At a hearing last week, State Sen. Mike Barrett urged fellow lawmakers to invest in a new Urban Sustainability Center in Waltham. “Across my district there’s a strong interest in community farming and environmental sustainability,” Barrett says. “This center would be an investment in both.”
Located 10 miles from Boston at 240 Beaver Street, the proposal seeks to transform 58 acres of open space owned by UMass-Amherst into a hub of agricultural research, public-private collaboration and community farming.
The site would feature a 20,000 square foot energy-efficient building. It would bring together educators, agricultural groups, businesses and start-ups in the agriculture and landscape sustainability fields.
“There’s an opportunity here to create tons of public-private partnerships,” says Barrett, who represents nine communities including Waltham. “My district has lots of community and family farms, nurseries, local markets and environmental stewardship groups nearby.”
The center would serve as a resource for those interested in learning best practices in urban and suburban sustainability, ranging from businesses that process and sell food in cities to community groups operating roof top gardens. UMass officials are also aiming to hold youth and adult trainings.
Supporters include the Massachusetts 4-H Foundation and the Mass. Audubon Society, as well as local organizations such as Waltham Fields Community Farm and the Waltham Land Trust, among others. The groups are seeking $20 million in the environmental bond bill before the Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture. UMass also plans to bring in private partners to help finance the project.
Barrett, Senate Vice Chair of the Committee on Labor and Workforce Development, points to a 2009 study by the New England Nursery Association estimating that environmental horticulture -- a field that includes the production of nurseries and turf grass; florists; lawn care and landscaping -- adds $2.6 billion in gross income to the state economy while providing at least 68,000 jobs.
According to the Center for Agriculture at UMass-Amherst there are 7,721 farms around the state -- 700 in Middlesex County. There are more than 240 farmers markets statewide, including several in Barrett’s district. Barrett, a self-proclaimed lover of farmers markets adds, “The center harkens back to community farming of a century ago, but adds the twist of modern sustainability research and development.”
