How do Rain Barrels help our community?
Rain barrels:
The Natural Resources will have information regarding ordering them soon. Click here to learn more. Got Problems with Invasive Shrubs?
Cricket Vlass, Wellesley Town Horticulturist and Landscape Planner, will share ways to identify, remove, and replace them on Tuesday, February 23 from 7-8PM via Zoom. Register in advance here for this virtual educational event: Invasive plants are not only a threat to conservation lands, they also pose a threat in your yard. In this 1-hr Wellesley Conservation Land Trust webinar learn:
This free event is part of the Wellesley Conservation Land Trust Educational Series and co-sponsored by the Wellesley Free Library, Natural Resources Commission and Sustainable Wellesley. Wellesley has added an electric mower to the landscaping fleet!
Due to buy a replacement mower, Wellesley’s Custodial Services Manager Mike Santangelo said the Town opted for an electric model to replace a gas-powered mower after learning about the benefits at the fall Zoom workshops co-sponsored by Wellesley’s DPW and the Town of Lexington and organized with help from the nonprofits American Green Zone Alliance, Quiet Communities, Inc., and Sustainable Wellesley. With research and pricing assistance through a vendor on State contract, Santangelo said shifting to electric seemed like the right choice. An electric leaf blower and hedge trimmer have already been in use as part of a pilot program. Look for the nifty mower buzzing (quietly) around the Warren Recreation Center property once spring arrives. In the meantime, learn more about the electric mower here. The Role of Pesticides & Chemical Fertilizers in Changing the Climate
A Talk by Ed Stockman Tuesday, November 10 at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom Register here. Ed Stockman is a biologist, 4th generation farmer, and cofounder and education director of Regeneration Massachusetts. He is the former (retired) NOFA/Mass Organic Extension Educator and served in Ecuador as a volunteer and trainer. His on farm research -- Organic Agrosystems Research -- conducts applied agricultural research in Plainfield, Massachusetts. Ed cofounded Mass Right to Know GMOs and served as the education director. Ed is a grandfather concerned with a changing climate. This is the third in the Farms, Forests, and Food Systems Soil Speaker Series -- Beyond Stopping Emissions: How Healthy Soil and Plants Can Restore Climate Balance Presented by Climate Action Now Western Mass. As autumn leaves swirl on properties throughout our area, our continuing conversation about how we landscape could not be more relevant. Thank you to those who attended our Zoom workshop entitled Quiet, Healthy Yards, A Regional Residential Land Care Workshop. If you missed some of the event, you can Watch it HERE – and please share with your friends and neighbors! Please note that one video is for residents, and one is for commercial landcare professionals.
If you have questions in the wake of the event, please reach out to us directly at info@sustainablewellesley and we will direct your questions. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Jamie Banks, co-founder of the nonprofit Quiet Communities, Inc., and Dan Mabe, founder of American Green Zone Alliance for organizing this event, and we are grateful to event co-sponsors the Town of Lexington and the Town of Wellesley Department of Public Works. Be on the look out for details about next steps and future events as well as a list of local landscape companies that are all-electric, or that offer electric for some part of their services. In 2021, Wellesley residents will be creating butterfly pathways through Wellesley and beyond. A butterfly pathway helps butterflies (and other native species like hummingbirds and beneficial bugs) move through the landscape. They want to create a natural environment focused on native plant species which butterflies and other beneficial bugs can thrive.
By working together, we can create a conducive habitat at a scale that can help butterflies and beneficial bugs to disperse more efficiently and contribute to sustaining healthy community of species. The first step is to map out public and private spaces dedicated to native, butterfly friendly gardens. If you have a native garden, please send a message to Bea and let her know where your garden is so it can be added to the map. |