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

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Lincoln team wins Latino and African American Tenacity Challenge Competition

The winning L-S Tenacity Challenge Team, “America’s Future.”

The L-S Tenacity Challenge Team “America’s Future,” whose members are all Lincoln School alumni, won first place in the 2019 Latino and African American Tenacity Challenge Competition on April 27 at Bedford High School. Their victory marks the first time a Lincoln-Sudbury team has placed in this competition. Each year, teams of LatinX and African-American students from urban and suburban high schools across Massachusetts compete for scholarship prize money. This year’s theme was “The Social and Political Significance of Hip Hop, Rap and Spoken Word.”

Led by advisor and history teacher Caroline Han, students Jada Edwards, Keith Hylton, Kares Mack, Jaelynn Rodney, and Jesus Tejeda prepared for four events: the Science and Math Quiz Bowl, Latino and African-American Literature Response, History Oral Argument, and Mural Challenge. By earning the highest overall score out of 34 schools, members of the L-S team will each receive a $1,000 scholarship.

L-S Community Sing this week

The L-S Music Department presents its annual Community Sing on Thursday, May 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the L-S auditorium. Come hear L-S’ five student-led vocal groups and Chamber Singers perform. The featured piece is Eric Whitacre’s “Five Hebrew Love Songs” with string quartet, piano, and the L-S Concert Choir, choir alumni, parents and community members.  If you would like to join us in singing the Whitacre, contact L-S Choral Director Mike Bunting at michael_bunting@lsrhs.net for details. The event is free and open to the public.

Sales of snacks and refreshments will support the L-S Friends of Music, which invites everyone to their annual meeting on Thursday, May 23 at 7:30 p.m. in Conference Room A at L-S. All parents of music students and community members are welcome. Talk to board members, meet fellow music program supporters, and learn about opportunities to get involved.

Wash your car, help the eighth grade

Saturday, May 18 is the annual 8th-grade car wash and bake sale. The event is a key source of funds for all activities around graduation, including the student dance party, the family party, T-shirts, etc.  Each wash is only $10. Swing by Town Hall any time between 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. If you’re away or would just like to make a donation, please click here.

Get down at Club Codman

Dance to the music of the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and beyond (and wear costumes to match your favorite era) at Club Codman, an adults-only fundraiser in the Codman barn on Saturday, May 18 from 8:30–11:30 p.m. Cash bar. Tickets are $45 for CCF members and $60 for nonmembers; click here to purchase.

Test-drive an electric vehicle

Tired of going to gas stations and paying for oil changes and also want to do something significant about climate change? Please come and test-drive an electric vehicle (EV) at the First Parish in Lincoln (FPL) on Sunday, May 19 from 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. There will be two Teslas available, and possible a Chevy Bolt and Hyundai Kona as well. EV owners will also be on hand to share their experiences.

As an example, a 2018 Chevy Bolt last year gets over 300 miles per charge in the summer and (over 200 miles in the winter) and costs as little as half the current list price when you factor in available federal and state subsidies and the volume discount that has been negotiated by Lincoln’s partner, the Green Energy Consumers Alliance. Replacing an internal combustion engine car with an EV will remove 3–5 tons of CO2 emissions annually from your total carbon footprint, which works out to an overall carbon footprint reduction of around 20% for typical car owners. Please click here to RSVP. Call Green Energy Committee Chair Peter Watkinson at 339-224-0000 with questions.

See Lincolnites in “None But the Best”

In Good Company Theater presents “None But the Best” by Patrick Gabridge (original music by Dan Ryan) on Saturday and Sunday, June 1 and 2 at 7:30 p.m. in Bemis Hall. It tells the remarkable story of Boston publisher Daniel Sharp Ford, who quietly used his wealth to help thousands of disadvantaged people during the turbulent post-Civil War/Gilded Age years. Two Lincoln residents are in the cast — Cindy Bencal plays Ford’s wife Sarah, and Nancy Knight sings “The Fire” in a trio. Tickets are available at ingc.co/lincoln (use discount code “Lincoln” to get $5 off).

