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Thank you!
 Thank you to Idith Haber of the Coalition to Preserve the Belmont Uplands and Anne Marie Lambert of the Belmont Citizens Forum for their information-packed presentation.
You can view the powerpoint from Idith here.
For those interested in taking further actions, Idith suggests the following:
Learn first hand by joining Anne Marie on a guided walk:
LIttle River Nature Walks, Guided by Anne Marie Lambert
June 1, 10-12 noon (Nature Walk)
Acorn Park Drive parking lot, Alewife Brook Reservation, Cambridge
See www.friendsofalewifereservation.org for more information
Attend the next Stormwater Working Group Meeting
April 24, 7 – 9 PM
Belmont Public Library (room TBA)
Former Selectman, Ralph Jones will speak about lessons learned from state-of-the-art stormwater management work underway in Pennsylvania. Ralph pushed hard for the new stormwater bylaw during his six years of service as Belmont selectman. He is founder and Managing Director at The Cadmus Group, where his most recent focus has been on [water] asset management and financing options for water and wastewater infrastructure.
Note - if you are trained to volunteer for the Belmont Media Center, we would love to have you record this event. Please let us know!
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Easy Peasy...
Volunteer w/o breaking your time bank:
The 2nd Lone Tree Hill Earth Day
BCF Volunteer Day for clean up and trail maintenance
Saturday, April 12, beginning at 9 AM
Starting Point: Pleasant Street at the Lone Tree Hill Conservation area Coal Road kiosk
Sidewalk Love ReDux - Post of photo of an outstanding sidewalk!! We are ramping up for Walk to School Day on May 7th and we need to celebrate our neighbors who care for the sidewalks and making walking in Belmont a pleasure! Post on Facebook or send us an email. No need to say people names unless they want to...plant names are welcome of course!
Do you have a recycling drop box in your neighborhood? Send us the type of recycling, the location and if possible the company or organization sponsoring the collection. Similar to Cambridge, we will be publishing an on-line map. |
Members Share
Some you may have missed the last sharing of the tremendous accomplishment at the Wellington Elementary School, so I am including it here again: Green Cup Energy Challenge: Together We Helped Wellington to Win in 2014! By, Maria Petrova
Check out "Sea Change Boston" a public exhibition that examines Boston's vulnerabilities and demonstrates proactive design strategies at the building, city, and regional scale. On view at District Hall from April 7 to June 4.
Check out The Solutions Project a state-by-state solution to get our country off of fossil fuels spearhead by folks at Stanford University.
Members share news, articles and organizations of interest below. You can also share directly events and articles of interest on our Facebook page. |
Put it on your Calendar!
Daniel Butler Elementary School PTA will host an electronics recycling drive.
Saturday, May 3rd, 8 – 11:30 AM
Anything with a plug will be accepted, fees for disposal will range from $1 to $30.
A portion of the proceeds will go to educational program for Butler. This event is done in partnership with CRT Recycling (R2 Certified).
Belmont will hold a Recycle Day w/ DPW Day
Saturday, May 3rd, 10 AM – 2 PM
They will be accepting textiles, large rigid plastics, clean & dry styrofoam, and paper shredding!
And, check out this guide for even more options.
Walk to School Day
Wednesday, May 7th
Support walkers and cyclists of all ages - slow down or better yet, join the ranks!
Belmont Residents Can Purchase Discount Rain Barrels
It’s rain barrel time in Belmont. Four years ago Sustainable Belmont partnered with Great American Rain Barrel to help residents conserve water and reduce flooding. To date Sustainable Belmont has sold 142 barrels. (Considering that each barrel holds 60 gallons of water that's at least 8520 gallons of water residents are diverting from Belmont's over-burdened sewer-system each year.) Because of space requirements to store them at DPW, this discount program is offered just once yearly in the spring.
Each UV protected polyethylene rain barrel is manufactured in the USA from a recycled shipping drum and stands 39" tall by 24" wide and weighs 20 lbs. empty. The barrel comes complete with overflow fittings, drain plug, mesh screen for keeping out bugs and leaves, and a threaded spigot with a choice of two ports to use with either a watering can or a garden hose. The rain barrel arrives with simple instructions for fast and easy installation. The Great American Rain Barrel comes in three colors; Forest Green, Earth Brown or Nantucket Gray and cost $65 to Belmont residents versus the retail price of $119; or $60 for an unpainted barrel.
Take advantage of this Belmont program online or call (800) 251-2352.
Barrels will be available for pick up Saturday, June 21st from 9:00-11:00am, at the Belmont DPW on C Street. The deadline for ordering is Friday, June 13th at 5:00pm.
For questions about the program, contact Amanda Mujica at amanda@amandamujicadesign.com
A barrel and order forms are on display at Belmont Town Hall. Representatives from Sustainable Belmont will also be at Town Day and the first two Farmer’s Markets displaying and explaining more about how to install and use the barrels (as well as composters!).
Rain barrels reduce runoff. In watershed areas, runoff from homes and developments can harm existing water sources because overtaxed storm sewers discharge polluted runoff. Over time this takes a toll on the fragile aquatic ecosystem that the area is dependent on. Water shortage is also a growing global concern. In New England residential water usage can increase as much as 60% during the spring, summer and fall seasons from outdoor watering needs such as watering gardens, lawns, filling pools and, washing cars. Barrels can offset that usage; saving homeowner’s money and helping the community manage water supplies.
The Great American Rain Barrel Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of a Mediterranean specialty food importing business. The barrels are recycled from 6o gallon shipping drums and distributed to homeowners nationwide. For information about The Great American Rain Barrel Company and their products please visit www.greatamericanrainbarrel.com.
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Important
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See you oUtSiDe!!
Sustainable Belmont is an all-volunteer organization that has regular discussions, workshops and presentations to enable the community to be environmentally sustainable. Meetings and events are open to the public.
Kind regards,
Kate Bowen, Chair
Darrell King, Co-Chair
John Kolterman, Adviser
In nature nothing exists alone. — Rachel Carson
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