 |
|||||||||
| This week in conservation September 14-20, 2009 |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Calendar | |||||||||
| Permaculture Design Course on MV | |||||||||
| Mon, Sept 14, Dick Pierce will be teaching a 12 day Permaculture Design Course on MV, sponsored by SASSAFRAS EARTH EDUCATION, an environmental non-profit organization providing nature-based learning for all ages on Martha's' Vineyard, The course will go from Sept. 14 - 25. Permaculture is a design system based on careful observation of nature and working with nature as the designer. There is still room to sign up for this course which is being held at the MV Hostel, at 525 Edgartown/ West Tisbury Rd. The workshop goes from 9:00-5:45 daily with some evening sessions. $600; $500 Island residents Please call 512-992-8858 Evening lectures series at the same location are from 7- 8:30 PM | |||||||||
| “The Global Gardener” | |||||||||
| Mon, Sept. 14, Video, “The Global Gardener” - Permaculture Founder, Bill Mollison, Permaculture designs and life-styles weave together microclimate, annual and perennial plants, animals, soils, water management, and human needs into intricately connected productive communities. 7:00PM - 8:30PM, MV Hostel. | |||||||||
| The Vineyard – What’s it made of? How is it here? Who’s been here?” A Portrait of a “Place” | |||||||||
| Tues Sept 15, The Vineyard – What’s it made of? How is it here? Who’s been here?” A Portrait of a “Place” a Talk by noted MV Wildlife Ecologist, Bob Woodruff, part of the evening series of the Permaculture Design Course, 7:00PM - 8:30PM, MV Hostel, Observation of Nature, patient and long-term, is the 1st Principle of Permaculture Design. “Knowledge of [One’s] Place” is primal in most Indigenous Cultures. | |||||||||
| The Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club | |||||||||
 Tues Sept 15, The Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club meets at 1 p.m. at the Old Mill in West Tisbury. Sue Silva will present a program, The Techniques of Fabulous Flower Arrangements. Refreshments and hospitality hour follow. Guests $5; no charge for members. Interested parties are welcome. For details, call 508-693-6570. |
|||||||||
| After School at the Farm Institute | |||||||||
 Tues, Sept 15, After School at the Farm Institute: Hands-on learning about our food systems, sustainable agriculture and taking care of the land for ages six and up is from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Farm Institute in Katama. Cost is $15 per session, $120 for the season. Register on-line at farminstitute.org or call 508-627-7007, extension 104. |
|||||||||
| “The Garbage Warrior” | |||||||||
| Wed, Sept 16 Video “The Garbage Warrior” Eco-Architect, Michael Renyolds, part of the evening series of the Permaculture Design Course, 7:00PM - 8:30PM, MV Hostel, “Garbage Warrior” is a feature-length documentary film telling the epic story of maverick US architect Michael Reynolds and his fight to introduce radically sustainable housing. An extraordinary tale of triumph over bureaucracy. | |||||||||
| Model Weetyoo Demonstration | |||||||||
| Wed, Sept 16, Model Weetyoo Demonstration is at the Aquinnah Cultural Center from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Learn how to make a traditional Wampanoag home on a miniature scale. For details, call 508-645-7900. | |||||||||
| All Island Selectmen’s meeting | |||||||||
 Wed, Sept 16, All Island Selectmen’s meeting, Tisbury Senior Center, 7:15 Draft Ocean Management Plan and Island Plan on the agenda. |
|||||||||
| A Sea Change | |||||||||
 Wed, Sept 16, Movie: A Sea Change screens at 5:30 p.m. at the Chilmark Public Library. Free. Sponsored by the Menemsha Fisheries Development Fund and the Friends of the Chilmark Public Library. For details, call 508-645-3360. |
|||||||||
| Butterflies Abound | |||||||||
 Thurs, Sept 17, Butterflies Abound at Felix Neck is at 1 p.m. A guided walk with the butterflies of Martha's Vineyard and the habitats they need to survive. Free with sanctuary admission. |
|||||||||
| Farmers-in-Training at the Farm Institute | |||||||||
| Thurs, Sept 17, Farmers-in-Training at the Farm Institute, for young people ages 11 and up with prior experience at the Farm is from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Farm Institute in Katama. Cost is $15 per session, $120 for the season. Register on-line at farminstitute.org or call 508-627-7007, extension 104. |
|||||||||
| Bay Scallop Project Presentation | |||||||||
 Fri, Sept 18, Bay Scallop Project Presentation is at the Aquinnah Cultural Center from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Learn about the cultivation of this shellfish and touch the tiny spawns. For details, call 508-645-7900. |
|||||||||
| “What Makes the Vineyard Work?” | |||||||||
| Sun, Sept 20 “What Makes the Vineyard Work?” A Case Study for Permaculture. A Panel Chaired by John Abrams, MV Citizen/Activist and South Mountain Co. Part of the evening series of the Permaculture Design Course, 7:00PM - 8:30PM, MV Hostel. This premier panel will present and discuss how Martha’s Vineyard people and institutions seem to be able to plan so many things, bring so many populations and interests together, arrange for long-term funding and support, attract and motivate many devoted/talented people and organizations to help. All this and also achieve a degree of economic, social, and environmental justice. And, with it, a reasonable balance of heritage and growth, new development and traditional character, and keeping the focus on local agriculture, local business, local banking – what’s now being called “re-localization” elsewhere in the US, might be labeled “continuation of localization” on the Vineyard. | |||||||||