Candidate for cable committee sought

The Board of Selectmen is seeking a volunteer to fill a vacant seat on the Cable Advisory Committee. The CAC represents the board in all aspects of cable television licensing, including advising and negotiating on renewal licenses or original licenses, monitoring compliance, and serving as custodian of all reports and records made under the terms of any cable television license. The complete charge can be found here. Letters of interest should be sent to Peggy Elder, Administrative Assistant in the Selectmen’s Office, elderp@lincolntown.org by May 31. For information call the Selectmen’s Office at 781-259-2601.

Free heat pump brings Codman Community Farms closer to net zero

The indoor unit of Codman Community Farm’s new heat pump.

CCF Board President David Alperovitz, New England Ductless owner Joseph Wood, and CCF Farm Manager Pete Lowy with the heat pump’s outdoor unit.

Codman Community Farms has been selected as a recipient of a free cold-climate heat pump from New England Ductless, one of the installers for HeatSmart Carlisle, Concord & Lincoln (HeatSmart CCL), based on the success of that program.

HeatSmart CCL is community-led initiative to learn about and purchase clean energy technologies. New England Ductless of Milton was selected through a competitive solicitation as the air-source heat pump installer for the organization. In 2018, with support from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, HeatSmart CCL secured contracts to install 49 cold-climate air-source heat pumps and 23 ground-source heat pumps.

Also  In 2018, Codman Community Farms (CCF) began to work towards a goal of having the farm’s operational buildings becoming net-zero energy while simultaneously reducing the farm’s overall reliance on fossil fuels. With the completion of a 54 kW solar electric array expected in June 2019, this goal will be realized. CCF has taken other steps to meet the goals of its Green Energy Plan, including installing a solar hot-water system for egg washing and farm house staff, evaluating bids for the solar electric array, and applying for a state grant to support additional measures.

The farm had considered installing a cold-climate heat pump but did not proceed due to budgetary constraints. However, New England Ductless made this possible in April by installing a Mitsubishi Hyper-Heat cold-climate heat pump in Codman Farms’ 700-square-foot kitchen/dining area, which is used for cooking classes, nutrition education, farm luncheons and dinners, and other events.

The new heating and cooling system replaces an inefficient propane furnace and non-functioning central air conditioner, and makes the farm’s operational buildings fossil-fuel-free. When the solar array is operational, the heat pump will heat and cool the kitchen/dining area while producing no greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the installation allows CCF to remove two unsightly propane tanks and eliminates the need for propane deliveries.

The Lincoln Historical Committee was especially pleased that the company was able to conceal the heat-pump line set in the attic space to help preserve the historical character of the space.

HeatSmart CCL will host heat-pump educational events on Saturday, June 8 from 1:30–3:30 p.m. in the Concord-Carlisle High School learning commons and Tuesday, June 11 from 7–8:30 pm. in the Wayland Public Library. Click here for more information.

Lincoln committee pushing ahead with green goals

Gathering data on Lincoln’s greenhouse gas emissions and encouraging specific ways for residents to use more green energy are among this year’s goals for the Green Energy Committee (GEC).

The GEC serves as the primary resource for the town to identify technologies, initiatives, and means to reduce Lincoln’s CO2 emissions. One of its long-term goals is for the town’s public buildings to achieve “net zero” status for energy use by 2030 (with production of renewable energy equivalent to fossil fuel consumption) as required by a 2011 Town Meeting vote.

Among the efforts underway: finalizing a proposal for community choice aggregation, which uses the power of group electricity purchasing to offer a greater percentage of electricity from renewable sources than the 15% now required from Eversource. The voluntary Lincoln Green Energy Choice program will also offer a fixed price for electricity supply over a longer period of time. The prices for power will be slightly higher than they would be otherwise, though the figures for different sources of electricity under the program won’t be known until the town signs a contract with an electricity supplier.

The GEC also hopes to gather data and report each year on CO2e emissions. “CO2e” means carbon dioxide equivalent, which gauges carbon footprint by expressing the impact of each different greenhouse gas in terms of the amount of CO2 that would create the same amount of warming.

“Our focus is on tracking CO2e emissions and reductions data so that we can figure out how to have the biggest impact on reducing them as we develop a plan to become carbon neutral by 2030,” said GEC chair Peter Watkinson. The group is in discussions with a third party to provide this data for the town of Lincoln and “expects progress this quarter,” he added.

