• Get Engaged
• We Want to Hear from You!
• Stow Awarded $150,000 Technical Assistance Grant
• Stow Clean Up - April 25th and 26th
• Electronics Recycling and Paper Shredding - April 25th
• Get a Rain Barrel!

The Energize Stow newsletter strives to provide you with practical information you can use to make Stow a more sustainable community. We would love to hear from you about what you would be interested in reading or learning about. Please email us at GreenAdvisory@stow-ma.gov with your ideas. Thank you!

The Town of Stow was designated as a Climate Leader Community by the state at a ceremony in Watertown. From left, Lt. Gov. Kimberly Driscoll, Stow Select Board Chair JT Toole, Arnie Epstein, Energy Manager and Chair of the Green Advisory Committee, and Department of Energy Resources Commissioner Elizabeth Mahony

Last year, Stow was one of the first nineteen communities to be designated a Climate Leader under the new state program. The Climate Leader designation includes access to a $150,000 Technical Assistance grant and a $1,000,000 Building Accelerator grant.

Working with the Nashoba School District facilities department, options were discussed to both save money for the town while making progress on our building decarbonization goals. The gas boilers at Hale Middle School are approaching end-of-life and through Mass Save a no cost building assessment was undertaken. The assessment estimated that the cost of installing heat pumps for part of the building and for hot water could be done with the funds from the Building Accelerator grant while reducing the cost of the boiler replacement and the ongoing cost of heating the building as well as significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Technical Assistance grant will be used to undertake a detailed design and cost evaluation of this approach.

The 17th Annual Stow Town Clean Up is scheduled for April 25th and April 26th, 2026. Sign up online or in person at the Lower Common on April 25 from 8 a.m. to noon. Yellow garbage bags and safety gear will be distributed. Pick up trash anytime during the weekend!

Bags can be disposed of in your trash can or left by the road for pickup on April 27 by the Highway Dept.

Remember to wear gloves, long sleeves, and bright clothing. Safety vests and gloves will be provided while supplies last. Sign up here.

Electronics Recycling and Paper Shredding

April 25th

Troop 1 Boy Scout in Stow are combining electronics and paper shredding on Saturday, April 25 at the Hale Middle School, 55 Hartley Rd. Stow, MA from 8:30 – 1:00. Sponsored by Friends of Troop 1 Stow they charge a nominal fee. All proceeds help fund scouting activities and program for the troop.  

Get a Rain Barrel!

Did you know that our area is in a drought? In anticipation of another dry summer, Sustainable Stow is hosting a rain barrel sale in partnership with the Great American Rain Barrel Company. The Company will offer barrels to residents at cost to support community water conservation.

Stow residents and those in surrounding communities, can order a barrel online through the company’s community sales page, selecting Stow from the list of participating towns. There are several types of barrels to choose from ranging in price from $80 to $89. The deadline for ordering barrels is May 10. Barrels will be available for pickup on May 23 from 1 to 3 pm at the Stow Highway Department at 88 South Acton Road in Stow.

Note: The Great American Rain Barrel is a local food-import company that has been repurposing food grade shipping drums into Rain Barrels since 1988.