Community and Economic Vitality

Many of the educational outreach programs of the Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment affect Massachusetts’ communities. Those efforts listed here are notable for the specific impacts they have at the community level. Some of these impacts are on one  community, some on a group of communities, others on all communities in the state. Some of these programs are pertinent to municipal governments, others to issues of more widespread interest, such as land use or water resources. These programs have impacts at the individual level, on families and youth, and some affect workforce skills and professional certifications that impact economic well-being.

Programs Related to Community and Economic Vitality

  • Citizen Planner Training Collaborative
    Provides training – online and face-to-face – for volunteer and professional planners at the municipal level in Massachusetts.

  • Conservation Assessment and Prioritization System (CAPS)
    Online system for assessing ecological integrity and value at a precise local level in Massachusetts.

  • Massachusetts Envirothon
    Year-long educational program for high school students in school-based teams around a different environmental topic each year.

  • Massachusetts Keystone Project
    Selects and educates forest owners and community leaders (“Keystone Cooperators”) who have a significant impact on their communities and agree to return to their respective communities and serve as spokespersons or advocates for forest conservation.

  • MassWoods Forest Conservation Program
    Online tool for forest landowners to find information and resources during processes of critical decision-making about their land.

  • UMass Design Center in Springfield
    Supports a wide range of planning and urban design projects and research focused on addressing the challenges facing cities and towns in Massachusetts and beyond.

UMass Amherst Partner Departments