Got Problems with Invasive Shrubs?

Cricket Vlass, Wellesley Town Horticulturist and Landscape Planner, will share ways to identify, remove, and replace them on Tuesday, February 23 from 7-8PM via Zoom.

Register in advance here for this virtual educational event:

Invasive plants are not only a threat to conservation lands, they also pose a threat in your yard.  In this 1-hr Wellesley Conservation Land Trust webinar learn:

• WHY invasive shrubs are a threat not only to native plants but also to wildlife such as birds and butterflies
• WHAT are six types of local invasive shrubs: burning bush, oriental bittersweet, bush honeysuckle, Japanese barberry, glossy buckthorn, and multiflora rose  
• HOW to identify and remove these invasive shrubs
• WHAT are native plants that can be used to replace these invasives

This free event is part of the Wellesley Conservation Land Trust Educational Series and co-sponsored by the Wellesley Free Library, Natural Resources Commission and Sustainable Wellesley.

On Thursday, January 28, from 6-7:30 p.m., Sustainable Wellesley will sponsor a panel discussion entitled Banking on Our Values, inviting the community to learn more about investing in companies that prioritize climate action and equity. Financial experts Heidi Vanni, Chief Client Officer at Boston Trust Walden, Sumeit Aggarwal, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Finhive, and Glenn Migliozzi, Lecturer in the Finance Division at Babson College, will share their expertise and field questions on the non-financial factors that influence investment decisions. Personal and professional investors will learn from this conversation on the short- and long-term benefits of incorporating these investment strategies and how one may begin to embrace them.  

Heidi Vanni is Managing Director and Chief Client Officer at Boston Trust Walden, a Boston-based investment management firm that invests in publicly traded companies. On behalf of clients, the firm seeks to advance sustainable business practices around climate, equality and governance. Ms. Vanni works with both institutional and private wealth clients, building portfolios that enable them to align their investments with their mission or values. 
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At Finhive, a Massachusetts-based social enterprise building personal finance into the core capabilities of communities and small businesses, Co-Founder and Managing Partner Sumeit Aggarwal is focused on narrowing the gender gap in investing and finance. Finhive hosts training sessions on topics like investing and financial health for individuals, and consults with small businesses providing cash flow analysis, budgeting, profit margin analysis, pricing strategies and other financial topics.

Babson College lecturer Glenn Migliozzi, teaches courses in personal finance, alternative investments and business ethics. Prior to joining the Babson staff, he held a range of financial positions from corporate finance director to hedge fund manager. In his free time, Migliozzi supports agencies that address food insecurity, financial literacy and legal services.

Organizers and moderators Jacob Nichols, President of the Babson Sustainability Club and Sustainability Intern at Babson; and Jacob Landau, a Sustainable Wellesley Intern, speaker at the October 2020 Wellesley Climate Rally and Wellesley High School junior, will guide the conversation about how values-based investing can maintain or improve financial returns, while better meeting social impact goals. 

Register for this free event here. Sign up today. Space is limited to 100 participants. 

Questions? Contact info@sustainablewellesley.org. 

In the spirit of Martin Luther King Day, our community needs environmental justice. Below, please find some words from Sarah Dooling, Executive Director, Mass Climate Action Network about the Governor's recent veto of the Next Generation Roadmap Bill (S2995).

Get out there, make a change, make your voice heard. Reach out to us to learn more info@sustainablewellesley.com.
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FROM MCAN 1/15/21 NEWSLETTER

Governor Baker’s veto of the Next Generation Roadmap Bill (S 2995) is deeply disappointing. The bill had overwhelming legislative support, the result of the leadership of Rep Tom Golden, Sen Mike Barrett, a broad coalition of legislators and the work of grassroots advocates who laid the groundwork for popular support.  
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The bill was the most comprehensive climate legislation put forth in Massachusetts in over a decade. Statewide greenhouse gas reductions were established, with interim emissions reduction targets, to get the Commonwealth to net zero by 2050. The bill also directed investments in clean energy and workforce development, prioritizing minority and women owned businesses. 

