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School is back in session and our network is bursting with activities. Lexington is in the spotlight - past, present and future.

Gardens come first with Open Garden tours to demonstrate plantings that support keystone pollinators. Lexington Field and Garden Club and Lexington Historical Society are hosting an “Herb Festival” that highlight historical herb gardens and today's wider cultural and culinary uses of herbs.

Lexington’s past and present will also be highlighted by author and native Lexingtonian, Bill McKibben with his take on key events in Lexington in the years he grew up here, and how they reflect wider societal trends and perhaps point the way to a positive future. As always, he considers the climate and in this memoir, he also weaves in societal milestones, challenges and hope.
Lexington Climate Action Network will also be looking backwards, and forwards, in their first ever Annual Meeting. Select Board Member (and founder of the Sustainable Lexington Committee) Mark Sandeen will reflect on the great progress Lexington has made on enacting climate solutions and Maggie Peard, Lexington’s new Sustainability and Resilience Officer, will discuss progress she hope to make towards resilience and sustainability moving forward.

Lexington Farmers' Market is hosting its “Sustainability Day” on September 20th in cooperation with the Town Sustainability and Resilience Officer Maggie Peard, other Town departments, Lexington Environmental groups, and vendors. Come pick up your favorite foods and recieve some great tips on how to make your home and community more sustainable.

LexZero Waste is asking all of us to take the Lexington Zero Waste Survey today. Take a minute and let the town know what is important to you as we look forward to a less wasteful future.

Keep reading for these and other exciting offerings in Lexington in September.

In This Issue – September 2022:

  • Lex Living Landscapes' Open Gardens Day, 9/10
  • Lex Historical Society/Field & Garden Club 2nd Annual Herb Fest, 9/10
  • LexCan Welcomes Bill McKibben Talk at Cary Hall, 9/11
  • LexCan's 1st Annual Meeting, 9/13
  • "Sustainability Day" at Lex Farmers' Market, 9/20
  • Puppet Shows at LexFarm, 9/24, 10/22
  • Time to Sign Up for LexFarm's Fall Youth Programs
  • Save the Date: LexFarm Harvest Festival, 10/2
  • Complete Lexington's "Zero Waste" Community Survey
  • Explore Options for Getting to/from School
  • Lexington Transportation Classes on Biking and MBTA

Lexington Living Landscapes

LexLivingLandscape

Lexington Living Landscapes' Open Gardens Day

Saturday, September 10, 2022
For schedule & garden locations, see LLL’s Upcoming Events page

Are you curious to see some of the forms that a pollinator garden can take, or what other gardeners have done with native plants? Or how they've tried to transform their lawns into more environment- and wildlife-friendly green swards? Visit up to twelve Lexington gardens on Saturday, September 10, during our first Open Gardens Day.
LLL Open Gardens Day
There are two windows that day for visitors: seven gardens will be open from 10-12, and another five from 1-3; visit as many or as few as you wish. The homeowners involved are generously opening their yards to visitors in the hopes that you’ll see something that will help or inspire you in your own landscaping, and to learn from you as well.

The gardens vary in how long they’ve been established, how much time the homeowner has invested in them, what they’re trying to accomplish, and whether they have been professionally designed and installed or are do-it-yourself projects.
The gardeners at each house will be present and welcome your questions.

For a detailed schedule and list of participating gardens, check LLL’s Upcoming Events page on or after September 5.

Lexington Field & Garden Club and The Lexington Historical Society

Lex Field and Garden

Second Annual Herb Fest

Saturday, September 10, 2022, 12:00-4:00PM
Buckman Tavern and Hancock-Clarke House, Lexington
FREE


HerbFest
The second annual Herb Fest, organized by the Lexington Historical Society and Lexington Field & Garden Club, showcases the Society’s two beautiful herb gardens:
  • At Buckman Tavern, home to the Helen Noyes Webster and Mary Milligan Memorial Herb Garden, you can sample and purchase items that integrate herbs and spices into foods, soaps, home décor, and ceremonies! The Society’s staff will discuss the uses of herbs in food preservation and medicine, and members of Chinese American Association of Lexington (CAAL) will talk about the history of tea cultivation and ceremonies.
  • At the Hancock-Clarke House Herb Garden, Lexington Garden members will present the history of 18th century herbs. The garden has three sections: culinary, medicinal, and aromatic. While there, you can view images of the Herb Garden since 2010; crafts made using herbs; stitches used in making samplers, Herb of the Month recipes, and an extensive collection of books on herbs. Herb-themed food will also be for sale.
For more information, visit www.lexingtonhistory.org.

