ABOVE 

On April 5, 2006, an unexpected spring storm blew in from the east, making travel a challenge. Despite the rivulets of water careening through the streets of Portsmouth, the seats of The Music Hall were full. What cultural or artistic event emboldened people to brave the elements? Surprisingly, the star attraction was a plumber. A plumber, hosted by an oil company, brought to town to talk about saving the planet. An unlikely scenario? Not if you’re Joanne Lamprey, the President of Lamprey Brothers and host of the event, “This Old Planet Needs a Friend.”

To be fair, this was no ordinary plumber. Richard Trethewey is a mechanical systems expert best known for his work on the PBS series, “This Old House.” Of course, it quickly became clear that Joanne Lamprey, a a Piscataqua Region Board member and donor, is no ordinary business person. As she said from the stage that evening, “People ask me, ‘why would someone in the oil business want to encourage people to reduce their oil consumption?’ My answer is: it’s our responsibility.”

Joanne is quick to admit that seeing the film “An Inconvenient Truth” was a watershed moment in the development of her environmental consciousness. The more she learned about the impact of burning fossil fuels on the Earth’s climate system, the more determined she became to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. She credits Trethewey with helping Lamprey Brothers realize that they are not in the oil business but, more accurately, in the “home comfort” business. In fact, as a third-generation enterprise, Lamprey Brothers has been in the ice, wood and coal businesses too. Therefore, to Joanne’s way of thinking, it’s a logical progression for her business to become the region’s trusted resource for renewable, planet-friendly technology.

Since stepping onto this greener path, Joanne has been inspired by the multifaceted efforts afoot in New Hampshire to reduce carbon emissions. As a donor, she has supported a number of these efforts through her donor advised fund. True-to-form however, Joanne wanted to do something bold and inclusive to highlight the issue. This fall, working in partnership with the Foundation, she created the Climate Action Fund. This field of interest fund, open to contributions by any donor at any level, will work to “fund sustainable strategies to mitigate human-related impacts to the climate system as well as support efforts to adapt to a changing climate.” The Climate Action Fund will support a broad range of activities to meet the fund’s objective.

To learn more about the Climate Action Fund, or to contribute to it, please contact Celina Adams at 603-430-9182 ext. 1272 or ca@nhcf.org.