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 News
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'Hope Over Fear' |
Boston Globe, January 20, 2009
WASHINGTON- Barack Hussein Obama, in a moment rich with hope and history, was inaugurated today as the nation's first black president, and called on an anxious nation to join him in the "work of remaking America" by ushering in "a new era of responsibility." Read more |
"Designing for Environment" Course at UMASS Dartmouth |
Enrollment is still open for the Designing for Environment course! Please contact David Chapman at dchapman@umassd.edu for more information.
This is a team-based, interdisciplinary workshop for Junior and Senior students in Design, Marketing, and Sustainability Studies. It focuses on developing meaningful and sustainable solutions, for real, community-based projects. It incorporates Professional Practice, Experiential Learning, and Service Learning experiences.
Mondays, 6:00-9:00 pm
Group VI, CVPA, Room 306-308
Minimum 3.0 GPA required
3 credits
Lecture/Studio/Free Elective
Design and Sustainability students: DES 300 Section 3
Marketing students: MKT 490
For additional information contact: David Chapman at dchapman@umassd.edu
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This Week in Sustainability
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Join the Marion Natural History Book Club |
Next discussion: January 21, 2009 7:30pm. Marion Museum of Natural History, 2nd Floor of Elizabeth Taber Library, 8 Spring Street, Marion
January's Title: The White Nile by Alan Morehead
The Marion Natural History Book Club welcomes you to join them in 2009! Meetings typically are held on the 3rd Wednesday of the month.
Past readings of the group include: When the Rivers Run Dry, Water-the Defining Crisis of the 21st Century (Fred Pearce). Crab Wars, A Tale of Horseshoe Crabs, Bioterrorism, and Human Health(Wm. Sargent), Animal Vegetable, Miracle, a Year of Food Life (Barbara Kingsolver), Grand Canyon, Today and its Yesderdays (Joseph Wood Krutch), & The Abstract Wild (Jack Turner)
For more information please email: cederholm@comcast.net
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Wilderness First Aid Course Offered by WRWA |
The Westport River Watershed Alliance is hosting a Wilderness First Aid Course. This course is a must for anyone traveling in the wilderness, from the outdoor enthusiast to the trip leader. This wilderness emergency medical course will be coordinated in partnership with SOLO Wilderness Medicine, leaders in the field of rescue and emergency medicine both in the US and abroad. Participants completing the course will receive a certification in Wilderness First Aid. The course will be held on January 24 & 25, 9am- 5pm each day. The cost is $140 to cover the cost of certification. To register for the course please call WRWA at (508)-636-3016 or visit our website for more information www.wrwa.com.
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Fairhaven Community Garden Meeting |
January 26, 7pm, Fairhaven Town Hall.
The Fairhaven Sustainability Committee will host a public meeting about community gardens on Monday, January 26th at 7pm at Town Hall. The committee would like to discuss the idea of having a community garden in Fairhaven this coming growing season. Derek Christianson of Brix Bounty Farm in Dartmouth will be one of the speakers that will be on hand to give examples of community gardens and explain his success story from last season at The YMCA in Dartmouth. The meeting is open to the public and we welcome anyone who is interested in this idea.
For more information please email: fairhavengreen@gmail.com
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Save The Date
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Regional Sustainability Exchange |
2/4/09 9am-1pm, UMASS Dartmouth Woodland Commons, Dartmouth, MA
Please join us for the next in our series of Regional Exchanges. These exchanges are designed to build a regional collaborative working towards a sustainable future, and to give communities the resources they need to move toward sustainability.
On February 4th, we will be hearing from Megan Amsler of Cape and Island Self Reliance, and Catherine Miller of The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission about their experiences in building regional energy collaboratives. Our goals include developing a working group to create a regional energy strategy for Southeastern Massachusetts.
For a complete agenda or notes from the December Energy Exchange please contact: Louise Hardiman of SRPEDD at 508-824-1367 or by email at: lhardiman@srpedd.org
Please also mark your calendars for our upcoming Exchanges:
March 25th Sustainable Food Exchange
April 3rd Sustainable Transportation Exchange
April 14th Sustainable Health Care Exchange (Hosted by BCC Center for Sustainability)
April 29th Green Jobs Exchange and Fair
May Date TBD Transition Town Training
The Sustainability Regional Exchanges are cosponsored by UMASS Dartmouth and SRPEDD. |
Seminar on Soil Mineral Nutrition with Arden Anderson |
2/5/09-2/7/09 Barre, MA.
On February 5-7, 2009, the Northeast Organic Farming Association, Massachusetts Chapter, will host our first Advanced Growers’ Winter Seminar on nutrient density -- a biological approach to farming that has helped many vastly improve yields, significantly decrease disease and insect pressure, and noticeably improve the taste and nutritional content of crops. This approach involves managing the soil so that it contains sufficient biologically available minerals in ratios appropriate for feeding the fungal, bacterial and other soil life communities that are in symbiotic relationships with crop plants.