Other GEC goals for 2019:

  • Work with the School Building Committee on a high-efficiency school building powered completely by onsite solar PV arrays to achieve a net zero campus.
  • Encourage residents to buy or lease electric vehicles. Work to make it easier and less expensive to purchase residential charging stations, and investigate locations for public charging stations in town.
  • Continue residential efforts including encouraging home energy efficiency measures, energy-efficient heating/cooling systems, and solar installations.
  • Encourage/enable the development and implementation of solar PV projects at non-residential locations, including the Lincoln School, Codman Community Farms, the Lincoln Mall parking lot, the First Parish in Lincoln, the Public Safety Building, and the transfer station.

The Codman barn is now having solar panels installed, and the First Parish in Lincoln (FPL) Parish Committee has approved installation of solar panels on the roof of the parish house across from Bemis Hall (they now need approval from the Historic District Commission, according to Larry Buell, chair of the FPL Outreach Committee).

FPL Green was formed in fall 2017 under the leadership of Tom Walker in response to a membership poll that named energy and climate change as the most urgent public priority among a dozen possible. Twenty families are now driving electric vehicles and 35 are using 100% wind-generated electricity, Watkinson said.

News acorns

French cartoon to be screened at high school

Come see “Astérix et les Vikings,” a family-friendly movie organized by L-S students in a fifth-year French Cinema class, on Friday, May 17 at 7 p. m. in the L-S auditorium. The 79-minute movie based on a French comic strip follows Asterix and Obelix as they set off in hot pursuit to rescue Chief Vitalstatistix’s lazy nephew, Justforkix, from the Viking Olaf after the chief asks them to toughen up his nephew.

Talk at St. Anne’s on Nicaragua efforts

Sarah Junkin Woodard from the Center for Development in Central America (CDCA), a nonprofit, faith-based organization, will speak at St. Anne’s Church on Sunday, May 19 at 11:15 a.m. Woodard, who has worked in Nicaragua for 25 years, will explain how the CDCA responds to human needs created by natural disasters and poverty in the second-poorest nation in the western hemisphere. Joining her is Grace Sweetser, a former Lincoln resident and St. Anne’s parishioner who served for six months as a volunteer at the rural medical clinic run by the CDCA Jubilee House after college. 

Have coffee with an L-S School Committee member

Carole Kasper of the Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee will host listening sessions on the following dates:

  • Friday May 10: 9–10 a.m. at the deCordova Café, and 11 a.m.–noon at Sudbury Coffee Works (15 Union Ave., Sudbury)
  • Tuesday, June 4: 9–10 a.m. at the deCordova Café, and 11 a.m.–noon at Karma Coffee (100 Boston Post Rd., Sudbury)

Talk on attracting birds and butterflies

Naturalist John Root will present a program on “Attracting Birds, Butterflies and Other Beneficials to Your Garden” on Thursday, May 23 at 6:30 p.m. at the Lincoln Public Library. This is one of the activities listed in the “Hidden Treasures” booklet published by Freedom’s Way, a nonprofit that works in partnership with the National Park Service to help people explore (natural, cultural or historical treasures hidden in plain sight through family-friendly community organized programs in greater Boston. Pick up a copy of the brochure at the library.

This free program is supported by in part by a grant from the Lincoln Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Additional funding was also provided by the Friends of the Lincoln Public Library.

Celebrate L-S grads with balloons

Do you know someone in the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School Class of 2019? If so, congratulate him or her with a graduation balloon in a fundraiser for the Class of 2021. Large

blue foil balloons imprinted with “Congratulations L-S Grad” are being sold for $6 each and will be delivered to graduates’ homes a few days before graduation, accompanied by a good luck card. All proceeds go to the Class of 2021 Steering Committee. Order from this LSPO web page by May 20.

Community sessions on heating and cooling with heat pumps

Learn about cold-climate air-source heat pumps, geothermal systems, and heat pump water heaters at events hosted by HeatSmart Carlisle/Concord/Lincoln and EnergizeWayland. Perfect for those who:

  • want to learn why electricity for heating/cooling is environmentally friendly
  • don’t have air conditioning but want it before summer temperatures arrive
  • have an old heating system (e.g.,more than 15 years) and want to know about replacement options to oil, propane or gas

Meet installers to learn what systems might work for your home. Find out about the financial incentives available to you. Hear from neighbors who have installed systems and local installers. Meet your community coach who can help you sort it all out.

