On Thursday, June 16 at 7 p.m. via Zoom, Dr. Kellie Carter Jackson, Associate Professor of Africana Studies at Wellesley College, will offer an overview of the history of the holiday and an exploration of the various ways Black communities have created traditions and cultivated the joy of emancipation and freedom. The program is free and open to all but advance registration is required. Sponsored by Belmont Public Library, Belmont Against Racism, Belmont Council on Aging, and the public libraries of Chelmsford, Lexington, Lincoln, Maynard, Newton, Sherborn, and Wayland. The Lincoln Public Library’s portion of the program is sponsored by the Friends of the Lincoln Public Library.
Have you thought of putting solar panels on your roof? Do you want to save on electricity? Ready to capture the 26% federal tax credit for solar? Come to Lincoln Green Energy’s solar presentation on Tuesday, June 21 at noon via Zoom. Presenters will discuss topics including solar system net metering, state and federal incentives, battery storage backup, and MassSave’s ConnectedSolutions program. Great Sky Solar will also be on hand to answer questions. Click here to preregister and get the Zoom link.
The next Virtual Lincoln Conservation Coffee on Thursday, Sept. 8 from 8–9 a.m. will look at “The Ins and Outs of Lincoln’s Water Supply Protection.” Darin LaFalam, Lincoln’s Water Superintendent, will talk about Lincoln’s drinking water infrastructure, challenges surrounding water quality and distribution, and what emerging contaminants Lincoln is looking out for. He’ll also discuss some regulatory issues such as DEP’s water withdrawal permit and unaccounted water loss. Finally, he’ll offer some tips and tricks for how you can help conserve water. After the presentation you’ll hear updates from our Conservation Department and Lincoln Land Conservation Trust (LLCT). Click here for the Zoom link.
All are welcome to celebrate another year of conservation with LLCT on Tuesday, Sept. 20. The business meeting will start online at 7 p.m., and LLCT members in attendance will be invited to vote in the new slate of trustees. Immediately following the short business meeting, Avalon Owens will give a keynote address. Owens, a local firefly researcher who is studying why fireflies flash, will also share her recent research into the impacts of light pollution in firefly communication (some of her data was even collected in Lincoln). Registration is required to receive the meeting link. Visit www.lincolnconservation.org to learn more.
See “Solar array at landfill could be built starting next summer” for details.
“Making a Meadow: Easy Tips for Incorporating a Native Meadow” with Lincoln Common Ground and eco-gardener Diana Rice will take place on Sunday, Sept. 25 from 2–4 p.m. Gardening to counter climate change is actually much easier in the long run than maintaining a turf grass lawn or traditional garden as it frees homeowners from from mowing and using chemicals, gas and lots of water to maintain a landscape. Supervised children and families are welcome. Click here for location and registration. Questions? Email Emily Haslett at emhaslett@gmail.com.
Registration is now open for the 10th annual Scarecrow Classic 5K, a road and trail race through Lincoln’s beautiful conservation land that raises funds for the LLCT, on Sunday, Oct. 16 starting at 9:30 a.m. Participants are encouraged to register by October 3 to guarantee their Scarecrow Classic tech shirt and (new this year) a Scarecrow Classic mesh running cap. A virtual participation option is also available through the registration form. Visit scarecrowclassic5k.com to learn more and register.
The Walden Woods Project is hosting “Silent Spring Revolution: A Conversation with Douglas Brinkley” on Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. In his newest book, New York Times bestselling author and acclaimed historian Douglas Brinkley chronicles the rise of environmental activism during the 1960s. Join us to learn more about Silent Spring Revolution and Brinkley’s discoveries during the writing process. There will be a live audience Q&A. Register here. This event is sponsored by the Walden Woods Project, Concord Festival of Authors, and RESTORE: The North Woods.
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.
The Lincoln Public Library will present virtual events hosted by the Tewksbury Public Library in collaboration with several Massachusetts libraries. Sponsored by the Friends of the Lincoln Library. Advance registration required. Details and registration.
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.
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.
All residents, especially parents and grandparents who are watching children during school vacation week, are invited to an intergenerational event on maple tree taping. Learn about how indigenous peoples in our area collected and boiled sap, sample some of Will and Abigail’s syrup, and then go outside to tap the sugar maples next to Bemis Hal with Nancy Bergen from Matlock Farm. Dress for outdoor weather. Sponsored by the Council on Aging and Human Services.
The Friends of Modern Architecture/Lincoln Film Series presents “The Oyler House: Richard Neutra’s Desert Retreat,” a first-run feature film release directed by Michael Dorsey, on Thursday, Feb. 2 at 6 p.m. in the Lincoln Public Library as part of the 2023 Lincoln Winter Carnival. There will be a reception after the screening.
The Oyler house was designed for Richard Oyler in 1959 by Neutra in Lone Pine, Calif. The design resonates with Lincoln’s Modern architecture, where careful attention to specific site qualities has enabled architects to celebrate and enrich the experience of living with the land in modest homes. The film highlights a place that remains a valuable example of how Modern principles and sensibilities continue to resonate and enrich our lives today.
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.
“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 Friends of Minute Man National Park will host their winter lecture, “Minutemen Revisited: Rethinking Concord’s Role in the Revolution: A Conversation with Robert Gross and Friends,” on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. via Zoom. Gross will discuss his revised and expanded edition of The Minutemen and Their World in conversation with Joel Bohy, J.L. Bell, and Jim Hollister. Free; click here to register. The lecture is co-sponsored by the Friends of Minute Man and Minute Man National Historical Park and is also supported in part by a grant from the Concord Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.