Chesterfield Overview
Chesterfield is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, in the upper Western part of the state. They have a population of 1,178 people and an area of 30.9 square miles. Climate hazards present in Chesterfield include extreme temperatures, severe weather, drought, and inland flooding.
Chesterfield's MVP 2.0 Core Team
The MVP 2.0 Core team is a group of municipal staff and Community Liaisons who work together to identify local climate resilience priorities and implement a project that supports those priorities. Chesterfield's Community Liaisons include a member of the elder community, a lower income resident who is a renter, a parent of school-aged children, and an individual with a disability. Their Core Teams municipal representation includes individuals from the Emergency Preparedness Committee and the Select Board.
Chesterfield's MVP 2.0 Seed Project: The Chesterfield Center for Climate Change Management
Chesterfield received funding to implement a Seed Project that addresses one or more of their climate resilience priorities.
Chesterfield expanded the capacity of their existing Community Center to serve as a resource during extreme weather events. Given the amenities that the Center already provided, such as serving as a community meeting and activity space, as well as a cooling and food distribution center, Chesterfield plans to leverage the use of this space to support its residents during emergencies. This project includes assessing the availability of and volume of clean water during emergencies for improvement, identifying alternate energy systems such as a solar array for the Center, as well as strengthening community engagement through climate education.
The activities of this project include:
- Design a collaborative relationship between project, Community Center and Grange organization staff.
- Identify power and water consultants as well as climate education professionals.
- Define relationships between Emergency Services, Select Board, Board of Health, and Building Inspector.
- Offer supportive events for knowledge distribution.
Chesterfield's Action Grant Projects
The MVP Action Grant offers financial resources to communities that are seeking to advance priority climate adaptation actions to address climate change impacts resulting from extreme weather, sea level rise, inland and coastal flooding, severe heat, and other climate impacts. Find more details on completed projects here.
Building Assessment FY24
Chesterfields FY24 MVP Action Grant seeks to assess 6 town-owned properties for existing building conditions and will engage experts to make recommendations for future use relative to their climate resiliency. This project will also include developing a database for communication and information sharing on climate resilience.