The events are on Saturday, June 8 from 1:30–3:30 p.m. in the Concord-Carlisle High School Learning Commons (500 Walden St., Concord, 2nd floor) and Tuesday, June 11 from 7–8:30 pm. in the Wayland Public Library (5 Concord Rd., Wayland).

Lincolnites get tips on becoming climate change activists

Andrew Gordon speaks to the Bemis Hall audience about climate change action.

By Barbara Slayter and Peter Pease
Co-chairs, Lincoln Democratic Town Committee

Dozens of Lincoln residents turned out to learn how to become effective advocates around the issues of environmental justice and climate change at a session led by Andrew Gordon, legislative coordinator from 350 Mass, a grassroots environmental organization.

Gordon, who spoke on April 6 at the invitation of Lincoln’s Democratic Town Committee, began by outlining his organization’s agenda:

  1. Environmental justice — acknowledging that race and class usually correlate closely with pollution, unequal protection, and vulnerability, and that the communities most negatively affected by climate change and fossil fuel pollution must be central to implementing new policies and must not be harmed by them.
  2. Renewable energy — aiming for 100% by 2045 including heating and transportation, with 100% renewable in electricity by 2035
  3. Equitable and green investment in our communities to become net zero in greenhouse gas emissions, directing revenue and resources to disadvantaged communities that are less able to take effective action without help from the Commonwealth.

Gordon also introduced some new names, policies, and concepts, including:

  • Marshall Ganz, a prominent Harvard professor who writes and lecturers on leadership, organizing communities and mobilizing for change.
  • The Transportation and Climate Initiative, whereby 13 states are developing a regional low-carbon transportation policy to set up a carbon pricing mechanism to reduce transport emissions.
  • Carbon pricing — levying an added charge on carbon-emitting fuels, with variations including a revenue-neutral proposal long advocated by Sen. Michael Barrett, or a Massachusetts House version by Rep. Jennifer Benson in which fees charged would be returned to poorer communities for green infrastructure.
  • Mass Power Forward, a coalition of various environmental and other civil society groups working to provide Massachusetts and the broader region with clean, affordable reliable energy and a thriving economy.

Attendees had detailed questions and comments about costs, trade-offs, timelines, and the magnitude of the challenges ahead as Massachusetts and the nation try to address the problems of climate change.   Buzz Constable went to the heart of the issue, asking, “Can we really solve social problems and climate change at the same time?” Is there an inherent conflict between “going slow together to get it right” and the urgent timeframe for diminishing carbon emissions?

Larry Buell asked about approaches for galvanizing disadvantaged communities and ways to provide incentives for poorer communities to participate in climate change policies. Joan Kimball raised a concern about the high levels of compartmentalization of professionals such as those working in the health and environmental fields.

Gordon made a compelling argument for the need to “push and expand the narrative of what is possible” if we wish to transform our economy and address the escalating problems of climate change.  He reminded us of the years required to enact comprehensive, effective policies. The text cannot be filed and then voted into law in the same year. Everyone needs to be able to take ownership and help refine the policies, he said.

Some suggestions for effective advocacy, particularly with regard to the Massachusetts legislature, emerged from event for activists of all stripes:

  • Build coalitions with like-minded groups and organizations.
  • Let your voice be heard and be vigilant in expressing your views.
  • Be inclusive, bring in the stakeholders, and bring key people to the table.
  • Figure out your next “ask,” and then ask it with persistence.
  • Activate your networks outside Lincoln.
  • Make sure your representatives know you want them to direct resources to other, disadvantaged communities.
  • Be proactive in your expenditure of political capital.
  • Build and sustain the connections between electoral activities and issues-oriented organizations in order to change policy outcomes.

Click here to watch a recording of the event, including charts (the sound is missing only for the first minute or so).

News acorns

Coming up at the deCordova

Chanel Thervil, “Glee,” 2017. Courtesy of the artist.

  • Collaborate with Biennial artist Chanel Thervil to represent your superpower though vibrant color and bold, abstract shapes in “Towers of Power: Self Portrait Sculptures” on Sunday, May 5 from 1–3 p.m. (rain or shine). Add your unique element to a massive community installation punctuating deCordova’s landscape. This special ArtWeek program is great for all ages. Free with admission or membership; registration requested.
  • Take a dynamic, indoor/outdoor tour of the history and art of the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum on Saturday, May 18 from 11 a.m.–noon. Learn about the transformation of the de Cordova family’s summer cottage built in 1880 to the “castle” that became their year-round residence at the turn of the century to the contemporary art museum of today. Free with admission or membership; registration requested.
  • Join Biennial artist Emilie Stark-Menneg with collaborators Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon and Desmond Bratton for a live performance of dancing, music, and poetry in deCordova’s galleries on Thursday, May 23 from 6–7 p.m. Their piece will be in dialogue with Stark-Menneg’s film “Confirmation” featured in the Biennial. Free; registration requested.

