UMass Envirothon Collaborative

Project Leader: Will Snyder

Effective youth development enables young people to grow into competent, caring, capable, engaged, and well-informed citizens prepared to work and live in the 21st century. Key factors include nurturing relationships with adults and positive relationships with peers; and structured activities and the opportunity for community service and civic participation. Effective youth programs must also ensure inclusive environments for all youth, as well as opportunities for mastery and active participation in determining their futures.

This plan aims to address the following priorities in youth development:

Life Skills - Including communication skills, teamwork skills, and skills and attitudes for community service; Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math - including hands-on, real world experiences in community based settings; environmental Science and Stewardship - Including scientific knowledge, skills, and vlaues for stewardship of the environment and natural resources.

This project is part of the 4-H Program

Land Protection and Community Preservation

Project Leader: Robert Levite

Project Year: 2009

The extremely high population density and the dwindling natural resources of the Commonwealth demand that we look at new and better methods for developing land and growing our economy in ways that preserve the long term health and vitality of our, towns, communities and citizens.  To do this, we must design approaches and technologies that support sustainable growth.  The Land Protection and Community Preservation project encourages sustainable growth by providing the residents of the northern towns of the Quinebaug Shetucket watershed corridor with outreach, education and facilitation that will encourage capacity building and the consideration of land, water and sustainability issues in the day to day decision making processes of the towns and the region.

This project is a part of the Natural Resource & Environmental Conservation program

Fish, Wildlife & Biodiversity Conservation

Project Leader: Scott Jackson

Project Year: 2009

This plan is a part of the Natural Resource & Environmental Conservation program

Comprehensive Land Use Management

Project Leader: Glenn Garber

Currently in Massachusetts:

The Commonwealth has the distinction of being the only state that lost population in the 2000 US Census. It is the third most densely populated state in the nation, but still possesses significant areas containing viable forest blocks, natural resources systems and rural landscapes. However, due to the predominant home rule practice of zoning vast segments of the suburban and rural regions of the state for 1, 2 and 3 acre, single family home densities, the rate of land consumption for residential development is increasing, even when the population growth rate is flat.

Extension program related to this project: Natural Resource & Environmental Conservation

Citizen Planner Training Collaborative

Project Leader: Michael DiPasquale

Project Year: 2009

The vast majority of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts have volunteer planning boards and zoning boards of appeal. These boards have significant decision-making power over zoning, development, natural resource protection, and other important land use issues. With the complexity of changing state regulations and without dedicated professional staff, many board members struggle to stay informed of new developments, and the tools and techniques that can promote better decisions or avoid unnecessary or costly appeals.

The Citizen Planner Training Collaborative (CPTC) provides local planning and zoning officials with up-to-date learning tools to make effective decisions regarding their communities' current and future land use. CPTC offers a series of Fall Workshops, an annual Spring Conference and On-Demand Training. Information is also delivered through the CPTC website, and a through and an innovative web-technology (webinars) that allows users to participate in distance learning programs. The Citizen Planner Training Collaborative (CPTC) is the only comprehensive training option targeted specifically to the citizens (mostly volunteers) that serve on boards in the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts.

This project is a part of the Natural Resource & Environmental Conservation program