Grants will protect people, communities manage heat and flooding

Governor Healey’s announcement of $52.4 million in FY2025 Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grants included just over $12 million in funding for community-designed projects to prevent harm to residents, workers, and resources in Resilient Mystic Collaborative (RMC) cities and towns.

Convened by ten Mystic watershed communities and the Mystic River Watershed Association in September 2018 and now led by senior staff from twenty cities and towns and non-governmental partners, the RMC designs and completes on-the-ground projects to protect our most vulnerable residents and public services from harm due to increasingly extreme weather.

“The MVP program connects local leaders with state resources to protect our most vulnerable communities from extreme weather,” said EOEEA Secretary Rebecca Tepper. “The Resilient Mystic Collaborative exemplifies regional teamwork, demonstrating how collective efforts can drive climate adaptation. We are proud to fund critical initiatives such as flood management, resilient community centers, and forest health. We’re proud to award the most funds in MVP history to such a strong set of projects.”

These MVP grants bring the total resources secured for RMC climate resilient projects to nearly $140 million in state, federal, and foundation grants since the voluntary partnership began. “What is extraordinary is that about three quarters of all the funding we’ve secured are for regional projects,” said Mystic River Watershed Association’s Julie Wormser, who helps facilitate the RMC.  “These are critical investments that communities can’t accomplish without partnering with their neighbors.”  Multiple FY2025 MVP grants build on the accomplishments of prior successful proposals.

“What our communities are accomplishing together is nothing short of miraculous,” said Patrick Herron, Executive Director of the Mystic River Watershed Association.  “Extreme weather mocks municipal boundaries. Municipal staff and local non-profits are pulling together to protect people and infrastructure at the scale of the challenge.” 

An emerging goal for Mystic communities has been to reinforce critical facilities that serve priority populations—residents and workers disproportionately affected by extreme weather. Medford and Somerville are working regionally to develop a network of resilient community centers that can provide on-going public services (e.g., afterschool programs and food pantries) while providing food and shelter during heat waves and extreme storms.

“We are so grateful for this $746,580 MVP grant award and want to thank the Healey Administration for their continued commitment to climate resilience,” said MaryAnn O’Connor, Medford Public Health Director. “This funding will allow us to continue our efforts to build a resilient Medford and ensure that all of our residents are prepared for future climate events.”

“Individual communities are learning what it takes to make better resilient community centers,” said Emily Sullivan, Somerville’s Climate Change Program Manager.  “This $310,100 grant will help us work with the people we most seek to serve in establishing a regional network of welcoming, accessible safe havens that people will want to go to.”

“With one of the hottest summers on record we’re excited to continue to advance local and regional preparedness for extreme heat in the lower Mystic” said Sasha Shyduroff, Principal Planner with MAPC. “This $490,813 grant will fund critical partnerships between municipalities, public health, and community-based organizations to develop culturally relevant communications and strategies to talk about extreme heat.”

RMC communities are also increasingly investing in healthy open space and urban trees.  Cambridge is sponsoring a regional grant to increase forest health across the Mystic Watershed and Medford is drawing up a resilient urban forest plan. Watertown, Everett, Arlington, Chelsea, and Malden secured funds for community-designed public cooling solutions. 

“The Mystic River Watershed is the most urbanized watershed in New England,” said Jim Wilcox, Cambridge City Engineer. “This $276,800 grant will allow us to create a watershed-wide map of areas of high- and low-tree mortality risks so we can plant most trees where they’ll grow well and give others extra TLC to improve their chances at reaching maturity.”

FY2025 MVP Action Grants Secured by Resilient Mystic Collaborative Municipalities