Ashfield MVP Action Grant: Living Culture and Rural Climate Resilience

Project Summary

The Town of Ashfield, Double Edge Theater, Ohketeau Cultural Center, and other community partners explored how Ashfield could be a hub for regional rural resilience, starting with concrete collaborative action around three Focus Areas: 1) Expansion of clean and resilient energy; 2) Integration of nature-based climate solutions; and 3) Development of resilient, energy-efficient affordable housing. To explore these focus areas, the project team hosted a series of engagement events and activities, including community dinners and listening sessions, site tours, and a town-wide Community Resilience Day. Through these activities, this project facilitated new pathways for collaboration, mutual learning, and resource-sharing between community partners, with the ultimate goal of building relationships and community capacity for equitable resilience planning.

Ashfield is a rural community of approximately 1,700 residents with a long agricultural history and abundant natural beauty. Located in the Hilltowns of Western Massachusetts on Nipmuc land, the community has experienced demographic shifts toward an older population. The economic viability of farming and other land-based livelihoods face increasing challenges from a broad range of factors including rising land values and housing costs, development pressures, pests and invasive species, and climate change. 

Grant Details

• Year: FY25
• Project Type: Type 1: Planning, Assessments, Capacity Building, and Regulatory Updates
• MVP Region: Berkshires & Hilltowns
• Grant Amount: $166,000
• Municipal Lead: Town Administrator

MVP Core Principles 

While this project addressed multiple MVP Core Principles, it primarily focused on:

1. Building community capacity for climate resilience
2. Conducting robust community engagement and supporting strong EJ partnerships
3. Achieving broad and multiple community benefits

• Ashfield Energy Committee collaborated on a site tour and supported community participation in the project.
• Double Edge Theatre facilitated community dinners, site tours and Community Resilience Day events and coordinated involvement of the Mohawk Trail Regional School youth liaisons.
• Ohketeau Cultural Center ensured project planning and deliverables reflected local Indigenous values, voices, and perspectives.
• UMass Arts Extension Service documented the project in detail.
• Culture Climate Strategy and Collaborate Climate provided planning, project management, and strategic support.

Project partner Double Edge Theatre is an ensemble-based theater collective and a major local employer with over 40 full-time staff, and project partner Ohketeau Cultural Center is an Indigenous cultural center based in Ashfield that serves all of Central and Western Massachusetts. Both organizations serve and support local Environmental Justice populations. The presence of these two arts and cultural nonprofits contributes to the diversity of Ashfield’s community and attracts thousands of visitors to the town annually.