While QCAN normally focuses on local climate action and does not endorse political candidates, we were moved to officially put our support behind the Fair Share Amendment that will be on the ballot as Question #1 in the upcoming Massachusetts election. That’s because, if this amendment passes, it will create money to help support our public transportation system and electrify our city buses. And if more people utilized public transportation – if our transit system was better funded and more reliable so more people could and would use it more often – there would be fewer cars on the road, less fossil fuels burning, less air pollution from combustion engines. Good for the environment, good for slowing down climate change, good for our overall health. 

So what is the Fair Share Amendment, exactly?

The Fair Share Amendment “would create a 4% tax on the portion of a person’s annual income above $1 million and require – in the state constitution – that the funds be spent only on transportation and public education.” This would generate an estimated $2 billion in additional revenue each year to invest in better public schools and universities, safer bridges, and more reliable public transportation. To ensure that this additional tax continues to apply only to the commonwealth’s highest-income taxpayers, the $1 millon income threshold will be adjusted annually to reflect any increases in the cost of living.

On any given day, during all seasons, Quincy residents enjoy Forbes Hill Park, located adjacent to the Furnace Brook Golf Course at 20 Reservoir Road. The park includes a large, open, grassy field that was once the site of a rectilinear reservoir carved out of the hilltop. Adjacent to the reservoir, a granite-clad water tower, called a “standpipe,” once served as a drinking water reserve for the City of Quincy. The facility was in operation until the mid-1950s, when the reservoir was filled in, the water tower was closed, and the site was deeded to the City of Quincy for park and recreational use. In 1990, the water tower was placed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its historic significance and beauty.

Over the last 65 years, city residents have used the park continuously for a variety of unscheduled and passive recreational activities, including baseball, tennis, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, tai chi, picnicking, dog walking, pick-up games, and more. Dubbed “Princess Park” by neighborhood families, it is well-loved for its expanse of open green space and the beauty of its thick buffer of tall trees, many of which are a century old. It is the primary neighborhood park within walking distance for  residents in the Wollaston Hill and Forbes Hill neighborhoods, who consider it a much-needed respite from the increasingly congested streets of Quincy.

And yet, the park’s condition has suffered from years of neglect. The popular tennis and basketball courts are in need of maintenance. The urban forest that buffers the park’s perimeter is in decline, and the trees are being choked by invasive weeds and vines. Remnants of the concrete liner from the reservoir were left buried under the open field surface, causing poor storm water drainage of the fields impacting the neighbors to the north and south of the hill. The fields are often muddy due to poor drainage. The park is in desperate need of restoration to bring it back to its natural beauty. 

In early March 2022, the city put forth conceptual plans to renovate the Furnace Brook Golf Course adjacent to Forbes Hill Park. The proposed changes included expanding the surface golf course parking lot into the park, displacing 10,000 square feet of open space, and the removal of over 50 century-old trees on the park’s southern border.

QCAN was started 10 years ago by concerned citizens who recognized that we could not wait for others to fight bad climate policies and practices in Quincy. The climate emergency is global, but many of the solutions are local. Over the years, our all-volunteer organization has:

• convinced the city to hire a qualified energy manager, resulting in substantial reductions of energy use;
• successfully lobbied the city to install two megawatts of solar panels on 14 city-owned buildings;
• helped the city secure several Solarize Mass grants and provided most of the volunteer hours to get more than 600 kilowatts of solar energy under contract;
• successfully lobbied the city to apply for green municipal aggregation, which will likely reduce residents’ electricity costs even as it increases the share of renewable energy in our grid; 
• advocated for and participated in the mayor’s task force on curbside food waste pickup;
• organized the first Quincy Environmental Fair with regional partner organizations and participated in numerous other community events;
• partnered with the library to host dozens of film screenings and presentations on composting, heat pumps, fracking, and other subjects.

For our 10-year anniversary, we were honored to receive a proclamation from Quincy’s City Council on September 19. Councillor Mahoney, who always answers QCAN’s call when we need the ear of our city’s leadership, gave a moving speech that reminded those present of the various initiatives we have worked on over the years. It was a wonderful moment for QCAN.

This summer, QCAN was involved in a number of summer events: Cleaner, Greener Quincy, QPride Day, and the August Moon Festival.

At Cleaner, Greener, QCAN members helped clean up trash in the salt marsh along Fenno Street and near Beechwood Knoll Elementary School. 

At both QPride Day and August Moon, QCAN shared a table with our good friends from the Quincy Tree Alliance. We talked to Quincy residents at these events about climate change issues in our city, gave away our newly designed, eco-friendly bookmarks (soy-based ink on 100% recycled paper), and raffled off tickets for a three-month gift card to Black Earth Composting, a curbside composting service. Our winner was Quincy resident Joanna Post. Congratulations, Joanna!

QYouth Climate Movement, QCAN’s youth chapter, organized a clothing swap at Quincy High School on May 15. The event was a lot of fun and provided gently used clothing to teens who can use it, diverted many pounds of waste from Quincy’s trash stream, and helped spread the message that fast fashion is bad for the planet. (Everyone loves a new sweater, but the fashion industry is responsible for up to 10% of global carbon emissions — so trading outfits to extend the wearable lifespan of those garments can help reduce that fashion footprint.)

Thank you to the participants, volunteers, and QYouth members that made this event a huge success! QYouth meets at the Thomas Crane Main Library at 3:30pm on the third Thursday of each month. More info is available on their Instagram.