Climate Action Day, featuring “Ms. G,” the Official Groundhog of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, returns as a virtual event at Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary with a new focus on climate science and weather on Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 10 a.m. on Facebook Live (@massaudubondrumlinfarm). Climate Action Day 2022 will include a livestream view of Ms. G’s weather “forecast,” along with insights into how New England wildlife survive the winter and information about how the changing climate impacts their habitat.
This year’s virtual gathering will be co-hosted by Mass Audubon President David O’Neill and Renata Pomponi, Senior Regional Director. “Our warming planet is the most pressing environmental threat of our time,” O’Neill said. “A huge focus of our work, from the programs run at our wildlife sanctuaries, to our land conservation and restoration priorities, and our advocacy on Beacon Hill, is on addressing climate change.
There’s so much to do to settle our farm animals in for the cold winter nights. You’ll feed chickens and then bring hay to the sheep, goats, and cows. Lend a hand to the farmers and join the fun! Pre-registration required ($14 for members, $17 for non-members. Click here to register.
This richly illustrated online lecture by Jana Milbocker will provides inspiration and tips on designing your garden for winter interest, choosing the best trees, shrubs, and perennials, and grouping them to create arresting vignettes. Free. Click here to register. Sponsored by the Friends of the Lincoln Public Library.
“If I Had Known Then What I Know Now” will be presented via Zoom by the Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable on Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 3 p.m. Loved ones of domestic violence survivors will talk about the signs they missed, the knowledge they lacked, and what they’ve leaned that helps the better recognize signs of abuse in relationships today. Click here to register.
The Lincoln Green Energy Committee (GEC) and the Green Energy Consumers Alliance are hosting an electric vehicle Zoom presentation as part of the GEC’s EV 2022 campaign. There will be a question and answer period at the end of the Zoom. This event will be on Tuesday, Feb. 15 at noon. Click here to register and get the Zoom link. Learn more about EVs on this GEC page or this GECA page.
Registration is now open for a screening of “Kiss the Ground” followed by a speaker panel on Tuesday, Feb. 15 (film starting at 6 p.m., speakers at 7 p.m.). The 2020 documentary narrated by Woody Harrelson looks at a “new, old approach” to farming called regenerative agriculture. The speakers will be:
- Ryland Englehart, co-founder of Kiss the Ground
- Mohammad Hannan, owner of Hanna Agro Farms in Lincoln
- Rachel Neurath, soil microbial ecologist
- Pete Lowy, manager of Codman Community farms
The film is sponsored by the new Healthy Soils/Livable Future working group that includes members of Codman Community Farms, the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, and Mothers Out Front. Healthy Soils Series workshops will be combination in-person (at Codman Farm) and online in March, April, and May (details TBA). Click here to register for the February 15 event (“Kiss the Ground” can be viewed for free any time from February 12–15). Click here for other Codman Community Farms events.
The Green Energy Committee is hosting several heat pump information sessions. The first will be Sunday, Feb. 27 at 2 p.m. and will focus on condominiums in Lincoln. Click here to register. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Harvard ornithologist Scott Edwards will discuss “Bicycling, Birding and #BLM Across America in a Summer of Chaos” on Wednesday, March 2 at 7 p.m. The talk is part of the “On Belonging in Outdoor Spaces” speaker series on access, inclusion, & connection in nature (spring 2022 funding provided by the Ogden Codman Trust). Discussing his 76-day, 3,800-mile bicycle trek across the U.S. with “Black Lives Matter” signs affixed to his bicycle, Scott will reflect on the people, landscapes, and birds he encountered and convey the challenges, generosity, and hope that inspired and surprised him throughout his journey. Click here to register and receive the meeting link.
See a screening of a TED Talk by Heather McGhee as well as an interview by Laura Flanders with McGhee discussing The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together on Thursday, March 3 at 7 p.m. on Zoom, sponsored by the First Parish in Lincoln’s Racial Justice Advocates. In her book, interview, and TED Talk, McGhee shows not only the cost of racism for everyone — not just people of color — but also offers us a road map for a better future for all. An expert in economic and social policy, McGhee has been applauded for her remarkable data-driven research and her thoughtful interviews with a variety of people and experts. Click here for the Zoom link (passcode: 034126).
In 1781, Elizabeth Freeman, known as “Mum Bett,” successfully sued for her freedom from the bonds of slavery in a pivotal case argued before the Massachusetts courts. That same year, Quock Walker also sued for his freedom and won. The winning argument in both cases was that slavery was unconstitutional under the Massachusetts Constitution. Lincoln resident Ron Chester, a professor at the New England School of Law, will discuss these cases and their importance on Friday, March 4 at 1 p.m. Email gagnea@lincolntown.org to sign up for this Zoom session.
The Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable presents “Transforming the Culture of ‘Power Over’: Compassionate Accountability” on Tuesday, March 8 at 7 p.m. The virtual event will help participants make key distinctions among safe relationship cycles and the dynamics that occur within relationships based on abusive values of dominance and superiority. It’s presented by the Roundtable’s White Ribbon Group and follows its successful event in March 2021, “A Call to Families: Discussing Healthy Masculinity with Young People.” Speakers will be JAC Patrissi, Jason Patrissi, and Regi Wingo of Growing a New Heart, an organization that aims to facilitate respectful and ethical power relationships and communications in families, workplaces, and communities. Click here to register.
Join us for “Uncovering Soil: An Intro to the World Beneath Our Feet,” the first class of the Healthy Soils workshop series, on Tuesday, March 8 from 7–8 p.m. This Zoom session will give an academic overview of what soil is and how it functions as a carbon sink that can help reverse climate change. Soil ecologist and Lincoln resident Rachel Neurath will share her expertise and enthusiasm for this underappreciated ecosystem. The series continues with in-person classes at Codman Farm every few weeks this spring. Click here to register and get the Zoom link. Healthy Soils is a collaboration among the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, Codman Community Farms, and Mothers Out Front.
Dr. Thea James, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Boston Medical Center/BU School of Medicine, will discuss “Race & Health Equity in Boston: How We Can Achieve Healthy Communities for All” on Thursday, March 10 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. Questions she’ll address include: How did health inequities in Boston arise, and how have they persisted? What are the links with challenges in housing, economic development, and other social issues? How can communities in Greater Boston create effective partnerships to build healthy communities? Hosted by the FPL Racial Justice Advocates and Outreach Committee; cosponsored by the Lincoln Public Library, Lincoln WIDE, and the Lincoln Council on Aging and Human Resources. Click here to register.
Glynn Lloyd
“Redressing Injustices of the Past: Building Wealth in Communities of Color” is the title of a Zoom talk by Glynn Lloyd, Executive Director, Foundation for Business Equity on Thursday, March 24 at 7 p.m. Income inequality and financial insecurity are foundational to structural racism. The Federal Reserve cites the median net worth of a White family as $171,000 compared to $17,600 for a Black family. How are banks and financial institutions making amends for the redlining practices of the past? To what extent do lending barriers still exist for Black and Brown families and businesses? A pioneer in the field of transformative urban economic development, Lloyd helped found the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts and most recently the Coalition for an Equitable Economy.
Hosted by the First Parish in Lincoln Racial Justice Advocates and co-sponsored by the Lincoln Public Library and Lincoln WIDE. Click here to register.
Staci Rubin, Vice President, Environmental Justice at the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), will give a talk titled “Environmental Justice is Racial Justice: Centering Equity in the Climate Movement of our Region” with on Thursday, March 31 at 7 p.m. Introduction by Lincoln resident Andy Falender, Senior Advisor at CLF. Click here to register for this virtual meeting. Sponsored by The First Parish in Lincoln and the Conservation Law Foundation. Cosponsors include Lincoln Public Library, Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, Lincoln WIDE, Mothers Out Front Lincoln, 350 Mass MetroWest Node, St. Anne’s Climate Justice Ministry, and MetroWest Climate Solutions.
The Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable will host a conversation about the book and TV series Maid on Tuesday, April 5 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. In addition to being one of the most popular shows on Netflix, Maid is also a best-seller written by Stephanie Land about her experiences as a single mother and housecleaner after fleeing an abusive relationship. The discussion will focus on the portrayal of domestic abuse and a survivor’s journey after leaving their relationship.
Reading the book or watching the series is recommended but not required to attend. Copies of Maid are available at the Lincoln Public Library as well as Wayland and Goodnow libraries. The books were donated by the Roundtable in memory of Nalini Goyal, a Roundtable member and a founding member of Gifts of Hope Unlimited. The program is free and open to all, but registration is required.
The Lincoln Agricultural Commission and the Lincoln Garden Club will host a Zoom presentation on “No-Till Gardening and Cover Crops” on Tuesday, April 5 at 7 p.m. Register here or on the Garden Club website. Using no-till and cover-crop methods on our farms and in our gardens not only helps sequester carbon but leads to healthier soils and more abundant crops and flowers. Douglas Wolcik and Kayleigh Boyle (formerly of Gaining Ground Farm in Concord) will discuss how to incorporate no-till. Learn how to set up permanent beds using only hand tools, take and interpret soil tests, amend soils for optimum soil health, manage pests and disease with best practices, and how to cover-crop in a no-till system.
The First Parish Church’s racial justice journey continues on Thursday, April 7 at 7 p.m. on Zoom with a screening of the award-winning PBS documentary “The Power to Heal.” Central to the struggle to secure equal and adequate access to healthcare for all Americans is how a new national program, Medicare, was used to mount a dramatic, coordinated effort that desegregated thousands of hospitals across the country in a matter of months. Before that less than half of U.S. hospitals served black and white patients equally, and in the South. It raises questions that resonate today: Is healthcare a human right? Must the federal government intervene to ensure equality? Click here for the Zoom link (passcode: 981552).