The Brick House sponsors Youth Climate Action of Franklin County, a community-based organization that produces ecological and climate-positive landscapes in Environmental Justice neighborhoods in Montague and Greenfield.
Placemaking at The Brick House
YCAFC organized a participatory design/build process that transformed The Brick House’s outdoor spaces in 2022. Thanks to funding from The Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, YCAFC was able to plan and construct a series of garden places around the building. A second phase of the project remade the building’s alleyway as a temporary social space, culminating in an opening party and Earth Day celebration that occurred on April 22, 2023.
Sidewalk gardening at
The Shady Glen Diner
In 2023, YCAFC partnered with The Shady Glen Diner to create a 500 sq ft sidewalk garden. The garden works with the site’s roadside conditions (e.g. dry, well-drained, and saline soils) by featuring plants that, in their native environment, are more often seen growing in the state’s coastal areas. This project was funded by a grant from the New England Grassroots Environment Fund.
Creating habitat at
Montague Town Hall
YCAFC has completed two projects at Montague Town Hall. The first, a rain garden adjacent to the Canalside Rail Trail, was installed in 2021. Funded by the Long Island Sound Futures Fund, this project replaced nearly 5000 sq ft of asphalt pavement with a constructed wetland that treats stormwater runoff from the Town Hall parking lot.
In 2022, YCAFC adopted a second site at Montague Town Hall —a triangular sloping lawn surrounded on two sides by pavement and on the third by the building’s four-story brick wall. With funding from FirstLight, YCAFC transformed this grassy traffic island into a biodiverse meadow— 3000 sq ft of pollinator habitat that supports a wide range of insects, birds, and other wildlife while storing atmospheric carbon in the site’s soil.
Are you interested in working for us during the summer?
YCAFC hires youth to construct and maintain ecological landscapes. Check out our instagram page for pictures of our 2023 summer program.
Do you have a landscape that you think YCAFC could improve?
We are always looking for sites for new projects.
Feel free to contact Peter at p.wackernagel@gmail.com with any questions about YCAFC.