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To: Bluedot Living
From: Morgen Schroeder, Martha’s Vineyard Commission
Subject: Climate Resilience in Action, Vineyard Style
If you're an avid reader of Bluedot Living MV, you may have noticed exciting things happening across Martha's Vineyard. Community members are showing up to advocate for food waste solutions, unique native habitats, healthy ponds, improved community emergency response, and resilient infrastructure. At the same time, community groups are offering assistance for solar and batteries, urine diversion, resilient workforce, tick disease solutions, regenerative agriculture, and ecological landscaping. These are real examples of climate action, and there is even more happening than you might think.
The framework that supports this work is The Vineyard Way, Martha's Vineyard's comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CAP). Developed with input from all six Island towns, the Wampanoag Tribe, and more than 100 Island residents, the CAP is a detailed, equity-centered roadmap for getting the Island to a more resilient future by 2040. It covers six thematic areas, including natural resources, infrastructure, public health, economic resilience, food security, and energy transformation, and outlines more than 190 specific actions for how we get there together. This is not a vague aspiration. This is our plan.
But a plan only works if people engage with it, and that is where you come in.
Start at our Website
Our newly renovated website at thevineyardway.org is designed to be your hub for all things climate action. You can explore the six thematic areas and see which actions are in progress. The “News and Updates” section keeps you current on what is happening across the Island. The “Get Involved” section provides resources and tools like Plant Local MV and the Food Forest Toolkit. Our website brings the CAP to life as a living document — continually evolving and actively used, not a static plan that sits on a shelf.
Follow Along on Social
Our Instagram and Facebook channels are where we share upcoming events hosted by community partners, amplify the advocacy work carried out by Island organizations, and spotlight actions big and small that are adding up to real change. Follow us, engage with our posts, share what resonates with you, and help spread the word. Every share reaches someone who might not yet know that this work is happening or that they can be part of it.
Find Your Entry Point
One of the best things about a plan with 190-plus actions is that there is genuinely something for everyone. Not sure where to start? Here are a few ideas:
- Join a town committee. All Island towns have energy and climate committees that welcome engaged residents. Reach out to the committees and let them know that you would like to learn about their work or even get involved yourself.
- Support an Island nonprofit. Organizations like Vineyard Power, Island Grown Initiative, the Vineyard Conservation Society, ACE MV, and so many others are doing hands-on work every day. Donating, volunteering, or contributing in your own way to their efforts makes a difference.
- Participate in monthly climate meetings. The MV Commission’s Climate Resilience Planner hosts two public meetings each month focused on climate resilience. One brings together climate committee chairs from all towns on the second Friday of each month — an opportunity to learn about ongoing resilience efforts. The other meets on the third Wednesday with food waste and compost advocates to collaborate on food waste solutions and minimize solid waste shipment off-Island.
- Attend a community event. Our community partners host talks, walks, workshops, and forums throughout the year. These gatherings are where ideas turn into action and where you connect with the people doing real work.
Celebrate Our Connections to Each Other
Climate action can feel overwhelming, but there is so much to celebrate here. The Vineyard Way exists because this community demanded it. The fact that hundreds of residents showed up to help shape it demonstrates an eagerness to act. Every solar panel installed, every native flora and fauna cherished, every town bylaw updated, and every young person who grows up knowing what a healthy pond looks like is worthy of celebration.
The Vineyard Way is not just a document. It is a commitment to the Island we want to become. We invite you to be part of it.
Visit our website, follow us on Instagram and Facebook, and reach out to us to stay connected