Lexington Climate Action Network

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LexCan Welcomes Bill McKibben: "Lexington and a Troubled World - Looking Back and Looking Forward"

Sunday, September 11, 2022, 4:00PM
Cary Hall, 1605 Mass Ave., Lexington
In-Person - Masks Encouraged
Bill McKibben
LexCAN is excited to welcome back Bill McKibben — Lexington native, climate ­activist, writer, founder of 350.org, and founder of his most recent project ThirdAct.Org. Bill will be speaking about his most recent book, The Flag, The Cross, and the Station Wagon.
In this book he observes Lexington's history over the last five decades as a microcosm of America with all its strengths and weaknesses. It gives us a good platform for figuring out what we must do now to stabilize our planet and our democracy.

Bill will be available after the talk for signing his new book. Please support our local bookstore by purchasing through Maxima. Stay tuned for more information.

Free and open to the public. For more information: LexCAN.org

Presented by Lexington Climate Action Network (LexCAN) and co-sponsored by: Cary Memorial Library, SustainabLEX, Energize Lexington, Sustainable Lexington Committee, Lexington Living Landscapes, Mothers Out Front Lexington, LPS Green Teams, Citizens for Lexington Conservation, LexZeroWaste Collaborative, Lexington Green Network, Sustainable Middlesex, Brookhaven Residents Climate Change Committee and 350MA MetroNorth.


LexCan's First Annual Meeting

Tuesday, September 13, 2022, 7:00-8:30PM
Write to [email protected] for the zoom link.

Our next monthly meeting will be our first LexCAN Annual Meeting! We will be welcoming Mark Sandeen, Select Board member and the original chair of Sustainable Lexington Committee and Maggie Peard, Lexington Sustainability and Resilience Officer.

Mark will talk about how far Lexington has come from the beginning of climate action in the Town to date. Maggie will take it from there and talk to us about what she is planning for her work in Lexington. It should be an exciting journey to see how far we have come and where we are going on Lexington climate action.

Write to [email protected] for the zoom link.

Please mark your calendar, join us and invite your friends and neighbors!

Lexington Farmers' Market

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"Sustainability Day" at Lexington Farmers' Market

Tuesday, September 20, 2022, 2:00-6:30PM
Worthen Road Practice Field
Sustainability Day 2022 Flyer-2
Sustainability Day is back at the LFM Tuesday, September 20th from 2-6:30 pm! The Town has teamed up with Lexington Farmers Market and LexCAN to host a Sustainability Day at the market.

LFM will be hosting local sustainability groups and organizations focused on composting, zero waste and green transportation, while offering up community actions and opportunities that you can engage with right here in Lexington. It will be a great way to learn how you can contribute to a more sustainable future by supporting local food, farms, and farmers' markets, taking action to reduce your carbon footprint, and implementing simple strategies to make a difference in your local community.
Organizations will include:
  • Black Earth Compost
  • HomeWorks Energy
  • LexCAN
  • Lexington Community Farm
  • Lexington Zero Waste Collaborative
  • Revision Energy
  • Town of Lexington's Conservation, Sustainability & Resilience, and Human Services departments
  • Lexington Community Choice program
The first 50 customers on September 20th, will have the opportunity to receive a reusable bag. Stop by the LFM from 2-6:30 pm at the Worthen Road Practice Field, to celebrate and learn about sustainability with us!

Lexington Community Farm (LexFarm)

LexFarm

Puppet Shows in the LexFarm Learning Garden

LexFarm Puppets
Let Margaret Moody Puppets carry you into different worlds with the flip of a hand. Join us at LexFarm for two family fun events this fall!
Cow and Mouse's Picnic
Cow and Mouse love to play and picnic together -- until it's time to share Cow's dessert. Join Margaret Moody Puppets for a gentle farm fable told with lively animal puppets. Best for ages 3 to 7, 25 minutes.

Date: Saturday, 9/24 (rain date 9/25)
Time: 10:30am
Location: LexFarm Learning Garden

Purchase tickets by credit card or cash at the event: $5/person or $15 max per family

The Trolls and the Tree
Two trolls agree to take care of the fairies' woodland garden. But when there's not enough space for their breakfast nook, what should they keep -- their deluxe toaster or the fairies' cherished tree? Margaret Moody Puppets will delight with an interactive environmental puppet show accompanied by Arlington musician Peter Lehman on lute. Best for ages 5 to 10, 35 minutes.

