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Aligning Climate Action and Preservation for a Sustainable FutureHistoric New England Fall 2023
by JOIE GRANDBOIS, Sustainability Coordinator, and MARISSA MAYO, Property Care Operations Manager
Plastic sheeting isn’t generally considered an environmentally friendly material, but in the case of the 2011 weatherization project at the Lyman Estate in Waltham, Massachusetts, it was vital. Using that all-important plastic sheeting, fans, and utility data, we were able to pinpoint where heat and energy loss was occurring in the estate buildings. Utilizing this new information, we sealed up drafts and repaired faulty duct work resulting in a fifty percent reduction in energy usage the following year, and increased protection for our buildings and the collections they house.
Looking back, we recognize that this project was more than just a step toward better preservation and cost reduction, it marked the beginning of Historic New England’s climate journey and the realization that climate adaptation and mitigation are essential parts of historic preservation.
Since the completion of the Lyman Estate project, Historic New England has continued to do work to reduce our energy use and make our properties more resilient to environmental change. Over the past decade we have completed several gutter and site drainage projects to improve capacity to manage flooding and increased rainfall. In 2013 we completed a baseline energy assessment of all Historic New England properties. In 2021 we participated in Culture Over Carbon, a project working to create more accurate emission benchmarks for cultural institutions. While all these projects have had a positive impact on the organization, what was missing were clear climate action goals and an overall plan to achieve them.
In 2022 two events moved Historic New England significantly closer to clarifying our goals and creating such a plan. The first was when one of our properties, Otis House in Boston, met the requirements for emissions reporting under the city’s Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance. Realizing that we wanted to take this work beyond just one building, Historic New England joined the 2022-23 cultural cohort of the Boston Green Ribbon Commission’s collaborative climate action planning process.
Later that same year Historic New England secured a grant from the 1772 Foundation that provided funding for a two-year sustainability coordinator position and the hiring of a consultant to help guide and support the organization in creating a comprehensive climate action plan for one of our more complex sites, Casey Farm, in Saunderstown, Rhode Island, to be used as a model for climate planning across the organization. Earlier this year, Joie Grandbois (co-author of this article) joined our team as sustainability coordinator and we contracted with the Massachusetts-based consulting firm GreenerU.
Mitigation, Resilience, and Justice
Historic New England’s climate planning focuses on three areas of action: mitigation, resilience, and justice.
Climate mitigation means identifying the ways in which we contribute to climate change and taking actions to reduce our impacts. We have set the goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. The first step inmitigation planning is knowing where we are starting from. This fall we will have completed an updated baseline energy assessment of all Historic New England buildings including an in-depth energy audit of Casey Farm. We are also looking at our landscapes to assess the carbon sequestration potential of the forested lands at Casey Farm and other Historic New England properties.
Climate resilience focuses on assessing the climate change impacts our properties will face and taking steps that will enable them to withstand these changes. Many of our properties are in areas that will be impacted by sea level rise and increased storm activity as well as drought and increased fire risk. Our resilience work includes integrating climate change risks into our emergency preparedness planning for our historic buildings and properties and, based on the work at Casey Farm, creating site-specific resilience plans across the organization.
Climate justice is recognizing that climate change will have greater impacts on certain communities and taking steps to ensure our actions are equitable and don’t cause further harm. This includes actions such as telling the full story of our landscapes, increasing the accessibility of our properties, and participating in community-focused climate planning. As part of the Casey Farm climate change work a programming assessment will help identify how we can better integrate climate change into our education and outreach efforts.
While this sounds like a lot of work, and it will be, it is important to recognize we are not starting from scratch. Our 2021 review of energy data for Culture Over Carbon indicated that several buildings are already meeting future benchmarks for energy reduction. Our organization has a history of sharing our preservation and energy efficiency best practices for historic buildings and we will continue to do so with our climate resilience work. Internally we formed the climate action staff advisory group with representatives from each Historic New England team to help integrate climate action planning into our daily operations.
Historic New England has been a leader in historic preservation for more than a century. During this time our approach to preservation has never been static, but has adapted and changed as new information, risks, or techniques developed. Climate change planning has become an essential part of the preservation of historic buildings and landscapes and Historic New England enthusiastically continues our commitment to being a leader in preserving the past while creating a more just and resilient future.
Rainwater Resilience at Watson Farm
by BENJAMIN HAAVIK, Team Leader, Property Care
In the words of Eeyore, the beloved if slightly gloomy Winnie-thePooh character, “The nicest thing about the rain is that it always stops. Eventually.” While we need the rain to support our gardens, landscapes, farm animals, wildlife, and more, water isn’t particularly helpful for historic buildings. While the rain does “eventually” stop we know from studying the climate that we are experiencing weather events with higher volumes of rain falling at a single time. Too much rain can overwhelm a property’s gutters and drainage systems leading to constant exposure to moisture and ultimately major deterioration of the building materials.
At Watson Farm in Jamestown, Rhode Island, we are working on a multi-year project to implement a comprehensive storm water management plan for the structures and landscape around the historic farmyard. We started with the replacement of the farmhouse roof and upsized the gutters and the downspouts to carry more rainwater. In 2022 we completed drainage improvements to help carry the water away from the buildings and we are now poised to replace the roof on the historic barn and upsize the gutters on it as well. Many thanks to the van Beuren Charitable Foundation for their support of the drainage work and the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission as well as Preserve RI for their support of the work on the historic barn.
