BERNARDSTON — A worldwide initiative to bring environmentally conscious folks together for drinks and discussion is taking root in Franklin County.
The concept, called “Green Drinks,” began in London in the 1990s and has grown to welcome people from around the globe for monthly meetings. More than a dozen clean energy advocates met at Incandescent Brewing last week for the first Green Drinks gathering held in Franklin County.
Kristin Cole and Samantha Wood, of Greenfield Community College’s Workforce Development program, helped organize the networking event in collaboration with the MassHire Franklin Hampshire Career Center, the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce and FirstLight Power. The two said they had heard about similar Green Drinks events in Northampton and wanted to bring the idea to Franklin County.
“This went on for years in Northampton. It was called Green Drinks and this is kind of based on a global movement,” Wood said. “They’re all over the world. They’re meetups of people who are into sustainable energy and taking care of the climate.”
Cole said that there will be a Green Drinks event on the fourth Thursday of each month from 4 to 6 p.m. at Incandescent Brewing at 203 South St. The events offer casual conversation and community building among those who work in the clean energy sector or who are otherwise interested in clean energy and climate change.
“We’re going to start small. We’re planning to build this up over time,” Cole said. “The goal is just to bring people together. It’s a very informal relationship-building, folks that are all working in this space together.”
The meetup welcomed attendees from GCC, MassHire, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, and several local energy companies who chatted about the latest technology, policy and happenings in clean energy, including changes to residential tax credit incentives for solar projects.
“That residential solar credit went away, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it,” said Ryan Martin, co-owner of Current Energy in Bernardston.
Jamie Santiago of florrent and Sharon Cates of Greenfield Community College chat at a “Green Drinks” mixer at Incandescent Brewing in Bernardston on Thursday. Credit: PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
People sip beers and chat at a “Green Drinks” mixer at Incandescent Brewing in Bernardston on Thursday. Credit: PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
People sip beers and chat at a “Green Drinks” mixer at Incandescent Brewing in Bernardston on Thursday. Credit: PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo
Jessye Deane, executive director of the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, said she was a bit nervous about the event because networking can sometimes feel stressful or awkward, but she was pleased with how many people showed up and jumped right into conversation with other attendees about what is going on in the world of clean energy.
“It’s really nice when you can unite similar interests across sectors and across communities,” Deane said. “I think this is a great representation of regional partnerships coming together to make those connections and build better business, and make Franklin County a little greener.”
Wood added that it was nice to see people from different organizations, who are working in different roles, come together to discuss their unique interests in clean energy, and that it was great to have a local business like Incandescent Brewing as a host.
“I think it’s super successful already. We’ve got people across different industries and I’m just super happy about that,” Wood said. “We’ve got some design and build people, we’ve got somebody from the American Farmland Trust. … It’s a wonderful thing to have a local gathering place.”
The next Green Drinks meetup will be on March 26.