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Snow is on the ground, but the sun is shining more brightly every day. Daylight saving time is right around the corner as we move our clocks forward on March 13th and spring officially starts on March 20th. All good things as we come out of winter hibernation!

In Lexington, March means an Election on March 7th, and Town Meeting starting on March 28th. One of the best things we can do for the environment is vote; for health, for the environment and for climate solutions. Make sure to turn out and vote and prepare for Town Meeting by learning about the issues and contacting your Town Meeting Members.

Spring also brings us closer to pre-ordering plants for pollinators from Lexington Living Landscapes and for veggies from Lexington Community Farm. The Lexington Field and Garden Club is presenting a program on how to prune your shrubs to keep them healthy and Lexington Living Landscapes has a wonderful program on how you can rethink your lawn to use less toxins and to feed beneficial insects. I’m feeling warmer already!

On the food front, LexCAN and Cary Library are hosting a program to answer all your questions on “electrifying” your cooking by using fossil fuel free induction cooking. LexFarm is offering registration for farm-based educational programs for children, and the Winter Farmers' Market will run on March 5th and 19th.

Of course, warm weather means better biking conditions so check out the offerings from the Town of Lexington Transportation Services on biking and other “mobility” options.
See you in Spring!

Mothers Out Front/Lexington

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Climate Coffee Break with Mothers Out Front:

Clean Heat for Lexington: Q&A on the State of the Campaign

FRIDAY, March 11, 2022, 12:00-12:30PM
Virtual Event: Please REGISTER HERE

In This Issue – March 2022:

  • "Clean Heat for Lexington Update", 3/11
  • Why It's Essential to Vote YES on Question 1
  • "Pruning Lessons" Presentation, 3/9
  • Climate "11th Hour Calling" Gathering, 3/11
  • LexFarm Spring/Summer Education Programs
  • LexFarm Organic Seedling Sale in March
  • 2nd Annual Pollinator Plant Kit Sale in March
  • "Kill Your Lawn" Presentation, 3/24
  • "Understanding Mobility Options", 3/24
  • Spring Pedestrian and Bike Safety Fair, 3/26
  • "Safer, Faster Induction Cooking", 3/24
  • Winter Farmers' Market 3/5, 3/19
Learn what’s happening with Lexington’s efforts to fight climate change by switching to clean, electric heating and cooling. Cindy Arens of Sustainable Lexington will answer your questions on clean heat-related articles on the March Town Meeting warrant, the status of our home rule petition to restrict gas infrastructure, and more. All questions welcome! Please note: this month’s coffee break will be on Friday, not Thursday.

RSVP: https://www.mothersoutfront.org/events/lexington-ma-20220210/

Quiet Clean Lexington

Quiet Clesan Lexington

Why It's Essential to Vote YES on Question 1

We need your Yes vote on Question 1 on March 7 to protect an important environmental protection bylaw, Article 10, enacted overwhelmingly by Town Meeting last November.

Article 10 establishes permitted hours for the use of powered landscaping equipment, imposes temporary seasonal restrictions on the use of gas-powered leaf blowers (GLBs), and prohibits the use of GLBs by commercial landscapers as of 2025 and by residents a year later. It is the phase-out of GLBs that led to the referendum that attempts to overturn this new bylaw.

There are numerous reasons to join other communities in ridding our town of GLBs, and environmental protection is one of the most important. GLBs are the most serious noise pollution problem in our community. The extreme noise they create is not merely a disruptive annoyance; it is dangerous, particularly for workers. In addition, GLBs are truly filthy machines that emit a large amount of highly toxic pollution. The California Air Resources Board estimates that running a single GLB for one hour—much less than is required to clear a typical yard—creates as much pollution as driving a Toyota Camry 1,100 miles, roughly the distance from Boston to Atlanta. But even that sobering fact seriously understates the pollution from GLBs. First, because GLBs use two-stroke engines that burn oil mix with gas, their emissions are a highly toxic mix of small-particle pollution and gaseous pollutants, including known carcinogens like benzene. Second, the pollution they generate isn’t spread out over 1,100 miles; it’s concentrated in our neighborhoods and in the faces of landscape workers.

The Massachusetts Medical Association has warned of the risks from GLBs to workers and the general public, and the Lexington Board of Health voted unanimously to support Article 10 because of the health risks to workers from both the noise and the emissions from GLBs.

To protect our environment and our health, please vote YES, and please ask other like-minded people to turn out and vote YES.

