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Boston Neighorhood Network News

The Boston waterfront area hosts the Local Food Festival, a place for local farmers and chefs to share their culinary efforts with the city and share why it's a good idea to shop local when it comes to something as essential to humankind as food. The residents of Roxbury throw their yearly gathering around their community's "Eternal Presence" sculpture (colloqually known as the big head festival) to help the artwork live up to its name by waxing and polishing it, celebrating its history and its sculptor John Woodrow Wilson, and sharing with each other what it means to them both as individuals and as a whole neighborhood. Even though it's still 2 years ahead of us, Boston is anxious to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution given how much of a huge part this city had played in the revolution itself. Travis Niles, Senior Manager of non-profit organization Rare Conservation, talks about how Rare's Shine Program aims to make it easier for low income citizens to participate in combatting the climate crisis with a push for clean energy.

Broadcast on:: 20 Sep 2024
Audio Format:: other

Good evening, Boston. Welcome to BNN News. It's Friday, September 20th, 2024. I'm Natalie Candler. Thanks for tuning in. On Saturday, merchants, chefs, and farmers from all over New England brought their goods to Boston Local Food Festival. This year's Boston Local Food Festival featured over a hundred of Boston's local farmers, restaurants and vendors. With the goal of shedding more light on why choosing local is what's best for our communities and our environment. Local Food Production is one of the most important topics in current events right now due to the fact that our food system is based upon global exports and that's going to slow based on climate change. So the best chance we have to ensure food for the future is to support our local farmers. Local food is so important because when you buy local, you also help grow the community. When you spend money outside of the community and dry and grocery stores or big box stores, that money is gone forever. We're never going to see it again, but when you spend it locally, it goes back into the community, helps grow the community. And then you get to know your farmers too, which is really important. By choosing to buy local, we invigorate our community economies and support local farmers, ensuring that everything from honey to flowers, barbecue sauce to fresh produce, high quality products can reach residents who might otherwise lack access. If you don't have a local place like a market next to you, or if you have to spend all your dollars at these big corporations, I would say look to your local farmers, look to your local community, see what other resources that you have. Can you build you a garden in the backyard? These are things that are us as Americans. All over the world, we need to really focus on keeping ourselves in a clean, sustainable environment, having organic products put down our body because your body is what fuels your life. You can't do anything without your health. Local food production is very important to us because it is more financially sound and it's much easier to be able to afford to have the quality of food that is also financially something that a family can afford. Attendees learn that eating food that doesn't travel too far is an easy way to get the freshest, most nutritious food possible, while supporting in England farmers. Getting on board and eating local food has a great advantage supporting the farmers that are here locally, but also eating inherently healthy food that doesn't have to travel miles and miles away. So you get the food with a nutrition and as it's freshest as it can be. Eating local means not only like fresher and higher quality, it also means that you're investing in your local communities, in your local farmers, and those people in turn pay it back. We use peppers from other farmers who are growing in Massachusetts and Maine. We are using herbs that are grown in Massachusetts, so by buying our honeys you're also investing in those farms as well and where your neighbors. Every year the Roxbury community gathers at the Eternal Presence Sculpture to revamp and care for this massive piece of art that symbolizes something huge for the Roxbury community. For the 11th year in a row, the Big Head Festival brought the community together to honor the monumental sculpture Eternal Presence, crafted by Roxbury's own John Wilson. Participants took part in the cherished tradition of washing and waxing this iconic sculpture, a groundbreaking work that celebrates the Black community as the first of its kind to depict a Black figure. For my father, having the sculpture here was of tremendous importance and significance. He grew up here and he grew up not being able to see images that looked like him, so he wanted to make a monumental African-American presence in his community for kids to be able to look at and see themselves and all their potential. I brought my two sons to the Big Head Festival. What I see when I look at the Big Head is longevity, curiosity, I see my two sons, I see myself, I see a community that is banded together to raise up where we've been to where we want to go. With sleeves rolled up, attendees showed their deep respect