“Author Helen Humphreys in Conversation with Jeffrey S. Cramer” happens on Sunday, Oct. 6 from 2:00–3:30 p.m. at Thoreau Farm (341 Virginia Rd., Concord) and online. Inspired by the life, letters, and diaries of Henry David Thoreau, Humphreys’ novel Followed by the Lark shows how strikingly similar the concerns of the early nineteenth century are to our own, and reminds us to listen for news of change. Click here to learn more and register.
Vicki Croke, author of Elephant Company: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II, will make a presentation with archival photos and video on Thursday, Oct. 24 at the Walden Woods Project at 44 Baker Farm Rd. in Lincoln. Doors will open at 6:15 p.m. for a wine and cheese reception, and the presentation will begin at 7 p.m. This event is generously sponsored by The Commons in Lincoln. Part of the Concord Festival of Authors. Click here to learn more and register.
Fall measures such as composting, “leaving the leaves,” and sheet mulching nurture inset life and soil while avoiding use of fossil fuels for leaf-blowing. Join Lincoln Common Ground (part of Mothers Out Front Lincoln) and the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust on Thursday, Oct. 24 at 7:30 p.m. for a Zoom discussion on “Leaving the Leaves and More: A Community Q&A about Eco-gardening Practices.” Click here to register for the Zoom link.
For over 10,000 years, the Indigenous people knew what is now Concord and Lincoln as Musketaquid (“the land between the grassy rivers.” On Saturday, Nov. 2 at 4 p.m. in the Codman Community Farms education pavilion, Joe Palumbo of Concord will explore the history of the first people and what happened when cultures collided after European fur traders and then English colonists arrived. All ages welcome; free but registration is appreciated for planning.
Instead of throwing them in the trash, have fun and help the environment by bringing your jack-o’-lanterns and decorative gourds to the regional Great Pumpkin Smash at Codman Community Farms (CCF) on Sunday, Nov. 3 from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. When pumpkins end up in landfills, they break down and produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Smashing pumpkins and feed to the Codman Farm pigs while enjoying live music, CCF sandwiches, and ice cream from a local vendor. Get tips on how to get started with composting in your home or with a curbside collection program. Prepare your pumpkins for composting by removing any stickers, candles, and other decorations and please leave painted pumpkins at home. Suggested donation of $1 per pumpkin to benefit the farm. Organized by CCF, the Lincoln and Concord chapters of Mothers Out Front, the Weston Community Children’s Association, and LincFam.
State climate legislation assumes that forest carbon sequestration (sometimes called “negative emissions”) can be counted to offset up to 15% of the emissions reduction goal. Is this a good idea? Is it even possible? How can we influence forests’ ability to sequester and store carbon? Join Dr. Jonathan Thompson, a senior ecologist and research director at the Harvard Forest, on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. for “Forests for Our Future: The Role of Massachusetts Forests in Combating Climate Change” at the First Parish in Lincoln (4 Bedford Rd.) and on Zoom. Register here. Sponsored by MetroWest Climate Solutions and CFREE, a working group of the Lincoln Green Energy Committee.