Photo Courtesy of Denise Maccaferri

Planners Passage

Mark Reil, Climate Resiliency and Sustainability Planner

This Summer brought about a much different weather pattern than the Summer of 2022. With greater precipitation, we experienced no drought for our entire region. In fact, we saw impacts of excessive and extreme precipitation in parts of New England. Additionally, we saw scorching record high temperatures across most of the country and we were privileged to avoid these impacts this year. These are examples of a continued reminder of the new normal we must be prepared for. Despite avoiding some of these extremes, we must realize that it is inevitable that we will be impacted in the near, medium and long term. As we look towards the Fall months, we will be mindful of potential tropical storms and other strong coastal storms that can wreak havoc on our community. Our continued work on climate resiliency and sustainability will continue to bring us all closer together as we make advancements towards preparedness. Be well, stay alert, and prepare.

Plymouth's Electric Vehicle Charging Network

The Town of Plymouth has been working diligently to build a network of reliable level 2 EV Public Access Charging Stations. Recently, 2 charging stations were added to the Cornish Parking Lot located on South Russell St. The Town accessed State EVIP funds to cover the cost of the hardware ($14,756) and took part in the Eversource Make Ready program to cover a large part of the infrastructure cost (~$19,000). There has been exponential growth in the use of the Town network. For many years this was a free service, but a decision was made to begin to institute a fee for use of the electricity. The Town looks forward to expanding the EV charging network as more people make the important transition to zero tailpipe emission vehicles.

Please click this link to visit the Charge Point website to locate Plymouth's EV chargers.

Plymouth's Community Choice Power Supply Program

The Town of Plymouth has participated in a municipal aggregation program since 2017. Over the past 3 years, residents who participated in this program were able to access an affordable electricity rate of 9.807 cents per kWh through a contract with Dynegy. Since the program inception to March of 2023, the participants saved $31 million dollars on electricity as compared to if they received their supply from Eversource.

The Town of Plymouth has signed a 24 month contract with a new electricity supplier, Constellation New Energy. Beginning with the October 2023 meter reads, the Plymouth Community Choice Power Supply Program’s standard product will have a new rate of 14.813 cents per kWh and be a 100 percent green product derived from National Wind Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).

For Plymouth residents and businesses who are enrolled in the Town’s standard product, the current rate of 9.807 cents per kWh will expire with the October 2023 meter reads and the new rate of 14.813 cents per kWh will take effect. This represents an increase of $30 per month on the supply side of the bill given average usage of 600 kWh. However, it is 8 percent lower than Eversource’s summer Residential Basic Service price of 16.078 cents per kWh and participants are expected to see continued savings compared to Eversource for the months of January 2024 through June 2024. Eversource’s rates will change on January 1, 2024 and should be known in late-November. Historically, Eversource’s winter rates have been higher than their summer rates.

It is important to note that no action will be required by individual consumers. This change will be seen on the November 2023 bills. All accounts currently enrolled in the Program will see the new rate and Constellation New Energy printed under the “Supplier Services” section of their monthly bill

Climate Action Plan

We have been working diligently with our consultants at Kim Lundgren Associates, to develop our climate action plan. We have completed the branding process and now have a logo and a plan title. Priority Plymouth will be our guide to both adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change on our community. In addition to the branding process, we have completed our first climate action advisory group meeting. This group is comprised of key municipal staff from a variety of departments and committees, as well as representatives from a range of local and regional organizations. This group assists in the development of the goals, strategies, and actions that will inform the final plan. We have set our second advisory group meeting for mid-September where members will provide feedback on the draft. We have also applied for an additional $50,000 from the Commonwealth to supplement this process and we are awaiting a decision on those funds that will expand the engagement and implementation aspects.

It's your turn

Leave the Leaves!

Plymouth Open Space Committee

You have heard of “No Mow May” in recent Spring seasons? Another great effort for Fall is to “Leave the Leaves!”

Since the beginning of time, Mother Nature has renewed the soil in forests each season with the bed of last year’s leaves. An entire ecosystem of organisms - insects, amphibians, reptiles, microbes, worms, larvae, eggs - depends on that blanket of leaves for shelter through the long winters. When we rake up the leaves in our yards, we deprive these creatures of protection from the elements and disrupt the exquisite balance of life.