Lexington Field & Garden Club

Lex Field and Garden

Gardening Series: Pruning Lessons II with Jim Harshbarger and Ashley Rooney

Wednesday, March 9, 2022, 1:00PM
Virtual Event: Register here.
LFGC March 2022
One gardening chore that can be done in early March is to prune your shrubs that bloomed late last spring or early summer (e.g., Rose of Sharon, butterfly bush). If left un‐pruned, the old woody stems will dominate and suppress healthy new growth.

To learn more about pruning, on Wednesday, March 9, at 1 PM,
in the Cary Library Gardening Series, certified arborist Jim Harshbarger, will show us how to remove damaged, dead, structurally unsound, or otherwise unwanted material from shrubbery and trees. Throughout his presentation you will find detailed explanations and instructions on when and how to prune your plants.

To sign up for this Cary Library Series event, register here.

Climate Action Team of First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church

First Parish Climate

"11th Hour Calling" Bell Ringing and Talk

Friday, March 11, 2022, 11:00AM
First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church
The Climate Action Team of First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church in Lexington, Ma. is again answering the 11th Hour Calling, an interfaith movement calling for people of all faiths to call attention to the urgency of climate justice action by gathering together and ringing church bells, striking Buddhist gongs and singing bowls, reciting the 99 names of Allah, singing or reciting sacred scriptures after a prayer/meditation/poetry gathering on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the month.

On Friday March 11th at 11:00 AM, we will be gathering outside the church on the historic Lexington Green, where another revolution began in April 1775. We are pleased that the short talk this month will be by Rev. Reebee Kavich Girash, Pastor of Lexington's Pilgrim Congregational Church, accompanied with original music.

Lexington Community Farm (LexFarm)

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Announcing LexFarm Spring and Summer Education Programs!

LexFarm youth education programs offer hands-on learning and play opportunities in a beautiful farm setting. We focus on sustainability, gardening and farming, seasonal cycles, and respect for nature. In our classes, children explore, observe, discover, plant, weed, water, harvest, play, sing, cook, and visit the animals at neighboring Silk Fields Farm! We are offering classes for two age groups: 4/5 yo and K/1. A toddler plus caregiver class will be added in May.

Learn more and sign up here: https://lexfarm.org/education/



Pre-Buy Organic Seedling Sale Coming in March

We're getting the greenhouse ready for spring seedlings! Stay tuned for a newsletter in mid-March, which will contain a link to our online store where seedlings can be purchased in advance. Pick up will take place on May 20, 21 and 22. This year we'll also have staffed farm stand hours on select weekends in May where you can purchase seedlings, soil, compost and seeds in person. Last year we sold out of many varieties quickly.

Sign up for our newsletter to receive the announcement: https://lexfarm.org/get-involved/newsletter/.

Lexington Living Landscapes

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2nd Annual Pollinator Plant Kit Sale!

LLL polinator pic Mar2022
Building on last year’s success, Lexington Living Landscapes is again collaborating with the Lexington Conservation Office to bring you Pollinator Planting Kits for sale. This year we will be offering a sun kit with plants that thrive in sun to partial sun and a shade kit with plants that thrive in partial shade to shade. The kits will include three plants each of four different species, which are selected based on bloom time and their attractiveness to pollinators.
The plants are grown at a certified organic native perennial farm in New Hampshire and come in quart-size biodegradable pots. You can purchase a kit of 12 plants (three plants of each species) for $65, which is a highly discounted price. The sale opens online March 15th and supplies are limited. Kits will become available for pick-up towards the end of May.

For more information on the plants offered and how to sign up, click here.

Kill Your Lawn

Thursday, March 24, 2022, 7:00 - 8:30PM
Virtual Event:Register here.
Dan Jaffe Wilder
Every house in America should be fronted with a non-native monoculture with the maintenance requirements of a golf course and the ecological value of a strip mine; a place where all flowers are called weeds and signs essentially saying “keep off” are the norm.

Does that idea seem a bit odd to you? It’s time to take a second look at this idea we call lawn. Join Dan Jaffe Wilder, co-author of Native Plants for New England Gardens and Director of Applied Ecology at Norcross Wildlife Foundation, to learn about the various options available to us, from whole lawn replacement
to strategies for managing existing lawn in more ecologically beneficial ways. From well-known plants to brand new introductions, we will discuss various options that fit the needs of various lawn spaces.