for both the artist and his creation, meticulously caring for this awe-inspiring piece of art. The festival also featured vibrant singing and dance performances. Local vendors and a special Lifetime Achievement Award presented to Essim African Dance Historian and choreographer Deanna Battle. John Wilson was able to create a piece of artwork that now lives within the community that I can look up to. My son can look up to other folks in the community, can come and see something that represents them. Not only does the statue look like them, but it was created by somebody who looks like their father or their uncles or their brothers. So it's important for the community to have a sculpture that belongs to us, to say hey, this belongs in Roxbury because the person who created it came from Roxbury and he left us something that was great. The festival drew in families and community members who reflected on its significance and for many attendees, the Big Head sculpture symbolizes representation and a deep history of the black community in Roxbury. I see a young black man in the community with his eyes focused on his future, his dreams, how he's going to get there and I should say in all honesty, it's more than just a young black man. It's the black man of the community. John Woodrow Wilson, a son of Roxbury, wanted to give his community, the community of his birth, a monumental image of itself that placed it in human history and in global contributions. That work becomes eternal presence. We polish eternal presence today because we think of it like a grandfather that we look after and take care of. This is a ritual of caring and remembering. The Big Head community festival serves as a powerful reminder of Roxbury's rich heritage and diverse community. In 2026, Boston will be the centerpiece for the celebration of 250 years since the American Revolution and Massachusetts is already beaming with excitement. Although it's still two years away, Boston is revved up for the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, which will fall on July 4, 2026 and will bring thousands of visitors to the city to learn about and commemorate Boston's role in America's history. Massachusetts 250, this is going to be an ongoing celebration of who we are, of where we've been and what is to come. We're going to leverage this moment to draw in visitors from all around not just the state, the country, but literally the world who are going to come here to Massachusetts to see and to celebrate where it all began. Companies, nonprofits, groups, individuals, cities and towns in every corner of the state and the more people who get involved, the bigger the boost will be for our state. So I encourage everybody to get fired up, to get engaged and to get involved. I'm looking forward to experiencing how our cities and towns share their histories with each other and with visitors. And I am eager to experience the cross commonwealth celebration of this anniversary, to learn and celebrate those stories that are untold, indigenous peoples, communities of color, women, LGBTQ, workers, all the stories that are Massachusetts. The stories of those who struggle and resilience continue to shape and strengthen our commonwealth and our nation. Boston was the epicenter for many of the events throughout the revolution and the ideas that came from the commonwealth set the tone for what America should become and it continues to set the bar with every stride we take. In Massachusetts, where the revolution began and where the revolution continues, first in freedom, first in education, first in healthcare, first in innovation, we celebrate that history, we honor that history and every day we're also making history, making history as we launch Massachusetts 250. We're so fortunate to live in a place where we have the actual locations where all this history took place. We're going to be celebrating that as we head into 2026, America's 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, and not just here in Boston, but frankly, across the entire commonwealth, telling these historic stories and ensuring everybody can celebrate in our authentic history. The commonwealth is especially prideful of its rich history of American revolution lives and the city has carried these sentiments of historic figures into our everyday lives as Bostonians. We're attracting employers and talent with a culture that welcomes all families and defends our core freedoms. Our innovators are on the leading edge of cancer research, breakthroughs and AI and the fight to protect our planet and deliver a clean energy revolution. So from the shot heard around the world, to the Boston Marathon starting gun, to corner threes from our NBA champions of Boston Celtics, our city is still the center of the action we're making history is a matter of course. So with millions of eyes on us, as we host these celebrations and welcome the tall ships and the World Cup back to Boston, we have an opportunity to share our full story with the world. And starting now, I want all our residents and the entire commonwealth to know that the city of Boston, we are all in to support all these efforts and work with every single member of the state and all of the community members to make the most of this moment together. As climate change becomes more prevalent, environmental organizations are shifting to a more