In the recently concluded COP29 climate summit, one of the important elements of climate care highlighted was developing more "nature-based solutions.” 

Nature-based solutions relate to everything from rewilding beavers near streams and ponds to curing land, denuded of trees and with few marshlands for biodiversity to bloom. To help jump start rewilding in the UK, the former UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, gifted his father a group of beavers on his 80th birthday. Although native to Britain, excessive hunting has made them almost extinct. Bringing a handful of wolves back into Yellowstone began as a rewilding effort, but helped the environment in other ways as well. Little streams which had warmed over the years began to cool as wolves scattered the elk and deer and the resulting regrowth of vegetation cooled the streams. Trout came back as did small birds and mammals who benefited from that vegetative “edge effect.”

Planting and responsibly harvesting trees can serve as a nature-based solution for climate change because trees sequester carbon and can also be used to replace some plastics. For instance, there are important design efforts underway by several universities to replace plastics with fiber-based packaging. New construction methods using wood frame construction rather than climate-damaging concrete on larger buildings are emerging and developers and trade unions around the world are starting to see the benefits. Trees can also be effective in creating a variety of niches from your back yard oak trees to the cork oak forests of Spain or the old olive groves of the Mediterranean region. 

We can also personally enact our own nature-based solutions. For instance, we can establish a new family tradition of planting a tree or lilac bush in remembrance of a relative’s birthday or a recently deceased loved one. Find some space in your or a sibling’s yard, or ask a friendly local land owner to allow you to plant one in theirs. 

New England may want to reinforce its shorelines as protection from rising sea level and bigger storms by rebuilding historically large oyster reefs. Well-developed oyster reefs break up wave energy, protecting coastlines from wave erosion and storm damage. When these reefs disappear due to over-harvesting, habitat destruction and disease, the benefits also go away. In the Netherlands, the World Wildlife Federation recently led a nature-based solution project to engineer new oyster reefs, which improve water quality as they filter feed and provide nursery habitat for feeder fish species and vegetation. What if locally Joppa Flats and the Plum Island Basin had oysters replanted? We could benefit from both reduced health concerns, such as eliminating red tide events, and the fortification of our ocean edges. Can we advocate for a pilot project here like the one in Boston Harbor by UMass Boston? 

COP29 ended with appeals for more climate-related financing and enhanced economic tools. Maybe local farmers and woodlot owners can form a co-op to document and quantify their land's carbon storing capacities and find ways to offer this as carbon credits to the world market. And while we’re at it, let’s do a scientifically designed survey of Newburyport’s twenty-six parks and water department woodlands and document their carbon storage capacity. Maybe such a survey will identify where to plant more trees, reduce runoff into our rivers, and monetize carbon credits for the benefit of taxpayers and land owners.

We humans are part of nature and we can be part of the solution. Natural Resources team leader is Lon Hachmeister who can contacted at lonehachmeister@aol.com.

ACES believes we can make a BIG difference together. Team members invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Join Our List” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards who are committed to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting acesnewburyport@gmail.com.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on December 13, 2024.

This is one in a continuing series of educational columns about fostering environmental stewardship and leadership coordinated by ACES — The Alliance of Climate and Environmental Stewards.

Reading the Boston Globe newspaper on Monday, we were very excited and pleased to learn that a multi-state survey showed “Massachusetts is the only state in the nation to significantly cut food waste.” This is an important achievement because reducing food waste is the major way to curb the greenhouse gasses created by its decomposition. Locally, groups like Our Neighbor’s Table, the Lion’s Club, and others accept and redistribute edible food from restaurants and supermarkets because that prevents unused food from ever entering the waste stream.

As we read more, we thought, “What about us?” Newburyport could have been in that story. We are leading the way toward waste reduction through our volunteer community, our business sector, with Black Earth home pickups, and in our City structure. We are practicing it in our classrooms, in our City’s waste management outreach and policies, and recently in the Senior Community Center, which is now accepting compostable food wastes with their “Drop a Bag, