 1) The New England Aquarium Lecture Series welcomes author, educator, environmentalist, and founder of Third Act, Bill McKibben. In the United States, young people have been leading the fight to stabilize our democracy and our climate. But they need backup, including from older Americans.
McKibben, a veteran writer and campaigner, founded Third Act, a volunteer advisory council for those over the age of 60 determined to change the world for the better. Join us for a talk focused on McKibben’s life’s work, beginning in the suburbs of Boston, with a focus on where we stand now and how we can make rapid progress as we look to the future. This New England Aquarium Lecture Series event is free to the public and presented in partnership with the Lowell Institute. PLEASE NOTE: Virtual registration closes at 2:00 p.m. on April 12. Register here. 2) You can ALSO hear Bill McKibben speak about climate change, migration and racism on First Parish in Concord social action community and Concord Public Schools are pleased to host Bill McKibben to speak in-person on Climate Change, Migration and Racism. For over 30 years, McKibben (website) has been at the forefront of climate activism, having founded the organizations 350.org and ThirdAct.org, and with numerous books beginning with The End of Nature (1989) to his most recent The Flag, the Cross and the Station Wagon (2022). This event is a memorial lecture for Peter Nichol, a local educator and climate champion who passed away last year. Learn more about Peter from his obituary. This is a hybrid event, with a Zoom option for people who can't attend in-person. Please register here.  Join a webinar on how to decarbonize your homewith Larry Chretien, Senator Creem, and Anna Vanderspek
Senator Creem and the Green Energy Consumers Alliance are hosting a webinar on Wednesday to help people understand and navigate the many state and federal incentives that are available for electric vehicles and home electrification. The webinar will take place on Wednesday, March 22 at 7pm. You can register via Zoom here. There are so many new programs to assist people in switching to climate-friendly technologies, but Senator Creem recognizes that they can be extremely confusing to navigate. She wants to help her constituents and others around the state understand what incentives are available to them and how to take advantage.  You are invited to Mass Power Forward's gas is past petition party.
As we all know, gas is dangerous, polluting and expensive. Using gas to heat our homes and buildings is bad for our health and our climate. A just and rapid transition away from gas to a future of clean heat powered by clean electricity is possible. Our environmental justice and climate goals require it. Stop gas companies from continuing business as usual at the cost of our health, safety, and climate future. This is urgent for our planet and for communities currently facing expansion projects like Springfield and Longmeadow. Our new Governor, Maura Healey, has made climate one of her main goals. Here is a petition asking her to declare, by Earth Day, that there is no future for gas in Massachusetts. This will help urge Governor Healey to halt new gas system expansions until the state has a concrete plan for a just transition to a clean — and green — energy future. Learn more and get more petitions signed at Mass Power Forward's "Gas is the Past" petition parties on the following Wednesday's from 6-7pm. RSVP to a party here.
Have A Student in Public Schools? Come to the Next Wellesley Green Schools Meeting Thursday3/9/2023
 Composting, bike event, and so much more is happening across the district!
Come learn how to set sustainability goals for your school. Also help plan April's "Go Idle Free in 2023" campaign! All are welcome. When: Thursday March 16th at 10am Where: Common Room at the Wellesley Free Library WMS Students: "energy-efficient homes Are A subtle but impactful way to combat climate change"3/8/2023
 Written by Luna Lu and Sharon Cheng, Grade 8 WMS Students
House Unplugged is a project done annually in all WMS 8th grade science classes. Students like us work in small groups to design a model of an energy-efficient house. In the end, a miniature model is built using household materials like cardboard, felt, plastic containers, and newspaper. Although some information is covered in class, most work is done independently inside the groups. We conducted our own research by making use of online resources and taking detailed notes. The project this year was just a little under four weeks, but in that time, nearly all groups produced satisfactory results. Why are we doing this? House Unplugged is partly an effort to deepen students’ understanding of heat transfer, which we had been studying prior to the project. But mostly, it is an effort to teach students about the importance of sustainability. As many may know, climate change is becoming a more concerning issue every year. The world has warmed as much as 1.8 ˚F in just the last century. Climate change will lead to inhumane temperatures if not acted upon, besides rising sea levels, unpredictable weather, and loss of biodiversity. The most pressing causes that we generally think of are the rapid industrialization of our times, energy use, and transportation. However, home building, one of the biggest contributors to climate change, goes unnoticed by the public. Currently, building houses counts for 40% of global CO2 emissions, and it’s only going up from there. Building materials alone contribute 13% to the roster. Since 1941, about 37.12 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide have been emitted every year, an unhealthy amount if we were to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Subsequently, by using sustainable building materials, we can save up to 4.8 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, the amount of CO2 that one billion people produce per year. If we can save that much the goal of this project is to build a model of a house that uses those sustainable materials. Our Process Through the HU Project The first step to any sort of project is always research. During this time, we took large amounts of notes to brainstorm the features we wanted to include in our home, such as solar panels, radiant heating, etc. It was during this time that we discovered features like solar trackers, heat pumps, energy recovery ventilators, and many more that we weren’t aware of prior to House Unplugged. After finalizing our features, multiple sketches were made from different perspectives to show the full potential of the house. Since this project is likely students’ first time being introduced to sustainable building, we were lucky enough to have experts in the field come in to discuss our decisions and give feedback on ways to improve. These experts were architects, carpenters, and even teachers who came and spent multiple days with us. Through our conversations, we started thinking about more specific aspects like the material of the walls and what kinds of insulation works best. We looked into different alternatives to the mechanics we wanted to include previously. By talking with an expert, we discovered that, alongside the solar panels which we were planning to install on the roof, we could also include solar trackers/trees, providing us with the most amount of energy possible. Our experts also talked to us about how the different mechanics in our house can work together to be more efficient and effective. For example, one important aspect of an energy-efficient house is for it to be airtight in order to preserve the temperature inside the house. However, if this was to happen, we also had to make sure that fresh air had a chance to enter the house by using an ERV (energy recovery ventilator) that could bring fresh air into the house and remove stale air within the house. The building process of the house was a time-consuming portion of this project taking us about a week to complete. Materials were brought in mostly by the students and only some were provided by the teachers, they varied from cardboard, to plastic containers, straws, and newspapers. Most groups, including our own, started with a shoe box and modified it to our needs. We had the freedom to build however we wanted and had the responsibility of deciding how we were going to incorporate all the aspects of our original plan into our model. We cut out squares in our box to form windows and glued them on newspaper to represent cellulose insulation within our walls. Our model was placed on a flat piece of cardboard and everything was positioned strategically according to our research like placing deciduous trees on the south-facing side of our house to block sunlight. The last aspect of the House Unplugged project was for all the students to summarize all that we learned and present our final design to judges, some of whom were adults from WMS and others who were experts from the community. . Each group worked to put together a slideshow to showcase their understanding of this project. We were asked to explain the different aspects of our models, how they function, and how they benefit an energy-efficient house. Throughout the project, students like us not only developed team working skills but also learned about aspects of energy-efficient homes, a subtle but impactful way to combat climate change. Many students went home to explain the concepts to their family, and it’s safe to say that this project was a great success. We can’t wait to see what students will do with this project next year. Works Cited Architecture 2030. “Why the Building Sector? – Architecture 2030.” Architecture 2030, . Accessed 6 Mar. 2023. Tiseo, Ian. “Annual CO2 Emissions Worldwide 1940-2021.” Statista, 6 Feb. 2023, . Accessed 6 Mar. 2023.  If only you were capturing all that rain today!
