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Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation's annual symposium on a topic of community concern is coming up soon on Saturday, November 19, in the Meetinghouse from 1–4pm in collaboration with TownGreen, a non-profit that has promoted climate mitigation and adaptation strategies on Cape Ann since 2015.

Have you wondered about the various proposals for the development of harbor front properties, heard about the City’s efforts towards comprehensive urban planning as well as the work of the Harbor Planning Committee, or asked how you might have a voice about what downtown Gloucester is like in the future? Have you been concerned about what experts on the science about climate change might foresee and advise to inform these decisions? Would you like to pose a specific question to an expert and receive a thoughtful, well-informed answer?

Presenters will include: Greg Verga, Mayor of Gloucester; Professor Charles Waldheim from the Harvard Graduate School of Design; Professor Antonio Raciti from the University of Massachusetts, Boston; and Kevin Hively, CEO and Founder of Ninigret Partners, a management consulting firm that focuses on economic development and community planning.

The Symposium is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be available. This is a rare opportunity to explore one of the most important civic topics of our time and to meet fellow citizens who care deeply about the future of Gloucester.

The second EPA Building Blocks for Resilience Workshop will build on the information and insights of Workshop 1 and provide valuable information on resources and solutions to decision makers.

This second EPA Workshop’s objectives are:

• Confirm climate threats and impacts for Cape Ann
• Identify new strategies for mitigation and adaptation
• Understand local and regional capacity and other resource needs for implementation
• Understand potential funding opportunities (state, federal, and private) to meet needs

Professor Charles Waldheim presented the full narrative of The Great Storm of 2038 Scenario and outlined four adaptation measures identified to prepare and mitigate the effects of hurricanes, northeasters, and other storms.

Over 60 leaders and participants from across Cape Ann came together on Wednesday, April 27 from 9-11AM to address the threats to Cape Ann from climate change, including likely damage to roads, water and sewer infrastructure, and natural systems. The EPA Workshop, the first of two, included presentations from the TownGreen-sponsored Harvard Graduate School of Design’s The Case of Cape Ann: Typologies of Vulnerability study.

Come to hear about the proposed plans for Salem as a port supporting the offshore wind (OSW) industry, and what the future of offshore wind development will look like. Let’s hear about: What role could other ports play? What jobs will be created? How can we do this and protect wildlife and the fishing industry? How to participate in the OSW conversation?

TownGreen is pleased to announce the launch on September 1^st of a climate vulnerability project in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Cape Ann has been selected for an EPA “Building Blocks for Resilience” technical assistance program and TownGreen2025 has successfully raised the funds for a Harvard GSD study of climate threats and solutions in the region.

The future of Cape Ann will be shaped, in large part, by the effects of climate change. These effects will reach well beyond sea level rise and increased storm events. They will ultimately challenge and disrupt the housing, transportation, public services, and economic health of these communities. In light of these challenges, three local organizations—TownGreen2025, the Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation, and the Cape Ann Climate Coalition—are joining with the Harvard Graduate School of Design to begin to envision a sustainable future for the region. In recognition of the reality that Cape Ann’s interwoven ecologies, geographies, and economies transcend municipal boundaries, the scope of the project will include the entire region: Essex, Gloucester, Manchester-by-the-Sea, and Rockport.

David Abel, Pulitzer-prize winning Boston Globe reporter, will interview Bill McKibbon, environmental advocate, author and founder of 350.org, about lessons learned and future solutions considering the climate crisis.

The Sawyer Free Library will kick off the first annual Gloucester Reads: Many Readers, One Conversation, which will be held from June 22 to Sept. 15.