Next steps underway for Green Community effort

Monday, Ayer's Green Community Committee took the first steps on the latest leg of the town's journey toward becoming a state-recognized "Green Community." If the committee realizes its ambitions -- which, among others, include creating a plan to reduce town energy consumption by 20 percent over five years and garnering voter approval to change key policies to foster greater energy efficiencies across the town -- Ayer will be able to apply for the"Green Community" designation. With that title in hand, Ayer will be in the running for additional state funds to go even greener.

This was the recently-formed committee's first getting-down-to-business meeting with Marianne Graham, a senior associate with consulting firm ICF International. Her technical assistance is funded by a grant the town received in the fall, one of several the state issued to help communities attempting to meet the five criteria required to be considered for "Green Community" status.

Developing an action plan
The five steps towns seeking "Green Community" status must take are:

1. To adopt "as-of-right" zoning, which means certain locations are set aside specifically for renewable or alternative energy generation, research and development or manufacturing.
2. To adopt an expedited permitting process -- 12 months application to final answer -- for such projects.
3. To establish an energy-use baseline and a plan for reducing baseline usage by 20 percent over five years.
4. To purchase only fuel-efficient cars (provided models are available or feasible).
5. To require all new residential construction over 3,000 square feet, as well as new commercial or industrial projects to conform to a new "stretch code" designed to minimize life-cycle energy costs.

Graham's role is to determine how far along the town has come toward meeting these requirements and to develop an action plan to complete the process so that the town can apply for the designation. The committee hopes to have worked through each of the criteria in time to be ready to secure voter approval for the portions of the initiative that require it in time for this May's spring Town Meeting. That would put the town in good shape to be prepared for the state's next Green Communities application deadline later in May.

Committee members present included Town Administrator Robert Pontbriand, Selectman Carolyn McCreary; David Maher, director of the town's Department of Planning & Development; and town resident Ted Staples of Reclaimed Energy, who represents the interests of builders and developers. Also on hand was Kelly Brown, the state Department Of Energy Resources' Central Massachusetts regional coordinator for Green Communities.

During this session, the committee worked with Graham to outline what's been done to date on each of the five Green Communities criteria and identified action items and point-people to move the process along.

Some areas well along
As part of earlier efforts to get the "Green Community" designation, Ayer now has in hand an energy-use audit (performed last year by Johnson Controls, whose longer-term hiring voters failed to approve at last spring's Town Meeting) which puts the town well down the road toward satisfying that portion of the state's requirements. The Green Community Committee will need the approval of the Board of Selectmen for the energy baseline and reduction plan.

The committee plans within the month to begin coordinating its efforts with Ayer's Energy Committee. This will ensure that projects like the recent lighting overhaul of town buildings and the $150,000 grant the town recently received to update its wastewater treatment plant will be taken into consideration as part of the Green Community requirements.

Warming up to tackle the stretch code
Persuading the town to adopt the stretch code is expected to be among the more complex tasks the committee faces. While Harvard -- named a Green Community near the end of last year -- adopted the stretch code, Devens recently rejected it. With that in mind, members agreed to form a subcommittee charged with learning about and in turn educating residents, and especially the builder and developer community, about the benefits of the new high energy efficiency building standards which the town must adopt as part of the Green Communities criteria.

With Graham's assistance, the committee is arranging a Q&A session with Mike Berry, another IFC consultant with expertise in the stretch code. The committee also plans to dedicate space on the town Web site to communicating about the code and its significance. In addition, the committee is conferring with Eric Broadbent, a member of Harvard's Energy Advisory Committee, who was instrumental in securing Harvard's adoption of the stretch code.

DOER's Kelly Brown took a realistic, but still optimistic view of the road ahead for the committee: "You have some work to do, but [some other] towns have been able to get ready and get approved in this time span."

State award will help pave way for Ayer to become a "Green Community"

Late last week, Ayer became one of 45 communities that will receive technical assistance to boost its bid to become a "Green Community." A planning grant from the Department of Energy Resources covers the hiring of a planning professional to help the town meet state requirements to earn the "Green Community" designation, which recognizes Massachusetts towns' dedication to cutting their energy use.

Under the Patrick administration's Green Communities Act of 2008, towns who meet a set of five criteria that demonstrate their commitment to reducing energy consumption and pursuing alternative energy solutions become eligible for state grants to help them take their efforts even further.

Earlier this year, members of the Board of Selectmen planned to hire a consulting firm to help advise the town on ways to reduce energy usage in order to become a Green Community, but hit a stumbling block when the Town Meeting article that would have financed it was tabled for future discussion. With the help of the planning professional Ayer will now have on hand, thanks to the award, the town should be able to make a fresh start toward earning the "Green Community" title.

