This section is a draft excerpt from the upcoming 2025 Maine Community Resilience Workbook.

A residential weatherization initiative can be a practical and inspirational first project for a community energy team, because it is tangible, gets people from the community working together side-by-side, and directly benefits community members by reducing heating bills and improving home comfort. Being involved in these hands-on experiences with direct and immediate benefits can strengthen the capacity of community energy teams and build community support for further energy initiatives. Community workshops to build winter window inserts, energy audits, community insulation and heat pump bulk purchases, and home energy coaching programs are great places to start. Programs like Volunteer Maine, the Community Resilience Partnership, and partnerships with university faculty, staff, and students (e.g., Sharon Klein at the University of Maine and David Gibson at College of the Atlantic) can help community energy teams build the capacity needed for these types of projects.