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Fall is right around the corner and Lexington is getting back to school and work in a different way: virtual, hybrid, and socially distant. The environmental community is a ray of hope even as we all have to use a little ingenuity to get things done. This edition includes Zoom classes and talks, socially distanced markets and virtual hikes. Our new Sustainability Director is in full stride and offers us a rundown on of some programs that she is working on. Enjoy the newsletter, visit us online and recommend us so your social network.
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In This Issue–September 2020:
- Report From Our New Sustainability Director, Stella Carr
- Cary Library Virtual Workshop: Great Taste, Less Waste
- Lexington Residential Curbside Composting
- Lexington Community Farm
- Lexington Field & Garden Fall/Winter Gardening Series
- Lexington Farmers’ Market
- Citizens for Lexington Conservation Newsletter News
- Save the Date! “Stand for Lexington’s Trees”
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Hello Lexington Green Network!
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I am Stella Carr, the new and first Sustainability Director for the Town of Lexington. I began working remotely for the Town in June and relocated from Arizona in July. As September marks the end of my first 3 months with the Town I thought it would be great to give a brief update on what I am up to.
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Before my arrival Lexington had already achieved a lot by way of sustainability. I have spent time familiarizing myself with the work we are already doing and understanding, along with the rest of the Town employees how my position will play a part in continuing to progress our goals and interact with the organization and community.
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As you may know sustainability is multifaceted and the areas in which my work takes me varies greatly. Amongst the various projects I have been engaged with a few stand out that I want to highlight.
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Water Conservation Month: We worked with the Wyland Foundation to express our community support of water conservation practices and spread awareness of their water conservation challenge through social media. This is just a small action, but one that we will be working to continue spreading awareness of as conserving natural resources is growing to be more important.
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Electric Vehicles: I have been working with the Town to identify opportunities to electrify our fleet. As we have ambitious zero emissions goals, “Greening” our fleet is a key piece for reducing or eliminating our municipal emissions. Stay tuned for more exciting news about the addition of Electric Vehicles to the Town fleet soon.
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Grants: I have been collaborating with other Town staff to apply for several grants that will enable us to continue making improvements to our community, and reach goals outlined in our Municipal Vulnerability Plan and Sustainable Action Plan.
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These updates highlight just a few of the many areas I am working in. There is much more I have to learn about the great community that Lexington is, regarding sustainability and the other amazing work we do. Together with the help of our community members like you, our talented staff, and great leadership my time here is off to a fantastic start, and I look forward to continuing to serve the residents and make Lexington a Sustainable Community.
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I hope to continue providing periodic updates to the newsletter, so keep your eyes out for more great news!
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Creative techniques for the kitchen that taste great and waste less! Chef Katie Walter and Cary Library (sign up required to participate live)
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How much of the food you bought last week had to be trashed? Often make dinner for the family and the scraps are left on the plate? Come to this workshop to learn about ways to reduce your household food waste and save money by using smart shopping techniques, yummy recipes and other food management practices, like freezing and creatively using odds and ends as well as entertaining with less waste. Cooking instructor and Lexington resident Katie Walter will share ideas that will surely spark your own creative juices.
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Please register to get the Zoom meeting link and password.
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Help us get to 1,000 households!
Lexington has been making great progress in taking food waste out of the trash and and turning it into compost, a product that feeds the soil on farms and our backyards and reduces pesticide use. There are a few residential compost pick up companies out there; however, Lexington has earned a group price discount of only $99/year for weekly pick up with Black Earth Compost. Black Earth, Lexington DPW and LPS Green Teams have partnered to deliver a free, curbside bin and countertop container to your door when you start the service! Black Earth now has 954 Lexington customers that divert ~ 4.2 Tons of food waste a week!! That is a lot of waste kept out of the incinerator and diverted for use as a soil amendment. Visit the Black Earth residential service page to learn more and sign up.
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LexFarm’s season is in full swing with organically grown tomatoes, peppers, summer squash and more! We also sell conventionally grown sweet corn, grown by Dennis Busa. Visit the website for updated offerings.
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The farmstand is open:
Wednesdays and Fridays: 1:00 – 6:00 pm
Thursdays, 3:00 – 7:00 pm
Saturdays, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm.
We accept SNAP/EBT, cash, cards, checks and Apple/Google Pay.
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In addition, Cape Ann Fresh Catch fish will have a pop-up shop at the farmstand on Saturdays, 10:30 am to about 12:30pm (whenever they sell out). They are an organization that delivers high quality sustainably-caught fish and seafood, purchased from Gloucester fisherman.
