About Sustainable Plymouth
Mission
Our mission is to advance environmental sustainability in Plymouth through education, community engagement, communication, publication of relevant content, and coordination with residents, businesses, and organizations.
We seek to promote practices that mitigate the degradation of the natural world and prioritize the needs of our ecosystem to ensure a just, healthy, and sustainable Plymouth.
History
Sustainable Plymouth was founded in 2019 to engage and educate the community and promote collaboration among residents, local organizations, and the Town of Plymouth. We soon began hosting public events such as film screenings and discussion forums on issues related to climate change, community resilience, and plastics and public health. Through the years we have also organized seed swaps, an EV car show, book clubs, StoryWalks with the Plymouth Public Library and Open Space Committee, and numerous other educational and volunteer opportunities.
In 2021, Sustainable Plymouth helped lead the coalition of concerned citizens and groups that worked with town leaders to declare a climate emergency for the Town of Plymouth and add a full-time Climate Resiliency and Sustainability Planner position within town government. This collaborative advocacy resulted in the formation of Plymouth’s Climate Action-Net Zero committee and the development and adoption of Plymouth’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan.
Limiting plastics pollution has long been a focus of our members, one of whom was instrumental in making Plymouth the first town on Boston’s South Shore to ban single-use plastic bags in 2016. Sustainable Plymouth worked with the town’s Open Space Committee to strengthen the relevant bylaw in 2022, by which time an estimated 150 million plastic bags had already been diverted from Plymouth’s landfills.
Recent highlights include working with town leaders to reconstitute Plymouth’s Recycling Committee; launch the town’s new Swap Shop, where residents can both donate and shop for lightly used goods; and ban polystyrene take-out containers, making Plymouth once again the first community on the South Shore to do so.
While our focus will always be local, in recent years our work has expanded to consider issues at the state and international levels. This includes discussion forums with local officials, as well as international delegations under the auspices of the U.S. State Department to explore community advocacy in areas such as marine health, plastic pollution, and waste management.
In response to significant positive momentum and our expanding role in the community, Sustainable Plymouth formally incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 2024. Donations to our nonprofit mission can be made here.
Sustainable Plymouth is committed to continuing our collaborative, cross-cutting work in the community and being a welcoming group for all. To learn more and get involved, please dive into our website and feel free to get in touch!
Meet the Board!
- President – Andrea Dickinson
- Vice President – Melissa Burridge
- Treasurer – Holly States
- Clerk – Emily Tompkins
- Director at Large – Jen Young
Melissa Burridge (she/her) has lived in Plymouth for ten years. She grew up in Foxboro, MA, and earned her BA at MCLA in North Adams and her MA at Bridgewater State University. Melissa transitioned from teaching high school English in Carver to a career advocating for affordable housing. She is the mom of two delightful little boys. In her spare time, Melissa loves to read, hike, cook, and try really hard and usually unsuccessfully to keep plants alive in her garden.
Melissa was inspired to join the sustainability movement after reading the amazing and devastating book Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. She looks forward to learning something new every day and working to become part of the solution. Melissa serves as the Vice President of Sustainable Plymouth.
Jen Young (she/her) grew up in Sudbury, Mass., surrounded by the woods and conservation land to instill a passion and love for the natural world. She attended Boston College for her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, studying English, Communication, and Secondary Education. She moved to Plymouth to raise her family by the ocean in 2021 after living in Colorado for a number of years exploring the mountains. She is interested in educational and community-building efforts around sustainability.
Andrea Dickinson (she/her) grew up on Cape Cod and has a BS in Natural Resource Economics and an MBA in Sustainable Enterprise. After spending several years in the San Francisco Bay Area she relocated to Plymouth to be closer to family. By day she works in Human Resources but environmental stewardship is her passion. Andrea has served on the Town of Plymouth’s Open Space Committee since 2018 and is also part of the Trails Working Group. In addition to serving as the President of Sustainable Plymouth, Andrea lead’s Sustainable Plymouth’s Plastic & Waste Reduction working group and well as the Open Space/Native Plant/Pollinator groups. Andrea also manages the social media accounts for Sustainable Plymouth.
Andrea has a dog, cat and chickens. She loves to travel, hike & do yoga.
Being involved in Sustainable Plymouth has helped Andrea connect with likeminded community members and channel her concern about climate change and environmental stewardship into local action.
Holly States (she/her) grew up in a small town in upstate New York and moved to Massachusetts after college. She has a BA in English and an MBA in Public Management. Prior to retirement in 2019, she served as Associate Dean for Grants & Sustainability at Massasoit Community College, where she oversaw the Grants Department as well as the college’s sustainability initiatives. Holly was a member of Stoughton’s Energy & Sustainability Committee for several years before moving to Plymouth in 2017 and served on Plymouth’s Energy Committee from 2019-2022. She played an active role in helping both towns achieve Green Community designation. In addition to serving on Sustainable Plymouth’s Board as Treasurer, she leads Sustainable Redbrook, where she resides.
Holly and her husband Jeff have two daughters and four grandchildren and love spending time with them all. Two of Holly’s greatest interests are hiking and travel, and she and Jeff have a very long bucket list. At home she does her best to eliminate single-use plastic and disposable paper products, and long ago switched to cloth napkins – except when the grandkids visit!
Emily Tompkins (she/her) is a lifelong resident of the Town of Plymouth with a BA in Communications from Bridgewater State University. She is a Special Projects Manager at Bay State Community Services and the most recent board member of SP and provides administrative support, got involved because she was curious about all the development happening around Town, wanted to help preserve our unique eco-region, water supply and protect wildlife. Emily loves fitness, walking her dog on the waterfront and baking cookies.
Emily serves as the Clerk for Sustainable Plymouth. Volunteering with Sustainable Plymouth has given her a way to take action locally so she can be part of solutions. She has connected with many like-minded people which helps her feel hopeful about the future.
Abby Thompson (she/her) serves as the Small Business Liaison for Sustainable Plymouth. She owns & operates Sprezzatura, a vintage and secondhand shop on Main Street, and has been a resident since 2021. Leveraging her background in marketing and business development, Abby connects with local entrepreneurs and teams to build strategic partnerships that benefit small businesses while advancing the mission of Sustainable Plymouth. She educates business owners about relevant initiatives, finds opportunities to collaborate on educational or fundraising events/programs, and provides support for environmentally conscious efforts piloted by Plymouth-area companies. In her free time, she loves spending time with her husband, daughter and dogs, thrifting, and enjoying nature.
Newsletters
Newsletters
2026
2025