Beyond Wellesley — Kennebunk, Maine

September 23, 2017 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Summer was threatening to end in just a couple short weeks when I received the most lovely invitation to make a day trip to Kennebunk, Maine for a lobster roll lunch, some shopping at Snug Harbor Farm, and exclusive entree into a few of the most charming gardens on the east coast. I accepted, of course, and brought back the pictures to prove it. It was a day of visual beauty coupled with the sound of waves crashing on rocky beaches, birdsong, and the industrious hum of landscaping crews.

The two-hour drive there was well worth it to experience all that. I returned home, spiritually renewed and glad that I detached for a day to explore a part of my own New England backyard that I’d never checked out before. Even if you’re a Maine regular (as I found out that day that so many of you are), you’ll enjoy this armchair view of Kennebunk, a place that prides itself on being, “The only village in the world so named.”

Snug Harbor Farm, Kennebunk, Maine — We started out at Snug Harbor Farm, an amazing place for plant enthusiasts looking for beautiful plants and garden accessories.

One of the outbuildings at Snug Harbor Farm, covered in climbing hydrangea.

Kennebunk, Maine — A crisply edged late-summer border in Kennebunk. Sedum, asters, and butterfly bush are in bloom, while lily pods add spent-flower interest.

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Wellesley to pilot food waste drop-off program

September 21, 2017 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

I haven’t been this excited about household trash in some time. I knew that when Jeff Azano-Brown started as the new RDF Superintendent in 2016 (replacing Gordon Martin, who held the post for 37 years) he wanted to join the Department of Public Works, the Natural Resources Commission, and the Sustainable Energy Committee — which make up the 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) Working Group — in helping to pilot a food-waste program in town. Now, that program is about to become a reality.

The 3R Working Group invites you to participate in a three month pilot program to assess the viability of a food waste drop-off program at the RDF. After signing up, you will be given a free starter kit (paid for by Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection grants) including a counter top bucket, compostable bag liners, and a container for transporting your food waste to the RDF. You will also be provided with a brief tutorial on how to use the starter kit and what items to include or not include. During the pilot program you will drop your filled bags into a container located in the trash drop-off area. From there, the food waste will go to a farm or an anaerobic digester to turn into compost or biogas. As a pilot program participant you will be asked to complete follow up surveys to see how things are working and to get any recommendations you may have.

The Starter Kits will be available for pick-up and the area will be open for drop-off starting Tuesday, October 10th. A limited number of starter kits are available and they will be issued on a first-come, first-serve basis. I’ve already submitted my application and am keeping my fingers crossed that I will be one of the lucky 300 who get to do this (it’s a first-come, first-served system). Yes, I filled out my application before I let this post go live.

To enroll in the pilot and obtain a starter kit, complete this sign up form, and click the ‘Submit’ button.

For a list of acceptable items and frequently asked questions, click here for the program flyer. If you have additional questions, please call the RDF at 781 235 7600 x3345.

Here are some FAQs:

HOW DO I SIGN UP?
COMPLETE THE SIGN UP FORM ON THE RDF’S WEBSITE OR STOP BY THE RDF OFFICE FOR ASSISTANCE.

HOW DOES THE PROGRAM WORK?
AFTER YOU REGISTER, YOU’LL RECEIVE EMAIL CONFIRMATION AND INFORMATION ON HOW TO OBTAIN A FREE STARTER KIT WITH A FOOD SCRAP BIN, COMPOSTABLE BAGS AND A 3.5 GALLON BUCKET TO HELP WITH STORAGE AND TRANSPORTATION TO THE RDF. A DESIGNATED DROP-OFF AREA WILL BE LOCATED NEXT TO THE TRASH COMPACTORS.

WHERE IS THE FOOD WASTE GOING?
THE FOOD WASTE WILL BE PICKED UP BY A PRIVATE HAULER AND BROUGHT TO AN ANAEROBIC DIGESTER TO BE TURNED INTO BIOGAS OR TO A FARM TO BE TURNED INTO COMPOST.

HOW IS THIS BEING PAID FOR?
ALL COSTS OF THIS PROGRAM ARE BEING FUNDED THROUGH A MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION GRANT.

WILL THIS ATTRACT PESTS AT THE RDF?
NO. THE FOOD WASTE WILL BE STORED IN A LOCKED CONTAINER, LINED WITH COMPOSTABLE BAGS, TOPPED OFF WITH PINE SHAVINGS, AND PICKED UP REGULARLY.

