Major Accomplishments for

(January 1 to December 31, 2007)

The Connecticut River Stormwater Committee joined the Think Blue Coalition in 2007. The Think Blue Coalition is an ad-hoc committee of 24 organizations formed to develop an effective campaign to address water pollution from stormwater runoff. Originally formed in 2006 by the Massachusetts Bays Estuary Program, the Think Blue campaign developed a marketing campaign centered around the “Think Blue” brand. Public outreach materials developed as part of the campaign are available to coalition members. More information about the coalition can be viewed on their website at www.ThinkBlueMA.org.

The campaign is primarily focused on coastal zone of the greater Boston area with the intention of bringing the campaign statewide. The Connecticut River Cleanup Committee and the Connecticut River watershed are the first region to become a member of the coalition outside of the Boston area. Because of this, PVPC has spent time some time working with the coalition to tailor outreach materials to the water resources of western Massachusetts and nine communities of the Stormwater Committee. This effort has successfully resulted in the coalition renaming the coalition as Think Blue Massachusetts to better meet the needs of all intended partners and regions of the state.

The following is a summary of the work of the Stormwater Committee during the 2007 calendar year:

Member Communities (11)
Agawam, Chicopee, Easthampton, Granby, Holyoke, Longmeadow, Ludlow, South Hadley and Springfield
New members as of December 2007 – West Springfield and Westfield

Comcast Spotlight Cable Television

Aired 30-second Think Blue PSA during primetime in July, August and September 2007 on CNN, TBS, The Weather Channel, The History Channel, and CNN Headline News

Radio

Sponsored Live Earth: Concert for a Climate in Crisis – aired live on WRNX 100.9 on July 7, 2007
Included 8 30-second commercials, 1 during each 20-minute live cut-in from Live Earth
Mentioned in 25 promotional announcements
Think Blue logo on wrnx.com
20 additional 30-second commercials airing on the stream at wrnx.com
Aired 8 week programming with Clear Channel Radio (April – May 2007)
30 commercials per week
10 spots from 6am-7pm M-F
10 spots 6am -12 midnight Sun-Sat
5 Radio Stations:
Zone 640 Sports Radio
WHYN Mix 93.1
KIX 97.9
WHYN News Talk 560
WRNX 100.9 FM

Public Presentations
Chicopee Rotary Club – March 19, 2007Agawam Lions Club – May 5, 2007Easthampton rotary Club – May 8, 2007Ludlow Agricultural Commission – May 17, 2008Holyoke Rotary Club – May 15, 2007Mt. Tom Science Day – August 25, 2007 – poster PSA display and “Where do you live in the watershed?” mapping exercise with school-aged childrenGranby Lions Club – October 16, 2007South Hadley Lions Club – November 20, 2007

Website

Maintained website at WWW.ThinkBlueMA.org/ConnecticutRiver

Grants Received
EPA Watershed Initiative Grant $21,662PVPC received a roughly $1 million grant from EPA to perform work related to improving the conditions in the Connecticut River Watershed in Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire. Task B-1 of this grant proposal included funding to support the innovative public outreach programming of the Stormwater Committee. A contract for this grant is expected to be in place by Spring, 2008.

Northeast Utilities Grant $1,000
This grant is to fund printing costs for the Greenscapes pilot program. This pilot program will be launched in the Spring, 2008 with funding provided by the EPA grant. 

Newspaper / Print Media

Three poster PSAs about reducing fertilizer use, picking up pet waste, and picking up cigarette butts
Translated posters into Spanish for display at Mt. Tom Science Day, August 25^th, 2007