Green Team Meeting Notes and Plans 6-20-2019

Green Team Meeting Notes and Plans 6/20/2019

Attendees: Bill Schroeder, Steve Fink, Fran Fink, Mark Bohrer, Susan Johnston, Candy Dann

Away: Graham Long, Janet Clarke, Tim Smith

Agenda/Notes

ACTION – Mark – after input received – followup with church staff – what dates do we have?

News: New meeting night! We will now be meeting on 3^rd Tuesday of the month – next meeting is August 20^th!

1)      Green Bee

-          Discussed new topics

                                             i.      Energy audit by Mass Save is worth checking even if you’ve done it before!

Candy had her 4^th – and they found an additional thing to do – they added insulation in her attic. Residents of Andover benefit from additional support by Columbia Gas. Instead of 75% coverage by MassSave, insulation is now covered 100% with Columbia Gas contribution. So now is the time to think about an Energy Audit! This program by Columbia Gas is only good for

                                           ii.      Energy in NE - Bill

                                         iii.      “Zero Waste” Picnic followup – talk about what we what we did as a church! Less than 5 lbs of trash was leftover. Everything else was composted or recycle.  - Bill

                                         iv.      Lupine Road energy saving  - Steve

                                           v.      Greater Lawrence Technical HS programs – Steve

                                         vi.      Carbon Offsets for travel – Mark

2)      How can we have a climate prayer moment in every service

-          More positive messages than concerns is important – what people are doing that is succeeding, how people are coming together around the world, Good news “Eagles return to their places along the Merrimack!”, etc

3)      Picnic - Followup

o   Education value was useful – people learning about what can be composted, recycle, “it’s easy” conversations….

o   Having a compost service was useful to get people to see it and think about this option

§  Could church benefit from compost service? The thought is probably not…

4)      Retreat followup – people talked to Steve about it positively – we should think about Fall 2020…new location?

5)      Bio-Mass Energy Discussion  - Bill

o   There is a proposed plan in the state to add bio-mass energy prodution in western Mass.

o   Mass DOER is proposing treating bio-mass energy sources as a Class 1 renewable energy source

o   Bill find out some more and share info

o   Movie “Burned” was very enlightening about how this is not a good idea environmentally

6)      Church Year Plans

o   Harvest Dinner – is set for Saturday October 19^th

§  Celebrate the Giving Garden, sharing what they did, how they did it.

o   Fall Sunday Service – Social Justice and Climate Crisis – no feedback from pastoral staff as of yet

§  This is an opportunity to have the youth be involved

§  Can this be a community event?

§  The Green Team is ready to assist

o   Earth Day Sunday (50^th year of Earth Day) – no feedback from pastoral staff as of yet

§  Any Sunday April 19 through mid-May

·         Green team is ready to support pastoral staff and contributing in any way we can

·         Can the service be a community event?

o   Can one of the monthly contributions go to a local conservation or environmental group?

7)      Discussion on possible microgrid plans in Andover – Steve has plans in progress

Parking Lot - Not discussed

8)      Renewable/Electric options for church

-          Long-term Plan to get the church off gas completely