Education: Webinars

This page includes information on webinars and virtual workshops conducted by SPB and other like-minded organizations.

December 12, 2021: Protecting Shutesbury’s Land & Water while building Community Solar – Forests & Solar: We need both — Hosted by Smart Solar Shutesbury

October 20, 2021: Solar Gone Wrong: Solar v. Forests — A False Choice (hosted by Massachusetts Peace Action)

Featured Indigenous land stewards, environmentalists, and residents working for responsible solar siting and to protect lands and waters

June 24, 2021: Virtual workshop featured Heidi Ricci, Director of Policy and Advocacy for Massachusetts Audubon.

Topics included:

• Value of Nature in climate resilience
• Basics of local government and planning board functions
• How to become involved in civic processes
• How to advocate for open space protection with a focus on the roles of land in resiliency
• Balancing land protection with community housing and development need

Forest and solar:

May 27, 2021: On May 27, the Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative — in partnership with the Cape Cod Commission, Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts, and the Faith Communities Environmental Network — presented Forests vs. Solar – A False Choice: Protecting Forests & Making Smart Solar Decisions in Your Community.
The presentation — featuring panelists from Woodwell Climate Research Center, Mass Audubon, and Cape Cod Commission — explores the value of forests, tensions associated with large-scale solar installations, and tools for town officials and citizens to make wise planning decisions for their communities. Attendees included planners, energy providers, scientists, elected officials, conservation trust members, climate activists and interested citizens from across the region and the state.

April 23, 2021: Webinar in honors of Earth Day in the Pine Barrens, an exciting and informative presentation about activism, Indigenous connections to our land and water and a scientific perspective on the Plymouth Carver Sole Source Aquifer.

Part 1: INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVES Melissa Ferretti, Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe, Chairlady and President Britteny Walley, Nipmuc Tribe: Indigenous relationship to water and taking action. Casey Thornburgh, Mashpee Wampanoag: Native communities and climate change

Part II: SCIENCE David Boutt, PhD University of Massachusetts, Amherst: Hydrology and Hydrogeology of the Plymouth Carver Sole Source Aquifer: A Source of Water to Ponds, Wetlands, and Drinking Water Wells.

Part III: TAKING ACTION Warren Winders, Trout Unlimited: Protecting Red Brook in Wareham. How communities can restore nature and our waterways.

April 6, 2021: The Community Land & Water Coalition hosted a webinar on April 6th to discuss the facts behind the Town Meeting Article 1 for rezoning 760 acres of Wareham for commercial development.