At first glance, a large Canadian hydropower company and a neighborhood urban farm in Dorchester might seem to have little in common. Yet when organizations share a commitment to the public good, the boundaries of industry and geography start to fade.
That’s the spirit behind the growing partnership between Hydro-Québec and CSNDC. Together, we are helping the Oasis on Ballou, CSNDC’s urban farm, become a thriving source of food, connection, and community pride.
More Than a Utility Company
Hydro-Québec is the electric utility for the Canadian province of Quebec. Most Massachusetts residents, even life-long New Englanders, are unaware that a substantial share of their electricity now comes from Quebec’s hydropower resources. That changed in an important way earlier this year when a new transmission line was completed. Through a contract with Massachusetts utilities, that line is now delivering enough renewable electricity to power approximately one million homes.
Along the way, Hydro-Québec recognized that it could – and should – do more than simply send electricity south across a border.
“People are right to expect more from energy companies like us,” explains Ben Dudley of Hydro Québec Energy Services U.S. (HQUS), the company’s American affiliate. “We wanted to be a more active partner to organizations in the Boston area, not just a name on a contract.”
Finding the Oasis on Ballou
To deepen its community presence, HQUS joined the Alliance for Climate Transition (based in Somerville), which helps connect mission-aligned organizations across the region. Through that network, the company was introduced to several Boston-area groups, including CSNDC.
A few years ago, a small team from HQUS visited the Oasis on Ballou Farm during renovations that caused its shutdown for several years. HQUS representatives met Apolo Catala, who walked them through the site and the potential: a revived green space that not only produces fresh, healthy food, but also brings neighbors together, offers opportunities for youth and volunteers, and demonstrates what is possible when a community takes the lead.
“It was very much a work in progress, but it already had a history,” recalls Ben. “With Apolo’s enthusiastic explanation, we could clearly see the vision.”
For HQUS, the connection felt natural.
“The urban farm has a demonstrable benefit to the community,” says Ben. “We saw right away that this was work we wanted to support.”
When a funding gap threatened to delay completion of the renovations, HQUS stepped up with financial support to help close the shortfall.
A Hands-On Partnership
From the beginning, HQUS’s team was clear that it did not want this relationship to be a simple philanthropic transaction.
“For us, the attitude is: of course we want to bring financial support, but we don’t want to just be writing checks,” Ben explains. “We want to try to be involved, to find ways to participate directly.”
That commitment took concrete shape last month when HQUS staff joined with partners from the Canadian Consulate and the Government of Quebec’s Boston office for Volunteer Day at the farm. Teams rolled up their sleeves alongside CSNDC staff and community members, working the soil, tending beds, and contributing to the day-to-day tasks that keep the farm thriving.
In that hands-on experience, the relationship between a large, international energy provider and a neighborhood-based community development corporation came into sharper focus. What might look, on paper, like two very different worlds – hydropower and urban farming – turns out to be firmly grounded in a shared purpose.
“What we have in common is a mission to serve the public good,” Ben says. “Even though we’re in very different industries, our values as a company are well aligned with the values of a community service organization like CSNDC.”
CSNDC envisions this as a partnership that is more than a single grant or a single workday. It represents a long-term relationship with a regional energy leader that is choosing to invest time, attention, and human energy in the same neighborhoods where its electricity is helping to keep the lights on. HQUS shares that vision.
“We feel privileged to be associated with the great work the folks at CSNDC are doing,” Ben says. “We’re not just supporting CSNDC. We want to keep being hands-on, to see the farm’s vision realized, and to continue serving the community.”
