The Lincoln Squirrel – News, features and photos from Lincoln, Mass.

conservation

State of the Town meeting on Saturday

Updates on the school project, South Lincoln rezoning proposals, community electricity aggregation and property tax relief will make for a full agenda at Lincoln’s annual State of the Town meeting on Saturday, Nov. 2 at about 9:30 a.m., after the conclusion of a Special Town Meeting on Water Department funding. These links and Lincoln Squirrel stories offer some background on the issues.

School project
South Lincoln rezoning
Community electricity aggregation
Property Tax Study Committee

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Rhapsody piano recital on Sunday

On Sunday, Oct. 27 at 3 p.m., the piano group Rhapsody will offer a piano recital in Bemis Hall. Featured on the program will be selections from Bach, Chopin, Guastavino, Handel, Liszt, and Mendelssohn. The performance is free and open to the public, and all are welcome to attend. Rhapsody was formed in 2003 by amateur pianists including Lincoln resident Ken Hurd who sought a venue in which to perform for each other, both to grow musically and to share their musical journey with others. Now an annual event, this will be their tenth public performance on the beautifully restored Steinway in Bemis Hall.

Climate change film looks at Anthropocene epoch

There will be a screening of the 2018 documentary film, “Anthropocene: the Human Epoch” on Tuesday, Oct. 29 starting at 7 p.m. (light supper served at 6:30) at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church. The film is the third in a trilogy that includes “Manufactured Landscapes” (2006) and “Watermark” (2013). It follows the research of an international body of scientists, the Anthropocene Working Group who are arguing that the Holocene epoch gave way to the Anthropocene epoch in the mid-twentieth century because of profound and lasting human changes to the Earth.

This is the fifth season of St. Anne’s  Climate Justice Film Series. For more information, contact Alex Chatfield at adchat@aol.com or 781-697-0140.

Seminar on India and Britain

The India Discovery Center will host a seminar on India’s British history on Saturday, Nov. 2 from 9 a.m.–4 p.m. in Bemis Hall. Lecture topics of lectures include a personal story about the partition of India and the birth of Pakistan. Presenters will include Lincoln resident Bijoy Misra on science and technology. Register here (the $25 registration fee is waived for Lincoln residents).

Ferrante plays at next LOMA

Marylou Ferrante

Marylou Ferrante is the featured performer at the next LOMA (Lincoln Open-Mike Acoustic) night on Monday, Nov. 18 in the Lincoln Public Library’s Tarbell Room. The event runs from 7–10 p.m., and Ferrante will perform a half-hour set starting around 8:30. She is at home on vocals, guitar, mandolin or banjo while performing blues, old time, country, and folk music. Between songs, she’ll recount stories, arrangements and the history behind the music, and often the difficult circumstances these struggling musicians endured. She covers Blind Boy Fuller’s “Walking My Blues Away” in this video.

Admission is free and refreshments are provided. Performers can sign up at the event or email Rich Eilbert at loma3re@gmail.com for a slot. There is a sound system with mikes and instrumental pickups suitable for individuals or small groups.

“Watershed” opens Nov. 9 at deCordova

Andy Goldsworthy, Watershed (detail), 2019. Granite, Corten steel, spruce pine wood, 156 x 223 x 144 inches, installation at deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum. © Andy Goldsworthy, Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co.

The site-specific permanent installation “Watershed” opens on Saturday, Nov. 9 at the deCordova Sculpture Park. The 9×15-foot stone shelter is semi-embedded in the slope of deCordova’s pond-side hill. In times of heavy rain, water that flows across deCordova’s paved upper lot will be collected and channeled underground to pour from the outlet in the work’s rear wall, giving form to the usually unremarked course of groundwater across hard surfaces and allowing people to see and hear the work come to life. The work will serve to illustrate both the impermanence and the lasting effects of water through the growth of residues like mineral deposits, moss, and patina.

Thanksgiving contradance

Lincoln’s annual Thanksgiving Night Contradance will take place on Thursday, Nov. 28 from 7–10 p.m. at the Smith School featuring Caller Chris Ricciotti, Larry Unger on guitar, and Carol Bittenson on fiddle.  All ages and abilities are welcome. Tickets (sliding scale) are $6–10 for adults and students, $4–5 for children 10 and under. Sponsored by the First Parish in Lincoln. For more information, email kwinchell@comcast.net.