Help fight invasive garlic mustard

Help the Conservation Department fight invasive plant garlic mustard across town. Neighborhood pull season is April 30 through May 31. Join your neighbors and pull garlic mustard — you choose the time and place. Free paper leaf bags will be distributed to residents at the transfer station on Saturday, May 4 from 9 a.m.–noon. After that, bags will be available at the Conservation Department office in Town Hall and the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust office at the mall. Click here for a fact sheet with pictures of garlic mustard.

There will be a spot behind the DPW facility on Lewis Street for residents to drop off their filled bags (no wall lettuce or yard clippings, please). Hours are Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Though dropoffs are preferred, Conservation staff will pick up full bags of garlic mustard in neighborhoods through May 31, but only if you contact them at 781-259-2612 or stacyc@lincolntown.org (allow a few days for pickup).

News acorns

Dozens of bikes collected for Bikes Not Bombs

Louis D’Angelo, a volunteer from Bikes Not Bombs, and Ethan Webber, a junior at Lincoln-Sudbury, with the bikes collected in the Hartwell lot.

The Bikes Not Bombs collection in Lincoln on April 7 netted 83 bikes and monetary donations. Volunteers prepped the bikes for shipping during the day as well. The organization collects about 5,000 used bicycles and tons of used parts each year in greater Boston and New England; most are shipped to economic development projects through international partners in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Green burial information session

On Saturday, April 27 from 3–5 p.m. at the Ryan Estate (140 Lincoln Rd.), Lincoln resident Carol DiGianni will host an informational session on green burial with legal facts, logistical details, and a discussion of the personal benefits of caring for your loved one at home after death and having a natural or green burial with minimal environmental impact.

St. Julia Parish event marks 100 years

St. Julia Parish’s Centenary Gala will be on Saturday, May 4 in the St. Julia Parish Center Hall at 374 Boston Post Rd. in Weston (St. Joseph Church in Lincoln is part of the St. Julia parish). Dinner will be served at 7:15 p.m. with a cash bar. There will also be a raffle/silent auction. Tickets ($50 per person) will be on sale after Masses on March 30-31 and April 6-7 and in the parish offices until April 29. Ticket price is $50 per person. To reserve a table, please call 781-899-4734.

deCordova sponsors 5K trail run, Party for the Park 

The deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum’s annual fundraising gala, Party for the Park, will he on Saturday, May 11. The festive event—which includes cocktails, dinner, an auction of once-in-a-lifetime experiences, and a dance party in the galleries—will celebrate deCordova’s integration into the Trustees of Reservations. The evening’s special guest is Anita Walker, Executive Director of Mass Cultural Council. Ticket and table proceeds from Party for the Park will help to make partnership with the Trustees possible while providing vital funds to support deCordova’s exhibitions, lectures, and programs. Tickets starting at $500 can be reserved by emailing rsvp@decordova.org or online at decordova.org/party.

The fourth annual Art and Nature 5K Trail Race kicks off at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 22. The course begins in deCordova’s Sculpture Park and continues through Lincoln’s conservation trails alongside Flint’s Pond (note that this is a trail run with lots of rocks, roots, dips, turns, and some uphill terrain). Participants are welcome to run or walk the race, and everyone gets a deCordova 5K T-shirt.

There’s also a pre-race yoga session from 8:45–9:15 a.m. New this year: children 9 and under can participate in a free 50-yard dash at 10:15 a.m. (space is limited; registration required). Register online by Tuesday, April 30 for a $5 early-bird discount. Organizers are also looking for volunteers to help with check-in, water stations, trail wayfinding, and general assistance for runners and their families. Please contact Sarah Oh at soh@decordova.org. 

Margaret Ramsey honored for philanthropy

Margaret Ramsay

Foundation for MetroWest, the community foundation serving the 33 cities and towns of MetroWest Boston, has announced that Lincoln resident Margaret “Meg” Ramsey will receive the Community Philanthropist Award.

