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This month brings a “Special Town Meeting”, where our Town Meeting members will vote on warrant articles that can’t wait until Spring Town Meeting. There are several articles this fall that will affect the environment and the climate. What an opportunity for Lexingtonians who care about the environment! Engaging with the Town Meeting - making your voice heard - is one of the most important things any of us can do.
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This is the time to let your town meeting members know what you think and how you believe they should cast their votes. To find an overview of all the warrant articles and presentations about them, click this link to the Town of Lexington website. The site has an excellent table of all of the warrant articles and slides and presentations that accompany them. Thanks to the Town of Lexington for making this so easy to find!
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The Town Meeting Members Association makes it easy to reach out to Town Meeting members and Select Board members, providing email addresses and phone numbers for your precinct representatives on their site. Not sure which precinct you're in? No worries - there's a link for that.
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Thank you for taking the time to participate in town government. And don't forget to go out and enjoy the sunny, cool November days that are forecasted to start off the month!
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In This Issue – November 2021:
- LexCAN "Hartwell/Article 17 Info Session" 11/2
- Compost Your Pumpkins This Season
- "Curbside Composting" Coffee Chat 11/18
- LexFarm's Fall Farmstand Hours
- Willards Woods Public Meeting 11/15
- Daisy Wilson Meadow Preservation 11/21
- Farmers' Market Thanksgiving FEASTival 11/23
- "LexSORT" and "ZeroToGo" Pilots Are Open
- Native Plant Profiles Online
- Turkey Trot Walk @ Whipple Hill 11/27
- Separate #62, #76 Buses Returning 12/20
- Donations Needed for Bikeway Plowing
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Lexington Climate Action Network (formerly LexGWAC)
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"Building for a Sustainable Hartwell: Article 17 Information Session"
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Tuesday, November 2, 2021, 7:00-8:00PM
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Zoom Event: Please pre-register to get your Zoom link. (After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.)
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Join a LexCAN/Clean Heat for Lexington Alliance information session with Cindy Arens, who has introduced a citizen's article - "Article 17 - Sustainable Hartwell". Recommended by the Sustainable Lexington Committee, Article 17 is an opportunity to build for the future. The purpose of Article 17 is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in new taller lab developments in the CM district (Hartwell Ave.) by requiring a minimum amount of non-onsite fossil fuel combustion-based HVAC for buildings over 65 ft. Learn more about how Lexington can utilize Incentive Zoning, an effective and immediate tool, to bring industry best practices to new development on Hartwell.
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Lexington can lead with clean healthy buildings: here is an example of one being built in Cambridge.
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Cambridge: 325 Binney Street
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- Life Science and Lab developers are currently building with hybrid HVAC systems, becoming industry best practice (up to 18 Btu/h-sf)
- Life Science tenants expect healthy and high-performance buildings
- Moderna leases Hybrid lab at 325 Binney - “As part of Moderna’s commitment to sustainability, the high-performance building ... is designed to be the most sustainable commercial lab building in Cambridge. ” - Covered in the Sept. 30 Boston Globe
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Green Your Halloween!
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We are all enjoying the beautiful fall decor popping up all over town, including our favorite pumpkins and assorted colorful gourds. After those decorations start to get a little mushy and it's time to clean up, consider composting them instead of throwing them in the curbside trash. If they are composted, the pumpkins will be converted into nutrient-rich soil that will fuel new crops in the spring!
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There are a few different choices for composting your pumpkins:
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- Black Earth curbside bin
- Backyard compost bin
- Yard waste bags for curbside pick-up or bring them to Hartwell Ave. (You can mix the pumpkins with the leaves.)
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Lexington Mothers Out Front presents its November Climate Coffee Break:
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"Using Curbside Composting to Fight Climate Change"
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Learn how you can help slow climate change—and reduce the waste you send to the landfill—with curbside composting. Andrew Brousseau, principal and compost manager for Black Earth Compost, will discuss their curbside composting program and explain how you can use the finished product to sequester carbon in your own backyard.
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Already composting with Black Earth? Learn what additional household waste products you can throw in that green bin!
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Help Us Ensure Sustainable Development at Hartwell Ave!