The Governor’s veto perpetuates the burdens Environmental Justice communities have endured that benefited white, affluent communities for generations. Protecting EJ communities is the first step in supporting a holistic recovery from the overlapping impacts of  the Covid pandemic, climate crisis and longstanding housing unaffordability. This past year revealed how suffering from the disproportionate effects of climate change makes Black and Brown communities more vulnerable to COVID-related deaths, because they live in neighborhoods and housing that are more toxic and more polluted compared to white neighborhoods.  

The bill gave communities three years to opt-in to the net zero stretch code for all new buildings, ensuring new construction is energy efficient, comfortable, and safe, and responding to the calls of municipal leaders across the state. The Governor mistakenly assumes the cost of these upgrades would hinder the construction of urgently needed affordable housing. Quite the opposite: Net zero upgrades constitute a small part of a typical project’s construction costs. The money invested upfront for upgrades is recouped in dramatically lower operating costs. 

This is not a cost problem – this is a political problem.  

The Governor’s veto is a temporary setback. The Next Generation Roadmap Bill is crucial to  ensuring a just transition that protects Environmental Justice communities, transforms our building sector, and advances statewide climate solutions. 

We thank the advocates who worked so hard to get this bill to the Governor’s desk. MCAN looks forward to the leadership of Speaker Moriano and Senate President Karen Spilka in promptly refiling the bill. 

With gratitude, 
Sarah Dooling
MCAN

These gray winter months are a great time to consider ways to shape a more equitable and a greener community. Sustainable Wellesley recommends three engaging Zoom forums open to all residents. 

The first, on Thursday, January 21, Sustainable Wellesley will host a webinar, Zero Carbon Home, from 7- 8 p.m. on Zoom. Sign up for this free event to learn how to lower heating bills and whittle household carbon footprints to zero from David Green, who achieved this goal and wrote about it in his book also entitled Zero Carbon Home. All participants will receive a free electronic version of the book for iPad or Kindle. “When I set out to cut my carbon footprint (I had no idea I could cut it to zero, let alone make money doing so) I found there was no guidebook,” Green writes. “So, I set about cutting our carbon footprint myself.” He is saving so much money on bills, in fact, that he is earning a 15% return on his investments.  Register here. 

On Thursday, January 28, from 6-7.30 p.m., you are invited to learn about investing with an eye to climate and equity. Join Sustainable Wellesley for Banking on Our Values, a panel discussion with financial experts including Heidi Vanni, Chief Client Officer at Boston Trust Walden; Sumeit Aggarwal, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Finhive; and Glenn Migliozzi, Lecturer in the Finance Division at Babson College. Personal and professional investors will learn from the conversation. Register for this free event here.

On February 24 at 7:30 p.m., we encourage you to join Sustainable Wellesley for a Conversation with the Candidates via Zoom. Meet the candidates running for a variety of open Board seats in town and hear their thoughts on how sustainability should be woven into the fabric of those boards going forward.  Send questions in advance to info@SustainableWellesley.com.

All three events are virtual, free and open to the public. Questions? Or for more information, please reach out to info@sustainablewellesley.com.
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​Ready to dip your toe into politics with an important, but limited commitment role?

The Town Meeting is the legislative body for the Town of Wellesley. 240 voting town meeting members are elected by precincts. Each precinct has 30 members elected to three year staggered terms. 

The Annual Town Meeting begins on the last Monday in March and meets Monday and Tuesday nights until the business of the meeting is concluded. The length of the town meeting is dependent on the number of articles on the Warrant and the complexity of the issues to be discussed.

Get your papers to be a Town Meeting Member by January 22, 2021, 5 pm and turn them in (with 10+ signatures in precinct) by January 26, 2021, 5 pm.

What You Need To Know:

• You must be a resident of Wellesley to run for an elected Town office  
• For an appointment to get the papers, please email Elections@wellesleyma.gov or call 781-431-1019, ext. 2258 or 2252
• 10 signatures from registered voters in the precinct are required, although it is recommended that more be obtained in the event that any of the signatures cannot be certified.

There are seats in your district (As of 12/1/2020): 
Precinct A 10-3 year terms 
Precinct B 10-3 year terms 
Precinct C 10-3 year terms, 1-2 year term 
Precinct D 10-3 year terms 
Precinct E 10-3 year terms, 1-2 year term 
Precinct F 10-3 year terms 
Precinct G 10-3 year terms 
Precinct H 10-3 year terms

For more information on how to run, click here.

