SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM

We had a very competitive round of grant applications this fall. The following groups were awarded grants at our November Grantmaking Committee meeting:

Action for Chester's Tomorrow
Chester, VT
$2,000
To engage citizens around preventing the establishment of a large quarry operation on the south edge of the village and a strip development in an enlarged Commercial District on the other end of the town center.

Androscoggin River Alliance
Leeds, ME
$2,000
To help support a capacity building campaign that will help the organization have an impact on policy decisions and to become a stable and permanent advocacy organization.

Bennington Energy Committee
Bennington, VT
$1,250
To institute a town-wide compact fluorescent light campaign, partnering with local retailers and Efficiency Vermont to replace over 40,000 bulbs in Bennington households.

Bennington Interfaith Council Emergency Food & Fuel Fund
Bennington, VT
1,250
To assist low-income families in lowering energy costs by using request to the Fund for fuel or rent assistance as a means to exchange compact fluorescent bulbs for incandescent bulbs and to help them implement other low-cost energy saving strategies.

Bike Recycle Vermont
Burlington, VT
$1,500
To help fund the salaries of the organization's two fulltime employees in order to complete organizational tasks and implement the strategic plan completed last summer.

Blackstone River Coalition
Hopedale, MA
$1,000

To help launch a campaign to encourage small companies in the watershed to be "In Business for the Blackstone" and adopt good housekeeping practices that will minimize the pollution associated with stormwater from rain and snowmelt.


Brattleboro Committee: Vermont Earth Institute
Brattleboro, VT
$1,000
To help fund a part-time staff person to assist the local volunteers to start VEI discussion courses.

Buckmaster Pond Association
Westwood, MA
$1,500
To hire a hydrologist to interpret the Buckmaster Pond pump test completed in the summer of 2005 regarding the feasibility a pumping 1 million gallons/day to supply water for the town of Norwood.

Burrillville Land Trust
Mapleville, RI
$1,500
To create, promote and sustain a farmers' market in Burrillville.

Camden Area Futures Group
Camden, ME
$1,500
To help fund the "Consensus Building Project" that will serve as a forum for advocating policies and activities that support the town's long-term interest in protecting Camden's harbor as a thriving working waterfront.

Clay Arsenal Neighborhood Revitalization Association
Hartford, CT
$2,000
To educate residents and convene a major community meeting to energize a low-income neighborhood around a previous toxically contaminated site on Pliny Street being proposed for a development with a day care center and residential units.

Concerned Citizens of Assonet
Assonet, MA
$1,500
To protect wetlands and public health and safety by putting an end to the contamination in the community from a resident who has an unregistered junkyard.

Concerned Citizens of Russell
Russell, MA
$1,500
To prevent the construction of a 50-mega-watt biomass incinerator and to transform the town by building an organization that fosters unity, empowers people to meet community needs and brings businesses that complement the character of the town.

Cranston Citizens for Responsible Zoning & Development
Cranston, RI
$2,000
To oppose a proposed concrete batch manufacturing facility at a site zoned industrial even though it is in a wetlands, located in a floodplain, and abuts a residential neighborhood, historical cemetery and two rivers.

Cuenta ConMigo Community Garden
Holyoke, MA
$2,000
To work with youth and adults to make improvements on the Cuenta ConMigo Community Garden in order to foster awareness and pride in the environment of the Flats neighborhood of Holyoke.

Ecological Planning for Mount Holly
Belmont, VT
$1,500
To conduct the first phase of an ecological inventory of Mount Holly, including wildlife habitat, wetlands and vernal pools and potentially significant natural communities.

Fertile Ground
Williamsburg, MA
$1,000
To help fund the rural/urban mentoring project with Nuestras Raices youth leaders, community Harvest Feast, community trainings in dismantling racism, and capacity building to create fee for service afterschool programs in other schools in the Pioneer Valley.

Friends of the Middlesex Fells Reservation
Melrose, MA
$1,800
To fund an Executive Service Corps/Friends of Fells four-month training/coaching program to expand the current donor base to include bigger contributors while potentially building the Friends of Fells board of directors.

Friends of the North Branch Nature Center
Montpelier, VT
$1,500
To help fund the Amphibian Conservation Project that engages citizens in the protection of Vermont's amphibian populations.

Friends of the Winooski River
Montpelier, VT
$1,000
To assist local residents in developing a Winooski Headwaters Group that will develop and implement restoration and protection projects in the upper portion of the watershed, specifically helping direct Cabot Creamery's restitution efforts.

Global Awareness, Local Action Community Center
Wolfeboro, NH
$1,500
To conduct a Sustainability Assessment of Wolfeboro, including education on sustainability in the community, creation of a "sustainability index" to establish goals, and development and implementation of a plan to reach these goals.

Greater Pushaw Lake Association
Old Town, ME
$1,000
To help fund a community organizer to conduct a membership drive and to inform property owners about opportunities to help the lake association’s work to protect the lake.

Greenfield Neighborhoods Association
Greenfield, MA
$1,500
To help fund environmental studies to delineate wetlands, groundwater pollution and endangered species in response to two proposed big-box developments in Greenfield.

