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Service opportunity for Lincoln teens

Does a teenager you know like working with their hands or with a group? Do they like helping people in need? Do they need service hours for school? If the answer to any of these is yes, your teen in grade 8–12 is invited to join students from First Parish in Lincoln’s youth service group for a half day of service at Household Goods in Acton on Feb. 28. 

Household Goods is a nonprofit that distributes donated furniture, kitchenware, mattresses, lamps and other goods to people in need. Volunteer teens will be helping people leaving homeless shelters or domestic abuse situations, unhoused veterans, people with disabilities, and others. Tasks might include loading trucks, cleaning furniture, stocking the showroom, organizing kitchenware, or sorting donations.

Teens will leave together from the First Parish stone church on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 12:15pm and return at 4:30pm. Volunteer don’t need to be members of the church, but they are responsible for bringing their own school community service form. Register here. Questions? Contact Lora Venesy at lora@fplincoln.org or Chris Andrysiak at chris.andrysiak@gmail.com.

Community center site about to go vertical

Structural steel installation is expected to begin next week, a development that moves the project into the start of framing and above‑grade construction. Progress will be very visible and move fast. See the CCBC website for more pictures.

All work will remain fully contained within the construction site perimeter, and there will be no changes to parking lot access, Hartwell access, or any pedestrian routes. Material deliveries are planned for early mornings to avoid busy times such as daycare dropoff and school traffic. There are expected to be two to three days of early deliveries for steel members and decking. Delivery trucks will be escorted by crew members when exiting the site to ensure safety and smooth traffic movement.

Drumlin Farm seeks more sugar maples

As a result of climate change, the area is experiencing milder winters and earlier, more unpredictable spring thaws which are resulting in challenging maple sugaring seasons and lower sap yields. In order for Drumlin Farm to continue to produce enough syrup to support its educational goals, the farm is seeking to tap additional trees in Lincoln this season

An ideal site would have at least five trees and a place to park a pickup truck close to the trees for carrying out buckets of sap. Trees are large enough to be tapped if they have a diameter of at least a foot (an easy way to tell is to hug the tree — if your arms overlap, it’s still too young). The trees would be tapped by experienced staff who would return every few days throughout the maple season to check and collect the sap. The season lasts a maximum of 6six weeks from February through March (specific dates depend on weather conditions). As a thank-you for sharing your trees, you’d receive a bottle of the maple syrup, as well as admission to Drumlin’s Maple Magic program. If you’d like to participate, email dfgrower@massaudubon.org.

Lincoln School Foundation benefit evening

The Lincoln School Foundation invites residents to Lincoln Lounge on Saturday, March 7 from 7:00–10:00pm at the Pierce House to support teachers, administrators, and students at both the Lincoln and Hanscom school campuses. Enjoy a wine-tasting with Ansonia Wines, bid on silent auction items (going live one week before the event), listen to live music from the Mike Caudill Trio, have your photo taken with Corey Flint Photography, and experience a touch of magic with the Sage Raven tarot card reader. Participation helps fund teacher-driven grants that expand classroom possibilities, support professional growth, and help every student thrive. For adults 21+ only. Buy tickets here.

EV charging station aided by grant

The Lincoln Public Schools have been selected for the MassCEC (Massachusetts Clean Energy Center)’s first-of-its-kind Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) Demonstration program, according to a release from MassCEC. Selected participants (five school districts, four municipal districts and 30 state residents) will receive bi-directional electric vehicle (EV) chargers at no cost.

The program will help to accelerate the adoption of V2X technologies, which, at scale, can lower energy bills by reducing energy demand during expensive peak periods and limiting the need for new grid infrastructure. Lincoln is using its grant to build an EV charging station for use by school buses and vehicles in the commuter parking lot.

Bi-directional charging enables EV batteries to both draw power from and return power to the grid or to buildings. This functionality enables EVs, including electric buses and trucks, to provide backup power during outages and alleviate pressure on the grid during peak energy demand. These bi-directional chargers will enable EVs to act as mobile energy storage assets, with the program expected to deliver over 1mW of power back to the grid during a demand response event — enough to offset the electricity use of 300 average American homes for an hour.