Ceremony marks launch of EV charging stations at Drumlin Farm

Officially launching Drumlin Farm’s new EV charging stations this week were (left to right) Mass Audubon VP for operations/CFO Bancroft Poor, PowerOptions president and CEO Cynthia Arcate, Eversource electric vehicle infrastructure project lead Sean Tully; Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary education manager Jennifer Feller; and Horizon Solutions business development manager Jessica Cardona. (Photo: Mass Audubon/Kelly Moffett)

Visitors and staff at Mass Audubon’s Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary can now power their electric cars with two new electric vehicle charging stations, allowing for eco-friendly visits to the popular working farm and nature center.

Each of the two EVC stations is capable of charging two cars. One station was donated by the nonprofit PowerOptions, New England’s largest energy-buying consortium. Eversource paid for and coordinated the infrastructure improvements needed to power the stations, and Horizon Energy Solutions handled installation, which was completed in July.

“Drumlin Farm is proud to be making a difference in providing education and motivation for a healthier and sustainable world,” Sanctuary Director Renata Pomponi said at an October 7 ribbon-cutting event to inaugurate the power stations. “We’re grateful for the donation from PowerOptions and the infrastructure support from Eversource to help us reach our goal of reducing our own carbon footprint and providing opportunities for our visitors to ‘drive green’ on their trips to the farm.”

PowerOptions’ EV Charger Program offers discounts to its members on equipment and software, as well as assistance during installation, configuration, and operation. The nonprofit organization delivers cost savings and predictability to other nonprofits and the public sector in Massachusetts, Connecticut. and Rhode Island. 

Drumlin Farm is one of 11 wildlife sanctuaries owned and managed by Mass Audubon, the state’s largest nature conservation nonprofit, that now have EV charging stations for public use.

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Film: “The River and the Wall”

There will be a free screening of the documentary “The River and the Wall” on Friday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. in Bemis Hall. Filmmaker Ben Masters and colleagues traveled 1,200 miles along the U.S.-Mexico border via horse, mountain bike, and canoe. Sponsored by the Lincoln Democratic Town Committee.

Event focuses on climate change

The topic of Lincoln’s first Drawdown Forum sponsored by several town organizations will be “Finding Optimal Solutions to a Changing Climate: Closing the Sequestration Gap” on Tuesday, Oct. 22 at the First Parish Church. The speaker is William Moomaw, professor emeritus of international environmental policy at Tufts University. Food and conversation begin at 6:30 p.m. and the program begins at 7 p.m. Sponsored by Mothers Out Front Lincoln, the Green Energy Committee and the Lincoln Democratic Town Committee, with support from the First Parish Green Committee, St. Anne’s Climate Justice Ministry, Codman Community Farms, the Conservation Commission, the Lincoln Land Conservation trust, and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee.

Sonic Liberation Players concert

The Sonic Liberation Players, including Lincoln husband-and-wife musicians Jessica Tunick Berens (third from left) and Trevor Berens (far right).

The Lincoln-based Sonic Liberation Players begin their fourth season with a concert celebrating their roots on Sunday, Nov. 3 at 6:30 p.m. in Bemis Hall. The concert features three rarely performed pieces by Cage (including two solos) and two of Feldman’s mind-expanding mid-career works), along with music by James Tenney and Stephen “Lucky” Mosko, SLP co-founder Berens’s composition teachers at the California Institute of the Arts. Also on the program is a revision of his “Cella Duru” for varied sextet. Tickets are $15 at the door.

Programs for all ages at Minute Man NHP

Halloween lantern walks
Saturdays, Oct. 19 and 26 from 5:30–6:15 p.m.
Hartwell Tavern (112 North Great Rd., Lincoln)
Celebrate Halloween with the Guild of Historic Interpreters on slightly spooky lantern walks (for younger children) down the Battle Road Trail to meet the spirits of 1775. Free; recommended for children 6 and under.

“Revolutionary Dog: Paws for the Cause”
Sunday, Oct. 20 at 2 p.m.
Minute Man Visitors Center (250 North Great Rd., Lincoln)
Join a park ranger for a guided walk on Battle Road Trail to explore the lives of dogs in colonial America. Visitors are welcome to bring their own dogs.

Historic fencing workshop
Saturday, Nov. 2 from 9 a.m.–3 p.m.
Noah Brooks Tavern (33 North Great Rd., Lincoln)
Learn about the various methods of colonial and contemporary livestock fencing and help repair the park’s livestock fencing. Wear sturdy shoes and bring lunch and water. Pre-registration required; email margie_coffin_brown@nps.gov.

