July 9, 2014
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Pipeline News from Mass Audubon
Activists opposed to the construction of the proposed Tennessee Gas Pipeline through Massachusetts are set to walk across the Commonwealth to draw attention to the project. The Pipeline Resistance Relay Walk will begin in Richmond and is scheduled to conclude with a rally in Boston on July 30.
See what Mass Audubon has to say to parent company Kinder Morgan about their natural gas pipeline crossing three of our wildlife sanctuaries, our statement to the Governor on the policy of encouraging the use of more fossil fuels in Massachusetts, and our sign-on letter to the New England Governors on the issue.
Northeast Organic Farming Association Summer Conference
40 Years of Growing the Organic Food Movement
AMHERST, MA – The Northeast Organic Farming Association’s (NOFA) 40th annual Summer Conference takes place August 8-10, 2014 at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Appealing to a wide range of interests, 1400 consumers, gardeners, farmers, food policy experts, and urban agriculturalists travel from across the northeast and beyond to participate in 150+ workshops, pre-conferences, farms tours, and much more.
This is a family-friendly event, with special conference tracks for children 5-12 and teens 13-17. While parents attend great educational workshops on gardening, farming, nutrition, and ecological sustainability, children experience age-appropriate and fun workshops about these same topics with other youth. Childcare is available for children 2-4.
Affordable accommodations (like camping and dorms) are available, as are scholarships, group discounts, work exchange, and other creative financing options.
“At the heart of NOFA as an organization is the NOFA Summer Conference. A place of inspiration, awakening, reconnecting, and practical education, it is the event that for 40 years has brought the brightest, best, and most collaborative farming game-changers together for one packed weekend celebration of life and farming,” says farmer, former NOFA Summer Conference Coordinator, and current NOFA/Mass Executive Director, Julie Rawson.
Trained as a microbiologist, Dr. Elaine Ingham, this year’s keynote speaker, brings a unique perspective to her work with farmers. Her goal is to develop soils that foster thriving microbial communities. Her simple approaches to building soil biology require less labor and off-farm inputs and ultimately help save farmers money, while reducing adverse ecological effects of conventional farming. She maintains that by building soils teeming with the right kind of biology, growers can mitigate plant pests and diseases.
In addition to her Friday all-day pre-conference seminar titled “Changing Dirt into Soil: Specific Approaches for Different Soil Types and Crops”, Ingham will lead three workshops during the conference. Three half-day pre-conferences will also take place on Friday, including “Tools for Resilient Urban Ecosystems” with Scott Kellogg; “Healing the Gut and the Body through Nutrition” with Dr. Chris Decker; and “Bioregional Herbalism: Stocking the Home Apothecary with Locally Abundant Herbs” with Jade Alicandro Mace.
Saturday and Sunday’s workshops are geared to many skill levels and interests. Knowledgeable and experienced instructors will offer workshops on topics such as nutrition and health, food politics, land access, crop production, cooperative economies, urban and international agriculture, gardening, animal husbandry, farm economics, food preservation and cooking, permaculture, and mitigating climate change through agriculture.
There will be a sing-along event on Friday evening called “Singing for Food and Freedom: Carrying on the Legacy of Pete Seeger” (free for conference registrants and open to the public with a $5-$10 suggested donation). The weekend also features films (such as The Queen of the Sun, Out Here, and Food for Change), meet-ups for participants from a variety of interests, organic meals, a country fair, a contra dance, 100+ exhibitors, and more.
FOR MORE INFORMATION on the Northeast Organic Farming Association Summer Conference visit www.nofasummerconference.org or contact NOFA/Mass Public Relations Director, Nicole Belanger at nicole@nofamass.org or 508-450-2441.
VOTE YES on Question 2 Bottle Bill
from Mass Audubon Beacon Hill Weekly Roundup
The Updated Bottle Bill is heading to the November ballot, and now has a number! The proposed expansion of the bottle deposit law will be Question 2.
The general election is set for November 4th.
July is National Recreation and Parks Month
July is national Recreation and Parks month. With the tag line, “What is Out is IN”, the National Recreation and Park Association is highlighting all that occurs in parks across the Country.
Mayor Bianchi stated, “July is an ideal month to recognize, and pay tribute to, the numerous parks and recreation opportunities in Pittsfield, along with the City employees and volunteers that keep them going. In Pittsfield, we have parks, lakes and recreation opportunities in every neighborhood. And, not only do we have them available, but we utilize them.”
In the month of July alone, the parks in Pittsfield will:
- Host “Outdoor Movie Nights” in Clapp Park
- Have the “Summer Playground Program” in three parks, providing supervision and informal games and arts and crafts
- Station lifeguards at Burbank Park on Onota Lake
- Offer a free ‘Just for Kicks’ soccer clinic for kids in partnership with the Pittsfield Soccer Club & Sports Domain Academy
- Introduce Shakespeare in the Park to Pittsfield (its new home) at Springside Park
- Support Live on the Lake (which is an event run by Live 95.9 & Greylock Federal Credit Union)
Bianchi added, “I am a strong supporter of the parks as they play a crucial role in encouraging our children to get outdoors and stay healthy. Anytime I drive by a park, I enjoy seeing people using the amenities.”
Across the nation, cities and towns will be honoring their parks in various ways. The month is chosen as many people visit parks and take part in recreational activities during summer months.
Becky Tefft, Recreation Activities Coordinator, stated, “July is a huge month for us, it is extremely busy.”
Joe Durwin, of Friends of Springside Park, commented, “The Friends of Springside are thrilled to see the incredible variety of recreation activities available in Pittsfield’s largest park this summer during Park and Recreation month.”
Durwin added to the list of park run activities occurring at Springside Park, “Every Monday features 5:30PM Zumba and 6:45PM yoga classes in the gardens ($10 donation recommended), Tuesdays offer weekly mountain bike racing in the north part of the park at 6pm and 7pm concerts on the lawn of the historic Springside House, and the exciting production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream under the stars, Thursdays-Sundays, July 17-27, by Pittsfield Shakespeare in the Park. “
To have an update on all that is going on in the parks, you can follow @MayorBianchi on Twitter, friend “Pittsfield Parks Recreation” on Facebook and visit the Parks and Recreation page on www.cityofpittsfield.org
Toxics Action Job Postings
Toxics Action Center, a New England-wide public health and environmental non-profit, is searching for the perfect candidate to fill a couple core positions on our staff – State Director in Montpelier, VT and Community Organizer in Boston, MA or Montpelier, VT.
Toxics Action Center works side by side communities to clean up and prevent pollution and trains non-traditional civic leaders to strengthen the environmental movement and build our democracy. For the past 27 years, we’ve worked with more than 750 communities and directly trained more than 10,000 individuals to clean up hazardous waste sites, curb pesticide spraying, prevent dirty and dangerous waste, energy and industrial facilities, and promote clean energy and zero waste.
Community organizers on our staff utilize our community organizing training program with neighborhood leaders and community groups to help them develop and implement effective strategies to solve environmental problems locally. Staff also provide ongoing leadership development and coaching to local grassroots leaders, organize networking events, coordinate statewide coalitions, and fundraise for the organization. The positions are based in Montpelier, VT and Boston, MA.
Full job descriptions are attached and on the home page of our website:http://www.toxicsaction.org/ If you’re interested in positions at Toxics Action Center, you can apply at: http://toxicsaction.org/page/ tac/apply.