Wellesley grows into its 35th consecutive Tree City designation

June 19, 2018 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

This from the Natural Resources Commission:

Wellesley marked a “green” milestone today, celebrating 35 consecutive years as a Tree City USA, the longest running designation for any town in the Northeast. Tree City USA is an Arbor Day Foundation program that recognizes cities and towns for their commitment to urban forest management. Numbers highlighting Wellesley’s 35 years are posted on signs entering Wellesley and in front of Wellesley Town Hall. The NRC, which acts as the town’s Tree Warden in cooperation with the Wellesley Department of Public Works, manages an ambitious tree planting and protection program to maintain the town’s leafy canopy. “Between 2013-2018, we planted nearly 865 public shade trees throughout town – 159 just this spring – for residents to enjoy,” said NRC director Brandon Schmitt. “While we do lose trees every year due to storms, stress, and disease, Wellesley still comes out on top as fortunately, we’ve planted more trees than we’ve removed.”

The City of Boston hasn’t been as lucky. A recent Boston Globe article detailed the struggles the city has faced trying to preserve mature trees in the wake of extensive development. Schmitt credits Wellesley residents, volunteer groups, and numerous town departments for supporting the NRC in its efforts to make trees a priority in town. This spring, the NRC co-hosted an educational program with the League of Women Voters Wellesley called “Speaking for Our Trees: A Conversation About Wellesley’s Leafy Infrastructure” to raise awareness about how trees help mitigate the effects of climate change. In addition, the NRC, along with the Board of Selectmen, Health Department and DPW, is continuing to work with local utility companies asking them to fix natural gas leaks that are contributing to tree death.

More information on these programs and the NRC’s Tree Management Plan can be found on the NRC website at www.wellesleyma.gov/nrc.

Here are a couple pics of much-loved Wellesley trees:

The beloved Station Oak at the Wellesley Square post office is 70-feet tall with multiple lower branches that extend over 80 feet horizontally.

Hunnewell School, snow day #2, 2017 — A winter shot of the Hunnewell School and its treasured White Oak tree.

Not everybody is tree-crazy in town. Last year Wellesley was stumped by missing pine trees at Beebe Meadow.

Sign up for renewable energy through the Wellesley Municipal Light Plant

June 9, 2018 by admin 1 Comment

SPONSORED POST:

You can’t replace the environment. But you can renew it.

Look around. If the sun is shining and the birds are chirping, it’s a good day.

If it’s rainy and dark, it’s still a good day – the plants need the rain.

No matter what the weather is, today is a perfect day to sign up for cleaner, renewable energy.

Want to help create a healthier, greener planet and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels?

Support the Wellesley Municipal Light Plant’s 20-year commitment to purchase energy from Maine wind farms. You can choose to buy as little as 10% or as much as 25%, 50%, even 100% of your monthly electricity from this renewable source. You may opt out at any time with no penalty.

Enroll today at www.wellesleyma.gov

Or call 781-235-7600, ext. 3364 or 3365, to enroll or learn more.

Free home energy savings seminar at Tolles Parsons Center, June 14

June 7, 2018 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Are you worried about high heating cost?

Do you want to cut your utility bills?

Learn ways to reduce your energy usage and make your home more comfortable and efficient at the Tolles Parsons Center, 500 Washington St., Wellesley, on Thursday, June 14, 2:30pm – 4pm. This seminar will review available programs that help you reduce energy usage.

The 2018 Town Wide Energy Assessment Campaign sponsored by the Wellesley Municipal Light Plant and National Grid is offering no-cost energy audits, free light bulbs and significant rebates and assistance on insulation, heating equipment and appliances. This seminar will familiarize you with the audit process.

You are encouraged to bring your oil, gas, and electric bills with you. Volunteers will help you determine your benchmark energy rating and assist with the audit process. Sign-up with the Council On Aging at 781-235-3961. Walk-ins are welcome.

This program is sponsored by the Wellesley Sustainable Energy Committee.

Wellesley MLP — **Sign up for a no-cost home energy assessment**

Take a 6-mile Wellesley Wander with the Appalachian Mountain Club

June 6, 2018 by admin 2 Comments

Lake Waban will be part of the AMC’s 6-mile Wellesley Wander loop.

The Appalachian Mountain Club will lead a 6-mile Wellesley Wander loop trail including Wellesley College campus, Lake Waban, Charles River, brooks, and aqueducts, Sunday, June 9, 9:45am – 1:30pm. Bring lunch. Meet outside of Davis parking facility. Route 135W from Wellesley Center, drive approximately a mile on Route 135, then turn left into the main entrance of the College (College Road) and turn immediately to the right into Davis parking facility (free). Rain cancels.

Registration is not required for this activity. However, you may wish to contact the leader(s) if you have any questions.

AMC Trip Policy

Date: Saturday, June 9

Time: 9:45am – 1:30pm

Cost: Free

Wellesley Village Church turning “heat island” into an oasis

June 2, 2018 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Wellesley Village Church, Spring planting — Wellesley Village Church, where earlier this month enthusiastic volunteers led by the church’s Environmental Ministry helped plant trees and shrubs in the churchyard and cemetery. Photo credit: Paul Cramer

A wise king once said “To everything there is a season…” Earlier this month at Wellesley Village Church, volunteers led by the church’s Environmental Ministry took Solomon’s words to heart. On a seasonal spring day, 20 enthusiastic gardeners showed up with shovels and gloves to help plant trees and shrubs in the churchyard and cemetery in an effort to reduce the “heat island” effect of having a large yard with no canopy.

They didn’t do it alone. The United Church of Christ MassReLeaf program provided to Village Church $1,700 in Redbud trees, Cherry Dogwoods, and pink azaleas that were planted in the cemetery along Abbott Street in the cemetery along Church Street. Church volunteers pitched in to plant and do some maintenance to numerous existing small plants on the church property. Then, since the trees will need more than faith alone to grow, the Board of Properties helped out by providing watering bags for the trees, which will be tended until the plantings are well established.

It’s all part of a plan for the church’s Environmental Ministry and its Energy Task Force, which over the past several years have been evaluating ways that Village Church could be better stewards of the Earth. The result of that work has been a recommendation to adopt a goal of the church becoming a net zero user of energy, and to take the necessary steps over time to achieve that goal. To become a net zero user of energy, the church building and its operations would need to generate as much energy from renewable sources as it uses on an annual basis. Part of their action plan has been to take advantage of the beating sun by installing solar panels on the church’s roof. Part of it has been to pay attention to ways the beating sun might not advantage the church property, and thus the wider world, and remedy that by planting trees.

This isn’t the first time the MassReLeaf Ministry has partnered with Village Church to facilitate a tree-care project. The group, which has recently completed ten years of facilitating tree-care projects led by local religious organizations of any faith on public and access-qualified lands across Massachusetts, in 2015 gave funding and technical support to another project in town. During that project, parishioners left the pews and went out into the town to work on a tree, perennials and wild flower planting event. At the Wellesley/Newton Housing Authority sites at Morton Circle and Weston Road in Wellesley, seven trees, 44 perennials and several wildflower meadow test sites were planted on Housing Authority and Natural Resources Commission (NRC) land.

Village Church, which in 2014 was accepted for inclusion on the National Registry of Historic places, invites the public to tour the churchyard and enjoy the new plantings.