In addition to being a trustee for the Foundation for MetroWest, Ramsey is a past board member of Belmont Day School and a past chair of the Lincoln Scholarship Committee. She also serves as a board member at the Discovery Museum in Acton, chair of the Lincoln Cultural Council, and a member of the Parents’ Council at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. She is founder and managing trustee of the Ramsey McCluskey Family Foundation, which funds projects in arts education and general education in eastern Massachusetts.

Ramsey, who has degrees in computer science and electrical engineering, spent 20 years in software research, development, and consulting, including research positions at Bell Laboratories, teaching at Rutgers University, and co-founding a software startup company. 

“Meg has been involved with the work of the Foundation for more than 15 years, originally getting involved through our Youth in Philanthropy program,” said Judy Salerno, executive director of the Foundation for MetroWest. “She has always had an interest in philanthropy education, and she truly represents what it means to be not only a philanthropist and a board member but also a caring member of the community. She has been a wonderful friend to the foundation and an asset to our region.”

Mary Gordon, founder and president of Roots of Empathy, will be the 2019 keynote speaker at the Spring Inspiration Breakfast, where Ramsey will receive her award. The event will be held on Thursday, April 25 from 9–11 a.m. at the Wellesley Country Club, 300 Wellesley Ave.

Codman Community Farm to draw all its power from the sun

These historic barns at Codman Community Farm will soon sport 21st-century solar photovoltaic arrays.

(Editor’s note: this story was updated with corrected figures on April 8.)

Codman Community Farms will install solar photovoltaic panels on the roofs of three barns and that will provide 100% of the facility’s electricity by this summer.

Work will begin soon on reshingling the barns (which were last replaced more than 20 years ago) at a cost of $110,000, paid for via Community Preservation Act funds approved at last month’s Annual Town Meeting. SunBug will design and build the solar photovoltaic array at a cost of $150,000, but two grants totaling $50,000 will offset some of that. Donations to CCF (including its ongoing capital campaign) will cover the rest.

The 54 kW system will generate all the electricity CCF needs. “With our conversion to a high-efficiency heat pump, we will no longer be reliant on fossil fuels and will effectively become ‘net zero’,” said David Alperovitz, president of CCF’s Board of Trustees.

CCF qualified for the $20,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy for American Program (REAP) due to its robust farm activities, with more than 50% of its income derived from agricultural products. Codman is only the second nonprofit to receive a REAP grant and the first in many years. The other grant for $30,000 came from the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture Resources.

The farm will also save or earn roughly $15,000 a year on electricity and Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) program tariffs, Alperovitz said. The state’s SMART program is a long-term sustainable solar incentive program that offers compensation for lean energy usage calculated as a proportion of the kilowatt hours of the electricity that a solar-powered facility produces.

Codman Community Farms will be the first town-owned entity to go solar, but certainly not the last. The Rural Land Foundation is hoping to build a 250 kW solar canopy in the mall parking lot this year, and the rebuilt Lincoln School, with a 700-770 kW system according to 2018 estimates, will be net zero for energy use when it comes online in 2023. The First Parish Church is also planning a 20 kW array.

Other nonresidential solar arrays are already up and running at St.-Anne’s-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church and in the meadow behind Lincoln Woods.

Further down the road, officials are hoping for town-owned solar PV arrays on the Public Safety Building roof and atop the transfer station. That complex project is still tackling issues such as getting access to the grid through land owned by Minute Man National Historical Park. If and when the two projects are completed, they could generate up to 50% of the electricity used by town facilities.

“Working with the town of Lincoln has been amazing,” Alperovitz said. “[Town Administrator] Tim Higgins and [Town Facilities Manager] Michael Haines have been enormously supportive and helpful, and without them this would not have been possible. They pushed for funding for the shingles to be redone in a time frame that’s in keeping with our grant restrictions, and they’ve allowed us to thread a fine needle (still in process) through many obstacles and hurdles.”

The Historic District Commission has also been “wonderful and supportive,” he added.

“I’m reveling in the fact that the farm buildings will soon be powered by the sun (our eggs are already washed by water heated by the sun as well), and the fact that establishing this system will help to put the farm on better footing financially for the years to come,” Alperovitz said.