With $42.2 million of federal stimulus money soon to be allocated throughout the Bay State for environmentally-friendly projects, renewable energy is fast becoming a hip concept in the state, but for the Boston Area Renewable Energy Supporters, energy efficiency has always been "cool."
By Gus Shlimbaum
With $42.2 million of federal stimulus money soon to be allocated throughout the Bay State for environmentally-friendly projects, renewable energy is fast becoming a hip concept in the state. However, for one Boston-area group, energy efficiency has always been "cool."
For the past three years, a "meet-up" group known as the Boston Area Renewable Energy Supporters has been getting together at least once a month to discuss what's happening in the world of renewable energy in Massachusetts. While the meetings are very casual and rarely have a specific agenda, they usually consist of about 20 to 30 passionate, green-minded people, creating a dialogue for how they can contribute to the renewable energy cause, said organizer Joshua Dobbelaar, a 37-year-old software developer from Winchester.
"There are so many great (renewable energy) organizations in the Boston area that are competing for the attention of people who are interested," Dobbelaar said, "but I like to use our venue as a place for people to find out about projects that are available, and help them connect with something that they can engage in actively."
Dobbelaar started the group in January 2006, when he stumbled upon a dormant renewable energy meet-up group on the website meetup.com. Seeing that there were others in the area interested in sharing ideas about clean energy, he took it upon himself to take over the group. Since becoming organizer, Dobbelaar said membership has been "steadily rising." The group boasts more than 400 members.
"I had always been interested in alternative energy and environmental solutions for a long time, and I wasn't working in the field, but still wanted to get involved somehow," Dobbelaar said. "I saw the opportunity to have the conversation with others, and all I had to was 'pony up' $12 a month to get the group going again. Then I just started scheduling meetings and people started to come."
The group stays in contact through meetup.com, and membership is as easy as creating a username and a password. On its page within the site, there are links to what was discussed at previous meetings and where future meetings will be held.
The meetings come in two forms. They are either field trips to places that are making significant strides in the world of alternative energy, or simply a gathering of people at a restaurant to talk about their projects. While the field trips tend to be more hands on, Dobbelaar said much of the group's best work has been done just sitting around a table at a restaurant talking to each other.
"Sometimes those (restaurant) meetings are even more productive than the field trips," he said. "It's out of that type of meeting where I've found out about projects that I can get involved in, and have become involved in my own community."
Unlike Dobbelaar, who doesn't directly work in the renewable energy field, a large portion of the group's members do. They come to network and learn new ideas to help them in the workplace.
"I learn something new every time I come to a meeting," said Bart Berkowitz, a 54-year-old energy consultant from Framingham, after a trip to the Wayland Sustainability House. "The more l come to meetings and the more I learn just makes me realize how much I don't know about sustainability. But I am getting a good database together by meeting new people and am learning more and more."
Mark Kaplan, a 31-year-old lighting retrofitter, attended his first "meet-up" on the trip to the Wayland House. He found it to be beneficial in terms of finding new ideas for his job. "I'll absolutely be back (at more meetings)," Kaplan said. "I think it's great. I am involved in lots of alternative energies for work, and it's great to hear about the latest technologies and hear from the experts about what's available."
Hiroko Sato, who writes a weekly column for The Lowell Sun called "Going Green," has been a member of the group for more than a year. She feels these types of meet-up groups can play an important role in our nation's push toward an energy-efficient future.
"The green movement is all about grassroots," Sato said. "This is where it should start. Exchanging information is very important. They may not organize something big, but when they learn something new, they may share it with their friends or co-workers and I think it's pretty useful."
Though the group continues to grow in membership, Dobbelaar said he has no plans to turn it into something it more than just a "meet-up group" in the future. He thinks the casualness is part of its appeal.
"For the most part, it's about meeting up," Dobbelaar said. "I'm trying to stay true to what the meaning of meet up is, which is helping people find each other. And I'm just trying to stimulate activity and help people find places where they can have an effect, and let them take it from there."
The Wayland Sustainability Home
Meetings of the greenest minds
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