By Linda Ammons and Jeana Edmonds
Our Grassroots Central Mass Climate Committee has been doing exciting work during the past few months. We showed for the public an in-depth climate film “Regenerating Life“, in three parts, with insightful and spirited discussions following each. These were shown in November, December and January at Joshua Hyde Public Library, Sturbridge, and for Zoom participants. We followed the series by creating a list of simple and not-so-simple actions we all can take which is attached here:
Another central focus of our Climate Committee has been sorting through the complex set of climate-related bills now pending in the Massachusetts legislature. We have been working to try to fully understand these bills and their impacts. We have provided here a link to a Google Doc called Massachusetts Legislative Action 2026 which chronicles many of these bills:
Massachusetts Legislative Action 2026
We will do our best to modify this list as the legislative picture changes.
We also hope to send out to the full Grassroots email list requests to take action when key Massachusetts legislation related to climate concerns and the environment are coming up for a vote so that people can contact their legislators to support or oppose the bill. It is our version of “keep your eye on the prize”: keep working in whatever small or big ways you can to safeguard our natural world.
It is energizing to be part of such a dedicated, thoughtful, and informed group of climate activists and I hope all of the information provided here will be of value to you. Thank you for everything you do to keep our planet safe.
What can you and I do as individuals to make a difference and protect our environment?
**Take a photo of this sheet to save paper!!
- Use reusable bags for shopping. (Chico bags are great and are for sale at TipTop Country Store in Brookfield.)
- Use reusable rather than single use dishes whenever possible: plates, glasses, cups, and flatware.
- Use cloth handkerchiefs and napkins.
- Use thermostat setting of 60-65 degrees for night, if possible, and for times when you are away from home. It is good for both your pocket book and the climate.
- Shop second hand when possible.
- Upcycle clothes by doing interesting repairs whenever possible instead of tossing.
- Check shower heads and toilet mechanisms to be certain they are low-flow, and replace any that are not.
- Print only a few copies of flyers as needed. Conserve paper by being succinct with your message, printing multiple copies or “pages” per sheet.
- Use a clothesline to dry clothes.
- Shut off AI searches on cell phones and computers [This is controversial, and needs more research.]
- Place a rain barrel at the corner of a building on your property to catch rain water for use in watering the garden and house plants, during the time when it will not freeze.
- Avoid using any fertilizer that kills fungi.
- Avoid using insecticides and herbicides that are environmentally destructive. Research anything you apply. Especially, do not use glyphosate (the active ingredient in Round Up) on your land, and advocate to local boards for a ban on glyphosate from town properties. St. Louis has instituted such a ban, and New York City also has a ban on the chemical’s use in city parks. It is not a simple accomplishment, but it can be done!
- Join or start a community garden. Ask your town for unused land. Local businesses will often donate funds for community projects, and you can often get donated supplies and willing volunteers. A wonderful way to create food, educate people and grow community!
- Reduce your lawn size by slowly adding native plants, shrubs and trees instead. This doesn’t have to be expensive – you and your neighbors could have a plant swap! Many perennials do better when they are divided in the spring or the fall. Neighbors are often more than happy to divide and share perennials. (*Just be as careful as possible not to transplant invasives along with native plants! Their runners can be well-hidden in the soil.)
- Avoid taking plants from the woods, because they are “hooked in” to their location. They are directly linked with other plants and the soil fungi and bacteria.
- Recruit neighbors to join you in reducing lawn size and planting native substitutes for grass, thus making a greater impact on your hyperlocal ecosystem.
- Leave no bare earth around your home or land — plant fast-growing native plants instead! (Clover, alfalfa and winter rye are great choices.) Compost ourselves and encourage neighbors and friends to do so. A composter doesn’t have to be fancy; there are many free pallets along the roadside that can easily be put together for a simple composter. Alternatively, some of us simply create three piles: one with fresh scraps for the current year; one from last year that has already composted and is ready to spread on the garden; and the last to collect leaves to put on top of fresh scraps. The recommended ratio is for the amount of scraps going onto the pile, put three times the amount of leaves or other brown material. Some study the science and turn the pile regularly; others of us are “lazy composters” and simply let nature take its course.
- Consider having your community plant a Miyawaki Forest, a dense planting of trees, shrubs and forbs (broad leaf flowering plants). This system promotes rapid growth of the trees into a forest, much faster than nature could do it alone, and quickly promotes biodiversity. (*Check out the one at the back of the McGrath parking lot next to the Worcester Library.)
- When removing an invasive plant, fill the hole with a native species instead of leaving it to be inadvertently seeded by another invasive plant. Alfalfa and clover are possible native, fast growing, and nitrogen-fixing replacements.
- Create natural fertilizer. One recipe from India uses dung, urine, pea flour, sugar and a handful of uncontaminated soil. See the Grassroots website for the recipe.
- Advocate to town planning/conservation boards to minimize pavement (use permeable pavers, for example) and move away from traditional mowing, and minimize tree-cutting. Some research indicates municipalities like Nashville, Tennessee utilize grazing animals to “mow” city land.
- Educate local officials and your friends about the great habitat value of beavers! They prevent droughts, support wild habitats and much more.
- Join 350 Central Mass, a local all-volunteer climate-action organization. www.350centralmass.org
- Create a “5 calls” website/resource for addressing environmental legislation, similar to the national one focusing on other political issues. This would list who to call, their phone number, and an explanation of the issue. An example is currently proposed state legislation that would roll back emission standards.
- Support renewable energy projects such as solar fields and battery storage that are small scale and nurture climate health. Huge projects can hurt the land, for example the currently proposed BESS projects.
- When making purchases, look for environmentally sustainable goods. Examples: organic, sustainably grown, and/or local vegetables, fruits, meat, eggs, coffee beans, honey, maple syrup, and recycled paper products.
- Join and/or encourage young people to join the MA Conservation Corps ( or the Student Conservation Association (https://thesca.org/join-the-crew and corpsnetwork.org ) These groups organize one-day service projects, and provide longer term training through internships or jobs, including summer jobs, on projects such as: spreading mushroom spores and other crucial soil builders; invasive species management; managing land for fire deterrence; trail building and maintenance in city and state parks and forests.
- Join Homegrown National Park and use their resources to make our own gardens more planet-friendly and for educational events in the community.
For more ideas, check out the Biodiversity for a Livable Climate website:
