Wellesley Green Schools says "Thank You" to the almost 500 drivers that have taken the pledge for cleaner and healthier air around our schools and in our community. If you haven't done so already, it's not too late!
Join your neighbors and friends and Take the Pledge With Me To Go Idle Free in 2023 by clicking here. You will become part of a community that recognizes that leaving your car on when not driving is unhealthy, expensive and illegal. Unhealthy Did you know that motor vehicle exhaust accounts for more than 40% of Wellesley's greenhouse gas emissions and that each year, the US produces over 30 million tons of CO2 by idling? The Environmental Protection Agency reports that air toxins from idling are known to cause cancer, respiratory effects like asthma and other serious health effects. Idling is especially dangerous around schools because children are highly susceptible to air pollution from car exhaust. Children’s developing lungs have a smaller surface area and a higher inhalation rate (can be over 3x that of adults), which means greater exposure and potentially permanent damage to lung function. Expensive Idling is also expensive. Each year in the US, personal-vehicle idling wastes about 3 billion gallons of fuel. With higher gas prices, this means idling is wasting money. Illegal Idling can also cost you money in fines. In Wellesley, there is a $15 fine for idling which mirrors the state's anti-idling violation of $100. Please reconsider habits and try something new. Take the pledge and Go Idle Free in 2023! Thank you to Wellesley’s Climate Action Committee, Natural Resources Commission and Police Department as well as Wellesley Green Schools and Sustainable Wellesley for their work on the Go Idle Free in 2023 campaign. Thinking of filling some or all of your garden with native plants?
It's a good idea, said Robert Gegear, PhD, Professor, UMass Dartmouth during his presentation on how ecological data collected through his Beecology Citizen Science Project is being used. With that data, they are gaining insight into the causes of species loss from bee and butterfly pollination systems native to New England. He highlighted the ‘eco-technology’ that has been developed to aid Beecologists. Dr Gegear is consulting with Wellesley’s Natural Resources Commission in the rewilding of the field adjacent to the library. To watch the recording of his presentation click here (starts at 2:30 min). For more information on Native Plant and Pollinator Resources, click here. BECAUSE POLLINATOR SYSTEMS MATTER! Hear from a few Wellesley residents about why they love driving an electric vehicle. Many shared their enthusiasm at Wellesley's recent Electric Vehicle Test Drive and Owner's Showcase event, organized by the Wellesley Municipal Light Plant, Climate Action Committee and Sustainable Wellesley.
What wasn't captured here, and is very unique about driving electric in Wellesley, is that cars are powered with more than 60% non-emitting electricity. This is important as transportation is approximately 30% of Wellesley's emissions. Thank you Wellesley Media, and Wellesley volunteers for their time and sharing their stories at Wellesley's EV Test Drive and Showcase Event. What a wonderful weekend it was. There were so many highlights including spotting the Wellesley Free Library's electric van with reusable decorations at the parade. The Chief of Police was also spotted driving an electric police cruiser.
The Library's van was purchased with capital funds, and the process was facilitated by the Department of Public Work's Brian Zabchuk who made sure to get the $7,500 reimbursement from the Mass EVIP grant, and installed the charging station. This 2023 Ford E-transit T-350 BEV Cargo van is used primarily to make deliveries to and from the branches. After a three year break, The Rotary Club of Wellesley is bringing back the Repair Café Event. It will be held on Saturday June 10th from 9:00 AM to Noon at the Wellesley Recreation Center Room 008.