Jonesboro's Concerned Citizens
Jonesboro, ME
$2,000
To hire an attorney to assist the group in forcing the relocation of a proposed jetport in Jonesboro to a more suitable location in the Machias region of Downeast Maine.

Kensington, NH Conservation Commission
Kensington, NH
$1,120
To copy and mail two newsletters informing Kensington's residents about the Conservation Commission's request for funds to purchase a conservation easement on the Kimball Farm.

Kickemuit River Council
Warren, RI
$1,000
To help identify and correct the pollution problem in the Kickemuit River in heavy rains by running a camera on the potentially contaminating roads so any illegal or unauthorized tie-ins can be corrected.

Kitchen Gardeners International
Scarborough, ME
$1,500
To support community outreach efforts in New England for "Kitchen Garden Day", the main education and outreach activity, that encourages home gardening and small-scale community-based food production.

Lewiston Farmer's Market
Lewiston, ME
$1,500
To connect low-income consumers with farmers who sell healthy local produce at the Lewiston Farmer's Market in an easy and accessible manner through the Market's Wireless Food Stamp purchasing equipment.

Maine Interfaith Power & Light
Brunswick, ME
$1,500
To mobilize Maine's faith community to address global warming.

Moosehead Region Futures Committee
Greenville, ME
$2,000
To present the group's response, "Citizen Solutions", to Plum Creek Timber's 2005 development proposal, solicit feedback through broad distribution of the map, and present testimony at Land Use Regulation Commission hearings.

NOFA – NH
Concord, NH
$1,000
To enhance and amplify the growing awareness of the localvore movement by helping New Hampshire residents find themselves a local organic farmer by creating and distributing full color food maps that guide folks to where they can find organically grown foods in NH.

Our Lancaster First
Lancaster, MA
$2,000
To prevent the construction of a 202,701 square foot WalMart Supercenter on a 50.5-acre parcel with extensive bordering wetlands in an area with no water or sewer service.

Oxbow Initiative
Canterbury, NH
$1,500
To permanently ban the siting of a landfill on the banks of the Merrimack River, help the purchase of the land by conservation organizations, participate in a newly-formed task force on waste management, and promote environmentally progressive methods for dealing with solid waste.

Pawtuxet Village Farmers' Market
Cranston, RI
$1,000
To develop and implement a berry box recycling program that will reuse plastic and fiber berry boxes, increase attendance at the Pawtuxet Village Farmers' Market, and supply farmers with less expensive used berry boxes.

Peace Works!
New Bedford, MA
$1,500
To continue the development of a City Garden in the west end of New Bedford that represents the collaborative effort between local community agencies and area residents.

  
“Before” and “After” photos of the Peace Garden
created by New Bedford youth involved with Peace Works!

People Concerned About Chloramine
South Burlington, VT
$2,000
To fund a nine-town awareness and activation blitz around the issue of chloramines being used to disinfect the Champlain Water District and the resulting health problems.

Pioneer Valley Business Alliance for Local Living Economies
Hatfield, MA
$1,000
To help fund the group's "Think Local First" contest during the winter holiday season to encourage people to shop at locally owned, independent businesses.

Protect Our Water Resources
Natick, MA
$1,000
To continue the educational campaign to educate citizens about the potential harm of applying chemicals in Lake Cochituate to control nuisance vegetation.

Rutland Area Farm and Food Link
East Poultney, VT
$2,000
To participate in the planning associated with the proposed development of a new rail-switching yard south of Rutland City, a project that will impact over 100 acres of actively farmed, highly productive agricultural land.

Save the Village
Kittery, ME
$2,000
To build organizational capacity in order to increase outreach and build community to save the 5-acre Emery Field, the only remaining green space in a congested low-income neighborhood, from destruction and urbanization.

STOP (Landfill Expansion)
Hardwick, MA
$2,000
To close the Hardwick landfill permanently, monitor air and groundwater as an ongoing function, and find a way to remove the dump contents in the future.

Stop Trashing Our Place
Cumberland, RI
$2,000
To stop Construction and Demolition operations from being onto or next to an existing superfund site along the banks of the Blackstone River.

Teens to Trails
Edgecomb, ME
$2,000
To help fund the cost of the "Teens to Trails Conference 2007", organized to support high school outing clubs in Maine.

Vermont Wildlife Partnership
Stowe, VT
$500
To build a broad-based coalition interested in the future of wildlife in Vermont to promote awareness and concern for wildlife issues and advocate on behalf of Vermont's wildlife.

West Broadway Neighborhood Association
Providence, RI
$1,000
To revitalize an overgrown, underutilized, vacant lot in the neighborhood by turning it into the Bridgham Street Community Garden.

West Greenwich, RI Conservation Commission
West Greenwich, RI
$1,000
To host a series of meetings and events to gain community input to supplement the town's recently completed town conservation inventory.

Williston Neighborhood Coalition
Williston, VT
$1,500
To raise the town's awareness to the proposed landfill and take the initial steps to fight it.

