By Linda Viertel–
Mothers Out Front is a national organization with a powerful mission (as stated on its website): “We are mothers, grandmothers, and other caregivers coming together to make climate change an issue that our leaders can no longer ignore. We are building a powerful grassroots movement to ensure a swift, complete and just transition away from fossil fuels and toward clean and renewable energy. We need your help. Together we can create a healthy climate today and livable future for all children.”
Luckily for our rivertowns, several grassroots activists in Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow have formed a Westchester Rivertowns chapter of Mothers Out Front, involving members in Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, Irvington, Dobbs Ferry and Hastings. Sarah Smiley and Amy Hill, two of the group’s most active members, emphasize both the community team structure and the collaborative nature of the organization.
Starting in November of 2018 with their first house party, core volunteers began gathering a multitude of talents as a team, with a larger group participating when time permits and talents are needed. This flexibility allows the women to contribute a variety of skills, from hosting meetings (held twice a month, alternating between Sunday morning and Thursday nights), to marketing and writing, giving technological support, and reaching out to social media.
As a chapter of a national organization (mothersoutfront.org) Mothers Out Front Westchester Rivertowns Chapter is also able to collaborate with other chapters, particularly in Croton-on-Hudson, an active group Smiley was involved in before helping to start the rivertowns chapter.
The group is passionate about environmental issues, but the two major efforts they are now concentrating on are transitioning off fossil fuels and the “beyond gas” initiative. Learning that the biggest contributors to climate change are transportation and building energy output, the group is championing electric school buses as one of the most productive ways to reduce emissions as well as create a healthier environment for our children. Based on results of portable particulate monitors worn by students during a school day, estimates that levels of particulate matter in and around school buses can be up to 5-10 times higher than background levels.
In meeting with local school administrators and the TUFSD school board, Mothers Out Front has begun to educate the leadership and the community about both the climate and health improvements electric buses can provide for our schoolchildren. The group has also met with the developers of Edge-on-Hudson with concerns about environmentally sound building practices such as introducing induction stove tops into their newly constructed kitchens. Induction cooking is a more energy efficient system, providing energy savings that would be multiplied by the 1,177 housing units being constructed. Heat pumps as an energy-saving technology, along with ground source (geothermal) and air source heat pumps are a big part of the organization’s focus as well.
In addition, Smiley said the group wanted to “add value” by partnering on other issues such as composting, which they have supported strongly in its initial rivertown start-up. Hill added, “It’s important for local people who have concerns to get involved. I came to Mothers Out Front with little environmental knowledge, but anyone eager to work with others at any level of commitment is welcome.”
Smiley added, “There is a great sense of community in discovering resources and talents our members may not have known they had. It has been empowering to feel that we can give voice to our concerns and have an impact.” Building on those community relationships and trying to move decision-makers to take actions that will ensure a healthy environment for children should be a goal all residents in our rivertowns want to support.
Those interested in becoming involved with Mothers Out Front can contact them in several ways:
RivertownsNY@mothersoutfront.org
or through social media links:
Mothers Out Front – Westchester Rivertowns
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