Missing information, inaccurate stories, and stereotypes perpetuate myths about Columbus and Thanksgiving. Lincoln School teacher and social justice activist Claudia Fox Tree, a Massachusetts Center for Native American Awareness board member, will give a talk on “Settler-Colonist Ties to Thanksgiving & Columbus: Taking Back the Narrative” on Monday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. She will explore this colonial system through primary sources and examine how language perpetuates invisibility and how we can dismantle oppression to bring accurate counter-narratives to life.
Fox Tree has also taught professional development and social justice courses at the college level for Initiatives for Developing Equity and Achievement for all Students (IDEAS) and presented about decolonizing anti-racism initiatives at national and local conferences. She is currently a doctoral student at Lesley University. Click here to register for the Zoom link. Sponsored by Belmont Against Racism and the public libraries of Belmont, Brookline, Chelmsford, Lincoln, Maynard, Natick, Norwood, Stow, Watertown, Wayland, Wellesley, and Weston.
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.
Come to St. Anne’s in-the-Fields Church on Sunday, Dec. 4 at 4:30 p.m. for a short, but poignant service at which we remember those who are no longer with us at Christmastime by hanging white ornaments in their honor. Bring your own or hang one of ours, then marvel at the lighting of the tree. For those interested, this is followed by a Blue Christmas service in the sanctuary at 5 p.m., when candles, quiet, and prayers allow participants to reflect in love, grief, and joy. Communion will be available if requested. We welcome everyone from all walks of life and faith. For more information, visit StAnnesLincoln.org or email parishoffice@stanneslincoln.org.
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.
Join us as the St. Julia Parish Choir members lead us in song, celebrating Christ’s Nativity. Refershments will be served following the concert.
There will be Christmas Eve Masses at St. Joseph Church in Lincoln on Saturday, Dec. 24 at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., and a Christmas Day Mass at 8 p.m.. For more information on services at both churches, visit stjulia.org.
Jodi Gorman, registered dietitian/nutritionist and owner of Happy Jars, will lead a cooking class for children aged 10 and up to teach basic cooking skills and simple, nutritious soup recipes at the Lincoln Public Library on Wednesday, Jan. 11. Sign up for one of two sessions: 2–3 p.m. or 3:30–4:30 p.m. Space is limited; register by emailing sfeather@minlib.net. Please indicate which session you’d like to attend and whether you have any dietary restrictions.
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.
Lincoln’s voting precincts (click to enlarge)
Come meet Lincoln’s new state Representative, Carmine Gentile (Precinct 1, west Lincoln), on Saturday, Jan. 21 in Bemis Hall. For many years, Rep. Tom Stanley was Lincoln’s representative, but in the recent redistricting, Lincoln was split into two districts along its voting precinct line. Get acquainted with Gentile, hear his perspectives on important issues and policies, and ask questions. The event starts at 2:30 p.m. with refreshments and conversation, and the meeting starts promptly at 3 p.m. Hosted by the Lincoln Democratic Town Committee but open to all, regardless of party affiliation.
NOTE: Rep. Alice Peisch was originally scheduled to attend as well, but she had to bow out and will reschedule a session in Lincoln for another time.
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.
Gentile will hold virtual office hours for constituents (which include residents of southwestern Lincoln in Precinct 1) on Friday, Jan. 27. Meetings will take place via Microsoft Teams video call from 10 a.m.–noon. Any constituent who wishes to speak to him may sign up for a 20-minute time slot by emailing his legislative aide, Ravi Simon (a Lincoln resident), at ravi.simon@mahouse.gov. Constituents signing up for a meeting must provide their full name, address, phone number, email, and their discussion topic.
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 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.
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.
Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee (LSSC) candidate Ravi Simon of Sudbury (an L-S graduate and legislative aide for State Rep. Carmine Gentile) will host a campaign kick-off event at on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 3 p.m. at the First Parish of Sudbury (327 Concord Rd., Sudbury). The host committee includes Gentile, Sudbury LSSC members Cara Endyke-Doran and Candace Miller, former LSSC member Nancy Marshall of Lincoln, and former Sudbury LSSC members Jack Ryan, Tania Vitvitsky, Josh Troop, and Andrew Blair. RSVPs using this online form are appreciated but not required. For more information, email RaviforLincolnSudbury@gmail.com.
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 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.