The incomparable Ms. G.
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.
On Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m., join Emily Levine of Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site for “Freedom’s Cause: Historical Black Communities and George Washington’s Cambridge Camp,” a discussion of how free and enslaved Black members of Washington’s war camp interacted with one another, members of the local community, and the general himself. For example, Washington corresponded with poet Phillis Wheatley; he segregated the Continental Army, then reversed the decision. The family of Tony and Cuba Vassall, formerly enslaved by the first owner of the Cambridge house (which Lincoln’s Pierce House was designed to emulate), lived in freedom next to people enslaved by the Washingtons.
This event is hosted by the Wellesley Free Library. Click here to register.
Social media, pandemic effects, school pressures. These and other issues affecting the mental health of teens and children — and how to cope with them — are addressed as part of a series, “Are the Kids Okay?” sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Sudbury.
This forum, “Spotlight on: Youth Mental Health,” is part of a continuing effort to highlight children’s issues and resources. The forum will air Thursday, Feb. 9, at 8 p.m. on SudburyTV cable channel 8 (Comcast) and channel 31 (Verizon) and be available on the video-on-demand service on SudburyTV’s website, www.sudburytv.org. No cable subscription is needed for the on-demand service accessed through any computer.
Five panelists approached the youth mental health issue from different vantage points.
Dr. Jamie Micco, co-director of the Concord Center and a licensed clinical psychologist, outlined some causes of the current mental health crisis for youth, including the impact of social media and the pandemic.
Sarah Greeley, wellness teacher at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, and Maia Proujansky-Bell, a parent representative of Sudbury Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC), discussed the role of the schools in identifying mental health problems and supporting students.
Sudbury Police Chief Scott Nix and Taylor Hayden, a clinician with Advocates who works with the Sudbury police, explained their joint response program for mental health calls, including how many of the calls in Sudbury involve teens and children.
The panelists also discussed how parents can identify problems and how to talk to children about stress and difficult topics. They outlined how and where to find help, what resources are available, and how to navigate the system.
The forum was moderated by Julie Dereshinsky of the League and was developed by the League’s education and healthcare committees.
Everyone is invited to watch “What is Important to Us: A Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month Panel” with the Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable on Monday, Feb. 13 at 6:30 p.m. In this program, teen panelists will highlight what’s important to them and what they want adults and peers to know about relationships, media consumption, trust, and boundaries. The panelists will share their own perspective on how adults can support the teens in their lives. Registration is required; click here to register and get the Zoom link. For more information, visit www.domesticviolenceroundtable.org or email infordvrt@gmail.com.
The Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable and REACH Beyond Domestic Violence will present “Watching Dad: What We Learn from Our Fathers about Being Parents and Partners” on Monday, March 20 at 7 p.m. in the Community Meeting Room at the Goodnow Library (21 Concord Rd., Sudbury). David Adams, co-founder and co-director of abuser education program Emerge, will be the featured speaker.
The event is inspired by the White Ribbon Campaign, the world’s largest movement of men and boys working to end violence against women and girls, and promote gender equity, healthy relationships and a new vision of masculinity. The local men’s group has been meeting monthly since 2019. Click here to register. While the event is free of charge, donations are always appreciated. Click here to donate. For more information, email whiteribbon.dvrt@gmail.com.
The “On Belonging in Outdoor Spaces” series returns with three upcoming events:
- Lincoln School teacher and social justice activist Claudia Fox Tree — Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m.
- Leah Penniman, co-founder of Soul Fire Farm and author of Black Earth Wisdom — Wednesday, March 8 at 7 p.m.
- José G. González, founder of Latino Outdoors and co-founder of the Outdoorist Oath — Wednesday, March 29 at 7 p.m.
The free speaker series, which launched in 2021, seeks to feature individuals whose work is advancing efforts to strengthen belonging and connection between communities of color and the outdoors. Click here for more information and to register. This year’s series is sponsored by the Ogden Codman Trust, Freedom’s Way, and the Lincoln Cultural Council. The host organizations are Farrington Nature Linc, Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, Mass Audubon, Walden Woods Project, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, and the Food Project.
The “On Belonging in Outdoor Spaces” series returns with three upcoming events:
- Lincoln School teacher and social justice activist Claudia Fox Tree — Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m.
- Leah Penniman, co-founder of Soul Fire Farm and author of Black Earth Wisdom — Wednesday, March 8 at 7 p.m.