The BOS unanimously agreed to apply for the grant toward the end of August. Under the terms of the grant, Ayer must now commit to meet the five criteria within a year. The town is now planning to form a Green Communities committee to get the push going in earnest.

To read more about the Green Communities initiative and the criteria involved, click here.

Recycle Your Reusables event set for Oct. 23

If you find you've been accumulating a few piles of household odds and ends and are wondering what to do with them, hold the phone...at least a little longer. Recycle Your Reusables, brought to you by the Ayer Recycling Committee and its cosponsors, has reuse solutions for a whole host of items, including, but not limited to:

• Athletic sneakers
• Personal documents
• #6 Styrofoam (even food trays!)
• Canned goods
• Coats and blankets
• Good-condition used furniture and home goods
• Gently-used sporting goods

The event will take place in the Ayer Public Schools parking lot from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. To get more specifics, contact the Ayer Recycling Committee at ayerrecycles@gmail.com or 978-­496-5839. You can also visit the Recycle Your Reusables Ayer blog.

Green goings on

Ayer Recycling Committee quarterly meeting -- Wednesday, Sept. 8, Ayer Town Hall, Conference Room A, 7 p.m.

This session will focus on preparations for the Recycle Your Reusables event (see above), to be held Oct. 23. All are welcome.

Fourth Annual River Day with Congresswoman Niki Tsongas -- Sunday, Sept. 12, noon to 5 p.m.

Celebrate the role of local waterways in connecting and contributing to the Fifth Congressional District with stops along the rivers in the Fifth District. Stops included are:

• Riverwalk Park, Osgood Street, Methuen, noon -- Meet with city officials and Groundwork Lawrence volunteers to discuss efforts to expand and clean up the Spicket River Greenway.
• Muldoon Park, Lowell, 1 p.m. -- Paddle on the Concord River and visit the newly-completed Concord River Greenway with volunteers from the Spindle City Corps, the Massachusetts Audubon Society and Girls Inc., to discuss their efforts to rehabilitate this greenway.
• Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center, Hudson Road, Sudbury, 3 p.m. -- Tour this newly-completed, green building and meet with students from the area to talk about their involvement with the Refuge.

RSVP to Jane Adams in Representative Tsongas' Acton office by e-mail or at 978-263-1951.

DEA National Prescription Drug Takeback Day -- Saturday, Sept. 25, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Get those leftover prescription meds out of your house...safely! You can drop off your expired, unused and unwanted prescription medications at the Littleton and Townsend Police Departments. This event is being held by the Drug Enforcement Agency (supported by the Mass. Department of Public Health).

Law enforcement staff will handle the dropoffs and ensure that the collected medications are safely stored and destroyed in accordance with DEA’s requirements. This collection gets these drugs out of medicine cabinets and closets, protecting people who shouldn’t take them, and prevents them from being flushed down drains and into sewers and septic systems, where many pharmaceutical compounds survive municipal water treatment.

Ayer Greenway Committee Family Rock Scramble -- Saturday, Sept. 18, 9 a.m. to noon

Kids aged six to 12 should have their responsible adults meet at the trailhead on Groton-Harvard Road at 9 for a short hike to Porcupine Hill, followed by an easy-but-steep climb to an area with caves and chimneys to explore for about an hour. Play clothes and sturdy shoes are recommended. Call 978-821-2916 or e-mail event leader Steve Smith with any questions and to sign up for this event

Ayer Greenway Committee monthly meeting -- Saturday, Sept. 25, location TBA

Urgent: Key Green Communities piece up for vote this Monday

In Article 26 of Monday's Town Meeting warrant, the Board of Selectmen is seeking approval to formally contract with Johnson Controls to help Ayer reduce its energy usage. This perfomance contract is a key step toward Ayer being designated a Green Community, which will give the town a chance at state grants to promote greater strides in energy efficiency. A yes vote from the town sets the ball rolling. Town Meeting will be at 7 p.m., this Monday, in the Ayer High School Auditorium.

More April news

Ayer looking for title of "Green Community"
What's in a name? Well, if Ayer achieves its goal of being designated a "Green Community," what's in that name is a shot at state funding to help pay for a range of potential projects that would increase our town's energy efficiency and cut its greenhouse gas emissions. But first, Ayer has to earn the name by demonstrating its green commitment.

The push to earn the Green Community designation comes out of the Green Communities Act Governor Deval Patrick passed in 2008 in a bid to put Massachusetts in the forefront of national energy reform efforts. Towns who meet the criteria set forth in the Act and earn the right to call themselves Green Communities become eligible for state funding for programs that can help propel them to even greater energy efficiency.