Windham Rail Trail Alliance
Windham, NH
$1,500
To help fund the activities and management related to the development of a 4.1-mile section of paved rail trail.

Winnipesaukee River Trail Association
Franklin, NH
$1,500
To match funds for a TEA-21 grant to construct a bridge across the Winnipesaukee River to connect two new sections of the Winnipesaukee River Trail, a nonmotorized multi-use trail running between three communities.

Worcester Roots Project
Worcester, MA
$2,000
To help fund "Toxic Soil Busters: Environmental Justice through Youth Development", a program in which teenagers from low-income families in Worcester will carry out lead poisoning prevention education, outreach, theater, soil testing and lead-safe landscaping.

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BOSTON GRANTS INITIATIVE

Since 2004, the Boston Grants Initiative program has distributed 46 grants to 35 different groups in the Boston/Cambridge/Somerville/Chelsea area. The following groups received grants at the September meeting of the Steering Committee:

Cambridge Green Streets Initiative
North Cambridge
$5,000
To help publicize the last-Friday-of-the-Month WALK/RIDE DAYS, create incentives for people to participate and to stay involved, and to do so safely.

Fenway Garden Society
Boston
$2,500
To create two controlled composting areas with signage, designated rows, wheelbarrows and landscaping.

Friends of Nira Rock
Jamaica Plain
$10,000
To help fund the Nira Rock Urban Wild Project, a plan to ecologically restore and beautify a long-neglected 1.5-acre natural area for the long-term benefit of Hyde Square residents in Jamaica Plain, integrating the natural area with the adjacent playground and linking these important public resource areas with residential areas in Hyde Square.

Julian, Judson, and Dean Streets Community Garden
Roxbury
$2,696
To make repairs to fencing, masonry and paving within the garden.

Lawn Street Community Garden
Roxbury
$2,850
To fund urgent renovations (make water hook-ups wheelchair accessible, replace broken bench, compost bin, tool box) and assist the planning process leading to a master plan and potential expansion for the garden.

Morley Street Neighborhood Association
Roxbury
$1,500
To obtain a deed from the city for a small piece of land that the group currently maintains and beautifies.

Washington Street Corridor Coalition
Roxbury
$5,000
To obtain a replacement transit service for the Washington Street Corridor in the form of a Light Rail Vehicle system.

Welcome Project
Somerville
$10,000
To assist the tenants of the Mystic Housing Development who have lost their community garden to work together to find a new garden space, develop the leadership among the gardeners to be more effective agents of change, and create linkages with other resources in the Somerville community.

VERMONTERS BUILDING SOLUTIONS CONFERENCE A HUGE SUCCESS!

The room was charged with energy and the sparks were flying! We were not observing an electrical short but over 200 grassroots activists at the Vermonters Building Solutions conference held at Vermont Technical College in Randolph, Vermont on November 11th. With over 85 organizations co-sponsoring the conference, the main meeting room was circled in tables displaying materials from compact florescent lights for sale to alternative cleaning products with information about how to avoid using toxic cleaning products. Conference attendees met new and old friends and learned about other groups’ efforts around the state. Vermonters Building Solutions was a carbon neutral conference with Native Energy donating credits to offset global warming pollution from the event.

The New England Grassroots Environment Fund co-hosted this one-day conference with Rural Vermont, Toxics Action Center, Vermont Natural Resources Council, Vermont Public Interest Group and Vermont Technical College. This was the first time these organizations collaborated on such a large effort together, and the results were, well, electrical! The President of Vermont Technical College, Ty Handy, welcomed conference attendees and took advantage of the event to announce a new sustainability program for the college. While there was plenty of time for networking, the conference offered 30 workshop choices including: Community Food Sustainability and Security; Fueling Energy Action at the Local Level; Getting to Zero Waste: Moving beyond Recycling; Strengthening Vermont’s Homegrown Economy and Working with the Media: An Insider’s View.

Four of the co-hosting groups gave Outstanding Activism awards to grassroots groups (coincidentally all NEGEF grantees!) from around the state in recognition of their efforts.

Nuclear Free Vermont – Vermont Public Interest Research Group

Action for Chester’s Tomorrow (Chester, VT) is one of NEGEF’s newer grantees working to engage their community to prevent an industrial quarry operation on the south end of the village bordering an elementary school.

Bike Recycle Vermont (Burlington, VT) is working to refurbish and recycle nonpolluting mobility for underserved Vermonters. Bike Recycle has just started a Youth Training Program with at-risk youth.

Northwest Citizens for Responsible Growth (St Albans, VT) is working to maintain their downtown business community and stop the overdevelopment of big-box stores in their region.

Nuclear Free Vermont (southern VT) is working to guarantee the closure of Entergy Nuclear’s Vermont Yankee power plant when its license expires in 2012.

Keynote Speaker Professor Patrick Parenteau, former director of Vermont Law School’s Environmental Law Center and former Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, urged conference attendees to continue to stay active. Professor Parenteau noted the recent political change would be positive for the environment and linked the work done by State of Vermont agency workers and activists as key to making change in the state.

The conference concluded with a reception and continued networking towards building solutions in Vermont and beyond.