What is a Repair Café? Repair Cafés are free meeting places and they’re all about repairing things (together). At the Repair Café event, you’ll find tools and materials to help you make most repairs. Repairs can be made on clothes, furniture, electrical appliances, bicycles, crockery, appliances, toys, et cetera. You’ll also find expert volunteers, with repair skills in all kinds of fields. Visitors bring their broken items from home. Together with the specialists they start making their repairs in the Repair Café. It’s an ongoing learning process. If you have nothing to repair, you can enjoy a cup of tea or coffee. Or you can lend a hand with someone else’s repair job. You can also get inspired at the reading table – by leafing through books on repairs and DIY. Please register on the Rotary Club of Wellesley’s website. If you have an item to repair, register as a guest to attend the Café. Please list the item you want to repair in the comments section of the registration form. If you have questions, feel free to contact John Adams at johnfadamsjr@gmail.com or 617-817-0314. If we can talk before the event, then we can make sure to have the necessary parts for repair available. If you have repair skills and want to help out, please register as a coach. Repair Café House Rules
Why a Repair Café? We throw away vast amounts of stuff. Even things with almost nothing wrong, and which could get a new lease on life after a simple repair. The trouble is, lots of people have forgotten that they can repair things themselves or they no longer know how. Knowing how to make repairs is a skill quickly lost. Society doesn’t always show much appreciation for the people who still have this practical knowledge, and against their will they are often left standing on the sidelines. Their experience is never used, or hardly ever. The Repair Café changes all that! People who might otherwise be sidelined are getting involved again. Valuable practical knowledge is getting passed on. Things are being used for longer and don’t have to be thrown away. This reduces the volume of raw materials and energy needed to make new products. It cuts CO2 emissions, for example, because manufacturing new products and recycling old ones causes CO2 to be released. The Repair Café teaches people to see their possessions in a new light and, once again, to appreciate their value. The Repair Café helps change people’s mindset. This is essential to kindle people’s enthusiasm for a sustainable society. Most of all, the Repair Café wants to show how much fun repairing things can be, and how easy it often is. Why don’t you give it a go? They are not competing with professional repair specialists The Repair Café Foundation sometimes gets asked whether access to free repair get-togethers is competing with professional repair specialists. The answer is; quite the opposite. Organizers want to use Repair Cafés across the whole country to focus attention on the possibility of getting things repaired. Visitors are frequently advised to go to the few professionals still around. Furthermore, people who visit Repair Cafés are not usually customers of repair specialists. They say that they normally throw away broken items because paying to have them repaired is, in general, too expensive. At the Repair Café they learn that you don’t have to throw things away; there are alternatives. From our friends at Massachusetts Climate Action Network
You can take action to support critical embodied carbon and climate legislation! Join Massachusetts Climate Action Network (MCAN) on Wednesday, May 17th at 1:00 PM to testify in support of H.764 and H.872/S.481 at the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources hearing. Let them know you are coming by RSVPing here! Last week, MCAN and its partners got word that two of our priority climate bills, H.764 An Act Incorporating Embodied Carbon Into State Climate Policy and H.872 An Act Establishing a Climate Change Superfund and Promoting Polluter Responsibility, will be heard by the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources this upcoming Wednesday, May 17th at 1:00 PM. These bills are critical to advancing holistic building decarbonization and creating a fossil fuel-free future for all in our Commonwealth. In order to receive a favorable vote out of Committee and advance this legislation to the next phase of consideration, we need as many experts, professionals, advocates, and organizations to join us on the 17th to call for legislators to take action. Be a part of this critical effort and RSVP today! The hearing will be held in Hearing Room A-2 at the State House. However, there will also be an option to testify virtually. Learn more about the hearing here. To support advocates, partners, and community members in making written and oral testimony, MCAN will be hosting workshop on Tuesday, May 16th at 6:00 PM. Join in by RSVPing here! This is a critical moment to support policies that will take desperately needed steps to holistically decarbonize our buildings and equitably meet the climate crisis. Be a part of transformative change on the 17th. Look for a new twist at this year’s Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend (WWW) including a chance to win a $200 gift certificate to Papa Wheelies bike shop!
Take a tour of Wellesley’s climate action programs with the new WWW Climate Action Passport – your ticket to a fun sustainability journey for the whole family! Through a collaboration of The Town of Wellesley’s Climate Action Committee, Natural Resources Commission, Celebrations Committee, Friends of Wellesley Veterans, and Sustainable Wellesley, favorite WWW events will showcase an array of climate action opportunities. As you travel among participating WWW venues, learn what you and your family can do to lower your carbon footprint, save money, and enjoy a healthier lifestyle while discovering Wellesley resources to support your household’s climate action.
On your family’s climate action adventure…
Grab a passport at one of the following locations on Saturday, May 20th
