What is CAN?

CAN is an association of island and Blue Hill Peninsula neighbors who accept the consensus of our climate scientists that we are in a climate emergency and advocate for science-based climate policy.

 Our commitment is to keep climate concerns at the forefront of local public conversations, be they town meetings, church social justice groups, schools, civic meetings or informal social gatherings.

 Every effort is being made for CAN to be of an inter-generational nature. How grateful we are for our CAN high school and college climate interns!

What is CAN’s mission?

CAN is dedicated to addressing the climate emergency through local solutions that improve the health, resilience and well-being of our community. In order to accomplish this, CAN sets as its goal the unleashing of the community's imagination and creativity.

What is CAN’s history?

CAN’s roots are in the ecological initiative of Reversing Falls Sanctuary (RFS) which remains its fiscal sponsor. More than a decade ago (primarily through the efforts of Ralph Chapman and Rob Shetterly), RFS convened the Shelter Energy Livelihood Food or SELF Conference, which focused on local resilience.

This was followed by a series on the Transition Town model of community sustainability, which, in turn, was followed by a six-part symposium on climate change (now labeled climate crisis or emergency), titled Caring for the Earth.

CAN has offered many climate presentations and conducted several climate actions over the years in response to the climate emergency. In addition to the programs noted above the major events include:

How is CAN structured?

The CAN Council, Coordinator, and the ongoing youth Climate Empowerment Project, involving CAN High School Climate Interns, are the primary units of CAN. The interactions among these units generate climate-action projects such as those listed above.

The projects often require a large number of volunteers, many of who come from the Reversing Falls Sanctuary (RFS) community. One such project, The Climate Convergence Conference was only possible because 70+ volunteers participated in its production.

The WindowDresser builds also gathered close to 100 volunteers: some participating in the fabrication of the window inserts, some bringing breakfast and lunch each day of the build, and some providing live music.

How does it function?

CAN is a project-based community climate organization. Its projects are guided by its mission and informed by the talents and expertise of its members.

Saturday noon ralliers in Blue Hill also help shape CAN's activities and direction.

An important operational aspect of CAN is its outreach. This includes its website, presence on the RFS Blog, and frequent notices in the local media and large mailing e-list.