practical approach that allows everyone to contribute to saving our planet. Rare is an international nonprofit organization focused on social change for environmental conservation. This week, BNN was joined by Travis Niles, senior manager of US climate equity and electrification at Rare. With a background in clean energy and high performance building, Travis has been instrumental in developing the SHINE program, which focuses on bringing solar, jobs and renewable energy to underserved communities in greater Boston. We discussed how this initiative is helping low income neighborhoods benefit from the clean energy transition. At a very high level, our broad objective is to use the clean energy transition, which is happening around us right now when you see electric cars on the road, solar panels on roofs, to make that work for Americans who are being left behind, who are being forgotten by technological innovation or by investment. So we interpret that as we want to train people to work in the clean energy economy and to get priority access to the benefits of that clean energy economy. And we narrow that specifically to what are called environmental justice communities in Boston. So majority, minority, majority low income neighborhoods, places like Roxbury or Dorchester, places that have their own value in histories but have struggled relative to the rest of the city. So we serve them first and foremost in ways that help the environment and help them grow at the same time. And can you tell me about the specific strategy that SHINE has to increase access to solar energy to these economies? Yeah, absolutely. There's setting aside for a moment the participation in the workforce. You know, we want people from these areas who are generally underrepresented in the broader clean energy workforce in Massachusetts who want to give them access to that workforce as best we can. But we also want to help solar technology as our initial technology offering to benefit these particular communities. So we might say there's a neighborhood nonprofit that maybe runs a food bank or serve some other critical service in this community that needs more space in its budget. And so we might say like, can we match you with a rooftop solar installation, a large one that will offset some of your bills, help you bring your costs down and allow you to do more good things for the community so that we can show a straight line benefit from here's a thing that's good for the climate and good for all of you at the same time. When it comes to specific households, there's an option available in Massachusetts right now called community solar. It's a way that you, the person watching this, can subscribe to the output of a big solar farm. It's not super popular right now, but it's coming. And what that does is it lets that big solar farm, which is cheaper to build than a bunch of little ones, but to transfer some of the benefits from that big farm to that household. And so we've embraced that because it lets us say we can prioritize these solar projects that give more benefits to a low income household who maybe needs that benefit a little more than maybe you or I might need it. So no roof required, no credit check required, just the ability to create a subscription to a solar farm somewhere else. And then you receive the benefits of that project. - And the solar farms are in Massachusetts? - They are in Massachusetts, yes. Typically they've been situated in farmlands, open fields. We are espousing, putting them on the roofs of the communities, in the communities that we serve, and perhaps those non-profits that serve those people. So you can see that's mine. I have a portion of that. Or know that at least like I go to, I go to this community center or this food bank and they're doing something more for me in this way. Creates the sense of ownership, of participation in a way that just having someone knock on your door and offer it to you doesn't. - Absolutely. And how does shines approach to solar energy and job training different from other renewable energy programs? - That's a great question. I'd like to think it's sort of a two part, we've tried to look at this from a whole systems approach. So I can't just train you if there's no work for you to get into. And I can't just make more solar if there's no way to work on it. So we want to tackle both problems and then narrow that specifically for the benefit of these populations. But I think more importantly, we have a pervasive culture of compassion. Like doing unto others guides us all the way through. So it means we are, we're not just bringing you into class and feeding you information. It's really trying to get to know who you are, where you are in life and try to adjust things as necessary to give you the best chance of success. It's one thing to say, we need more clean energy and another way to say, we're going to try to make this work for you by meeting you where you are. - Absolutely. And a lot of these communities don't even know that they could have access to this sort of thing. - It's not something people spend a lot of time thinking about it. - Absolutely, absolutely. When people have other stuff in their mind especially. And so Shine is a new initiative. Who are some of the key partnerships that are involved? - Absolutely. I would be remiss if I didn't begin by sending some active