Food pantry needs help with neighborhood food drives
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) food pantry is looking for volunteers to organize a neighborhood food drive. This is a great project for a young person to shine, or for anyone to step up and know they are doing something meaningful. Staff will help and can also sign for student volunteer hours.
Food drives are integral to the food pantry’s operations. With the increase in the number of clients (152 clients in January 2020 to 336 clients served in December 2023 — see SVdP’s annual report), the increase in food prices, and the decrease of food available free or at a lower cost at the Greater Boston Food Bank, our expenses have exploded. We heavily rely on donations and food drives.
If you can’t organize a drive but still want to help, food can be dropped off any time on the back porch of the white house behind St. Joseph Church (142 Lincoln Rd.). The most needed items at the moment are cereal, pasta sauce, gluten-free items, and condiments.
For more information on the food pantry’s needs, see “My Turn: Neighbors helping neighbors via the SVdP food pantry in Lincoln” (Lincoln Squirrel, March 4, 2024) and the SVdP website.
Farrington Nature Linc events
Learn how to salsa dance
Thursday, March 7 at 8:30 p.m. — Havana Club (288 Green St., Cambridge)
Come learn how to salsa dance, or try out new moves, at Havana Club in Cambridge. Ticket sales benefit Farrington Nature Linc and include entry and an instructor-led lesson before everyone is free to dance the night away. Click here to purchase.
Natural Dye Workshop
Saturday, March 9 at 1 p.m.— Farrington Nature Linc (291 Cambridge Turnpike, Lincoln)
Explore the world of natural color with an introduction to dyeing fabric with plants. You’ll create your own set of four dyed cotton napkins using plants, including some foraged at Nature Linc over the summer. Different surface techniques will be explored, including creating resists on fabric with natural materials. Adults only. Pre-registration required.
Gentile seeks summer intern
State Rep. Carmine Gentile’s office is looking for a summer intern. He encourages candidates from towns represented within the district, which includes Sudbury, Lincoln, Concord, Wayland, and Marlborough. If you or someone you know is an interested student, please click here for details and email Gentile’s legislative aide Ravi Simon at ravi.simon@mahouse.gov.
Lyceum on the pursuit of beauty
The Walden Woods Project will present “A Virtual Lyceum: The Pursuit of Beauty” on Wednesday, March 20 from 7–8:30 p.m. via Zoom. During Henry David Thoreau’s era of increasing industrialization and mercantilism, poets and artists were accused of idling away in unproductivity. Likewise, in today’s seminar rooms and art galleries, to focus on the beauty of a novel or painting is often seen as detracting from art’s political and ethical potential. How can we negotiate between these tensions, especially during this era of increasing political and environmental catastrophe? When is the pursuit of beauty crucial to moral engagement, as Thoreau argues, and when is it a distraction from it? This lyceum event brings together an interdisciplinary group of artists, scientists, and scholars to ask where they stand on the purpose and pursuit of beauty in the 21st century. Click here to learn more and register.
According to NASA, turf grass lawn covers more of the U.S. than any other irrigated crop. Lawns are resource-heavy, requiring mowing, irrigation, fertilizer, and pesticides to thrive in New England. Learn why you should “kill your lawn” and how to replace it with beautiful and environmentally friendly gardens. Transitioning your yard to incorporate native plants in the lawn or gardens helps to mitigate floods, heat waves, sea level rise, and the mass extinction of species.
This free session will be presented by Mark Richardson, Director of Horticulture for New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill. and is sponsored by MetroWest Climate Solutions (a growing partnership between First Parish in Wayland, First Parish Church in Weston, First Parish in Lincoln, the Congregational Church in Weston, Energize Wayland, Sustainable Weston Action Group, and other communities and individuals). To register, visit metrowestclimatesolutions.org.
Talk on “killing your lawn” to save ecosystem
According to NASA, turf grass lawn covers more of the U.S. than any other irrigated crop. Lawns are resource-heavy, requiring mowing, irrigation, fertilizer, and pesticides to thrive in New England. Learn why you should “kill your lawn” and how to replace it with beautiful and environmentally friendly gardens. Transitioning your yard to incorporate native plants in the lawn or gardens helps to mitigate floods, heat waves, sea level rise, and the mass extinction of species.
This free session will be presented by Mark Richardson, Director of Horticulture for New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill. and is sponsored by MetroWest Climate Solutions (a growing partnership between First Parish in Wayland, First Parish Church in Weston, First Parish in Lincoln, the Congregational Church in Weston, Energize Wayland, Sustainable Weston Action Group, and other communities and individuals). To register, visit metrowestclimatesolutions.org.
Comments invited on planned work at Minuteman NHP
The National Park Service (NPS) is proposing to permanently remove the boardwalk, overlook structure, and close the trail accessing the vernal pool in Minute Man National Historical Park in Lincoln. The NPS is proposing a Categorical Exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for this proposed action and is providing a 30-day public comment period that will be open until Wednesday, March 21. Comments on the proposed action must be submitted online through this NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment web page or via U.S. mail to Minute Man National Historical Park, ATTN: Vernal Pool Trail Public Comment, 174 Liberty St., Concord, MA 01742.