Learn about the people and events that helped Jackie Robinson break baseball’s color barrier in 1947 at an author talk with Ted Reinstein, a reporter for WCVB-TV’s “Chronicle,” on Thursday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. at the Lincoln Public Library. The hidden story of Reinstein’s Before Brooklyn: The Unsung Heroes Who Helped Break Baseball’s Color Barrier includes former stars of the Negro Leagues, the Black press and Pullman porters who battled the color barrier for 60 years. Sponsored by the Friends of the Lincoln Library. Click here to register.
Mothers Out Front is sponsoring the Great Pumpkin Smash at Codman Community Farms on Sunday, Nov. 6 from 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Every year in the U.S., an estimated 1.3 billion pounds of pumpkins are carted away to landfills or incinerators where they produce greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. Green your Halloween by bringing your pumpkins, jack-o-lanterns, and decorative gourds to this family-friendly event, smash your Halloween creations, and recycle them into the soil by feeding them to the Codman Farm pigs. Please remove any stickers, paint, candles, or other decorations. Suggested donation of $1/pumpkin to benefit CCF. Click here to register.
Do you need holiday gift book suggestions for the young readers in your life? Join the Lincoln Public Library children’s librarians on Thursday, Dec. 1 at noon as they review their favorite new books of the year as well as some perennial favorites. The event is open to all adults (feel free to share with grandparents and relatives near and far). Email dleopold@minlib.net for the Zoom link.
December 6th at Hartwell Tavern/Battle Road Trail: Meet at the Hartwell Tavern Parking Lot. Use “112 N Great Rd, Lincoln, MA 01773” in Google Maps.
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Since 2017, John Calabria has been leading walks on Lincoln conservation land to people of all ages who want to enjoy a gently paced, observation-focused exploration of nature. Free and open to all. Registration is encouraged but not required. Registered participants will receive an email reminder a week before each walk and on the day of the walk with detailed parking directions and weather updates. More information and updates will be posted on this page. Those who prefer a phone call/text reminder can request this service from the Council on Aging & Human Services by calling 781-259-8811.
Please fill out this form to register.
These walks are gently paced but do cover rough terrain and may have some elevation change. Participants are encouraged to wear sturdy footwear and/or bring walking poles. Co-sponsored by Lincoln Land Conservation Trust and Lincoln’s Council on Aging and Human Services.
Join us via Zoom on Thursday Dec. 8 from 7–8:30 p.m. for an evening with mystery writers Sulari Gentill, Hank Phillippi Ryan, and Eva Jurczyk moderated by Rachel Raczka of the Boston Globe. Everything was fine until it wasn’t — a scream in the library, books gone missing the first day on the job, a secret threatening to tear apart a perfect life. Register here.
The Lincoln Land Conservation Trust will host a virtual program on backyard biodiversity, climate change, and solutions to a looming ecological crisis on Thursday, Dec. 8 from 7–8:30 p.m. Headlines about global insect declines, the impending extinction of one million species worldwide, and three billion fewer birds in North America are a bleak reality check about how ineffective our current landscape designs have been at protecting the plants and animals that sustain us. The night’s focus will be on how to create backyard biodiversity in Lincoln, connect habitats throughout town, and increase resilience against climate change. A Zoom link will be sent to all participants who register here.
Tallamy is a Professor of Agriculture in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware. His award-winning books include Bringing Nature Home, Nature’s Best Hope, and The Nature of Oaks.
All are invited to celebrate the holiday season with conversation on Friday, Dec. 9 from 11 a.m.–1 p.m. at Bemis Hall. There will be piano music by Ken Hurd, a free light lunch and desserts, and two special guests: Town Administrator Tim Higgins and Select Board member Jennifer Glass. Bring your phone and capture the moment in our special photo booth. Sponsored by the Friends of the Lincoln Council on Aging & Human Services.
All are welcome to join LincFam for a special Parents’ and Caregivers’ Night Out on Friday, Dec. 9 from 7:30-9 p.m. in the Codman Community Farms kitchen for wine, cheese, and snacks. Tickets are $20 (cash or Venmo @LincFam). If cost is a barrier, reach out to info@lincfam.org and we’ll handle the rest. Registration required; click here.
Click here for Esther Braun’s obituary.
Join an evening with two of the country’s top young adult authors as Maureen Johnson (Nine Liars) is interviewed by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (The Final Gambit) in a webinar on Wednesday, Jan. 4 from 7–8 p.m. Sponsored by the Lincoln Public Library. Click here to register.