thank yous to the funders who had made this possible at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, which has given us our starting capital to get going at a myriad of family foundations who I cannot name on television. But we are so grateful to their initial investment. But in terms of the people helping us make it happen on a day-to-day basis, we are very proud to be working with Action for Boston Community Development, which is a legacy institution here doing great work in human services and, you know, heating assistance and weatherization. But we're also able to work with a Boston-based, you know, employee-owned solar company called Resident Energy, who is helping us get out into communities, find nonprofit hosts who will be willing to put solar on the roofs and share those benefits with people. So we feel really good about a coalition of mission-aligned organizations who are excited to show up to work every day and do these things. - Absolutely, yeah. - That's awesome. Coming from all the different angles, right? Everybody's helping out. - Never a dull moment. But it's a good company. - I love that. And lastly, what are some of the long-term impact goals that you have for this shy initiative in terms of the impact it'll have on the community? - Absolutely. There's, you know, a couple of ways, there's the easy ways to think about it is like, did Rashawn have a job on Tuesday? Does he have one on Wednesday? Like, did you make that change happen? But then you can zoom out a bit too, and how did his life change as a result of that? Like, you know, by doing this, did we set him up for success or failure? Are his future earnings trending, you know, in an upward direction? Or are they staying flat? So like, we would want to measure not just, is this person working, but what does that mean for them in the long run? And that lets us understand, like, if you have a hundred people doing that, how is that community doing with those hundred people having these wages back in their communities? Are they spending that money here? It also lets us look at things like how much it benefits from these, if you'll recall, viewers, the shared solar, community solar projects, how much benefits, how many benefits did we transfer from a host to the various families who take some of the solar production and get credits on their bills? Because over time, that adds up, in aggregate, too quite a bit. There's a lot of interest from the state in seeing those kinds of results happen in the world. But also, our national government is deeply invested in that. They have catalyzed us to some degree as well with technical expertise through a great program called the Community Power Accelerator. Thank you National Renewal Energy Lab, nerd alert, to go out and say like, it's not enough to say I'm doing solar, like, count the benefits, tell the story, help people see a straight line from this thing that doesn't abstract good, like reducing CO2, with there's money in my pocket. This thing is really working for me, and it's doing this good thing, too. So we look at those things for sure. And along the way, we're going to think we'll reap the benefits of these sort of broader local cultural changes, like I thought, perhaps that participating in climate action was for someone else. Or, you know, hey, I didn't think my food bank or my local non-profit was in any way a climate organization, but hey, now I have solar on the roof. That's something we could do. And these guys helped us get in on that. They didn't do it for me, they even enabled me, and allowed me to participate in a way that I didn't think I could before. And so it's a macro story of human agency, of people finding a way to participate, a way that they understand and value. So I think that's how we would think about success. Awesome. And it seems like it's going to start this, hopefully, start this wave of every community knowing they have access to something like that. That's right. That's right. And so can you just tell us more about where viewers can find out more information, perhaps again, involved? Absolutely. If you go to your favorite web browser, small one, big one, wherever, and type in shinecoallition.org, you can find out who's involved in the group, where you can go to sign up if you're interested in joining our training program. The training program is no cost, thanks to our generous donors. You can also find out how to participate if you are a nonprofit or a solar business who wants to be part of this broader transition. You can join the coalition. We'll find a good way for you to help out in the way that really utilizes your skills. BNN wants to remind all of our viewers to register to vote for this year's elections. To register to vote or check if you're registered, go to vote.gov. That's V-O-T-E dot G-O-V. Thank you for watching Boston. That's our broadcast for tonight. As a reminder, you can stream or watch the news on demand@bnnmedia.org. Each episode will be re-broadcast at 9.30 p.m. and 11 p.m. on XFINITY CHANNEL 9 as down channel 15 and five channel 2161. And make sure to check out our BNN HD XFINITY CHANNEL 1072. You can also hear us on the radio's Friday at 7.30 and 9 p.m. and Monday through Thursday at 9 p.m. And now you can watch BNN News on the go with the cable chest app. For BNN News, I'm Natalie Kamler. I'll see you next Friday. (gentle music)