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.
Grab your flashlight and search for hundreds of candy canes hidden around Pierce Park on Friday, Dec. 9 from 6–7 p.m. Participants will start off the event by decorating a candy cane bag while music and hot cocoa are available. Then we’ll get our flashlights and head into the park to hunt for candy canes. Keep your eye out because you may even find a special candy cane with a prize-winning ribbon! Bring your own flashlight. Free, but online preregistration with the Parks and Recreation Department is required.
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.
Come to 10 Meadowdam Rd. in Lincoln on Friday, Dec. 16 from 10 a.m.–noon to purchase beautiful cloth napkins and meet Omnia and William, South Sudanese Americans who are part of the South Sudanese Enrichment for Families‘ sewing project. All proceeds go to SSEF’s Women’s Program.
LincFam (the Lincoln Family Association) will host a New Year’s dance party on Friday, Dec. 30 from 4–6 p.m. at the First Parish in Lincoln’s parish house (the stone church) with family-friendly dance music, crafts, and pizza. Free for LincFam members, $10 for others. Click here to RSVP or email info@lincfam.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.
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.
See “Winter Carnival kicks off this Friday” for details on activities.
See “Winter Carnival kicks off this Friday” for details on activities.
See “Winter Carnival kicks off this Friday” for details on activities.
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.
The Lincoln Girl Scouts will host a Kindergarten Daisy Launch on Monday, Feb. 13 from 6:15–7:15 p.m. in the Lincoln Public Library Tarbell Room. At this free session, your kindergartener will have fun exploring the magic of space and creating a rubber-band-powered Daisy Cup Launcher while adults discuss when and where the troop will meet, parent involvement, and the goals for the year as well as fill out required paperwork. Click here to learn more and confirm your attendance.
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.