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

agriculture and flora

My Turn: The Food Project needs your help

By Peter von Mertens

The Food Project, which farms 31 acres of Lincoln conservation land, is hard-pressed during this Covid crisis to carry out their mission. Normally teams of volunteers from corporations, law firms, banks, schools, and other nonprofits would be planting and weeding the carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, and other crops. During the summer months, teams of high school youth would carry on that work as well as picking, washing, sorting, and helping distribute over 250,000 pounds of fresh, organic produce to inner-city hunger relief organizations and farmers’ markets. 

Not so this year. The 110 youth — some from cities and some from suburbs — cannot come together due to Covid, and the entire farm work has fallen on a core crew of eight farmers and some of the Food Project office staff. 

The Food Project is a powerful anti-racism program as it brings together youth from different racial and ethnic as well as socioeconomic backgrounds, and the youth and staff spend time discussing their biases, experiences and ways to understand and resolve conflicts. Of all the years to miss this kind of learning!

The Food Project has been hard hit financially this year. They were fortunate to have received a Payroll Protection Grant to help them keep key staff employed, but the future is very uncertain. Please consider making a donation at thefoodproject.org. It’s local. It provides high-quality produce to residents of Dorchester, Roxbury, and other areas in greater Boston. And it’s important to keep alive and well through this crisis.

”My Turn” is a forum for Lincoln residents to offer their views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Today’s Covid-19 updates for Lincoln

Donelan’s

Because a number of items are in short supply, Donelan’s has temporarily suspended its online shopping and delivery service. Lincoln store manager Jason Deveau told the Squirrel on Wednesday that the five-store grocery chain is considering offering early-morning hours exclusively for seniors to minimize their risk of public exposure, but stores would follow whatever policy the company is decided and can’t act individually.

As far as general restocking goes, the store is not always getting everything it orders, but deliveries continue. “Right now we’re doing the best we can ordering stuff, but I just don’t know what time or day things will come in,” Deveau said.

Other options for food and medication home delivery can be found here.

Transfer station

In an effort to minimize crowding at the transfer station, the Department of Public Works will has added Monday hours to the customary Wednesday and Saturday schedule. Effective Monday, March 23, the facility will be open Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from 7:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. As announced earlier, the swap table program has been indefinitely halted.

Real

Real is now offering takeout brought to your car three evenings a week. Please place your order before 5 p.m. with 30 minutes’ notice, or schedule ahead for later in the week. Pickup times are available from 5–6:45 p.m. on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. At your chosen pick-up time, park in the back of the restaurant and call the restaurant at (781) 259-9464. Ruth-Anne or Tom will bring your order out to your car.

Drumlin Farm

Although Drumlin Farm is closed to the public, farming operations continue, and Drumlin is partnering with Codman Community Farms and Family Dinner to distribute produce. Residents can buy Drumlin Farm produce at the CCF farm store, which is open 24/7, and Family Dinner will deliver boxes of local produce right to your door. This week, Drumlin Farm is harvesting spinach, arugula, pea shoots, bok choy, and tatsoi for these partners, and is optimistic that they’ll be able to provide another season of CSA shares starting in May. If you haven’t already registered for one of its seasonal programs, shares are still available.

Educational offerings

Dozens of past presentations, including Lincoln Academy and other Council on Aging events, Bemis Lectures, and events hosted by the Lincoln Historical Society, Lincoln Public Library, Lincoln Land Conservation Trust and more are all available for watching on your computer. Find videotaped events by going to lincolntv.viebit.com/ and clicking on an organization or topic from the vertical list of folders on the left.

For those interested in learning a new language or improving their skills,  the library offers Mango, which immerses you in real, everyday conversations in a wide variety of languages. It also features ESL instruction in English, tailored for speakers of more than a dozen languages. Transparent Languages offers courses and supplemental resources for learners of all levels looking to build their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in more than 100 languages. Click here to see links for these programs, as  well as free access to the New York Times online. You’ll need your library card number to log in.

