In collaboration with the Inner Core Committee, MetroFuture Walks & Talks will be hosting an afternoon walk from 3-4:30 pm on June 26 along the Blueback Herring River Route in Somerville. In the fall of 2009 the City of Somerville was awarded a grant by the Massachusetts Environmental Trust to create new opportunities for the community to access and enjoy the Mystic River. One component was to develop a safe pedestrian route from Foss Park to the Blessing of the Bay boathouse called the Blueback Herring River Route. We will gather at the Mystic Activity Center for a brief overview of the project and then we will walk along the 0.6 mile route and back (a total of 1.2 miles). Each participant will receive a copy of the Blueback Herring River Route map as well as a copy of the publication “How to Develop Walking Routes to the Lower Mystic River and its Tributaries: A Tool Kit”. Please note that portions of the sidewalks along the route are rough and uneven and may be difficult to navigate in a wheelchair or for people with other mobility difficulties. This event is made possible with funding provided by the Sustainable Communities grant and will take place rain or shine. RSVP here.
Month: May 2012 (Page 1 of 4)
The EJ Summit, held from 9AM-6PM at Higgins University Center on the Clark University campus, is a unique, daylong event designed to connect community advocates, citizens, lawyers, and policymakers who are interested in the environment and its impacts on low income people and people of color. This event is geared to people in New England concerned with: reducing toxins in food, consumer goods, homes and buildings; improving environmental health for urban residents; ensuring justice for laborers and low-income users of public transit; building the strength of grassroots environmental groups; securing laws to safeguard health for low-income people and people of color. Summit workshops will cover toxics and women’s health, energy justice, urban and rural environmental issues, food justice, and more. To register and for more information, click here.
Considering biking to work? Free cycling workshops are being offered 6:30-7:30pm, on the following dates:
- Tuesday May 29, Millers River Apartments, 669 Cambridge St. East Cambridge
- Tuesday June 12, Andrew Peabody School, 70 Rindge Ave. North Cambridge
- Thursday June 28, Central Square Library, 45 Pearl St. Cambridgeport
Questions, or want to RSVP? Email John Pelletier at jpelletier@cambridgema.gov
The Office of Sustainability would like to thank all 35 individuals who took part in the Bay State Bike Week Mass Commute Challenge last week! Tufts finished with 981 miles as a team (including 53 miles from the Medical Center in Boston).
Ken Olum on his recumbent bike, a Bacchetta Strada
Among those who took the challenge was Ken Olum from the Department of Physics & Astronomy at the School of Arts & Sciences. “I live in Sharon, a bit over 25 miles from campus,” Ken told us over email. “Normally I bike to the Sharon train station, ride the train to South Station and the red line to Davis, and bike from there. I bike nearly every day except when there’s snow or ice on the roads.”
For the MassCommute Challenge, Ken upped the ante. He didn’t feel comfortable doing 50 miles in one day, so he compromised by biking 23 miles from the Sharon commuter rail station to work last Thursday. He left his bike at Davis Square that night and went home by train. He then got a ride to the station the next morning, took the train to Davis Square, biked to work and then rode all 25 miles home on Friday evening. Kudos to Ken for finding a way to make it work!
The MassCommute Bicycle Challenge is the signature event of Bay State Bike Week, Massachusetts’ annual state-wide bicycle commuting event which was held this year from May 14-20. Anyone who lives, works or attends school in the state can participate in the Challenge or any number of events going on around the state. For instance, Somerville hosted a commuter breakfast and several group rides.
The Office of Sustainability is giving away a 2012 Mass Commute t-shirt for the person who rode the most number of miles last week, so email us with your mileage totals so we can put you in the running for the shirt!
Don’t forget that you can earn rewards year-round thru NuRide! Whenever you avoid using a car—whether you walk, bike, telecommute, carpool, vanpool, take a subway, train, bus, ferry, or even work a compressed work week – you can earn 100 points per trip. Redeem the points for discounts or freebies at local and online establishments. (NuRide also offers a ride matching program that helps commuters quickly and securely find carpool partners.)
| Team | Miles | Miles/Person | Trips | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
928 | 26.5 | 406 | |
| Tufts N.E. Medical Center | 53 | 26.5 | 14 |
The University of Massachusetts Amherst proudly announces the Permaculture Your Campus Conference held at the UMass Amherst campus June 20-22, 2012 with special keynote speaker Frances Moore Lappé, author of 18 books, including the 3-million copy Diet for a Small Planet.
At the international Permaculture Your Campus Conference, directors of the award-winning UMass Permaculture Initiative will give an introduction to permaculture in a campus setting and share the value that it has created for the University of Massachusetts system and local community. Participants will learn how to develop a successful permaculture initiative for their campus and will leave with their own individualized action plan for their own campus permaculture initiative.
For more details about the conference, check out our Info About the Conference page and our Conference Schedule page.
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