Wednesday, May 27, 2009
8:30 am to 12:30 pm (Registration and breakfast at 8:00 am)
Conference Center, Cape Cod & Islands Association of Realtors
22 Mid-Tech Drive
West Yarmouth, MA 02673

This free follow-up workshop, entitled “Planning for Sustainable Stormwater Financing Workshop,” will describe the planning steps that a community could embark upon if there is interest in stormwater utilities as a means of paying for stormwater programs. Planning for a stormwater utility includes conducting an initial feasibility study to determine if a stormwater utility makes sense for a particular community (e.g., “Does It Make Sense” or DIMS study). If the DIMS study indicates that a stormwater utility may be suitable, the next stage of planning is a full feasibility study to develop a stormwater utility plan. At all stages, public input and municipal support is critical.

Target audience: Municipal and County departments and boards (e.g., DPW directors, stormwater managers, town engineers, Boards of Selectmen, Town Councils, finance committees, wastewater managers, drinking water managers, Conservation Commissions, planning and health boards), consultants and engineering firms, and environmental organizations.
Cost: This workshop is free, but registration is required. To register electronically, visit http://www.apcc.org/content/events-and-workshops, look for the Workshop on Planning for Sustainable Stormwater Financing event and follow directions to register. For more information, contact Dr. Jo Ann Muramoto at (508) 362-4226 ext. 16 or jmuramoto@apcc.org.

EEA's Division of Conservation Services (DCS) is seeking proposals for the Conservation Partnership Grant Program, which provides funds to non-public, nonprofit corporations to acquire and hold lands suitable for conservation or recreation. To view the RFR, see the Comm-PASS website and search for document number "ENV 10 DCS 03." Applications are due by July 13.

MassDEP is seeking proposals for the §319 Nonpoint Source Pollution Competitive Grants Program. Please note that match guidelines have been amended for this grant round to allow some up-front costs that have already been expended for project development to be included as match. All other match eligibility requirements apply. To view the RFR, see the Comm-PASS website and search for document number "BRP 2009-02." For more information about past §319 projects, see MassDEP's Website. Proposals are due by June 2.

CAPE COD REGION
Based Science: Investigating Water & Energy Concepts in the State Frameworks
Integrating hands-on, minds-on STEM activities to enrich all areas of your curriculum.
Monday - Friday, July 6th - 17th
Reinvigorate your students’ interest in exploring the world of science!
Partners: OceanQuest (coordinating partner), Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Cape Cod Maritime Museum, The National Marine Life Center
Cost: $250/1 educator, $225 each/2 educators, $200 each/3 or more educators 617-328-1515 or email mits@mits.org

2008 marked the first year IGI has partnered with the Ethnic Crops program at UMass Amherst to bring more traditionally Brazilian crops to island farms. This year we worked with three farms, Noton Farm, Morning Glory Farm, and Whipporwill farm, to provide four staple Brazilian crops to the Brazilian and non-Brazilian populations on the island. The program has been a great success, providing foods from home to the Brazilian community and providing local farmers with a new market and exciting, delicious new crops to grow. For more information on this partnership go to http://www.islandgrown.org/dev_2/
ethnic_program#tabs-panels-tabs-ethnic_tabs-2

No new hookups will be allowed at the Oak Bluffs wastewater treatment plant until at least next June, due to orders from the state Department of Environmental Protection that relate to the problems with treated effluent seeping to the surface at Ocean Park.

As a result, several expansion or new building projects along the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road — including at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, the new YMCA building and Island Elderly Housing — will not be able to tie into the town sewer for at least a year. The Bradley Square affordable housing project and Donald Muckerheide’s 12-unit condominium project will also have to wait.

http://www.mvgazette.com/article.php?20956

A new analysis halves longstanding projections of how much sea levels could rise if Antarctica’s massive western ice sheets fully disintegrated as a result of global warming.

The flow of ice into the sea would probably raise sea levels about 10 feet rather than 20 feet, according to the analysis, published in the May 15 issue of the journal Science.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/
science/earth/15antarctica.html?hpw

The end of May is a terrific time not only for looking at birds but for any outdoor activity. The return of so many things absent during the cold winter months and seemingly never-ending spring on the Island makes this an enjoyable, sensory-overload time of year. The sounds, smells, tactile feeling, and sights all converge to energize the body's senses, shifting gears for the upcoming season. For birders, the spring migration is at its peak from before you read this until the end of the month.

http://www.mvtimes.com/marthas-vineyard/
calendar/2009/05/14/birds.php