Dan Jaffe Wilder is an ecologist, horticulturist, and botanist with over fifteen years of experience working with native plants and their associated ecology. His work has ranged from classrooms to nurseries to botanical gardens to wildlife refuges, specializing in native plant ecology, propagation, wildlife habitat construction, and native edible landscapes. Dan is currently the Director of Applied Ecology for the Norcross Wildlife Foundation, whose mission is to protect, enhance, and expand wildlife through conservation, education, and support.

Join us for a fascinating evening. Co-sponsored by the Lexington Conservation Division.

Town of Lexington Transportation Services

Transportation

Understanding Mobility Options

Thursday, March 24, 2022, 7:00PM
Via Zoom: REGISTER ONLINE
Microtransit, micromobility, autonomous vehicles, on-demand, demand-response, curb-to-curb, door-to-door, so many terms! Come to this forum to learn about all these options, learn more about what is available to you now, and discuss what may be on the horizon for the region in regards to transportation options. FREE. Virtual Session.



Bike Fair

Spring Pedestrian and Bike Safety Fair

Saturday, March 26, 2022, 1:00-4:00PM
Lexington Community Center, 39 Marrett Rd

$5 entry fee/$20 max per family REGISTER ONLINE
Celebrate the arrival of SPRING and get ready to walk & bike more and do so safely! We will have free helmets and helmet fittings for youth up to age 16, courtesy of Boston Children's Hospital Injury Prevention Program. We'll also have bike lights and other sources of illumination and reflectivity so you can Be Safe & Seen whether walking or biking.

Meet with local experts from the Lexington Bicycle Advisory Committee, MassBike, Friends of Lexington Bikeways, Safe Routes to School, Lexington Transportation Services, Lexington Police, and ACROSS Lexington/Lexington Greenway Corridor Committee.

Get lots of great information, safety tips,safety resources, plus popcorn and more!

Advanced registration is required for all attendees so we have enough helmets and gear! $5 per person, capped at $20 per family. (This small fee helps offset the cost of same great items like reflective bags, reflective arm/leg bands, shoe tags, and more!)

This Fair is open to people of all ages & abilities. Come join our community of local pedestrian and bike enthusiasts!

Lexington Climate Action Network and Cary Library

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Let's Go Electric: Safer, Faster Induction Cooking

Thursday, March 24, 2022, 7:00PM
Virtual Event: REGISTER ONLINE
Thinking about upgrading your cooking space and wondering about electric induction? Join us for a presentation to learn about induction cooking, hear from celebrity chefs and watch a live demo of induction cooking in action. Get your questions answered from Katie Walter, owner of Two Aprons Cookery and avid user of induction cooking for her professional cooking needs.

She will be joined by Diane Pursley, who will walk us through the negative aspects associated with cooking with natural gas and the benefits of cooking electric. Diane is a leader in the Lexington Public School Green Teams and a member of LexCAN Programs Committee.

Registration is required for this virtual event. Here is the Link.

This program is presented by Cary Library in partnership with the Lexington Climate Action Network (LexCAN). This program is made possible by the generous donors to the Cary Library Foundation.

Lexington Farmers' Market

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The Winter Market Is Back! Come See Us March 5th and 19th

After a year’s hiatus, the Small Yet Mighty Winter Market has returned, back home at the Waldorf School in Lexington! The new season comes with so much good news, including an exciting line-up of vendors featuring your favorites from the regular season. Masks will be required for all those attending the market including vendors and market staff, and capacity limits will be maintained, with a covered spot outdoors for those waiting for entrance.

The LFM will be open biweekly every other Saturday from 11 – 2 pm (March 5 & 19, April 2 & 16), and is located at the Waldorf School, 739 Massachusetts Avenue in Lexington with free parking available.

The LFM is a producer-only market, ensuring that what you find is fresh and local, sustainably raised and carefully crafted by the farmers and vendors of the LFM. Each week, there will be up to ten farmers and vendors participating, with occasional guest vendors. The LFM accepts SNAP and HIP; the LFM’s SNAP program matches up to $15 weekly and HIP can be used at Farmer Dave’s for fruit and vegetable purchases.

In addition to free parking onsite, the Waldorf School is accessible on MBTA Bus Route 62 and 76. Visit www.lexingtonfarmersmarket.org to read more about the Small Yet Mighty Winter Market. For the most up-to-date information, “like” us on Facebook (The Lexington Farmers’ Market) and for fun, follow us on Instagram (@lexingtonfarmersmarket). For questions, email [email protected]

Check out our website for who will be at the market this season.

Would you like to submit an environmental event or activity?
Email us at [email protected]

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