With water costs on the rise, capturing rainwater runoff provides a free source of water that can be used to water gardens and green spaces around your home. Are you interested in purchasing a rain barrel at a discount? Wellesley's Natural Resources Commission (NRC) is partnering again with The Great American Rain Barrel Company to provide rain barrels made from repurposed olive barrels at a reduced price of $89.00. Note: Due to high demand in other communities, delivery is not expected until the end of June. Sign up and delivery information is pending. Interested parties can email the NRC Here.  Wednesday, March 8, 2023 7 to 8:30 p.m.Register here Wellesley Annual Town Meeting 2023 will consider adoption of the Municipal Opt-in Specialized Energy Code (Opt-in Code). Join us on March 8 for a presentation and roundtable discussion with building and sustainability experts. Panelists: Tom Catalano, AIA, Principal, Catalano Architects Mark Doughty, Principal, Thoughtforms Nick Falkoff, Owner and General Manager, Auburndale Builders Allen Hebert, Operations Manager, Facilities Management Department, Town of Wellesley Hank Keating, AIA, President, Passive House Massachusetts Marybeth Martello, Sustainability Director, Town of Wellesley Ellen Watts, FAIA, LEED AP Topics:
Learn more here. Questions? Contact Wellesley's Sustainability Director, Marybeth Martello, mmartello@wellesleyma.gov Sponsored by the Town of Wellesley Select Board and Climate Action Committee Wednesday, March 8, 2023 7 to 8:30 p.m.Register here Wellesley Annual Town Meeting 2023 will consider adoption of the Municipal Opt-in Specialized Energy Code (Opt-in Code). Join us on March 8 for a presentation and roundtable discussion with building and sustainability experts. Panelists: Tom Catalano, AIA, Principal, Catalano Architects Mark Doughty, Principal, Thoughtforms Nick Falkoff, Owner and General Manager, Auburndale Builders Allen Hebert, Operations Manager, Facilities Management Department, Town of Wellesley Hank Keating, AIA, President, Passive House Massachusetts Marybeth Martello, Sustainability Director, Town of Wellesley Ellen Watts, FAIA, LEED AP Topics:
Learn more here. Questions? Contact Wellesley's Sustainability Director, Marybeth Martello, mmartello@wellesleyma.gov Sponsored by the Town of Wellesley Select Board and Climate Action Committee  With half of the candidates for Town-wide offices in contested races, your vote will count so make sure you know who will work on things you care about.
As you get ready to vote tomorrow, please read what the candidates have said they would do for our climate on a local level. Please, encourage your local friends and family to have their voice heard by voting tomorrow. Not sure where to vote, click here. **Please note, Sustainable Wellesley is a 501c3 non profit organization that does not endorse any candidates.  Spring into Action on the First Day of Spring - Join the Bank Day of Action - Tuesday, 3/21/23
Our banks – where we have our credit cards, our checking and savings accounts, our mortgages, our home equity loans – our banks are financing the fossil fuel industry. As their customers, we must tell them to stop enabling climate destruction and, instead, finance a livable future. Across the country, Third Act and so many of our allies are speaking out to JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citi, the top four US banks financing the fossil fuel industry and the damage they inflict. How to join?
Local planned actions are: Boston: Tuesday, March 21 at 12:00 – 1:30pm Downtown Crossing 425 Washington St Intersection with Winter St. Boston, MA Newton: Tuesday, March 21 at 12 – 1:30pm Newton Center, intersection of Beacon and Center Streets - southeast corner Newton, MA  Protecting birds and their habitats can be as simple as changing your morning coffee. A young Wellesley birder has created a conservation campaign to encourage neighbors and businesses to switch to shade-grown coffee, which is better for the environment and birds.
Henry, age 10, has been birding for most of his life and drawing birds for the past few years. He was looking for opportunities for environmentally-minded volunteer projects, but because of his age there were limited options. Henry decided to combine his passions for art and birds and launch a public awareness campaign to share the benefits of bird-friendly coffee grown under the canopy of forests. Why drink shade-grown, bird-friendly coffee? • Increases density and diversity of bird species • Sustains wintering areas for migration • Improves bird health and habitats Coffee grown in shaded-areas also has larger environmental benefits: supports sustainable farms, protects rainforests, wastes less water, and grows slower, which makes a richer flavor. To find shade grown coffee, look for Bird-friendly or Rainforest Alliance symbols. For more information, visit http://parkerbirds.com/coffee or follow @parkerbirds on Instagram. If you would like to promote this campaign, stickers and posters are available for sharing. Please email coffee@parkerbirds.com. Artwork by Henry Malec-Scott © 2022 |
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