All individuals on the ACES team are working in service to the planet by supporting the programs of our allies and encouraging others to join us as stewards of our environment.
The world is facing climate and environmental crises. Respecting the axiom “Think Globally, Work Locally, Act Personally,” ACES recognizes the need to unite the efforts of individuals and organizations working to address these challenges. Independently, much can be and has been achieved; however, we believe that by forming alliances to promote initiatives that support our common aims, a significantly greater impact will result.
The Alliance was formed in 2018 to address this need and to create a model for the Greater Newburyport area with aspirations to broaden our reach. After establishing a Board of Directors, the first action by ACES was the development of a three year alignment plan. In addition to a number of thriving climate and environmental stewardship organizations in the area, the City of Newburyport has sustainability embedded in its master plan and municipal operations.
Our initiatives have fostered an understanding of the potential for collaboration among participating Allies, garnering acknowledgment of their importance by municipal authorities, state legislators, school administrators, and community members. This work has established a solid foundation for additional opportunities for increased collaboration in the future.
ACES’ first collaborative effort was the establishment of a “Spring Clean-up Campaign” in 2018, which promoted the scheduled clean-up events of over fifteen organizations. On the heels of that success, similar clean-up campaigns followed in Fall 2018 and Spring 2019. In addition, ACES has coordinated an ongoing guest opinion column in partnership with our local newspaper, for which a wide variety of environmental organizations have written compelling pieces. ACES supported over twenty-five organizations’ participation in a “Green Expo” held in April 2019, and served as a catalyst in the development and promotion of a “Coalition for a Healthy Merrimack River.”