Winter at the farm (Lincoln Through the Lens)

The white barns of Codman Community Farms match their snowy surroundings earlier this winter. See this CCF blog post for a description of what goes on during the quieter winter months.

Readers may submit photos for consideration for Lincoln Through the Lens by emailing them to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. If your photo is published, you’ll receive credit in the Squirrel. Photos must be taken in Lincoln and include the date, location, and names of any people who are identifiable in the photo. Previously published photos can be viewed on the Lincoln Through the Lens page of the Lincoln Squirrel.

Farmers protest sudden end to lower water rates

By Alice Waugh

The Water Department recently stopped allowing rate caps for agricultural users of town water, but after farmers were taken by surprise and objected, officials decided this week to study the matter further.

The issue of water rates is a sore subject for the town. To help pay for an array of capital projects and new equipment, residents voted to approve bonding totaling about $2 million at Town Meetings in March and November 2019, and the department has been in a financial and staffing crisis for some time.

Because of the expenditures, water bills went up by 25% last year, and another significant increase is expected when next year’s rates are set. The Water Commission plans to propose the new rates on January 21 and hold a public hearing on February 4.

Everyone who uses town-supplied water must pay according to how much water they use each quarter. There are three usage tiers: 0–20,000 gallons, 20,001–40,000 gallons, and 40,001 gallons or more. As an incentive to conserve water, the fee climbs steeply from one tier to the next: $5.08 per 1,000 gallons for users in tier 1, rising to $10.71 for tier 2 and $25.03 for tier 3. Local farms can use more than 100,000 gallons per quarter in the growing season.

In keeping with Lincoln’s agricultural character, former Water Department Superintendent Greg Woods (who left about two years ago) capped the rate at Tier 1 for some farming operations in Lincoln. The policy was on an informal case-by case basis; Lincoln does not have a written policy regarding rates for agricultural water use.

Water Department Superintendent MaryBeth Wiser drafted a proposal with suggested criteria for an agricultural rate last year, but in June 2019, the commission voted not to adopt it and to discontinue the water rate caps for farms. Water customers were notified in their July bills that farms would no longer receive special treatment and would be charged according to water usage the same as everyone else starting October 1, 2019. Since farms use a lot of water, the change could mean added costs amounting to tens of thousands of dollars a year. The only alternative is to pay for digging a private well, which can cost upwards of $20,000.

Although the notice went out in July, some farmers didn’t realize a change had been made until they got their water bills in November, as there was no outreach or publicity from the Water Department aside from the notice in the summer bill.

“Agricultural water rates are important to the viability of farms in Lincoln,” Agricultural Commission co-chair Ari Kurtz said at the Water Commission’s January 7 meeting. “Farmers use town water to wash vegetables, maintain community gardens, and water crops when wells are not available or treated water is required. Building wells is a significant expense that many small farmers cannot absorb and would discourage small startup agricultural operations… If water conservation or the need for increased revenue for the Water Department were significant drivers of the decision to rescind agricultural water rates, we would like to have the chance to examine alternatives that are less damaging to the farming community.”

Kurtz was reading from a letter that he and Agricultural Committee co-chair Louise Bergeron wrote to the commission.

“These will be crippling rates for many people,” said Steven Kanner, who owns Kanner Family Orchard on Bypass Road, which supplies fresh fruit to customers including the Lincoln schools and Codman Community Farms (CCF).

“For us, the situation is critical,” said Pete Lowy, manager of CCF. “We would have to double or triple rates for garden plots.” CCF leases more than 100 community gardening plots to residents.

The Water Commission approved an interim agricultural rate structure in 2017, though it’s unclear who now qualifies for that rate. After extending an exemption for Brian Turnbaugh of 153 Lexington Rd., the commission approved an interim fee structure whereby Tier 2 would encompass 20,001–100,000 gallons per quarter. This was proposed as an “interim measure” by commission member Packy Lawler, who advocated a rate structure for agricultural use that encourages water conservation, according to meeting minutes.

