Barr Foundation

GreenRoots and the Boston Waterfront Partners hosted a focus group on the state’s Designated Port Area zoning, which restricts public access to waterbodies like Chelsea Creek. This well-attended event showed how many folks have opinions on this zoning and what it means for environmental justice neighborhoods like East Boston and Chelsea. #environmentaljustice --- GreenRoots y Boston Waterfront Partners organizaron un grupo focal sobre la zonificación del área portuaria designada del estado, que restringe el acceso público a cuerpos de agua como Chelsea Creek. Este evento que contó con una gran asistencia mostró cuántas personas tienen opiniones sobre esta zonificación y lo que significa para vecindarios de justicia ambiental como East Boston y Chelsea. #JusticiaAmbiental

Climate grantee CultureHouse is transforming vacant lots and storefronts across Boston into pop-up spaces for social connection, community organizing, rest, and play. "The reaction we often got, which I thought was telling, was people saying, ‘I’ve been looking for something like this. I just didn’t know it was possible,’” says Executive Director Aaron Greiner. Read more about CultureHouse's work in Boston Globe Ideas.

Transportation-related pollution disproportionately affects communities of color, but policymakers and researchers don’t often engage those communities in their efforts to understand and address problems.   Boston University School of Public Health sought to change that with a recent study. Their researchers worked with Alternatives for Community and Environment and six other environmental justice organizations to model how various emission reduction scenarios could improve the health of their communities.

We LOVED working with the EmVision team on telling our story and are so grateful for their support!

Boston will host the national #YouthBikeSummit in 2025, an event that will bring hundreds of young cyclists and advocates to the city. Two Climate Mobility grantees, Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition and Bikes Not Bombs, will work together to organize the summit. Monty Khaldi, a youth organizer with Bikes Not Bombs, said "our entire mission is to use the bicycle as a vehicle for social change. When people get together, organize rides with their friends, that's when they start talking about the issues in their communities."

Our partner, The Boston Foundation, has reimagined the Live Arts Boston program to better support the whole artist. Each of the 30 LAB artist awardees will receive $30,000 to advance their creative careers, while engaging in an 18-month immersive program focusing on entrepreneurship, wellness, and more. Congratulations to the 2024 cohort, comprised of local musicians, lyricists, playwrights, dancers, and DJs.

This past July, the Barr Foundation and Hart Research published "Views on Offshore Wind in New England: Findings from statewide surveys in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island." The survey sought to understand voters’ perspectives on offshore wind and their feelings about collaboration between the three New England states on offshore wind. CESA’s Sam Schacht spoke to Kathryn Wright, Senior Program Officer for Clean Energy at the Barr Foundation, and Jay Campbell, Partner at Hart Research about their motivations to undertake the research, key findings from the survey, and what lessons we can learn from their work. Read the interview on CESA's blog: https://lnkd.in/ehhWK3Wh

Meet Natasha Ushomirsky, who leads the Build Public Will strategy within Barr's Education program. "Our grantees are helping young people and their families tap into their power to drive change and are holding education and policy leaders accountable for delivering on their promises." Learn more about how her life experiences inform her work in the latest from Barr's blog.

What if the journey of community organizing itself was considered a win? Climate grantee Neighbor to Neighbor Massachusetts (N2N) convened 80 tenants from Lynn, MA to meet their neighbors and learn more about the housing crisis in their city. The team knocked on doors, tabled at food pantries, and sent thousands of texts to get the word out. They offered rides, language interpretation, and on-site childcare to ensure that all who wanted to come, could. "This is democracy in practice, members making decisions together and rolling out a plan to get us there."

If you had only 36 hours in Boston, what would you be sure to see? The New York Times includes the #BostonHarborwalk in their packed agenda— and for good reason. Through work by Jill Valdés Horwood and Barr's Waterfront initiative, redevelopment along the city's coast has "spread farther and wider, spawning new harbor-adjacent art spaces and breweries" with forward-looking attention to broad accessibility for all.