Wayland Climate Action Group May Get Boost In State Budget

WAYLAND, MA — A Wayland organization that helps local residents take steps toward alleviating climate change may get a boost in the state's pending fiscal 2024 budget.

State Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Marlborough, included a $100,000 earmark in the 2024 budget for MassEnergize, a Concord-based organization that helps local households take climate change action. A MassEnergize affiliate, Energize Wayland, would benefit from the funding boost.

Energize Wayland has a 2023 goal of taking 5,000 local actions toward alleviating climate change. On the Energize Wayland website, residents can sign up to take steps toward that goal like installing rain barrels, completing a home energy assessment or finding ways to shop for local produce and meats.

"By providing a new platform that gives us opportunities to combat climate change at a community and household level, we can make a meaningful difference by starting small and scaling up," Eldridge said in a news release.

The funding for the local program was passed in May as part of the Senate's $56 billion budget. However, the larger state budget is still being worked out on Beacon Hill in closed-door negotiations between state House and Senate budget leaders. The state Legislature hasn't completed a budget by the standard June 30 deadline in 13 years.