“We’ve had agricultural water rates on our agenda or list of things to do for about five years,” commission member Ruth Ann Hendrickson said at this week’s meeting.

Wiser’s June agricultural proposal wasn’t useful for Lincoln, Hendrickson said. “It was sort of a generic proposal that MaryBeth had picked up from various sources on the Internet. It was really more appropriate to a place like the Midwest,” with its massive amounts of livestock and farming acres. “It was more complicated than we needed.”

As the commission was discussing the issue this week, it was apparent that they did not have current data on the number of farms in town, how a farm is defined, how much water they use, and which have separate water meters for agricultural uses such as watering animals and irrigating crops as opposed to regular indoor use. This stems in part from difficulties some officials have had in using Munis, the town’s financial data system.

 “What we really need is some data,” Hendrickson said. “How much water are we talking about? It’s a balancing act between supporting the town in its desire to have farms vs. asking to what extent do our customers want to subsidize the farmers. That’s the question we’re going to have to wrestle with… Every year we already overdraw our [state DEP] permit. We’re between a rock and a hard place.”

The commission decided to appoint a subcommittee to study the issue of agricultural water rates, chaired by member Michelle Barnes and including Agricultural Commission members. But they’re under a tight deadline, with the public hearing on new rates set for February 4.

Arnold Arboretum begins project to reproduce Lincoln’s catalpa tree

By Cathy Moritz

Sean Halloran, head of woody plant propagation for Arnold Arboretum, takes a cutting of Lincoln’s catalpa tree.

Sean Halloran, head of woody plant propagation at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, has generously agreed to attempt to reproduce a twisting offspring of the town’s beloved Northern Catalpa tree in front of the Lincoln Public Library. Halloran’s work is at the joint request of the Lincoln Garden Club and the Friends of the Lincoln Library.

The catalpa has graced the grounds of the Lincoln Library and sparked conversations in Lincoln since the early 20th century, but it’s well beyond the typical catalpa lifespan of 60 years and won’t live forever. The hope is to grow a genetically identical twisting “daughter tree” to plant nearby on the library grounds so future generations can enjoy the same beautiful tree we have. 

Arboretum staff are using several reproduction techniques. On July 22, Halloran and an intern took many cuttings of new growth up in the upper branches, and 115 of them are now planted in an Arboretum greenhouse under the best conditions. This fall, they will gather seeds from the tree before they fall to the ground where they can pick up disease.

Halloran has not located another catalpa in the immediate area. He believes that the tree is self-pollinating, so that its seeds are probably genetically identical to the parent tree. Next winter, one or more small limbs will be taken and grafted onto catalpa stumps, employing the same technique used to grow apple cultivars. Root cuttings, which can be dangerous to the tree, are under consideration but will not be used without further discussion and permission from the library trustees.

This project will take several years, and it may not be immediately apparent that any of the tree’s offspring will have the twisting characteristic. Halloran explained that tree genetics are even more complicated than human genetics and their expression is affected by the environment just as human genes are, so that there is no guarantee that any offspring will twist. But he assures us that the Arboretum staff will take whatever time is needed to complete the project. They are using it as a learning experience for their interns. Meanwhile, they’re also advising us on how to preserve the existing tree.

Coordinating the effort is the Lincoln Garden Club, with assistance from the Friends of the Lincoln Library; Barbara Myles, the library’s director; and the library trustees. Myles reported that town residents are very concerned about the tree and contact her frequently in the spring, when the month of May often goes by with nary a leaf appearing. In early June, the catalpa’s bare branches leaf out very rapidly. Halloran noted with interest that for unknown reasons, Lincoln’s catalpa blooms three to four weeks after the catalpas at the arboretum and is, quite literally, a “late bloomer.”

Drumlin Farms announces Fall Harvest Celebration

Explore the gardens and crop fields with Drumlin Farm staff, meet some of our native wildlife, create fun crafts, and enjoy fresh, delicious produce direct from the farm stand at its annual Fall Harvest Celebration on Saturday, Sept. 14.

