What does Boston / MA /New England mean to you?

[Elizabeth Lauren Mackie]

Hello fellow EGBs!

About a week ago I met with the 'Green Round-Table', the Mass Affiliates for the USGBC. By some time in July they have been asked to define what sustainability in MA means.

As young people just entering the field who live here, I think some of our input could help come to a productive answer. Beyond certifications, materials, daylighting, etc, there is something more that preserving MA & New England means to the people who live here.

For me, I love getting lost at the MFA, the Gardner, the North End, Boston Common, to look, to analyze, and so on. Or being in nature with my friends, family/dogs at Borderland, Blue Hills, or any of the many scattered lakes, ponds, and pieces of preserved land throughout the state.

Boston, MA- Why do we love it here? What things need to be changed, what needs to remain? What places would you miss the most and why?

Be real. Do not give the answer that you think everyone wants to hear. Those kind of answers stifle progress. You may secretly find solitude shopping or just walking on Newbury Street. You may hang out in the subway just to listen to that one musician who just has great rhythm.

When traveling if people ask me where I am from, I say "I am from MA" or just, "Boston", to keep things simple. For some reason, saying that has always automatically gained respect. This place is awesome, but even more so b/c each person has their own relationship with it. Share your unique relationship to this city, this state.

[Brian Ebel]

It's true, I love that dirty water. I grew up on the Charles River in a town nobody has been to. Millis. Ever been there? I thought not. (it's up the river about 30 miles). I love that. My parent's house is literally on the river bank. It is federally protected wetland. So it's an ecologist's dream. I would go outside for hours upon hours with my neighbors as kids. I've been canoeing on it on a few occasions. I have caught a fish once from a bridge, but felt bad when I had to pull the thing all the way up. When the Charles was frozen we would see how far we could go out. I'd never do that now! We would jump from tree to tree in the swamp. I went swimming once with my dad there, he said nobody swims in it. I was more afraid of turtles than of pollution at the time. But everyone respects the Charles River because in a way it stands for the environmental movement in the USA. It would be nice if some of the people from the world class institutions in Boston would acknowledge the existence of my town, or the efforts of those from there. To some the Charles is a place to be refined, on a crew team, to me it's my back yard. Lately the urban sprawl thing has been sprawling it's ugly sprawl on Millis and that really upsets me. By the way, there are some awesome old factories and brownfields in town that are just dying for renovation. So LEED APs, and non LEED APs get to work. My town's character is at stake! As for other random memories - Millis is one of the youngest towns in Massachusetts, I was in the centennial parade in 1985, I was on a float. But just because Millis was encorporated late, doesn't mean we don't have a ton of awesome New England history. There ARE other towns besides Concord & Boston & Plymouth who have rich history. One of the 10 oldest standing house in the USA is in Medfield just across the river from Millis, the Dwight Derby house. There would be more if King Phillip and his tribe didn't burn down the town, which I still think is the coolest history in this area that no one talks about. So there!