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

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.