Striking a blow for the planet (Lincoln Through the Lens)

Dozens of Lincolnites gathered on September 20 at the commuter train station before heading into Boston for the Climate Strike. There were individuals and members of groups including the First Parish in Lincoln, St. Anne’s-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church, Mothers Out Front, Indivisible, the Lincoln Meditation Group, the Lincoln Democratic Town Committee, and 350MA. Boston.com has a collection of some of the best signs. (Photos by Joan Kimball)

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Join Sept. 20 climate strike via 9:09 Lincoln train

On Friday, Sept. 20, many members of the Lincoln community plan to attend the Boston Youth Climate Strike at Boston City Hall and will board the 9:09 am train at Lincoln Station (see this letter to the editor). Around the country and around the globe, young people and their adult allies will be leaving school and work to raise their voices to protect the Earth’s climate from further damage by fossil fuel emissions. St. Anne’s in-the-Fields Episcopal Church invites anyone who is planning to take the 9:09 train to join us for a brief Liturgy for the Climate at Lincoln Station beginning at 8:45 a.m. as clergy and congregants offer prayers of blessing for the Earth and acknowledge the climate emergency threatening the future of humanity. See Massachusetts Mothers Out Front for more information on the Boston Youth Climate Strike.

Water Commission seeks new member

The Water Commission is seeking interested volunteers. The commission ensures that the town’s drinking water meets all applicable federal, state and local laws and standards, as well as ensuring that the system revenue covers system operations, debt service, and reserves. The deadline for submittals is Friday, Oct. 4. Send letters of interest to Peggy Elder, Administrative Assistant in the Selectmen’s Office, elderp@lincolntown.org. For information or an application, call the Selectmen’s Office at 781-259-2601.

Drumlin Farm gets $20,000 grant from foundation

Mass Audubon’s Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary has receive a $20,000 grant from the Middlesex Savings Charitable Foundation to support its full suite of Leaders in Environmental Access for All (LEAF) programs for children up to age 18. Programs include specialized field trips and guided programs, vocational internships, staff training, and adaptive curriculum and equipment for special-needs students participating in Drumlin Farm programs.

“Funding will allow us to continue our robust vocational internships opportunities, grow our adapted curriculum based environmental education programing, and implement a variety of staff trainings on disability and inclusivity,” said Drumlin Farm Education Manager Jennifer Feller.

Talk on women’s suffrage in Mass.

The Lincoln Historical Society  presents Barbara Berenson, author of Massachusetts in the Woman Suffrage Movement: Revolutionary Reformers, on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 1:30 p.m. in Bemis Hall. Massachusetts was at the center of the national struggle for women’s suffrage; in a 1915 referendum, the men of Massachusetts voted two-to-one against woman suffrage. Nonetheless, in a remarkable reversal, Massachusetts ratified the 19th Amendment within three weeks after it was approved by Congress. Berenson is also author of Boston in the Civil War and is senior attorney at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

Walk to benefit SVdP and Lincoln food pantry

Come on Saturday, Sept. 28 from 10–11 a.m. to St. Julia Church (374 Boston Post Rd, Weston) for a walk to raise awareness for people in need in Lincoln and Weston, and to benefit the work of our local Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) conference and the food pantry. Suggested donation $10 per person or $25 per family. This will be an easy walk along the new rail trail with an ice cream social at 11a.m. at St. Julia Church. SVdP provides emergency financial help to residents of Lincoln and Weston and operates a food pantry at St. Joseph Church in Lincoln that serves clients from both towns. 

Letter to the editor: join climate strike on Friday

To the editor:

I urge Lincolnites concerned about climate change to join the Global Climate Strike in Boston on Friday, Sept. 20, and to join in activities planned for the “Week of Action” to follow.

Responding to Greta Thunberg’s call for an uprising to raise awareness about the climate crisis, young people have organized a large climate strike event in Boston. This is part of a national and international campaign to demand faster action from our governments and industries on climate change. The more people who show up, the stronger the message!

The schedule for the day includes:

  • 10–11:30 a.m. — Community events at City Hall Plaza (art activities, partner organization tabling, sign making, community mural)
  • 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. — Main rally at City Hall Plaza (speakers, dances/songs/bands, slam poetry)
  • 1–1:30 p.m. — March to Massachusetts State House
  • 1:30–2:30 p.m. — Action at Massachusetts State House

Many Lincolnites will take the 9:09 a.m. train into Boston. If you arrive at the Lincoln platform by 8:45 a.m., you will be in time for a blessing by the new rector of St/ Anne’s Church. Possible return trains include the 3:30 from North Station.