Drumlin Farm teacher-naturalists will present family-friendly activities throughout the day to share the bounty of the fall harvest and help visitors discover how tasty sustainable agriculture can be. All activities are free with admission ($8 for adults, $6 for seniors and children 2-12, free for Mass Audubon members). Drop-in activities will run from 10 a.m.–4 p.m.; the wildlife sanctuary will be open from 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

Schedule of free drop-in activities (weather permitting):

10 a.m.
Make an Herbal Bouquet
Use herbs from our garden to create a beautiful display to take home. 

10:30 a.m.
Farmer’s Foe
Meet a critter that likes to eat the vegetables in our gardens.

10:30 a.m.–noon
Pick Your Own Veggies
Harvest your own vegetables in Boyce Field.

11:30 a.m., 2 p.m., and 3:30 p.m.
Cooking Demonstration
Join our food and farm educator as she uses Drumlin Farm produce to make easy, fun foods. And she might need some helping hands!

12:30 p.m.
Farmer’s Friend
Find some worms that help enrich the soil and learn why they’re important members of our ecosystem.

2 p.m.
Beyond Butter
Help shake cream to turn it into butter, and gather and add herbs to make it extra tasty.

2:30 p.m.
All About Bees
Learn about the science of bees and how pollinators make our crops possible.

3:45 p.m.
Get Crafty
Make a seed necklace.

All day:

  • Kid-friendly crafts
  • Scavenger hunt
  • Farm stand produce available for purchase

Open house at Codman Community Farms

Codman Community Farms will host an open house on Saturday, July 27 from 10 a.m.–noon, with tours of the farm, cold drinks in the barn, and a chance for Q&A with CCF staff and board members. It’s a great chance to learn more about the farm and how it produces meat and eggs using sustainable, ethical practices. The farm store will be selling pasture-raised chicken, eggs, beef, pork, raspberries, and vegetables.

Walking tours leave from the main barn next to the farm store starting at 10:15 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. Longer and shorter routes will be available. RSVP on the farm’s Facebook page or by emailing jon@codmanfarm.org.

Codman Campout: an appreciation

By Ginger Reiner

Saturday night, June 15 — a full moon illuminates the barnyard and surrounding fields. Tents dot the landscape: in the community garden, on the grass in front of Barn B, and one right next to the lamb pen. A campfire is roaring, surrounded by farm friends singing (to the tune of “Country Road,” of course!):

Codman Road, take me home,
To the place, where I belong.
We’ve been thinkin’, that we love Lincoln,
Take me home, Codman Road

Further away, little flashlights flicker in and out as a massive game of flashlight hide-and-seek occupies most of the under-12 set. 

The Codman Campout has always been one of my favorite farm events. A low-key June dinner outside the barn, lots of kids playing lots of different games, a night under the stars. This year was made all the more special as we enjoyed Codman’s own beef, pork, and chicken for dinner. We ate farm-raised hamburgers, sausage, chicken drumsticks, hot dogs, and veggie sandwiches, plus brownies and s’mores for dessert!

Click on images below for larger versions and captions:
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”114″ gal_title=”Codman campout 2019″]

(See story and photos from the 2012 Codman Campout)

The moon remained bright, but eventually the guitar playing wound down, all the hiders were found by the seekers, and the whole farm, animals and humans, conked out for the night. We were up with the animals the next morning for bagels, orange juice, and lots of coffee for the adults, and an early-morning hide and seek game began again almost immediately.

A huge thanks to the Codman Board and volunteers for organizing this year’s spectacular event, I’m already looking forward to next year, and brushing up on my campy Codman songs

Ginger Reiner is the treasurer for Codman Community Farms.

Que solar solar! (Lincoln Through the Lens)

Codman Community Farm is about to go “net zero” in terms of energy use, thanks partly to the rooftop solar panels now being installed. It’s the first town building to host a solar project, though certainly not the last — the renovated Lincoln School will also be net-zero. Click here for more photos, and see the Lincoln Squirrel articles on April 7 and May 13, 2019 for more background.