Join us for a book talk on Who’s Raising the Kids? with author Susan Linn hosted by Lincoln Nursery School at deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. in the museum’s Dewey Gallery. Linn, an expert on the impact of big tech and big business on children, provides a deep dive into the roots and consequences of the monumental shift toward a digitized, commercialized childhood, focusing on kids’ values, relationships, and learning. Linn is a psychologist, a research associate at Boston Children’s Hospital, and a lecturer at Harvard Medical School. Read the New York Times review of her book. Click here to register for the talk.
Civil War historian and Lincoln resident Megan Kate Nelson will give a talk about her new book, Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America (Scribner, 2022) at the Concord Museum on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. at the Concord Museum. It tells the vivid story of how, 150 years ago, Yellowstone became the world’s first national park amid the nationwide turmoil and racial violence of the Reconstruction era. A narrative of adventure and exploration, the creation of Yellowstone is also a story of Indigenous resistance and the struggles of Black southerners during a turning point in the nation’s history. Nelson was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in 2020 for The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the West (read this Lincoln Squirrel profile of her). Click here to register.
Gov. Maura Healey will join the crowd when Ms. G, the official groundhog of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, makes her annual prediction at the Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary in Lincoln for Groundhog Day on Thursday, Feb. 2. Families and children attend the popular event each year, eager to watch Ms. G emerge from hibernation and explore her special enclosure, which includes groundhog treats like fresh veggies.
Beginning at 9:30 a.m., attendees can learn how animals, including Drumlin Farm’s sheep, keep themselves warm and healthy in cold weather. Ms. G will make her appearance at 10 a.m., with Mass Audubon President David J. O’Neill and State Sen. Michael Barrett, a leading voice for climate change and renewable energy on Beacon Hill, welcoming the governor and attendees. Participants will then be encouraged to enjoy other event-related programs from making groundhog crafts to meeting live animal ambassadors and learning how they adapt to winter as the climate changes.
“The impacts of climate change and loss of biodiversity in New England are already clear,” O’Neill said. “They can only strengthen our resolve to find policy- and nature-based solutions to the major environmental challenges of our times.”
Free with admission. To learn more, visit massaudubon.org/groundhogday.
The Council on Aging & Human Services presents “The Truth About Women and Heart Disease” with moving testimony by Margaret Perras, spokesperson for the American Heart Association, on Friday, Feb. 3 at 1 p.m. in Bemis Hall. Heart disease strikes even the most fit — learn how to watch for the signs. Attendees are invited to wear red and help raise awareness for the #1 killer of women: cardiovascular disease. Questions? Call 781-259-8811 or visit WearRedDay.org.
“The Challenges of Being a Debut Author” featuring Chelsea Banning will take place via Zoom on Monday, Feb. 6 from 7–8 p.m. Debut author (and librarian) was very excited to publish her first book, “Of Crown and Legends”. And then came the book signing where very few people showed up, and then the Twitter storm of support when Chelsea posted about the experience. Now, we speak with Chelsea in conversation with debut authors Laura Gao, Brian D. Kennedy, Jean Louise, and XiXi Tian to chat about the challenges and joys of getting your first book out in the world.
This event is hosted by the Ashland Public Library. Click here to register.
The COA&HS will present “Black History Month in the Era of CRT Book Banning” on Friday, Feb. 17 at 1 p.m. in Bemis Hall. Lincoln resident Ray Anthony Shepard, author of several biographies for young readers, will discuss the current hot-button topic of what in American history should be taught to children and will share how he addresses race in his picture book, Runaway: The Daring Escape of Ona Judge. Questions? Call 781-259-8811.
“How to Improve the Envelope of your Home,” the first presentation in the Getting to Zero series, will be led by Rachel White CEO of Byggmeister Design/Build, on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. Learn how to make the walls, floors, roof and windows of you house more energy efficient. Click here to register. Other presentations in the series:
- Upgrading Your Windows (February 28)
- Go with Solar (March)
- Getting to Zero: The Historical Home, presented by FoMA (March)
- Install Heat Pumps (April)
The Getting to Zero series is presented by CFREE, a working group of Lincoln’s Green Energy Committee, to help residents affordably achieve energy-efficient, electrified, comfortable and healthy homes.
The second installment in the Getting to Zero series, “Upgrading Windows,” will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at noon. Lincoln resident Patrik Muzila, president of European Architectural Supply in Acton, will talk about the benefits of upgrading your home’s windows, tax incentives, and what options to look for. Click here to register for the Zoom link.
The series is presented by CFREE, a working group of Lincoln’s Green Energy Committee, to help residents affordably achieve energy-efficient, electrified, comfortable, and healthy homes. They will record the event and posting it to the GEC website for later viewing. Those who register for the lecture will also be sent a link to the video.