By Rob St. Germain
Contributing writer

Our Environment -- Our air and our water, the whole complex on which our lives depend, whose responsibility is it?  Somebody must be in charge, right?  And, in a small town like Ashland with our tiny 12.9 square mile footprint, surely there must be someone tasked with overseeing all the environmental stuff, right?

The answer is “no”.  The environment is far too complex for any one person, or agency, to oversee.  It is so totally integrated with nearly every aspect of life that even an army of experts could not begin to manage it, nor would it be acceptable if they tried.  What then is the answer?

In 1989 a man named Tim Berners-Lee needed a name for his invention, the protocol for connectivity to what became the Internet. He called it the World Wide Web (www).   Web seemed to apply because it had so many parts and dispersed control.  For the same reasons the word web is a perfect label for environmental management.

Environmental health is the sum-total of all our actions, and so it follows then that environmental action is the responsibility of all of us.  

Ashland’s Environmental Web. 

Currently, in Ashland, there are over 20 entities that actively share environmental responsibility [see chart].  There are also others that are not currently active or are peripheral but have had significant roles – think Nyanza.   

Ashland citizens guided the creation of the new Public Safety Building and the replacement of the Mindess School. Both have geothermal heat, solar panels or wiring for them.  Both have additional features that demonstrate Ashland’s acceptance of its environmental stewardship responsibility.  Who is in charge – We Are!  We, the people of Ashland, are the government.  We made the decisions; and those two projects are only a fraction of all that is happening. 

In 2021 Ashland was part of the consortium of towns sponsoring the MetroWest Solar and Clean Energy Challenge. That initiative encouraged many homeowners to install solar and heat pumps.   It was spurred on by the Sustainability Committee – volunteer citizens!

A Girl Scout Troop, the Town Forest Committee and many homeowners have planted pollinator gardens, carefully choosing plants that help mother earth by supplying food for pollinating insects.  These gardens are an improvement over lawns.  They increase the uptake of carbon and production of oxygen.  Every single tree planted or preserved is part of the solution to reduce global warming. 

Environmental health is the result of a multitude of decisions, some big, most small, some good and some quite bad.  Should you purchase a bug zapper?  You can. They are legal, but you will be killing the food supply of the local bird population and decreasing the ability of some species of trees and plants to pollinate. Not good!  

GreenUp Ashland is a volunteer group that works with town staff to keep our roadways litter-free.  “The effort required to put one’s car trash into a bag may seem insignificant, but it adds up when compared to the cost and effort of a community having to pick up tossed litter from the roadway,” says Karyn Dann-Barboza, chair of GreenUp.  On average, GreenUp and its Ashland community helpers clean up 3.5 tons of debris/trash annually.

Samantha Riley is Ashland’s Sustainability Agent.  While conservation is focused on protecting things now, Sam’s job is forward looking.  “My focus is both inward and outward — inward to the town facilities and how to make them more sustainable, and outward to the public, educating and facilitating.  My goal is to get as many people on board as possible.”  On board to what?

Every Citizen’s Role

The ‘what’ is your environmental preservation role.  Your role, in fact, may be the most important.  A recent ad from Mass.gov reads as follows, “No matter where you live, how you get around, where you work, or your budget, we can all help protect our communities, save energy, and save money.” 

If you wash your car at a car wash facility, as opposed to your driveway or street, the dirty water gets filtered and treated resulting in less pollution finding its way into storm drains and streams.   Every less pound of fertilizer on your lawn means healthier streams.  Every less ounce of pesticide means better public health.

You can help the town’s recycling efforts and keep fees down by reviewing chart at the following link…. https://recyclesmartma.org   and then carefully following its guidance.

One big opportunity to make a difference is energy savings.  You can get on board with Florence Seidell and Rob Moolenbeek and their program Energize Ashland.  They are role models for all of us. Their challenge goal for 2024 is 500 additional energy-saving actions to mitigate climate change.  

“To get anything done,” Florence offered “you need a strong sense of commitment, not just opinions”.  Rob provided an example. “When we worked on the plastic bag bylaw, we went to all the stores in Ashland and spoke with the management.”

It is that kind of commitment we need from everyone, not in terms of time but in terms of resolve.  For the good of all we need a commitment to remove all food from your recyclables. We need a commitment to not litter, a commitment to wash your car responsibly, a commitment to environmentally responsible lawn care, and from dog owners, a commitment to responsibly dispose of your animal’s waste.

Each-and-every one of us are members of the web of life.  Each-and-every one of us shares the responsibility for its wellbeing. 

See webiste for more information.