Climate planning and preservation

Climate planning has become an essential part of preservation work at Historic New England, not only to protect the historic sites we care for, but to do our part to support resiliency in the communities we are a part of, and aid the greater movement towards a more sustainable world.

Two important climate action planning milestones

On September 21, 2023, Historic New England’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve our climate action commitment statement and four climate action goals that serve as our guide for ongoing planning.

Our commitment statement and climate action goals came out of work as part of the cultural cohort of Boston’s Green Ribbon Commission where Historic New England participated in a yearlong climate action planning process alongside other Boston area cultural institutions.

Commitment statement and goals

Historic New England is committed to addressing the global climate crisis through actions that reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions, promote resiliency, engage our communities, and advance climate justice and energy equity by meeting these four goals by 2050:

• Enacting operational shifts that integrate climate action into the day-to-day operations of Historic New England.
• Achieving carbon neutrality for all Historic New England sites by 2050, continuously evaluating progress and adjusting actions to achieve success.
• Managing our properties to meet our high preservation standards but also adapting those standards to ensure resilience in the face of weather extremes and sea level rise.
• Engaging a broad and inclusive public through robust partnerships, programs, and activities that advance climate justice for all.

The work at Casey Farm

Adopting these goals is only the beginning. We have a lot more work ahead of us, some of which is already in progress. That brings us to the second milestone that occurred in September.

With support from a grant from The 1772 Foundation, earlier this year we began the process of creating our first site specific climate action plan for one of our busiest locations, Casey Farm in Saunderstown, R.I. Working with the consulting firm GreenerU we were able to baseline the farm’s energy and water use, calculate our waste, and review current practices and programming with an eye towards sustainability and carbon neutrality.

We shared the initial results of our work with the Casey Farm community during a webinar on September 20, 2023. The event was attended by project staff, members of the community, and other stakeholders. Following the presentation attendees shared their thoughts and questions about the results and our planning.

The Casey Farm planning process will continue with two in-person sessions in October and November. These include climate action planning on October 4, 2023, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Saunderstown Yacht Club where attendees will participate in a series of brainstorming sessions to help create goals and strategies for the Casey Farm plan. Then on November 8, 2023, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. we gather at the Willett Free Library for the Casey Farm climate planning zenith where the results of this work will be shared. If you are interested in attending these in-person sessions, please contact Jennifer A. Haugh at [email protected].

Working today for a better tomorrow

Our actions today are what future generations will look back on as history and we hope that the story of that history will be one in which we all did our part to create a better future. Stay tuned for updates on Historic New England’s climate action work.

Joie Grandbois is Historic New England’s sustainability coordinator and is developing Historic New England’s Climate Action Plan.