Earth Month Coffee Hour

May 11, 2023

April is Earth Month, a time to raise awareness on environmental issues. For our April Coffee Hour, Chris Lyman, P.E. and Taylor Miller presented on the Municipal Vulnerabilities Preparedness (MVP) program. MVP is a grant-funded program that assists municipalities in Massachusetts in planning how to be climate-change resilient. It also provides resources to educate residents about environmental issues in their city or town.

During their presentation, Chris and Taylor described the work they did for the MVP project in the Towns of Hampden and East Longmeadow. They showed example project recommendations they offered to the towns, including how to address flooding. Some of their recommendations included improving infrastructure and cultivating natural solutions, such as rain gardens. Taylor and Chris also discussed the public engagement process, and how residents led the planning effort. Their presentation ended with a Q&A where questions ranged from native plants to the role of infrastructure maintenance in improving climate resiliency.