In the next few weeks, we have a rare opportunity to reduce Lexington’s future greenhouse gas emissions by passing Article 17, which uses incentive zoning to encourage clean electric HVAC at the new Hartwell CM district.
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The background: Current zoning incentives for Hartwell Ave require that buildings over 65 feet tall use only clean, electric HVAC (no fossil fuels). However, lab and life sciences buildings are currently exempt.
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Previously, it was thought that the intensive energy needs of labs could not be met with all-electric HVAC. Now, we know there is a solution: hybrid HVAC.
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The opportunity: Article 17, which will be voted on at Town Meeting this Fall, would extend the original incentive zoning to lab and life sciences buildings over 65 feet tall by requiring that they use hybrid HVAC.
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If we do not act, new lab and life sciences buildings could increase Lexington’s greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 40% - making it impossible to achieve the town’s goal of net zero emissions by 2035.
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The ask: Many of you were among the 450+ people who signed the petition to get Article 17 on the Town Meeting warrant - thank you! Now we need all hands on deck to ensure that Article 17 passes.
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- If you haven't already, please sign up as a supporter online and add to our list of over 120 residents that have committed to support this article.
- Attend LexCan’s information session, Tuesday, 11/2, 7:00-8:00 PM, to learn how Lexington can use incentive zoning to bring industry best practices to the Hartwell CM district. Pre-register here.
- Let your Town Meeting members and town boards know how important Article 17 is to our future. Community outreach makes all the difference!
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Please join us in ensuring Lexington is building for a sustainable future!
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Extended Fall Farm Stand Retail Schedule
Thanks to feedback from the community, we have kicked off our extended fall farm stand schedule of retail sales!
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Lexington Community Farm - 52 Lowell St, Lexington, MA
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FALL Farm Stand Hours (through December 18)
Fridays, 1–5 pm
Saturdays, 9 am–3 pm
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2 Tuesdays, 1–5 pm
November 23
December 21
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We accept SNAP/EBT, cash, card, check, and Apple/Google pay.
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Please bring your own bags!
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Fresh organic produce from our farm and farm partners, local eggs, cheeses, bread, milk, meats, ice cream and other grocery and pantry items from New England are available for sale!
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Willards Woods Public Meeting!
The Conservation Commission will be reviewing the Willards Woods Ecological Land Management and Design Plan on Monday, November 15, 2021, 7:00PM.
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The current Draft EMP can be viewed here
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If you're one of the many Lexington residents who enjoy and cherish Willards Woods, please JOIN US!
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Meadow Preservation @ Daisy Wilson Meadow
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Sunday, November 21st, 2021, 9:00AM -12:00PM
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Join our Lead Stewards to continue work to reclaim meadow at Daisy Wilson Meadow.
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Bring your own gloves, snack and water all other materials will be provided.
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Park along Moreland Avenue and meet at the trailhead.
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The 2021 LFM Thanksgiving FEASTival
Tuesday, November 23, 2021, 12:00-4:00PM
Location: Worthen Practice Field
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The Lexington Farmers' Market is hosting the annual LFM Thanksgiving FEASTival this year on November 23rd from 12-4:00pm at the Worthen Road Practice Field, the same site as the regular season markets this year.
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Get ready to bring delicious, local food from your favorite LFM farmers and vendors to your Thanksgiving table! This year preorder your Thanksgiving Turkey, Smoked Holiday Ham, or Fall Bulk Order from Copicut Farm for pickup at the FEASTival; click the link HERE to preorder.
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The LFM will have all your favorite fall fruits and veggies (cranberries included), specialty foods, and Thanksgiving staples, so make sure to keep an eye out for additional farmer and vendor preorder information from the LFM Newsletter as the FEASTival draws near!
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The following is the tentative list of farmers and vendors attending the Thanksgiving FEASTival, keep an eye out for updates:
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Boston Smoked Fish Co
Boston Sword and Tuna
Bread Obsession
Busa Farms
Copicut Farms
Craic Sauce
Del Sur
Doris’ Peruvian Pastries
Drew's Stews and More; Valley View Cheese
Fork on a Road
Gumption Elixir Company
HerbFarmacy
House Bear Brewing
Joyberry Farms
Mei Mei
Merton's Maple Syrup
River Rock Farm
Stillman's Farm
Sueños Artisanal Chocolates
The Queen of Spice
The Roasted Granola
Valicenti Pasta Farm
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Please check for any additions or changes on the LFM website here as we get closer to November 23rd!