- José G. González, founder of Latino Outdoors and co-founder of the Outdoorist Oath — Wednesday, March 29 at 7 p.m.
The free speaker series, which launched in 2021, seeks to feature individuals whose work is advancing efforts to strengthen belonging and connection between communities of color and the outdoors. Click here for more information and to register. This year’s series is sponsored by the Ogden Codman Trust, Freedom’s Way, and the Lincoln Cultural Council. The host organizations are Farrington Nature Linc, Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, Mass Audubon, Walden Woods Project, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, and the Food Project.
Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School’s Eighth-Grade Parent/Guardian Night, will be held at Lincoln-Sudbury on Thursday, March 9 from 7–8:30 p.m. This evening is for parents and guardians only. The evening begins in the L-S Auditorium with an overview of the ninth-grade curriculum and the scheduling process, followed by an opportunity to visit faculty members of the various departments to ask questions about course selection and curriculum.
A virtual program on “An America Divided” with New Yorker staff writer Emma Green will take place on Tuesday, March 13 from 7:30–9 p.m. Green will explore ways that Americans are divided — politically, religiously, economically, and even by community and family. What has caused these ruptures and what are some ways for us to come back together? Click here to register.
The “On Belonging in Outdoor Spaces” series returns with three upcoming events:
- Lincoln School teacher and social justice activist Claudia Fox Tree — Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m.
- Leah Penniman, co-founder of Soul Fire Farm and author of Black Earth Wisdom — Wednesday, March 8 at 7 p.m.
- José G. González, founder of Latino Outdoors and co-founder of the Outdoorist Oath — Wednesday, March 29 at 7 p.m.
The free speaker series, which launched in 2021, seeks to feature individuals whose work is advancing efforts to strengthen belonging and connection between communities of color and the outdoors. Click here for more information and to register. This year’s series is sponsored by the Ogden Codman Trust, Freedom’s Way, and the Lincoln Cultural Council. The host organizations are Farrington Nature Linc, Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, Mass Audubon, Walden Woods Project, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, and the Food Project.
When we think about Abraham Lincoln’s origins, we don’t usually think of Massachusetts, but he had a compelling connection to the state. Lincoln addressed a Whig convention in Worcester where he so impressed party leaders that he was invited to dinner the next evening at Gov. Levi Lincoln’s home. Justice Dennis J. Curran (ret.), a Massachusetts trial judge for 15 years, will explore how one seminal event spurred Lincoln’s emotional and political growth, and how Lincoln’s family heritage provided a backdrop for what was to come. Click here to register.
The food we eat, where we buy it, and how that food is grown affects our health and that of the planet. Join MetroWest Climate Solutions on Tuesday, April 11 at 7 p.m. for a discussion of food, farming and climate change. To register for this webinar, visit metrowestclimatesolutions.org.
While the food sector contributes to climate change, it’s also vulnerable to climate disruption. Water shortages, extreme weather events, pest and disease variations, and rising temperatures will change the crops that can be grown as well as the viability of farming in some regions. Progressive farmers are adapting with more sustainable techniques. Learn about the changes that lie ahead for our food system and how we can improve our diets while supporting sustainable farming. Speakers will be Lincoln’s Jennifer Hashley, director of the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project at Tufts University; Erin Coughlan de Perez, associate professor at Tufts and a technical advisor to the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre; and Winton Pitcoff, executive director of the Mass. Food System Collaborative.
The Water Commission, in collaboration with the Conservation Commission, Agricultural Commission and the Land Conservation Trust, is sponsoring the Lincoln’s Hydrology Speaker Series with the first speaker presentation on Wednesday, April 12 from 7–8:30 p.m., when Dr. Max Rome, Stormwater Program Manager with the Charles River Watershed Association will present via Zoom. Come learn about what happens in Lincoln’s watershed (flooding, nutrient pollution, drought and groundwater), drinking supply sources (including private wells), and how all the sources and uses of water in Lincoln interrelate and impact both the water supply and the ecosystems supported by water systems. Click here for the Zoom link.
Future speakers in the series will include Martin Briggs of the U.S. Geological Survey in September) and Dr. Chi Ho Sham, immediate past president of the American Water Works Association, in December.