Removing leaves from our yards is wasteful on a number of levels: The pollinators we have spent months attracting we deprive of overwintering habitat. We scrape the soil bare of the leaf layer which breaks down to form soil enriching mulch. We discard future fertilizer. We add methane producing organic matter to landfills. We transport vital environmental enhancers off our own property and remove them from the regeneration cycle.

So “Leave the Leaves!”

If you can’t do that, then rake them into your flowerbeds, gardens, and under trees and shrubs. Shred the leaves on the lawn by mulching them with a mower, which rapidly reduces volume and speeds decomposition. Rake them into piles which break down into enriching leaf mold.

And when Spring comes around, refrain from early raking. Allow your leaf litter to continue protecting the next generation of life until well into warmer weather.

Lastly, Mother Nature likes things messy. It is humans who don’t like it that way. But we all know who knows best!

Diane Peck, Vice Chair, Open Space Committee

Climate Action Net Zero (CANZ) Committee- Get Involved!

Seeking 3 New Members and Volunteers

The CANZ committee currently has 3 open seats and the Select Board is seeking interested Plymouth residents to serve on the committee. The committee is working closely with the Climate Resiliency Planner as the Town develops the Priority Plymouth- Climate Action Plan. You can apply for a seat on the committee here.

Additionally, the Committee is seeking volunteers to join their working groups and share their specific expertise in the following areas:

Natural Systems

Waste

Buildings, Energy, and Infrastructure

Transportation

Health, Safety, and Preparedness

Please submit your interest for this volunteer opportunity through this link. You will play an integral role in the success of the implementation of our Priority Plymouth plan.

Changing Tides: Teen Sustainability Club

Plymouth Public Library

Changing Tides: A Teen Sustainability Club is a safe space for young adults, ages 13-18, to have meaningful discussions about sustainability, climate change, and the natural world. Since the pandemic there's more interest in eco and sustainable living among all ages. But, with teens being a valuable asset to our future, this club is a space for young adults to enjoy! We discuss current topics surrounding sustainability from a local and global standpoint. We also have fun activities and crafts, such as intricate weaving projects, simple t-shirt bags, reusable beeswax covers, and worry stones.

Since the term sustainability is so broad, each month we focus on a specific topic under the umbrella of sustainability. Our introductory meeting was each member conversing about their thoughts, feelings, and opinions about climate change. In future meetings, the conversations will be more specific. This includes zero waste, mental health surrounding climate change, greenwashing products, and how crucial pollinators are to the natural world.

Upcoming Meetings:

Tue 9/26 @ 6pm, Main Branch

Tue 10/31 @ 6pm, Main Branch

Tue 11/28 @ 6pm, Main Branch

Contact Natalie Bennington for additional info at: nbennington@plymouth.ocln.org

DMEA CORNER

Message from Director David Gould

In the Fall DMEA will continue to work on improvements to the Seaside Trail including additional paving, benches and landscaping along with the Town Boat Ramp Project and work with the DPW on Stephens Field and the Bartlett Road Bridge Replacement.

We have capital requests at FATM including engineering and permitting for repairs and upgrades to the Store Pond Dam, continued monitoring and work in the Herring Pond and Savery Pond watersheds and trail design work at Jenney Park (Dark Orchard). These projects are all or partially funded with Environmental Affairs funds.

Shorebirds PLB fledged 52 plover chicks. WHB fledged 3 chicks (the first ones recorded) and Ellisville recorded 12 chicks fledged which is 4 more than their highest previous total. This is the first year we have recorded 3 different sites in Plymouth fledging chicks.

Town Brook Herring Run This year’s numbers are in! According to the official estimate from the Division of Marine Fisheries (Mass DMF), more than 235,000 river herring passed through the fish ladder at the Jenney Grist Mill Dam on Town Brook! Using data generated from our web accessible underwater camera that captures run movement at night the overall run size is estimated at 277,460 fish! This represents an all-time high since restoration efforts began in 2001 when the state estimated a run size of 40,000 fish in Town Brook.