As Bill McKibben recently wrote in The Guardian, September 20 “is shaping up to be the biggest day of climate action in the planet’s history… But it will only be a success on the scale we need if lots of people who aren’t the regular suspects join in. Many people, of course, can’t do without a day’s pay, or work for bosses who would fire them if they missed work. So it really matters that those of us with the freedom to rally do so.”

If you can’t make it to Boston on Friday, similar local events are planned in:

  • Sudbury (gather at First Parish UU Church, 327 Concord Rd., for sign creation at 11 a.m. and stand vigil at the common at noon)
  • Lexington (join the march from the Minuteman statue on the town green at 9:30 a.m., or gather at the Lexington High School football field at 10 a.m.)
  • other towns (I’ll be joining the event in Manhattan)

But wait, there’s more! The Week of Action following Sept. 20 includes the following opportunities for you:

  • Sunday, Sept. 22 — 350 Massachusetts will kick off its weeklong Charlie Baker Climate Catastrophe Tour. Gather at the State House steps from noon–1 p.m., then march to South Station, where our oversized Charlie puppet will give a press conference and set off on his statewide tour of climate catastrophes. The fun will include street theater and singing the new climate version of “Charlie on the MTA.” Find more details here.
  • Wednesday, Sept. 25 (preferably) — help flood the office of Chase Bank CEO Jamie Dimon with phone calls, demanding that Chase stop its massive lending to the worst parts of the fossil fuel industry. Find more background and a call script here.
  • Thursday, Sept. 26 — make your voice heard from 7–9 a.m. at the Framingham commuter rail station (details here).
  • Friday Sept. 27 — be at Dewey Park near South Station at 3:30 p.m. to join an action by Extinction Rebellion to “peacefully disrupt business as usual.” Find out more through their Facebook event page.
  • Saturday Sept. 28 — be in Bow, N.H., by 11 a.m. to join in the protest against the coal plant there. Go here to get more details, indicate interest, and/or donate.

Sincerely,

Paul Shorb
99 South Great Rd., Lincoln

Kids to learn first-hand about recycling

Lincoln children are invited to bring discarded plastics they’ve collected from their homes the previous week to an educational recycling event at the transfer station on Wednesday, Sept. 18 from 2–3:30 p.m. The event is being organized by Kim Jalet, chair of community service events for the Lincoln Family Association, along with Laura Berland and Susan Donaldson.

There will be a short presentation about trash and recycling in Lincoln, and the kids will determine which plastic items will go into the trash and which plastic items can be recycled. Jalet will then help them make reusable bags out of old pillow cases and read stories about being good stewards of the environment while Berland facilitates a discussion about ways to reduce plastic waste. The event is open to anyone with kids in Lincoln, but advance signup is required; click here to register.

Donations of old pillowcases are needed (they can’t have any holes, but can otherwise be well worn). Jalet can pick them up; email her at jaletkl@gmail.com.

Town to offer composting service at transfer station

Lincoln residents will soon be able to bring their food waste and other compostable items to the transfer station under a new service provided by the Department of Public Works.

The DPW and Mothers Out Front – Lincoln, which has been working with town officials to get the composting program underway, are also asking residents to answer an anonymous online survey about their current recycling and composting habits. Organizers are trying to learn about effective ways to reduce the amount of waste sent to the incinerator and move the town toward “zero waste.” Click here to take the survey.

Once the program starts, residents can collect their compostable materials in biodegradable compost bags or paper bags and drop them in one of three 64-gallon closed and lined compost barrels at the transfer station (loose items will not be accepted). The DPW will offer buckets and compost bags to residents for a modest fee. There will be education tables at Donelan’s and the transfer station in coming weeks with more information.

The compost material will be picked up each week by Black Earth Compost at a cost of about $2,000 per year — but diverting compostable materials from the trash will actually save the town about $15,000 to $20,000 annually. The general industry standard is that compostable material (primarily food waste) accounts for 25% of the waste stream, according to DPW Superintendent Chris Bibbo. Lincoln currently pays $69.54 per ton to have trash hauled from the transfer station to the Wheelabrator trash-to-energy incinerator in North Andover.

Residents also have the option to sign up for curbside compost pick up with Black Earth Compost for $3.80 a week (plus purchase of an animal-proof 13-gallon bin for $24). The service will run in Lincoln if at least 30 households sign up, and customers get compost delivered to them several months later. Click here for details and to preregister.

For those with outdoor space, the DPW sells home composting bins at its Lewis Street headquarters for $60 apiece.

Lincoln joins other cities and town in Massachusetts (including the city of Boston) that are starting or expanding their composting programs to reduce their municipal waste and carbon footprint.