How might we encounter Jesus, and/or the divine more broadly, through faiths beyond Christianity? In this multi-week series, three religious scholars from Boston College will lead us in an exploration of how Judaism, Buddhism, and Islam might help us engage spiritual resources, in a responsible way, beyond the traditional boundaries of Christianity. All sessions are free and meet in Flint Hall at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church from 6:30–8 p.m. The schedule is as follows:
- Thursday, April 13 — “Encountering the Divine through Buddhism” with Yonder Gillihan, Associate Professor of Theology
- Thursday, April 27 — “Encountering the Divine through Judaism” with Daniel Joslyn-Siemiatkoski, director of the BC Center for Christian-Jewish Learning
- Thursday, May 4 — “Encountering the Divine through Islam” with Natana DeLong-Bas, Associate Professor of the Practice
How might we encounter Jesus, and/or the divine more broadly, through faiths beyond Christianity? In this multi-week series, three religious scholars from Boston College will lead us in an exploration of how Judaism, Buddhism, and Islam might help us engage spiritual resources, in a responsible way, beyond the traditional boundaries of Christianity. All sessions are free and meet in Flint Hall at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church from 6:30–8 p.m. The schedule is as follows:
- Thursday, April 13 — “Encountering the Divine through Buddhism” with Yonder Gillihan, Associate Professor of Theology
- Thursday, April 27 — “Encountering the Divine through Judaism” with Daniel Joslyn-Siemiatkoski, director of the BC Center for Christian-Jewish Learning
- Thursday, May 4 — “Encountering the Divine through Islam” with Natana DeLong-Bas, Associate Professor of the Practice
How might we encounter Jesus, and/or the divine more broadly, through faiths beyond Christianity? In this multi-week series, three religious scholars from Boston College will lead us in an exploration of how Judaism, Buddhism, and Islam might help us engage spiritual resources, in a responsible way, beyond the traditional boundaries of Christianity. All sessions are free and meet in Flint Hall at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church from 6:30–8 p.m. The schedule is as follows:
- Thursday, April 13 — “Encountering the Divine through Buddhism” with Yonder Gillihan, Associate Professor of Theology
- Thursday, April 27 — “Encountering the Divine through Judaism” with Daniel Joslyn-Siemiatkoski, director of the BC Center for Christian-Jewish Learning
- Thursday, May 4 — “Encountering the Divine through Islam” with Natana DeLong-Bas, Associate Professor of the Practice
Learn how to promote biodiversity in your yard by using materials you have on hand. When you remove an invasive shrub, replace it with a native shrub that will thrive. Cardboard and mulch one small patch of invasives and encourage rowdy, less loved native plant “party crashers” into your designed native plant gardens to knit together a layered team of plants that keep invasives at bay. Click here for information and registration.
The First Parish in Lincoln offers an adventuresome and enlightening supper and discussion of Sidetrack, an innovative 1971 experiment in educational integration for Lincoln and Roxbury seventh- and eighth-graders with participants Peter Thomson (Lincoln) and Tracy Steele (Roxbury) on Wednesday, May 10 from 6-8 p.m. in the stone church. Questions they will consider: What was their experience as Roxbury and Lincoln middle schoolers in the program? How did it affect their lives and help shape the adults they have become? What can we learn today from this experiment in educational integration? To learn more about Sidetrack, see “The radical, forgotten experiment in educational integration that changed my life” (Boston Sunday Globe, January 22, 2023 — click here for a PDF if you aren’t a Globe subscriber). Childcare provided. Requested donation for the meal prepared by FPL cooks is $10 for adults $5 per child ($25 per family maximum).
Hanscom Air Force Base is looking to fill more than 400 civilian positions in a variety of career fields during an Air Force civilian service hiring event on Tuesday, May 23 from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Boston Marriott Burlington (1 Burlington Mall Rd., Burlington). The event is open to anyone interested in working for the federal government, including college students and recent graduates, active-duty military personnel transitioning out of service, military spouses, and veterans. Officials will be on hand to discuss positions ranging from entry level to executive in engineering, program management, computer sciences, contracting, logistics, financial management, intelligence, security, human resources, skilled trades, childcare, and many others. Register here to send in your resume and receive updates on the event. For more information, contact Patty Welsh (patricia.welsh@us.af.mil, 781-225-1687) or Mark Wyatt (Mark.Wyatt.1@us.af.mil, 781-225-1685).