It’s all about collaboration
From September 2022 Newsletter
Over the past month, ACTT has worked closely with the Tremont Sustainability Committee and the Mount Desert Climate Action Task Force, supporting the two towns in preparing grant applications for the September cycle of the state’s Community Resilience Partnership program (ACTT supported Tremont, Mount Desert, and Bar Harbor in a joint grant application in March and the three towns received the second-largest grant in the state). As we met with the two committees, supported them in identifying focus areas for the grant, shared drafts we developed, integrated committee feedback into editing the drafts, and gathered letters of support from the committees, I found myself reflecting on this highly collaborative process.
As many of you know, ACTT began when a group of MDI residents started gathering over kitchen tables and potluck dinners to talk about our feelings about climate change and work together on a vision of what we could do on this island to lower greenhouse gas emissions and build community resilience. We formally launched in an event that invited the over 200 attending community members to break out into focus groups and brainstorm initial projects. Together we launched ACTT and together we have built this powerful model of community-driven climate action.
Throughout the years, we have continued to prioritize the collaborative approach, over and over again. At every turn of this journey, we encounter poignant reminders that we are here in service of this community’s vision. Whether it’s through listening to local businesses as they express their interest in reducing waste and greenhouse gas emissions and then developing programs that support those interest, through watching young interns powerfully shape projects and take the work in directions we couldn’t have imagined ourselves, or through learning about community priorities in siting solar and challenges in accessing the significant financial benefits of solar ownership and then integrating both into responsible siting practices and the development of a cooperative ownership model; our work is at its best when it is designed in direct response to community visions, needs, and feedback.
As I’ve reflected on the fruits of collaboration, I’ve also experienced profound gratitude for our staff team here at ACTT, including our new addition, Island Fellow Brianna Cunliffe! I have the tremendous privilege to work with a group of young women who are brilliant, compassionate, and who place collaboration at the heart of their work. Too often, I see competitive agendas infiltrate the work of climate solutions (and many other spheres of work as well!) and this leads to duplication of effort and gets in the way of collaboration founded on networks of trust. But each of the women on our team is wise beyond their years; they know we each hold an important piece of the puzzle - whether staff member, local stakeholder, or community member - and that we need each other to do our best work. I could not be more grateful for the community-focused, creative approach Beth, Naomi, and Brianna model every single day.
So there you have it. A bit of a love letter to collaboration. We are all essential in this work. We are building and implementing the vision together. Our recent open volunteer calls have been a true joy, as community members discuss ways they might contribute, each unique and each impactful. As you read through the list of current projects below and learn more about the upcoming first session of our Climate Ambassadors training - the exciting brainchild of Project Manager Naomi Albert - we hope you will join us as the network of collaboration expands.