
For more information or to receive future actions and updates, please contact Save Our Heritage at info@saveourheritage.com.
Sustainable Middlesex Carbon Countdown
Tue May 16, 7:00pm: Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer
Sat May 20, 9:30am: Senator Mike Barrett
Melissa Hoffer will focus on an equitable and sustainable future: A Vision for Massachusetts. Her talk will be followed by four brief introductions to local community driven initiatives (see below) on the same theme.
Senator Mike Barrett will talk about connecting citizen activists to the legislative process, as well as connecting the Executive Branch work to the work of the Legislature.
His talk will be followed by workshops based on the community driven initiatives, focusing on:
- Biodiversity: Protecting ecosystems, in our backyard and beyond
- Building electrification: A future without fossil fuels
- Networked Geothermal: Neighborhood scale heating and cooling
- Affordable Housing: Healthy, Efficient, Resilient
Sustainable Middlesex is a network of grassroots climate action groups focused on public awareness of and advocacy for policies that support climate sustainability, mitigation, and adaptation.
Wild & Scenic Rivers Film Festival
Wednesday May 24, 7-10pm
Fine Arts Theatre, Maynard
OARS 3 Rivers is once again bringing one of the largest environmental film festivals to the Fine Arts Theatre in Maynard, MA. This is the fifteenth year that OARS 3 Rivers has hosted this popular event. The Wild & Scenic Film Festival provides environmentally conscious organizations an opportunity to showcase films as a way to reach into their communities and inspire citizens to affect environmental change.
The festival offers a way for viewers to get energized and empowered to work in the community and get involved in OARS’ initiatives and other projects.
Doors open at 6pm. Showtime is 7pm sharp.
Join us, meet new friends, and see awe-inspiring films from around the world and close to home. Door prizes from our sponsors, ice cream, wine, and local beer available.
If you can’t be part of the big night or want to re-watch the films—there’s good news: hybrid viewing tickets that include five days of video-on-demand are available.
Join the ConcordCAN Steering Group
If you are interested in joining the Steering Group, please contact any of the members: Janet Rothrock, Garret Whitney, Mary White, Scott Richardson, Janet Miller, and Sharon McGregor.