Come learn a range of diagnostic techniques for discerning which components of the biological system are scarce or excessive and how to shift management choices accordingly to optimize conditions for crop growth. The presenter, Arden Andersen – an agronomist, osteopathic physician, and international leader in the field of biological farming – says that with this approach, big changes are coming in agriculture: Quality standards like nutrient density will gain in importance alongside process standards, such as organic.
Registration for the seminar is $195. With the NOFA member discount (applicable for all chapters) and the early-bird discount (must sign-up before January 17), it is $165. Pre-registration is required and seminar enrollment is capped at 150 people -- first come, first served. The seminar will be held in Barre, MA.
Get full information, including registration, about this event here:
http://www.nofamass.org/seminars/winterseminar.php
Read an article that outlines the approach of biological farming and how this seminar can be useful to you:
http://www.nofamass.org/seminars/tnfnutrientdensity.php
Direct questions to:
Ben Grosscup, Event Coordinator, <ben.grosscup@nofamass.org>, 413-658-5374. |
Shrink Your Footprint Series |
Buy Green ~ Water Green
Saturdays, 10 a.m.-Noon.
February 21, March 21
Free and open to the public, at the Buttonwood Park Zoo, New Bedford, MA
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Building Energy '09 Conference |
3/10-3/12 Boston, MA. Exhibitor's Early Bird Deadline is 11/3.- Over 200 speakers, experts from every field of the sustainable energy and building industries, are preparing dozens of sessions and accredited workshops for BE09, to take place March 10-12. Listings of all sessions and workshops will be posted at www.nesea.org in mid-November.
Last year, Governor Patrick appointed a Task Force on Net Zero Energy Buildings to offer recommendations on how to create buildings that create as much energy as they consume. At BE09, the Governor's Task Force will present results at the Opening Plenary, March 11. |
"Greening the City" Conference |
3/20-3/22 Lesley University, Cambridge, MA.
Lesley University and Mass Audubon are proud to be sponsoring the upcoming conference Greening The City. From March 20-22, 2009, join more than 150 urban environmental leaders from throughout New England at the main campus of Lesley University in Cambridge , MA , to explore key strategies for fostering inspired and innovative urban environmental leadership. “Greening the City” is geared toward environmental practitioners and thinkers from nonprofits, higher education, local community groups, government agencies, and businesses. It will feature prominent environmental thinkers and practitioners from academia and government agencies, as well as from for profit and nonprofit organizations. There will be keynote talks, workshops, and an exhibit area, and other interactive ways to engage with the challenges and solutions arising from our increasingly urban world. We are now accepting proposals for 90-minute participatory workshops. Check out our proposal guidelines. |
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Announcements
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UMASS Dartmouth Sustainability Courses for Intersession and Spring Semester |
Check out the exciting listing of sustainability courses available at UMASS Dartmouth for the winter Intersession and the Spring Semester: http://www.umassd.edu/sustainability/curriculum.cfm#courses
Students working toward a Sustainability Minor can apply the credits from these courses toward their requirements.
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Just Do One Video Contest |
JustDoOne.org is sponsoring a video contest looking for "the best short-video articulating personal action solutions for a better planet." The contest is open to US residents ages 13 and older. Deadline for submissions is March 1, 2009. For details on entering visit: www.justdoone.org. |
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Ongoing
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Know Your Vegetables: A Monthly Conversation Series Focusing on Small-Scale Vegetable Production. |
We invite you (home gardeners, foodies, farmers, anybody who enjoys vegetables… young and old) to join us in a free discussion series on a range of topics related to vegetable production.
February 23, 2009 – Tools for the Vegetable Garden, Small Farm and Different Approaches to Tillage
March 16, 2009 – Starting Your Own Seedlings: Greenhouses, Coldframes, Potting Soils, and Germination Techniques
April 20, 2009 - Season Extension Strategies: Microclimates, Plastic Mulch, Row Covers, and Transplanting
May 18, 2009 – Weed Control on Organic Farms/Gardens: Stale Bedding, Cultivation Tools, and Mulching
Conversations will continue into summer 2009: topics to be determined.
Discussions are held at Brix Bounty Farm. Usually 3rd Monday of the Month, 6:30 PM
For more information or to RSVP please contact us:
Derek Christianson, Brix Bounty Farm, 858 Tucker Road, Dartmouth, MA 02747
Ph: 508.992.1868
http://brixbounty.blogspot.com/ |
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Weekly Green Tip
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Green Your Home!
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Lower the impact of your everyday living by following these 16 tips from the US Green Building Council |
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