Welcome!

Sustainable Springfield represents a collaborative effort of numerous organizations, agencies, researchers and educational partners who are working toward a common goal of improving the environmental quality of Springfield’s urban landscapes.  The partnership aims to restore nature in the city.  This cooperative effort includes research, education, outreach and hand-on environmental stewardship of the city’s greenspace, waterways, soil and air.

Sustainable Springfield has been designated a member of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership initiative.

About Us

Sustainable Springfield is a partnership of various organizations who are dedicated to making Springfield an environmentally healthy and sustainable city.  The partners range from educational institutions, state and federal organizations, non-profit organizations, neighborhood groups and regional entities.  Such a diverse background of people committed to our goal is vital to achieve our vision for a sustainable Springfield; working together allows us to be more efficient, relative and effective.

https://www.facebook.com/sustainablespringfieldma

Collaborative Partners

• Chicopee 4 Rivers Watershed Council
• Connecticut River Watershed Council
• Friends of Fort River
• Friends of Silvio O. Conte Refuge
• Holyoke Community College
• Keep Springfield Beautiful
• Massachusetts Department of Ecological Restoration
• Mount Holyoke College
• Pioneer Valley Planning Commission
• ReGreen Springfield
• Renaissance Expeditionary High School
• Springfield Conservation Commission
• Springfield Department of Public Works Engineering
• Springfield Museums
• Springfield Parks Department
• University of Massachusetts at Amherst
• USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station
• US Fish & Wildlife Service

Current Projects

Abbey Brook Urban Stream Initiative – This project envisions a sustained, multi-faceted approach to engaging Springfield, MA residents in stewardship-related activities with two central goals: increasing awareness and sensitivity of residents to watershed-related issues and fostering a sense of place and citizen stewardship within the Connecticut River watershed.  Urban stream and forest restoration will occur specifically at the Abbey Brook area, which is adjacent to the Renaissance School.  Mentored by teachers and partners, Renaissance students will participate in the habitat restoration effort and engage in curricula that applies stream monitoring, invasive species management, and wetland restoration concepts at the field site.  Teachers will be supported through skill-based workshops led by field experts.  These studies will be further complimented through voluntary student participation in the summer restoration ecology program at Mt. Holyoke College and youth employment opportunities with the USFWS’s Youth Conservation Corps.  The community will be engaged in habitat restoration, site improvement and cleanups, and outreach at Abbey Brook, which has been degraded by storm-water runoff.

Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) – The US Fish and Wildlife Service’s YCC crew, consisting of 6 Springfield area students along with two team leaders, is working on greenspace restoration projects across the city of Springfield this summer.  Through this work, these individuals are able to gain valuable environmental knowledge and work experience, while simultaneously serving the community.  The YCC crew has just completed preliminary work on the Abbey Brook Project, by working on a clean-up of the area and by clearing some invasive species.  This summer, Springfield also hosted the YCC Summer ‘Spike Camp’, where over 50 participants from all over New England worked on various environmental restoration projects across the city.  The youth camped in Forest Park, living in tents, preparing their own meals and participated in activities related to environmental awareness.

Regreen Springfield has been working for the past five years to help restore the tree canopy of Springfield… one tree at a time.  The educational programming, outreach and tree planting efforts of this organization have helped to improve the environmental quality of the city, while making neighborhoods greener, healthier and more sustainable.  Collaboration with nationally recognized research scientists and university partners, Regreen is working to bring science-based management to the landscapes of Springfield.