HOW DO I KEEP THE BIN AND BUCKET CLEAN?
ALWAYS USE THE COMPOSTABLE LINERS AND TIE THEM OFF BEFORE PLACING THEM IN THE 3.5 GALLON BUCKET. THE FOOD SCRAP BIN IS DISHWASHER SAFE AND THE 3.5 GALLON BUCKET CAN BE CLEANED WITH SOAP AND WATER.

WHAT ARE THE ACCEPTABLE ITEMS?
Food scraps; fruits and vegetables; tea bags and coffee grounds; Meats (cooked and raw); eggs, dairy, and baked goods; paper towels and napkins

WHAT ITEMS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE?
Recyclables; boxes, cups, and cartons; cooking oil; yard waste

I’ve posted in the past about my backyard composting operation. I’ll keep up the good work there behind my shed, but what’s exciting to me about the Town’s pilot program is all the food items that will no longer go down my disposal. My compost tumbler is a nifty double-chamber operation and I love it, but I limit the additions to my composter to fresh fruit and vegetable scraps, leaves, and grass. I consider it inadvisable in a small-scale composting concern like mine to include meats and cooked items due to concerns about stinking things up in the neighborhood and the real possibility of attracting pests. Large-scale operations, however, are set up to avoid such problems and I couldn’t be more enthusiastic about outsourcing my leftover rotisserie chicken carcasses, stale bread, and moldy brie (hey, this is Wellesley) to a company that can make good use of it.

Wellesley Natural Resources Commission has a bright idea

September 21, 2017 by Deborah Brown 2 Comments

SPONSORED POST: The Wellesley Natural Resources Commission will present “Bright Ideas: A Workshop on Smart Outdoor Lighting” as part of a community-friendly lighting program designed to educate residents about lighting that’s safe and healthy for humans, wildlife, and the environment.

WHEN: Tuesday, September 26
TIME: 7pm – 8:30 pm
WHERE: Wellesley Free Library, 530 Washington St., Wellesley, 02482

Did you know that artificial light affects safety, human health, the environment, and wildlife? The Wellesley Municipal Light Plant (MLP) is working on ways to balance the town’s need for exterior lighting with the desire to minimize artificial light’s potentially negative impacts. This fall the MLP will be piloting lighting options for new neighborhood streetlights by be replacing 3,000 incandescent neighborhood streetlights with cost-effective and energy efficient LED (light emitting diode) fixtures.

The International Dark Sky Association says that “LEDs are very small light bulbs that fit into an electrical circuit. Unlike traditional incandescent bulbs, they don’t have a filament that burns out, and they don’t get very warm…Early LEDs were energy-inefficient and emitted little light, but due to technological advances, LED efficiency and light output have doubled about every three years. Because of their improved quality and falling prices, LEDs are now replacing conventional high-intensity discharge (HID) lamp types for outdoor lighting in communities around the world.”

Bob Parks is an authority on outdoor lighting design, and the director of the Smart Outdoor Lighting Alliance.

Bob Parks, an authority on outdoor lighting design and the director of the Smart Outdoor Lighting Alliance (SOLA), will be on hand to explain it all and answer questions in this workshop designed to help you evaluate safe and environmentally friendly lighting options for your neighborhood and your home.

At this workshop, you will learn how to:

 Evaluate different types of lighting
 Choose the correct lights for your own property
 Use lighting to improve safety
 Talk to your neighbors about lighting

Wellesley NRC wants you to see the light at workshop

September 18, 2017 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Wellesley College getting more in touch with its landscape

September 13, 2017 by bbrown 1 Comment

paramecium pond wellesley college

Wellesley College on Monday kicked off its Paulson Ecology of Place Initiative, a five-year effort to transform the school’s relationship with its lush and varied landscape by treating it as a living laboratory for cross-discipline study and research. Students, faculty and staff took part in a series of associated events on Monday, Sept. 11, from a scavenger hunt around Lake Waban to a bird walk to foraging.

When I swung by Paramecium Pond on campus during what Wellesley College was calling Sustainability Day, geoscience students and faculty were testing the water’s pH level and temperature — both from the water and from the shore — as part of an exploration involving the pond’s water source.

paramecium pond wellesley college

The overall initiative is made possible by Wellesley alum (’69) Wendy Judge Paulson, a generous donor to the school who is also chairman emerita of the worldwide conservation initiative, Rare.

paramecium pond wellesley college