Education in Sustainability
“Success of this project depends on how much the community is willing to adapt and how far into the future they are willing to look.“
Falmouth Sustainability Director
Climate Education Walking Trail and community engagement workshops
Climate Walking Trail
Community education is a priority in Falmouth. An innovative approach to this is their development of a Climate Walking Trail. This is a 2.5 ( 60 minute) interactive walking trail that has 12 stops that highlight the vulnerable locations and teaches the community ways to adapt and protect the city from climate related impacts. It includes a guided tour app, ideas for solutions, and images of past, present and future projections for sea level rise and the commitment Falmouth has to its community climate resilience.
Neighborhood Working Groups
Neighborhood outreach in their current phase of project work includes conducting neighborhood working groups, establishing social media pages, creating a climate resilience podcasts.
Interactive maps were created so that specific buildings can be seen and their vulnerability assessed. The map shows predicted sea level rise in each area by 2030, 2050, and 2070. It helps the public see the danger and get them invested in brainstorming solutions.
Neighborhoods meet several times a year to discuss impacts of sea level rise and projected flooding paths and to brainstorm resiliency strategies and their visions for the future. It is a great opportunity for community members to communicate and collaborate.
Public meetings are held to raise awareness about climate change and how it is impacting the town and to initiate resilience planning for sea level rise and major storm responses. People were informed about how safe access/ exits by roads to Falmouth could be impacted by sea level rise. They included the community in discussions about villages affected by flood paths and discussed long term proactive strategies.
Workshop with breakout rooms to discuss personal observations of flooding during storms, strategies for building resilience and private property flood protection opportunities, and ways to adapt sewerage and other infrastructures. They divided the town into 9 areas and have focus groups for each area to work on coastal management by village neighborhood.
Green Community Planning
Falmouth is onboard with the state’s plan to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050. They want to create policy and planning that will reduce emission by 33% by the year 2025. They have committed to what they call green community planning. This includes looking at how the economy and the environment intersect. They are looking at obtaining grants to create projects to reduce emissions.
Community Education Focus Plans
- Reduce heating and cooling use
- Use LED bulbs
- Energy efficient appliances
- Do an energy audit
- Better insulation
- Switch to wind or solar power
- Walk, bike or take public transportation
- Switch to an electric vehicle
- Reduce airplane travel
- Reduce reuse and recycle
- Eat more plant based foods grown locally
- Plant native species
- Skip insecticides and chemicals
- Throw out less trash
- Buy what you need, not what you want
- Get others involved and invested in change