City of Springfield to Join ReGreen Springfield for Virtual Roundtable on “Climate Resilience in Springfield”
Springfield, MA – The City of Springfield will join ReGreen Springfield along with a series of community partners to lead an online community discussion on how Springfield can address global climate change at the neighborhood level. The virtual roundtable is planned for March 24, 2021 from 6:00 – 8:00 PM via Zoom and Facebook Live.
This session will offer all participants the opportunity to contribute to a conversation on climate resilience in Springfield, and how residents can participate in upcoming environmental monitoring projects that will be taking place in Springfield this year. This important roundtable is open to any and all individuals interested in helping to make Springfield a greener and healthier place for all.
The virtual roundtable, “Climate Resilience in Springfield” is a partnership of the City of Springfield, ReGreen Springfield, the Massachusetts Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program (MVP), the Massachusetts Office of Attorney General Maura Healey, the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts, Live Well Springfield, Yale University School of Public Health, and the United States Forest Service.
During the session, roundtable participants will learn how they can help to plan for the installation of air-quality monitors across the city, in order to better understand how air pollution impacts public health. Neighborhood residents can help decide where to place those monitors, which will provide real-time data on the air quality in at-risk areas, that have elevated asthma and respiratory rates. Discussion of how to address rising asthma rates in Springfield, how trees can assist in improving air quality and other environmental topics will be undertaken during the two-hour roundtable.
The roundtable will be conducted via Zoom. Use this link at the time of the event to participate on Zoom: https://umass-amherst.zoom.us/j/95287250571. The event will also be streamed live on ReGreen Springfield’s Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/regreenspringfield. Visit http://regreenspringfield.org/mvp/ for more details.
Mayor Sarno stated “As we continue our efforts to prepare Springfield for the challenges of a changing climate, this roundtable is an opportunity for residents to provide input on how they would like the City to address climate resiliency and to achieve the goals of a cleaner, heathier, and more equitable Springfield. I am grateful to all of our partners on this project which will make our city greener and protect Springfield’s climate infrastructure for future generations.”
David V. Bloniarz, President, ReGreen Springfield stated, “ReGreen Springfield is very excited to continue our work in making Springfield’s neighborhoods more livable and healthier for the residents living in the city. The air quality study will help us to focus our tree planting and community engagement work.”
City Forester Alex Sherman stated “I am excited to learn from the residents of Springfield about their concerns for the current and future natural environment of Springfield. This listening session will allow the City to present some of its current environmental initiatives as well as plan future projects based on resident feedback.”
This session is part of a series of community engagement programming that will take place in 2021, made possible by the City of Springfield, with funding by the MA Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program.