SATURDAY MAY 20 Free Eye Exams/Eyeglass Donations - 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. - Wellesley High School Morses Pond Trail Guided Walk - 9-10 a.m. - Turner Road Gate Touch a Truck, Dept. of Public Works - 9am - noon - 20 Municipal Way Wellesley Free Library's Library of Things & Children’s Area - 9-5 @ Main Library Bike Safety Rodeo - 10:00 a.m. – noon - Tailby Lot (Linden & Crest Roads) Police Dept. Open House - 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. -485 Washington Street Municipal Light Plant Open House - 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. -4 Municipal Way Art in the Park - Noon – 2:30 p.m. -Simons Park Pups in the Park - 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.- Hunnewell Field Build Your Own Nancy’s Troll & Fairy House - 1– 3pm-Pickle Point on Morses Pond SUNDAY MAY 21 Antique Car Show - Wellesley Drives Electric Table- 9:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.- along Central Street from Juniper Restaurant to Fire Station #1 Picnic in the Park-4:30 p.m. – dusk -Hunnewell Field Show your passport at the climate action table at the WWW picnic (Hunnewell Field) on Sunday, May 21 between 4:30 p.m. and dusk and qualify to win a $200 gift certificate from Papa Wheelies bike shop! Want to minimize your carbon footprint on your way around Wellesley Wonderful Weekend? Consider carpooling, walking, biking, or taking public transit to events to reduce traffic and emissions. Transportation makes up nearly 40% of greenhouse emissions in Wellesley. Try Catch Connect, Wellesley’s microtransit public transportation option, at no cost to visit open houses and other events on Saturday, May 20th between 10:00 a.m. and 3.30 p.m. Catch Connect is a microtransit service provided by the MetroWest Regional Transit Authority (MWRTA) in Wellesley that regularly charges a small fee and is available on weekdays in our area. Complimentary Catch Connect rides during Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend will allow residents to try out this resource! If you would like to use the Catch Connect service on Saturday, please email info@sustainableWellesley.com or visit https://givebutter.com/FreeRide to RSVP. In your email, make sure to share that you/family/friends would like to try Catch Connect so we can accommodate your travel plans. Minimize waste by bringing your own water bottles and utensils. Use the recycling and food waste bins where available. Waste contributes approximately 4% of Wellesley’s emissions. WWW’s Climate Action Passport is part of the Town of Wellesley’s effort to educate the community about its greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal and the Climate Action Plan. Be part of the action! ![]() Thank you to Troop 73505 for sharing this story Middle school Girl Scouts have labeled 83 public trees along Central Street, Kingsbury Street, and Washington Street to show estimates of how much carbon dioxide is removed by each tree. The tree tags for Wellesley Wonderful Weekend were created by Cadette Troop 73505 and Lisa Moore, the Environmental Education and Outreach Coordinator for Wellesley Natural Resources Commission. The Girl Scouts' goal is to highlight the impact of trees upon air quality. "When we breathe out, trees take in carbon dioxide and trees give oxygen back to us," explained troop members. The label for each tree shows an estimate of the amount of carbon dioxide stored annually and to date. The Girl Scouts measured the circumference of 42 public trees along Central Street in Wellesley Square. This label (above) is for the tree growing on the traffic island at the intersection of Central Street and Weston Road. The estimates of carbon dioxide were created by entering tree data into MyTree, a tool developed by the USDA Forest Service. The estimated amount of carbon dioxide stored by 42 trees on Central Street in Wellesley Square is 3,787 pounds for this year. The total amount of carbon dioxide stored by these trees to date is estimated to be 67,148 pounds. The troop labeled 22 trees at Wellesley Middle School along Kingsbury Street. This year, the estimated amount of carbon dioxide stored by these trees is 1,828 pounds and the total amount of carbon dioxide stored to date is estimated to be 69,304 pounds. The scouts also labeled larger trees by the ball fields along Washington Street. The estimated amount of carbon dioxide stored by 19 trees this year is 5,002 pounds. To date, these trees have stored an estimated 284,370 pounds of carbon dioxide. Town government relies heavily on volunteers, and we are fortunate to have so many citizens serving our community. There are a number of Town boards and commissions with vacancies or members with term expirations. To volunteer for a Town Board or Committee, please complete the online volunteer form here. Two we are highlighting are below. Thanks for considering.
Climate Action Committee: The Committee works with municipal departments, residents, businesses, institutions, and civic organizations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote sustainability. The Climate Action Committee consists of seven members. The Select Board, the Municipal Light Board and the School Committee each appoint one member. The Select Board also appoint the remaining four members from residents active in the Town's volunteer sustainable energy initiatives or others who bring relevant expertise, such as knowledge about sustainable energy practices, marketing, or community engagement. Municipal Light Board: The five-person, Municipal Light Board oversees the Wellesley Municipal Light Plant. The board consists of three elected Board of Public Works Commissioners and two members appointed by the Select Board. The Wellesley Municipal Light Plant ("WMLP") implements best business practices to protect the safety of our employees and the public, deliver environmentally sustainable and highly reliable electricity and telecommunication services at competitive rates and provide financial and in-kind support to the Town. The WMLP conducts its affairs in a socially responsible and ethical manner, with respect for our many stakeholders To learn about other Boards and Committees, please click here: Who: Middle Schoolers (grade 5 and up) that live or go to school in town What: Fun, smart cycling event
Where: Wellesley High School parking lot When: Saturday, June 10th from 10-11.30am (rain date June 11) How: Register here To support middle school students to ride more independently on our busy streets, Safe Routes to School (SRTS) and the Wellesley Police Dept (WPD) are sponsoring this event with Wellesley’s Natural Resources Commission, Sustainable Wellesley and Wellesley Green Schools. The goal is to create a mindset that bikes should be treated as a vehicle, and to build overall skills and confidence for riding safely and legally to school and throughout town. Registrants and a parent/caregiver should meet at the Wellesley High School parking lot to learn some “rules of the road” before enjoying a guided bike train along Wellesley’s beautiful Brook Path and some on-street riding. Safe Routes To Schools will offer some giveaways and Winnie the WPD community resource service dog will be there to greet the kids as they embark upon the ride! The first 25 registrants will get a free J.P. Licks gift card and all participants can win a bike accessory raffle item from Pappa Wheelies! Register here. Rain date is June 11th. |
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