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LexFarm Thanks CAAL for a Covid-19 Relief Grant
Since March, Chinese American Association of Lexington (CAAL) members and friends have been donating their time and money toward helping Lexington residents, town departments and organizations respond to Covid-19. Following a massive PPE relief operation, they more recently raised money to support local organizations and provide relief from some of the devastating impacts of COVID. LexFarm thanks CAAL for their generous $1000 grant which will be used to defray the cost of supplies and materials needed in order to offer a safe environment for our customers and staff.
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Thank you, CAAL members and donors! We are grateful for your partnership.
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Sign Up for any of these virtual programs at Cary Library
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Click on the title of the program, and you will be able to sign up. If you miss it, you can look under You Tubes with Ashley Rooney on the Internet. More programs on the Lexington Field and Garden website.
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A meadow of mixed flowers and native grasses can replace your lawn, cover a slope, or enhance a roadside. Most meadows require much less water and fertilizer than lawns do, and they rarely need mowing. Join Holly Samuels and Ashley Rooney as they discuss creating a stylized, sustainable pollinator meadow that you can size to your yard.
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Chickens in your lawn? Ashley Rooney will first meet with Tommy Reilly, who will describe the benefits and concerns of having chickens. Then Leslie Willcox Henrie of the Lexington Farmers Market will discuss its local fresh produce and local farming.
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Every Tuesday
June 9 – October 27
Corner of Fletcher Ave & Mass Ave
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2:00 – 3:00 pm: Preorders Needed for Entry*
3:00 – 6:30 pm: General Entry; Onsite Shopping & Preorder Pickup
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*Shoppers will need to have placed a preorder with our farmers and vendors to enter the market between 2 – 3 PM. If you forgot an item or want to add to your order, customers can make on-site purchases during this time.
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While the market will look different this year, the LFM mission is the same: to bring healthy, local food to all members of our community. Much like you’ve become accustomed to, new safety protocols mean that we will be controlling the number of people inside the market and putting markings and signage in place, but in our favorite outdoor market setting, rain or shine. We’re glad to be back.
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For more information on our hours, farmers and vendors attending, placing preorders for pickup, and rules for safer shopping and what to expect, please visit our website or follow us on Facebook.
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Citizens for Lexington Conservation posts suggested fall activities
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Because of current restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, Citizens for Lexington Conservation will not be able to conduct our usual series of guided walks this fall. As an alternative, throughout the coming weeks we will be posting a series of short articles that feature suggested self-guided walks and other conservation-related events of interest to Lexington residents. For this fall, the articles posted to our website will also serve as our fall newsletter. We will welcome ideas for walks and other activities that you would like to share with others. If you have a piece you are interested in contributing, you can email it to [email protected] or send it from the “contact us” link on our website (CLCLex.org). Our webmaster will include relevant contributions in our postings. We will also welcome your comments or suggestions about our website, scheduled walks, sponsored talks, environmental advocacy or other CLC activities.
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We hope you will enjoy our postings. We suggest that you check the CLC website biweekly to see what is new. Citizens for Lexington Conservation thank you for your support.
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Save the Date!
October 6th, 7:00pm – 8:30pm “Stand for Lexington’s Trees”
Cary Library, Sustainable Lexington, the Lexington Tree Committee, Lexington DPW and a number of co-sponsors present a library Zoom panel discussion:
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Our featured speakers will be Professor William Moomaw, founding director of the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy and co-director of the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts. He was the first director of the climate program at World Resources Institute in Washington and has been a lead author of five Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Reports. Dr. Moomaw is a leading voice on the importance of increasing carbon dioxide removal and sequestration by trees.
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We will also hear from Robert O’Connor, Forest & Land Policy Director for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs (EEA). Massachusetts Audubon describes Bob’s contribution: “We know we speak for the entire land conservation community in Massachusetts when we say that he has our most sincere gratitude for all he has done for this state. Without overstatement, Bob O’Connor is one of the primary reasons Massachusetts has some of the most effective conservation partnerships and state land conservation programs in the nation.”
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Lexington DPW staff will offer insights into current policies regarding Town trees and efforts to establish a tree canopy assessment.
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The presentations will be followed by general discussion about what we in Lexington currently know about our trees and what we can do to protect them.
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Details to follow on the Cary Library website.
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Would you like to submit an environmental event or activity?
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Please forward to your network!
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