Date: Saturday, 10/22 (rain date 10/23)
Time: 10:30am
Location: LexFarm Learning Garden

Purchase tickets by credit card or cash at the event: $5/person or $15 max per family



Fall Youth Programs

LexFarm Youth Program
Youth program registration for fall 2022 is open!

LexFarm youth programs offer many opportunities for hands-on learning and play in a beautiful farm setting. Based in the LexFarm learning garden, our classes expose children to all aspects of the growing cycle: planting, weeding, watering, and harvesting. We explore the wildlife at the Arlington reservoir, and visit with the animals at neighboring Silk Fields Farm.
This coming fall we're excited to expand our offerings to serve children age 2 through 3rd grade, adding a new Art in the Garden class and extending our season by running classes from mid-September through early December. For questions, email [email protected]

Join us for outdoor adventures on the farm this fall, and read more on our offerings here





SAVE THE DATE: LexFarm Harvest Festival

Sunday, October 2, 2022, 10:00AM-1:00PM
52 Lowell St., Lexington
Harvest Festival
Plan to join us as we come together to enjoy and celebrate the farm.

We will have children’s activities, food vendors Del Sur and Tubb's Doughnuts, local band Back Pocket, farm tours, shopping in the farm store and more. Silk Fields Farm will be open for guests to view their chickens, goats, and alpacas.
Come enjoy the company of our farm community!

Lexington Zero Waste Collaborative

Zero Waste Plan and Survey Underway for Lexington

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Readers might recall that the Town of Lexington recently adopted Article 27, a Zero Waste Resolution put forth by LexZeroWaste. As a result of the resolution, the Town is undertaking a Zero Waste planning process and is asking for community input through a zero waste survey.

Please let the Town know what you think the priorities should be for policies, programs, and infrastructure that will help get the town, its residents, and its businesses, on a path to Zero Waste by completing the survey today





ZeroToGo Reusable Takeout Update

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As you might imagine, any successful zero waste takeout program takes time to develop. As the saying goes, “the devil is in the details.” We can attest to this first hand, but rest assured that we have been working diligently these past months to bring zero-waste takeout to Lexington.
To this end, we have been pursuing a service agreement with a promising startup company working in this area and are super excited to roll out the ZeroToGo reusable takeout pilot program for LexZeroWaste members in the Fall. Stay tuned!

To stay up to date on LexZeroWaste programs and activities, subscribe to our newsletter.

Town of Lexington Transportation Services

Transportation

Back to School Time! Explore Options for Getting To/From School

It is Back to School time once again! While that brings many wonderful moments, it can also lead to terrible traffic congestion. One way to reduce this is to be a part of the solution and try walking, biking, or scooting to school, or riding public transit or a school bus.

There are multiple options for getting to/from school and with each students learn greater independence and have an ability to build friendships and even gain more physical activity! Visit www.lexingtonma.gov/SRTS to view maps for each school highlighting safe routes for active transportation (walking, biking, scooting) and to read about forming your own walking school buses or bike trains. There is even an interest form to be connected with others.

You can also view the Transportation Services website to learn about public transit options for students and others, and you can find information about school bus registration online, too. You can also work with families in your local school to carpool when necessary. There are many ways we can reduce car traffic at our schools. Have a great school year!



September Classes from Lexington Transportation Services

Bike Smart for Youth
Saturday, September 17, 2022
10AM-12:00PM Grades 4-6
1:00-3:00PM Grades 6-8

This is a great course for youth that know how to ride bikes, but need to understand the rules of the road and safety skills. Youth receive in-depth training on bike handling skills, hand signals, basic safety, proper helmet fit, bike fit and if all students are ready, they receive an escorted on-road ride led by Certified Cycling Instructors. All participants will receive a reflective backpack and a variety of useful and fun goodies! Classes will be held outdoors at the Lexington Children's place.
Registration required - $10 Lexington residents, $15 non-residents

Register at: https://lexrecma.myrec.com/info/activities/program_details.aspx?ProgramID=30406



MBTA Travel Training
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
10:00AM-11:00AM
Lexington Community Center, 39 Marrett Rd., Lexington

Join an MBTA Travel Trainer to learn all about how to ride the MBTA services to expand your transportation options! You will even learn how to pay fares, get fare discounts, map your trips, and more, AND tour an MBTA bus and all its features that will be parked at the Community Center. This event is FREE, and for anyone old enough to ride the bus on their own. Can't make it but want to know more? Reach out to Transportation Services, and we're happy to help!

Free, registration required at https://lexrecma.myrec.com/info/activities/program_details.aspx?ProgramID=30399

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

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