| 64th Striped Bass & Bluefish Derby | |||||||||
 Sun, Sept 20, 64th Striped Bass & Bluefish Derby 12: 01 am. Annual event runs through 10 pm, Saturday, Oct. 17. Mvderby.com. |
|||||||||
| back to top | |||||||||
| Save The Date | Draft Ocean Management Plan | ||||||||
 A fifth formal public hearing on the draft management plan has been scheduled. September 23, Katharine Cornell Theater 51 Spring Street, Tisbury (Vineyard Haven) 6:00 pm. Sunday, Oct 4th (afternoon): The Cape Cod Council of Churches is co-sponsoring an interfaith gathering that will look at three basic questions: 1. How can religious organizations set a good example by reducing their energy use? 2. How can religious organizations support the production of clean and renewable energy? 3 MA Interfaith Power, Cape Light Compact and local human services agencies, will make presentations. The Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Reserve and local Sierra Club have been active in developing this program. The program will take place at the Unitarian Universalist church at 840 Sandwich Road, in east Falmouth. Free 1:00PM – 5:00PM For information and early registration, contact the Unitarian Universalist church in Falmouth. admin@uuffm.org or Joan Muller, at WBNERR. joan.muller@state.ma.us |
|||||||||
| back to top | |||||||||
| MVTV | Should We Protect Fish or Fowl | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
| back to top | |||||||||
| Energy Update | Offshore energy plans scrutinized |
||||||||
|
|||||||||
| back to top | |||||||||
| Water Update | POND PROJECT INTERRUPTED BY FOUND INDIAN ARTIFACT |
||||||||
Discovery of Indian artifact may delay pond project. An Oak Bluffs dredging project in a key area of Sengekontacket Pond aimed at improving tidal circulation and reducing bacteria levels in the pond hit a snag last week following the revelation that an Indian artifact may have been found along the shore of the pond. |
|||||||||
| back to top | |||||||||
| Climate Change Update | Arctic Shortcut Beckons Shippers as Ice Thaws |
||||||||
 MOSCOW — For hundreds of years, mariners have dreamed of an Arctic shortcut that would allow them to speed trade between Asia and the West. Two German ships are poised to complete that transit for the first time, aided by the retreat of Arctic ice that scientists have linked to global warming. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/ science/earth/11passage.html?_r=1&hp |
|||||||||
| EU proposes to offer billions in climate aid to poor nations |
|||||||||
| BRUSSELS - The European Union yesterday proposed to offer up to $21.8 billion a year in aid to poor developing countries to persuade them to sign a new global climate change agreement. However, development and environmental campaigners blasted the offer as insufficient because it assumes that poorer nations will bear most of the costs of reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. http://www.boston.com/news/world/ europe/articles/2009/09/11/ eu_proposes_to_offer_billions_in_climate_aid_to_poor_nations/ |
|||||||||
| back to top | |||||||||
| Wildlife Update | Where Did All the Flowers Come From? |
||||||||
 Throughout his life, Charles Darwin surrounded himself with flowers. When he was 10, he wrote down each time a peony bloomed in his father’s garden. When he bought a house to raise his own family, he turned the grounds into a botanical field station where he experimented on flowers until his death. But despite his intimate familiarity with flowers, Darwin once wrote that their evolution was “an abominable mystery.”http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/08/ science/08flower.html?ref=science |
|||||||||
| back to top | |||||||||
| Sustainable Update | Globalization threatens indigenous foods, says U.N. agency |
||||||||
 ROME - The rich diversity of food in indigenous communities across the world is threatened by the spread of Western eating habits through globalization, a United Nations agency said Tuesday. According to a recent study by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), about three-quarters of the genetic diversity once found in agricultural crops has been lost over the last century,while ethnic communities in far-flung parts of the world can pick from a wide range of fruits and vegetables. http://www.grist.org/article/ 2009-09-08-globalization-threatens-indigenous-foods-says-u.n.-agency/ |
|||||||||
| In dark times, back to the garden |
|||||||||
| While climate change rages ahead, the climate bill is flat on its back and the most progressive green on President Obama’s staff looks on the verge of being forced out of office for silly reasons. Let’s not talk about healthcare reform or Afghanistan. http://www.grist.org/article/ 2009-09-04-obama-garden-hope/ |
|||||||||
| back to top | |||||||||
 Email Subscription InformationThe Almanac is provided as a public service by the Vineyard Conservation Society with the intent of providing quick and easy access to the Island's government process and environmental community. You are recieving this free email service because you have subscribed to the Vineyard Conservation Almanac. More information about island conservation issues, meetings and events can be viewed at http://almanac.vcsmv.org. If you do not wish to continue receiving these emails please click here to unsubscribe. Thank you for subscribing to the Almanac! |
|||||||||
Have ideas for content for the Almanac? Please send them along to: |
|||||||||
Dr. Stephen Jones of UNH and Monty Chandler of MA Fish and Wildlife Service discuss the nature of pollution in our ponds and regulations governing the management of birds in the shore environment. MVTV Channel 13 starting Monday Sept 14. Check for listings