Thanks to the generous funding of NOAA’s 2018 Preserve America Internal Funding Program, a real-time web-accessible underwater camera was installed at the top of the steep pass ladder in the spring of 2019. The underwater camera features motion detection software, allowing for footage to be recorded as fish swim through the camera’s frame of view. These video clips of river herring exiting the steep pass ladder can be viewed on Plymouthriverherring.org. The public can visit Plymouthriverherring.org to help the Department of Marine and Environmental Affairs refine the population estimate of migrating fish in Town Brook, from anywhere internet is available.

Throughout the spring of 2023, 10,281 videos were watched on Plymouthriverherring.org, in which 58,983 individual fish were counted. These online fish counts yielded a population estimate of 277,460 river herring. Over the course the 2023 herring run, the site received participation from 41 states and 25 countries.

Grants This summer we were awarded $2 million in Federal DOT funds to replace the stone arch culvert in Morton Park over Town Brook and have several more in queue for the fall and winter.

Autumnal Affairs

Plymouth Public Library

Wed 9/6 @ 6:30, Main Branch - Chickens in the Garden with Master Gardener Gretel Anspach

Wed 9/13 @ 6:30, Main Branch - Preserving and Storing the Yield from the Garden

Wed 9/27 @ 6:30, Virtual - Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors with Tory Stephens - This is a co-sponsor event, a featured program for Climate Preparedness Week in September. Zoom link available at plymouthpubliclibrary.org

Fri 10/13 @ 4:30, Main Branch - Sustainable Storytime w/ Sustainable Plymouth*

Tue 10/24 @ 6:30, Virtual - Author Led Environmental Book Club: Discuss "A Wing and a Prayer" with Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal*

Fri 11/10 @ 4:30, Main Branch - Sustainable Storytime w/ Sustainable Plymouth*

*Registration required at https://www.plymouthpubliclibrary.org/about-us/events/

For additional information please visit the Library Events Website

Mass Audubon

Sat 9/30 from 10:00-2:00, Tidmarsh Turns 5!

There will be activities for families and all ages such as a bioblitz, scavenger hunt, nature crafts, fun games, educational exhibits and guided hikes led by our skilled teacher naturalists through the sanctuary's restored wetlands. Food will be available for purchase from partners. The event is free and open to all.

Click for additional information about this exciting event!

Tue 10/3 and Thur 10/5 11:00-3:00, Wild Indigo Planting Days

Please join us for a planting event for our USFWS Candidate Conservation Action Fund grant project! We have over 2,000 Wild Indigo (Baptisia tinctoria) plugs that need to be planted at our Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary and at the Town’s Foothills Preserve.

Click here to sign up to help with this important work

South Shore and Cape Citizen's Climate Lobby Chapter

Fri 10/13 6:30PM- Horseshoe Crab Moon Film Showing

The First Parish Plymouth Social Action Committee, in collaboration with the South Shore and Cape Citizens Climate Lobby and Sustainable Plymouth, will show Horseshoe Crab Moon at 12 Church St., Plymouth. Doors open at 6pm for refreshments. A Q&A session will follow the film. Free and open to the public.

Wed 10/18 7:00-8:00PM- Climate Solutions Workshop Webinar

The South Shore & Cape Citizens Climate Lobby chapter will host an on-line climate solutions discussion using MIT’s EN-Roads Climate Solutions simulator. Together, we will simulate a combination of actions that would slow future warming and see which ones make the biggest difference. Sign up via email to southshoremass@citizensclimatelobby.org

The Plymouth Foundation

Mon 10/16 ,Tue 10/17- Blue Future Conference 23' Sea Deep in Innovation

Plymouth is quickly becoming a leader in the Commonwealth’s blue economy. With aquaculture, robotics, R&D, and AI at our shores, Plymouth’s 37 miles of coastline is ideal for growing the blue economy. Our region supports the entrepreneurs, policymakers and investors who want to solve problems and create jobs.

Visit the Conference website to learn more about this cutting edge event.

Contact US

If you have questions about any of these articles please email Mark Reil at mreil@plymouth-ma.gov

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