SAVE THE DATE AND REGISTER FOR THIS FREE EVENT
Thursday, January 21, 2021
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM EST
​Add to Calendar
This webinar will help you save a lot of money and cut your carbon footprint. In addition, all attendees will receive a free electronic version (for iPad or Kindle) of David Green's, Zero Carbon Home. 

In this webinar David describes what they did to cut their home's carbon footprint, heating bill and electricity bill to zero. He is saving so much money on bills that he is earning a 15% return on my investments in heat pumps, insulation, triple-glazed windows and solar panels, which he calls the fab four. Yes, he is a Brit and a Beatles fan.

He is both an energy geek, with a degree in physics from Oxford University, and a finance nerd with an MBA from Harvard Business School. His financial analysis ensured that they only did things that made financial sense as well as energy sense. He found that geothermal, solar hot-water panels and adding insulation to your walls made energy sense but made no financial sense. 

When he set out to cut his carbon footprint (he had no idea he could cut it to zero, let alone make money doing so) he found there was no guidebook. So, he set about cutting their carbon footprint himself. Having succeeded in going zero, he wrote a book on how to do it. Zero Carbon Home is the guidebook he had been looking for. It is written in simple, clear language that focuses on saving money by cutting your carbon dioxide emissions. He does not tell you to lower your thermostat, eat vegan or vote for Al Gore. He shows what they did that worked. Both the book and webinar are full of pictures, charts and diagrams, usually of our own experience. Both are scientifically rigorous and financially sound. They are sprinkled with pithy observations and, on occasion, a dry English wit. 

David does not work for or get paid by any manufacturer or installer of equipment. He is free of the conflicts of interest that permeate the industry. After a nasty road accident in 2014 that nearly killed him, he retired from his career in biotechnology ( founded two companies, was CEO of both and took both public). He now sometimes works 14-hour days helping people cut their carbon footprints. So much for retirement.

He looks forward to hearing your questions on the webinar.

And yes, Green really is his family name.  He got it from his father. He is not making it up, just like he is not making up anything else in the book or webinar.

This event is co-sponsored by Sustainable Wellesley and the Wellesley Municipal Light Plant. 

On Thursday, January 14, 7:30pm join a community discussion about housing in Wellesley with:

• Jennifer Raitt, the Director of Planning and Community Development for the Town of Arlington, Massachusetts, and
• Don McCauley, Wellesley’s Planning Director.

Jennifer has served local, regional, state, and national housing, community development, and planning organizations and she recently became a Climate Reality Leader with the Climate Reality Project.

The discuss will center around how Wellesley’s zoning created our desirable community, but also contributes to Wellesley’s increasing lack of affordability. How can we ensure that Wellesley’s housing supports our values? What action steps can we take to allow a greater diversity of people to call Wellesley their home?

To register for free Zoom event, please click here.
 
This event is presented by the League of Women Voters of Wellesley, and the Wellesley Free Library and sponsored by many organizations, including Sustainable Wellesley.

DATE EXTENDED
Please Call the Governor’s office at (617)725-4005 and email him.**

GREAT NEWS: The Mass. Legislature is poised to approve a dramatic revision of our state climate laws.  An Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy (S.2995) is the strongest effort of its kind in the country.  

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO HELP THIS BILL CROSS THE FINISH LINE: The Governor may want to weaken it or veto it outright.  Thus, he needs to hear from YOU. Please urge the Governor to sign S.2995, the new climate bill, by emailing him here or calling his office at (617) 725-4005. Let him know you want him to pass this and why it is important to you. Once you do, please share this request with friends and family in the Commonwealth via social media or anyway you can. 

Governor Baker has until Thursday, Jan. 14th to sign this bill, so make reaching out to him a priority.

This legislation moves us forward in some important ways:

1. Including environmental justice into Massachusetts law and provides new tools and protections for effected neighborhoods.
2. Creating for the first-time greenhouse gas emissions standard for municipal lighting plants and imposes a five-year moratorium on biomass. 
3. Allowing for a local option "net-zero stretch energy code" and adds 4 energy efficiency seats to the Board of Building Regulations & Standards.

We thank the work of legislators and advocates who have gotten us this far.

Advocates at Mass Climate Action have some talking points here.

Thank you!