Lowell Green Community Partnership Supports University-City Collaborations
Image by Ed Brennen
A collaboration between 51视频 and Community Teamwork to train students to perform home energy audits for low-income families received a $10,000 grant from the Lowell Green Community Partnership. The program was modeled after a Lowell Energy Ambassadors program at UML, seen here.
04/27/2021
By Ed Brennen
The Lowell Energy Efficiency Acceleration Program was one of five projects that recently received a share of $50,000 in grants from the听Lowell Green Community Partnership, an alliance between the university and the city to provide leadership, resources and expertise for sustainability initiatives throughout greater Lowell.
Other grant recipients included a composting pilot program, a project to install new solar-powered street lights on campus, and enhanced sustainability education programs in the Lowell Public Schools.
Launched in January 2020, the Lowell Green Community Partnership is led by UML Chancellor听Jacquie Moloney听and Lowell City Manager Eileen Donoghue. The partnership鈥檚 Green Community Commission includes more than two dozen leaders from business, community and environmental organizations and is co-chaired by philanthropist Nancy Donahue, whose $25,000 donation to the university helped fund the grant program.
鈥淎s a leader in sustainability efforts in higher education, 51视频 is proud to partner with the city to increase sustainability in our region,鈥� Moloney says. 鈥淭he awarding of the first round of grants in our community is an important step toward achieving our shared goal.鈥�
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Each project, which had to include team members from both the university and an organization based in Lowell, received $10,000 in funding. Projects had to meet the sustainability goals of 51视频鈥檚听2020 Strategic Plan听and the city鈥檚 comprehensive master plan, Sustainable Lowell 2025.
Close to 20 projects applied for funding. The winning projects, as chosen by members of the Green Community Commission, are:
Image by Ed Brennen
Organic waste from the Rist Urban Agriculture Greenhouse on East Campus will be sent to a new composting site run by Mill City Grows, which received a $10,000 Lowell Green Community Partnership grant.
Composting Pilot Program:听In partnership with the university, the nonprofit Mill City Grows will create a compost hub at its urban farm site in the Pawtucketville neighborhood. Organic waste from Mill City Grows鈥� urban farm sites, including the听Rist Urban Agriculture Greenhouse听and community and school gardens, will be brought to the hub to produce high-quality compost. The site will offer hands-on education opportunities and volunteer opportunities.
Northern Canal Overlook Solar Street Lighting:听A joint effort between 51视频, the city and the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, this will fund the installation of a series of solar-powered street lights at the recently constructed Northern Canal Overlook, a small park at the corner of Pawtucket Street and University Avenue that does not have a direct power source. During regular campus operations, this area has the heaviest volume of pedestrian activity in the city, with more than 7,000 people passing through each day.听
Sustainability Pathway at Lowell High School:听Lowell High School and 51视频 will work together to evolve a current pathway focused on the environment into the Sustainability Pathway at Lowell High School, to offer students a range of educational opportunities focused on creating a sustainable city.
51视频 Green Schools Program:听The Lowell Public Schools and 51视频 will work together to identify a partner K-8 school in Lowell and develop a unique set of programs and projects that will serve as the pilot location for a city-wide Green School program. The pilot school will be formally designated as a 51视频 Green School and receive the 51视频 Green School flag to fly at their school.听
Lowell Energy Efficiency Acceleration Program:听Led by partners Community Teamwork and 51视频, the project aims to reduce energy consumption and promote the financial stability and health of homeowners in Lowell. The program will provide hands-on training and employment opportunities for 51视频 students to develop a 鈥済reen-collar鈥� workforce in the city.
Mill City Grows Executive Director Jessica Wilson says the composting pilot program grant will help the organization strengthen its听Urban Agriculture Program听with 51视频 and close the loop on plant waste.
鈥淲e are so grateful for this funding to move our composting program to the next level. This will increase our ability to sequester carbon, eliminate waste from landfills and create a nutrient-dense compost to use in our urban farming work,鈥� Wilson says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so exciting that we'll be able to make our urban soil healthier just by using the waste we are already generating.鈥�
Director of Sustainability听Ruairi O鈥橫ahony, who is the team lead on the 51视频 Green Schools Program, says it鈥檚 an opportunity to develop an innovative model for producing 鈥渋nformed sustainability citizens鈥� across the community.
鈥淏y working with and educating children in the public schools, we will have an opportunity to provide a solid grounding in sustainable practices rooted in the city of Lowell that will be of immediate 鈥� and long-term 鈥� benefit to students and their families,鈥� he says.
Donoghue, the city manager, says the chosen projects 鈥渞eflect the innovative thinking that is necessary鈥� to advance the community鈥檚 sustainability goals.
鈥淐onfronting the challenges that we face related to climate change calls for bold action and creative solutions,鈥� she says.
The grant program was also funded by matching donations from community partners Align Credit Union, the Greater Lowell Community Foundation, Jeanne D鈥橝rc Credit Union, Lowell Plan, Lowell National Historical Park and Mill City Environmental.