TOSH awarded funding for climate resiliency project
SOUTH HADLEY - South Hadley has been awarded a $105,000 Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Action Grant by the Baker-Polito Administration.
The popular grant and designation program provides communities with funding and technical support to identify climate hazards, develop strategies to improve resilience, and implement priority actions to adapt to climate change.
The grant recognizes a project, Climate Resilient South Hadley, which highlights TOSH’s climate resilience strengths and areas which need improvement.
“Projects like those receiving awards today are not only critical for the resilience of our communities, but also create local jobs, contribute to the economy, and avoid future costs,” said Governor Charlie Baker.
Securing the grant funding was due to the massive effort by Conservation Administrator Anne Capra and Planning and Conservation Department Director Richard Harris, as well as DPW, Emergency Management and Recreation department staff members working as part of a core team.
Participation by residents at a 2019 South Hadley Community Resilience Building Workshop and subsequent meetings was dually instrumental in the planning portion of the project.
See South Hadley’s Community Resilience Building Report here: https://www.southhadley.org/DocumentCenter/View/6520/South-Hadley-Community-Resilience-Building-Report---May-2020-
See the MVP Presentation #1 here: https://www.southhadley.org/DocumentCenter/View/6088/MVP-Presentation-1---November-6-2019
MVP Presentation #2 here: https://www.southhadley.org/DocumentCenter/View/6087/MVP-Presentation-2---January-15-2020
MVP Presentation #3 here: https://www.southhadley.org/DocumentCenter/View/6524/MVP-Presentation-3---May-5-2020
Community Resilience Building Workshop Summary of Findings here: https://www.southhadley.org/DocumentCenter/View/6007/Community-Resilience-Building-Workshop---Summary-of-Findings-December-2019
A total of 89% of Massachusetts cities and towns, or 312 municipalities, are now enrolled in the MVP program, which pairs local leadership and knowledge with a significant investment of resources and funding from the Commonwealth to address ongoing climate change impacts like sea level rise, inland flooding, storms, and extreme temperatures. The program was created was created in 2017 as part of Governor Baker’s Executive Order 569.
Projects are focused on proactive strategies to address climate change impacts and may include retrofitting and adapting infrastructure, actions to invest in and protect environmental justice communities and improve public health, detailed vulnerability assessments or design and engineering studies, stormwater upgrades, dam retrofits and removals, culvert upgrades, drought mitigation, energy resilience, mosquito control initiatives, and that focus on implementing nature-based solutions such as wetland restoration and floodplain protection.