BOSTON — Seventeen communities in the area have landed small state grants to support recycling and waste reduction programs in their communities.
The money, made available by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection through the Sustainable Materials Recovery Program, will help 283 communities bolster their recycling, composting, and waste reduction programs.
The following communities are receiving money in the Recycling Dividends Program category: Amherst ($11,400); Holyoke ($9,100); Northampton ($1,000); Deerfield and Leverett ($6,650); Cummington ($6,300); Whately, Plainfield, Westhampton, Worthington and Southampton ($5,950); Belchertown and Goshen ($5,600); Chesterfield ($5,250); South Hadley ($4,620); Hadley ($4,550); and Williamsburg ($4,200).
This program recognizes municipalities that have implemented policies and programs to maximize materials reuse and recycling, as well as waste reduction. Communities receiving funding must reinvest in their own municipal recycling efforts.
HOLYOKE — Mayor Joshua A. Garcia and the Holyoke Health Center will raise a flag and read a proclamation designating the month of October as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The event will take place in front of City Hall on Friday at 10 a.m. The event will include testimonials from resilient women who went through their journey and are able to share their stories.
HOLYOKE — Holyoke Community College will host a free screening of the documentary “Nos Tenemos” (We Still Here,) followed by a conversation with filmmakers Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi and Kahlil Jacobs-Fantauzzi, on Tuesday, Oct. 17, from 9:30 to 11 a.m.
The film introduces the story of the youth of Comerío, Puerto Rico as residents navigate the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
The screening and discussion will be held in the PeopleBank Conference Room on the third floor of the Kittredge Center for Business and Workforce Development,on the main HCC campus, 303 Homestead Ave.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information and to see a film trailer, please go to westillherepr.com/.
HOLYOKE — OneHolyoke CDC will host an event Saturday in partnership with the Greening the Gateway Cities Program to provide free trees for Holyoke residents. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to noon at 2 Middle St., the site of OneHolyoke CDC’s eco-friendly “Tiny Home.”
Holyoke residents who own or rent a home, business, or other organizations located in the Flats, downtown or Churchill neighborhoods of Holyoke are encouraged to attend the event and sign up for free trees to be planted on their property by Greening the Gateway Cities, a program that has brought new trees to urban areas across Massachusetts.
Those who are unable to make Saturday’s event and would like free trees planted on their property can visit maurbancanopy.org to determine eligibility.