Five criteria
There are five criteria Ayer and other towns pursuing the title of "Green Community" must meet:

• Ensuring zoning laws are written to permit key kinds of alternative energy projects around town.
• Expediting approvals that will allow work on such projects to progress.
• Determining Ayer's energy use baseline and coming up with a plan to reduce usage within five years.
• Shifting as much as possible of the town's fleet of vehicles to energy-efficient models.
• Guaranteeing that new residential and commercial construction be more energy-efficient through code changes and additional inspections.

As a first step in Ayer's progress toward becoming a Green Community, the town's Energy Committee hired energy-efficiency consulting firm Johnson Controls for an energy performance contract.

Under this contract, Johnson Controls recently completed an energy use audit of town buildings (including Town Hall, the police station, fire station, schools and library). Next, the firm will suggest and help implement ways of streamlining these facilities' energy use.

"This is really the heart of the program," says Selectman Carolyn McCreary, one of the Green Communities effort's champions.

Solar project in the works
The town is paying for Johnson Controls' work through a combination of Federal stimulus funds and grant money. As things progress, the contractor will also receive part of its payment from the energy savings that come out of its recommendations. One project related to these recommendations will be a ground-mounted solar array on town-owned land near the Department of Public Works office. Once installed, the new solar setup will generate energy for Ayer's municipal buildings.

Ayer also has access to funds to pursue energy use cuts from the Regional Energy Greenhouse Gas Initiative (REGGI) -- in essence, collected carbon tax.

On the agenda at BOS meetings
Johnson Controls was due to present its snapshot of the town's energy consumption at a meeting with the Energy Committee on March 30; however, that meeting had to be rescheduled due to emergency meetings about the town's water situation. It is now due to present its plan for reducing the town's energy consumption at the Board of Selectmen meeting on Tuesday, April 13 at 7:30 p.m. Kelly Brown, regional Green Communities coordinator, will attend the following week's BOS meeting (4/20).

If Ayer is able to meet all the criteria in time -- some criteria have been met, while the town is reviewing others -- the first chance to receive the Green Communities designation will be this May.

Residents' support key to moving forward
"Becoming a Green Community is a great opportunity for Ayer," says Selectman McCreary. "The energy reductions we'll be pursuing will mean cost savings for the town. And if we succeed, we will be allowed to apply for grants to take our alternative energy and energy reduction efforts even further. Also, it means Ayer is being a good environmental citizen.

"We hope residents will let us know they support our Green Communities work by attending Board of Selectmen meetings," she says. "The more citizens get excited about this and show their support, the sooner we're likely to make our goal."


Green goings on

Free trail walk and vernal pools exploration April 17, 9 a.m. to noon
Outdoorsfolk of all ages are invited to meet at the trailhead of Pine Meadow Pond Conservation Area on Groton Harvard Road in Ayer for a chance to get acquainted (or better acquainted) with the Pine Meadow Pond and Science Trails, courtesy of the Ayer Greenway Committee.

The trails offer nice water views and interesting geological formations. Stops at vernal pools may turn up salamanders, wood frogs, egg masses and other creatures. Hikers are advised to bring water, dress appropriately for the weather and wear sturdy walking shoes. For more info, call 618-214-8593.


Nashua River Watershed Association vacation offerings

Whether you're thinking of the imminently approaching April vacation or the only slightly less-imminently approaching days of summer, it's time to book spots for the kids in the Nashua River Watershed Association's kids' activities.

From one-day programs that give area school kids a great taste of what spring has to offer in and around our local woods and waterways to a spring peepers program for tadpoles of the human variety to summer Eco-Adventures and more, NRWA has everything your budding naturalists could want. For a more detailed rundown of their offerings, visit the NRWA website and contact Lauren Parente, Eco-Adventures Coordinator, at (978) 448-0299, or send her an e-mail.

Second edition

Note: This is my first crack at making this newsletter into a blog...I think this will be good, and hope you'll bear with me while I figure out the ins and outs of the medium.

Time to get fresh: Gibbet Hill offering new CSA
Whatever the groundhog had to say this year, there is light at the end of this winter's tunnel. So for those of us who like our vegetables poppin' fresh, it's time to start thinking about how we want to get our produce, whether that means digging in the dirt ourselves, signing up for a share of a community-supported agriculture (CSA) project, or daydreaming about trips to the area's farmers' markets.

