Overview
Douglas is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the central part of the state. They have a population of 9,241 people and an area of 36.4 square miles. Climate hazards present in Douglas include inland flooding, drought, wildfires, severe winter storms, and other severe weather.
Douglas 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.
Douglas' Community Liaisons includes representation from:
- Spanish speaking, Filipino population
- Public Health nurse with connections to first generation immigrant experiences (Polish residents)
- Youth population, experiences of medically vulnerable residents
Community Resilience Priorities
Community resilience priorities are practical actions created during the MVP 2.0 Planning Grant process. They were shaped through community input, thoughtful discussion about changing local needs, and feedback from Environmental Justice groups and other community members.
Douglas, in partnership with their Core Team, identified the following priorities through the MVP 2.0 process.
| Priorities | Potential Actions | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Priority 1: Improve access to broadband internet. | 
| Potential Actions: To be determined. | |
| Priority 2: Improving recreation opportunities in the town, especially downtown and vulnerable neighborhoods. | 
| Potential Actions: Create community gardens for recreation opportunities and to improve food security. | |
| Priority 3: Increase number of safe and affordable housing units. | 
| Potential Actions: To be determined. | |
| Priority 4: Prevent power outages due to severe weather events. | 
| Potential Actions: To be determined. | |
| Priority 5: Improve transportation access & mobility. | 
| Potential Actions: Assessing road conditions. Replacing North Street Bridge. Replacing the culvert on Wallis St. | |
| Priority 6: Addressing EEE risk through invasives management and education. | 
| Potential Actions: To be determined. | |
| Priority 7: Managing brush for fire safety. | 
| Potential Actions: To be determined. | |
| Priority 8: Continue work on tree inventory and tree maintenance. | 
| Potential Actions: To be determined. | |
Douglas' MVP 2.0 Seed Project: Resilience Park
Douglas received funding to implement a Seed Project that addresses one or more of their climate resilience priorities.
The town of Douglas seeks to create a resilience park to improve access to recreational space for underserved communities. This park will be designed to provide space for community recreation, gathering, and programming as well as act as a cooling space.
The activities of this project include:
- Assess feasibility of identified project site through review of land ownership and zoning, environmental and engineering assessments, regulatory and permitting compliance and determination of alignment with municipal priorities and community needs.
- Modification of public space through removal of pavement.
- Sustainment of community involvement through kick off events, partnership with schools, youth groups and seniors.
- Development of protocols for maintenance and use.