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Space Available in Free "LexSORT" Community Composting Pilot Program
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Join the 165+ families that have signed up for LexSORT (Lexington Shared Organics Recovered Together).
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If you, or someone you know, is interested in trying composting, visit our LexSORT webpage for registration details.
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"ZeroToGo" Pilot Program Takes the Waste Out of Takeout
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If you love the idea of takeout without the packaging waste, let us know. Imagine getting your takeout food in reusable/returnable stainless steel containers with silicone lids from participating pilot restaurants. Registration for this program will be available to LexZeroWaste members, and 40 pilot families will be selected through a lottery system. More details to follow soon.
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Thanks to the Community Endowment of Lexington, an endowed fund of the Foundation for MetroWest, for supporting our "LexSORT" and "ZeroToGo" pilot programs to help reduce waste in our town.
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Stay in the Loop with LexZeroWaste!
Subscribe to our e-newsletter to receive occasional updates about what’s happening with LexZeroWaste and invitations to participate in upcoming programs.
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The Power of Native Plants - Profiled on the LLL Website
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In the last few years, many ecologically minded gardeners have been discovering the value of native plants. Native plants offer important advantages over their non-native cousins:
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They are adapted to our climate and soils. Once established, they need little if any irrigation or fertilizer, thereby preserving water resources and keeping fertilizer runoff out of our streams and lakes.
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They have co-evolved over millenia with our local fauna. Through this evolutionary dance, different insect species have developed ways to bypass plants’ chemical defenses to feed on them, channeling the plants’ productivity into the food chains that support all of our wildlife.
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At the same time, pollination “systems” have evolved to the benefit of both plants and insects. Little of this happens with non-native plants.
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Two experienced Lexington gardeners, Greta Ljung and Georgia Harris, profile a different native plant in each Lexington Living Landscapes newsletter, and all the plants profiled can be found on the Living Landscapes website.
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Check out the entries, including this month’s spotlight on Little Bluestem, as you think about your gardening and landscaping plans for next year.
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Turkey Trot Walk @ Whipple Hill
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Saturday, November 27, 2021, 1:00-3:00PM
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Work off the excesses of your Thanksgiving dinner by joining CLC as it revives its annual Turkey Trot walk.
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Whipple Hill is especially scenic when the trees have lost their leaves, revealing Whipple Hill’s rugged landscape features and extensive stone walls. Befitting the highest spot in Lexington, there are extensive views in all directions from the bare summit. The trails are rugged with many ups and downs so hiking boots and walking sticks recommended.
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Meet at the Johnson Road entrance on Winchester Drive. Park on Johnson Road as the parking lot is small. Heavy rain or snow cancels.
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Susan Barrett, Transportation Manager
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MBTA Bringing Back Separate #62 and #76 Bus Routes for Peak Times
The MBTA is bringing back the two separated routes of #62 & #76 starting Monday, Dec. 20.
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The two routes will only operate at peak time and then the combined route will take over at non-peak.
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Here are the changes (in bold) that will be reflected in the winter schedule for the 62 and 76. Please note that these timespans and headways are approximate with some combined trips starting or ending within the separated route periods indicated below.
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- Weekdays:
- 6am – 10am: 62 and 76 run separately at 40-50 minute headways
- 3pm – 7pm: 62 and 76 run separately at 60 minute headways (3-5pm), 30 minute headways (5-6pm), and 40 minute headways (6-7pm)
- All other times: 62/76 runs combined
- Saturdays:
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Online and PDF schedule to follow.
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Help FoLB Keep Lexington's Bikeways Plowed This Winter
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Minuteman Bikeway users have come to count on the bikeway being plowed right after each snowstorm!
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Walkers, joggers and bike riders use the bike path throughout the winter, and in Lexington the plowed path is made possible by tax-deductible donations from users and others who love the bikeway.
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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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