In my case, I'd been waiting for a quiet minute to look at my seed catalog, which has been here for ages, but that minute just hasn't come. Then, out for a Valentine's dinner at The Gibbet Hill Grill in Groton, the first thing on the menu to catch my eye was a notice that Gibbet Hill Farm is throwing its hat into the CSA ring. (My neighbor and fresh produce hunter extraordinaire Julie tells me that several other area farms are embarking on first-time CSAs as well...hoping to hear from anyone who tries them out for future issues!)

Gibbet Hill Farm had such success with the produce it grew for the restaurant and its other businesses last year that it's inviting a handful of community members to share the wealth this growing season. Having eaten a number of Gibbet Hill's crisp, flavor-packed salads and dishes like roasted beets and ragouts, and tasted a range of herbs in everything from the restaurant's breads to its rigatoni and its soups, in the past couple of years, I jumped at the chance. Assuming my check arrived before Farmer Kate (who runs the farm) filled up the 50-person list, I just have to wait until early June for my first pickup.

The CSA experience is not without hitches I've been warned about: large quantities of odd items or simply the same produce week after week, and sometimes, just too much produce to eat before the next batch arrives. But, maybe because spring is coming, I'm feeling optimistic. It seems logical that if I like the veggies at Gibbet Hill Grill, I should like the produce Gibbet Hill Farm grows, at least mostly (I confess I'm already wondering who'd like my allotment of radishes). And I can't wait to see the recipes from the restaurants chefs that are supposed to be included in my weekly portion. They even promise to throw in a jar or two of chef-preserved GH pickles...and how can you not love that?

Gibbet Hill Farm's CSA at a glance:

• Membership fee for 2010: $600 for 20 weeks of produce (average cost $30/week)
• Sample crops -- Lettuce and other salad greens, cooking greens (i.e. Swiss chard and kale), peas, beans, carrots, squash, beets, cucumbers, heirloom tomatoes, sweet corn and winter vegetables, among others
• Limited to 50 shares
• Pickup Wednesdays or Sundays at Gibbet Hill's old Bull Barn

If you're interested in a share or would like to know more, contact Farmer Kate at farm@gibbethill.com.

If you've tried a local CSA or farmers' market and want to let neighbors know how it worked for you, send me a short e-mail writeup and I'll add it to the newsletter (respectful reviews only, please), next chance I have.

The final word (for now) on foam recycling in Ayer
Remember last month, when MassToss's Tessa David told us that most town transfer stations don't accept expanded polystyrene foam because it's hard to find markets for the recycled product? And remember that she said the best thing to do is check with your own town's transfer station? Surprise...turns out that our own (wonderful!) transfer station does indeed accept EPS foam, gladly.

At this time, the town transfer station will take clean, white EPS foam -- the kind used in packaging TVs, computers, furniture and the like. Until we know otherwise, packing peanuts, clamshell takeout containers and meat trays are still not a good idea. If I hear that they're OK, I'll let you know!

Cleanup day muscle needed

Well, not exactly muscle....The Recycling Committee is on the lookout for volunteers to help make its April 10 "A Cleaner Ayer" townwide cleanup an all-day, fun-packed event. Anyone wishing to lend time or talent to help with advance organization of the cleanup itself or the post-cleanup dance party and dessert potluck planned for that evening, please contact Laurie Sabol at 978-772-7858 or ayerrecycles@gmail.com.

Green goings on

Pine Meadow Conservation Land public input and hearings -- The Ayer Conservation Commission is holding a series of meetings to determine shared land use policy on the Pine Meadow Conservation Land. Preliminary discussion Thursday, February 25; public hearing Thursday, March 11, and Thursday, April 8. Final public hearing to vote on regulations Thursday, April 22. All meetings are at Ayer Town Hall at 7 p.m.

People of Ayer Concerned about the Environment (PACE) meeting -- Thursday, February 25, 4 Shelly Lane, Ayer, 7 p.m.

"Green Community" public meeting -- Ayer is working toward meeting the criteria to be designated a “Green Community,” following the recent passage of the Green Communities Act, which aims to help our cities and towns create greater energy efficiency and future generations of renewable, alternative energy sources. Get the latest on these efforts on March 9, when Kelly Brown, regional director for Green Communities, will be coming to Ayer Town Hall for a 7 p.m. public meeting.

Honeybee keeping classes -- Learn how to keep bees from experienced beekeepers Al Horton and Carl Flowers, members of the Middlesex County Beekeepers Association and frequent participants in the Williams Barn Farmers' Market in Groton. Classes will take place at the Groton #7 Grange Hall on Champney St. on Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 8 p.m. from February 25 through April 8. The $70 fee includes the textbook and 2010 membership to the Middlesex County Beekeepers Association.