Overview
Sutton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the central part of the state. They have a population of 9,436 people and an area of 32.4 square miles. Climate hazards present in Sutton include inland flooding, severe winter storms, drought, wildfires, other severe weather, hurricanes/tropical storms, and tornadoes.
Sutton 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.
Sutton's Community Liaisons includes representation from:
- Youth
- Residents with limited internet access
- LGBTQ youth
- Job insecure and unemployed folks
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.
Sutton, in partnership with their Core Team, identified the following priorities through the MVP 2.0 process.
| Priorities | Potential Actions | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Priority 1: Design a better communication system that will inform and educate the community about imminent weather and other emergency events. Also create a program to educate and build capacity within the community. | 
| Potential Actions: To be determined. | |
| Priority 2: Create management plan for invasive species. | 
| Potential Actions: To be determined. | |
| Priority 3: Improve community capacity to withstand heat and drought events: create accessible cooling shelters for vulnerable groups, mitigate heat in heat islands | 
| Potential Actions: To be determined. | |
| Priority 4: Create greater internet accessibility for all its residents. | 
| Potential Actions: To be determined. | |
| Priority 5: Trees - Inventory, pruning & removal of hazard trees, education, policies for salting and dealing with invasive species and insect damage. | 
| Potential Actions: To be determined. | |
| Priority 6: Dam/Culvert Repair & Maintenance - Evaluate dams and culverts to identify repair and maintenance and seek funding | 
| Potential Actions: | |
Sutton's MVP 2.0 Seed Project: Community Garden
Sutton received funding to implement a Seed Project that addresses one or more of their climate resilience priorities.
The address food insecurity, the Town of Sutton plans on establishing a community garden at their Senior Center. The Senior Center, which hosts a pantry, would receive produce from the community garden, benefiting the individuals that rely on the food pantry by providing them with fresh food options. Sutton plans on partnering with a local school, service organizations, and the Senior Center to build community ownership and involvement in the garden. The community garden would also provide space for physical activity, educational opportunities, and intergenerational programming
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 building of garden beds and water access.
- Sustainment of community involvement through kick off events, partnership with schools, youth groups and seniors.
- Development of community workshops on gardening.
Sutton's Action Grant Projects
The MVP Action Grant provides funding to communities that want to take important steps to prepare for climate change, such as dealing with extreme weather, flooding, rising sea levels, and extreme heat.
Manchaug Village Water Resource Resiliency Action Plan (FY23)
This project consists of a hydraulic/hydrologic study of Manchaug Village man-made and natural water systems. It included extensive community input to develop an inventory of vulnerabilities and create an action plan for improvements.
