Food co-ops + climate tech + wildfire prep + hearty seeds + community news + homes built fast
New England Good News #10 + 100 optimists
Welcome to the Good News in New England Newsletter, part of Granite Goodness. We share optimistic stories of progress, innovation, and problem-solving from across New England.
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NOTE FROM ANDY
WELCOME to the 31 new people who have joined the Granite Goodness community since our last newsletter.
Over here in Granite Goodness world we have some good news to share: we now have 100+ members of our Optimists Club!
Shout out to Jo Porter, Ande Lyons, and Andrea Folsom for joining last week and taking us over 100!
Come hang out at Treeline Outfitters on May 4 and listen to what’s optimistic in New England’s energy space for NH Energy Week.
Big thank you to the Partnership for Public Health, who gave me a great excuse to wear a cape last week when they asked me to come moderate their panel about the “superpowers” non-profits have : )
Now enjoy some good news!
GRANITE GREENERY: Sustainability & Nature
Shrewsbury, MA just won the largest federal recycling grant in Massachusetts history, a $2.7 million EPA award that will launch townwide curbside composting, a new recycling facility, and drop-off for hard-to-recycle items, diverting up to 1,000 tons of waste a year from incineration. - Massachusetts Municipal Association
Maine is about to get a lot wilder: $4.6 million is flowing to ten wetland restoration projects, more than double last year's funding, to remove dams, restore wetlands, and rehabilitate Acadia National Park's largest freshwater wetland. The investments will strengthen ecosystems and improve flood resilience across the state. - The Maine Monitor
Rhode Island is protecting 174 acres of open space using $1.23 million in voter-approved Green Bond grants, covering four projects from forestland in Glocester to a shoreline property overlooking Mount Hope Bay in Tiverton. This same program has protected more than 13,000 acres since 1985. - RI DEM
GRANITE GRIT: Building & Infrastructure
Vermont is creating 10 pre-approved home designs that builders can fast-track through local permitting for free, making it the first state in the country to do so. The "802 Homes" program is being piloted in Essex Junction, Hartford, and Manchester, with the full catalog expected by end of year. - VTDigger
Braintree is turning a long-vacant 30-acre industrial site into 752 apartments less than a mile from the Red Line, one of the largest housing developments on Boston's South Shore in years and a model for how Massachusetts is converting industrial relics into housing. - Boston Globe
Connecticut is upgrading the freight rail network that helps keep its economy running, repairing bridges over the Connecticut River, modernizing grade crossings, and upgrading track for heavier freight cars across six railroads statewide. The work is backed by $20m in state grants + $4m in private railroad investment. - CT DOT
GRANITE GROWTH: Economics & Opportunity
The 144 households of Cotton Farm Village in New Hampshire just became co-owners of their manufactured-home park, joining a network of 152 resident-owned communities across the state. The cooperative, financed through the NH Community Loan Fund, gives residents control over their own rents, rules, and future. - NH Community Loan Fund
Farmington, Maine just got its first food co-op, where 250 community members have already bought $150 lifetime memberships to co-own a local organic market on Front Street. Members get monthly discounts, a share of yearly revenue, and a vote on how the business is run. - WMTW News
Vermont farmer Charlie Watts just launched a seed company built to solve a problem every New England gardener has: a growing season too short for half the things worth growing. Homecoming Seeds in Northfield sells only open-pollinated varieties adapted to cold, fast-maturing conditions, grown on Watts’ own farm or contracted locally. They ship nationwide! - Seven Days
GRANITE GADGETS: Science & Technology
Massachusetts is positioning itself as the global capital of climate tech, backed by $1 billion in state support. Greentown Labs in Somerville sits at the center of the ecosystem, incubating over 100 startups working on everything from iron batteries to biodegradable potato plastic. - WBUR
Researchers at the University of New Hampshire just won $600,000 to make water data accessible to anyone who needs it, building an open-source platform that lets scientists run water cycle simulations without a supercomputer. Access to the data will help enhance practices for drinking water protection, agriculture, and more. - UNH
UConn researchers are using controlled burns to help New England prepare for a future with more wildfires, studying how soil microbes recover after fires and testing how to restore forest health faster. The work aims to help reshape wildfire management across the region. - UConn
GRANITE GOODS: Institutions & Community
A donated building in Portland's Bayside neighborhood is becoming a nonprofit-owned community center, hosting organizations focused on housing, welcoming immigrants, music, and food access. The landowner sees it as a replicable model for community-driven development across the city. - Portland Press Herald
New Hampshire is planning its first fully ADA-accessible public beach on Blaisdell Lake in Sutton, anchoring a new outdoor learning and conservation destination that will bring programming, accessibility, and economic activity to the Kearsarge region. - Concord Insider
The University of Rhode Island launched a Community News Lab sending student journalists into Rhode Island towns that no longer have local coverage, with their stories appearing in real newspapers across the state. The program is part of a nationwide movement of universities stepping in to fill news deserts, with 172 institutions now publishing over 11,000 student-reported stories. - URI Magazine
Partner Spotlight!
BIG THANK YOU to our Community Partners Green Wave Electric Vehicles and Resilient Buildings Group (RBG) for your support of Granite Goodness.
That’s it for this edition of the Good News in New England Newsletter!1 If you’d like to support Granite Goodness, consider joining our Optimists Club. Learn more about the people behind these stories on our podcast.
Hungry for good news beyond the borders of New England? Check out our very own Optimists Club newsletter or our friends at Fix The News and The Progress Network.
Thanks for reading!
-Andy
All postcard images are sourced from the Tichnor Brothers Collection at the Boston Public Library, licensed under CCO 1.0.