Collaborating with Others

From our beginning more than 30 years ago, collaborating with others - especially volunteers - has enabled us to accomplish as much as we have. Whether it was promoting recycling and composting during Founders Weekend (starting in 2013) or picking up litter along our roads (starting in 2016), volunteers - residents as well as owners and employees of local businesses, have made HUGE contributions. Without them, we'd be sorely limited in what we could do.

Over time, as our scope expanded, we've partnered with many other entities - some on a one-time basis but most on an ongoing basis. We value each of these relationships and greatly appreciate the time and effort invested in joint projects as well as our Committee's priorities. We provide examples below. While the descriptions are somewhat long, they reveal the breadth of our cooperation and collaboration with others. If you're interested in exploring how we might partner with you, please contact us (click on Peter Hofman or Valerie Bluhm's name at the bottom of our Committee's landing page). 

Local Partners 

  • Lee Land Trust: Long-time member Joan Angelo also belongs to the Lee Land Trust and is a natural liaison. We've shared display space at the Post Office and exhibit space at the Farmers Market. LLT Chair Linda Cysz has offered expert advice and support regarding sensitive areas in town and guidance on tool acquisition. Linda has also participated with us in two Learning Events held last winter - one on food waste and composting and the other on invasives and natives species. She's also provided content for an upcoming article on food waste and composting. During our service days, we've worked with Linda removing invasives from the Golden Hill Town Forest and we expect to help the LLT with trail maintenance on their properties.
  • Lee Chamber of Commerce: The Chamber has been a strong ally in helping us reduce (and ultimately eliminate) trash during Founders Weekend, offering support in multiple ways. Chamber Directors have provided guidance and resources for special activities, such as our delayed 50th Earth Day Anniversary event in the Park. We collaborate with the Chamber in helping to maintain the gardens near its Main Street information booth. And we were most grateful when the Chamber honored the Committee as its Volunteer of the Year inn 2016!
  • Lee Lions Club: Not only have Club members participated in our annual service days - either picking up litter or maintaining the gardens near the Mass Turnpike Lee exit, but for several years, they have carried out a program to pick up holidays greens and bring them to the goats at the Monte Vista Farm on East Street. 
  • Lee Public Schools: We've worked with Lee school leaders for years - they've included roadside cleanups as an activity during their Community Service Days, and have helped publicize key initiatives around recycling, composting, and more. We devoted a service day to the gardens at Lee Elementary School and recently participated in and supported the Climate Science Fair. The District has included a link to our section of the Town's website as well as to MASS DEP's recycling guides (in different languages). And we're also covering the cost of the compost service handling separated food waste. 
  • Meadow Farm: From our first attempts in 2013 to divert waste generated during Founders Weekend to recycling and composting, Meadow Farm's owner, Tom Tuponce has brought a roll off to downtown and processed everything we've collected. Without this support, we couldn't strive for zero trash during this annual event! Then, in 2017, in partnership with the Committee, Meadow Farm placed a hopper outside its gate to enable Lee residents to drop off food waste 24/7/365. Now, with Tommy's Compost as another partner, Meadow Farm constructed a shed outside its gate to continue offering this valuable free service to Lee residents. Tom also let us use one his flatbed trailers for a joint float with CIP students about composting for the Founders Weekend parade in 2018.
  • Daley & Sons/Casella: From our first efforts to reduce trash during Founders Weekend, the companies - first Daley & Sons, then Casella - have provided a large number of bins and covered all the processing costs for handling the trash and recyclables we gathered. The companies have supported our roadside cleanup efforts over the years by providing vehicles/containers and processing what we collected. Their contributions have been instrumental in the success of these two major initiatives.
  • College Internship Program (CIP): Over the years we've partnered with CIP students in carrying out diverse activities - from the Founders Weekend float cited above, to promoting greener holidays, and participating in our roadside cleanups. One student attended meetings and supported our efforts to reduce plastics through the bylaws adopted in 2016. 
  • Big Y: The store's managers have consistently provided financial support for our annual service day. Since 2017, they have also worked to remind shoppers to bring reusable bags with them. It also offers plastic bag recycling (including a wide range of bags) and ensures any leftover holiday greens do not go into the trash. More recently, employees have volunteered to help during our annual service day and during Founders Weekend. 
  • Other local businesses and organizations have supported our annual service day either by providing food for the volunteers (the Locker Room and 51 Park) or employee volunteers (Oak 'n Spruce, Old Navy, The Landing at Laurel Lake, and Kiwanis)

Regional Partners

  • The Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT), Sheffield Saves, and the Egremont Green Team: We've collaborated on an effort to encourage Big Y to be even more sustainable than it is, by encouraging plastics reduction in different departments, promoting reusable produce bags and plastic bag recycling, and more. We've also supported the organizations individually. For example, we participated in BEAT's effort to convert peak power plants in Lee and Pittsfield currently burning kerosene to switch to battery storage. We also participated in a cleanup of a portion of the Housatonic River with BEAT and the Housatonic Valley Association. We've started discussions with BEAT about supporting its effort to promote composting and recycling during Pittsfield's First Friday events. Committee members have participated in Sheffield's repair cafes, and recently helped with an event promoting plastics awareness. We've also compared notes and shared initiatives with representatives of the Sheffield and Egremont groups. And Sheffield Saves Chair, Stephanie Blumenthal supported our efforts advocating for the plastic reductions by-laws in 2015-2016.
  • The Mass Green Network: The Network is primarily a LISTSERV of hundreds of people in Massachusetts and nearby states. Contacts made through the Network were instrumental in our effort to reduce single use plastics and install water bottle filling stations downtown. Postings also provide useful information on pending state legislation and other environmental issues and initiatives. Based upon our experience, Committee Chair Peter Hofman has provided assistance through the Network to communities in Massachusetts and other states that wanted to reduce single use plastics. He also served on the planning team for a statewide conference to address plastics issues.

Sharing our Expertise, Resources, and More

Over the years, we have shared our expertise at reducing trash during big events,. as well as our resources (signs, bins, etc.), and even on-site volunteers to help other organizations divert compostables and recyclables from the trash. The list includes Berkshire Botanical Gardens (which in exchange, provided volunteers to help us during Founders Weekend) and the Relay for Life. More recently, as noted above, we've started to help BEAT as it works to reduce trash during Pittsfield's First Friday events.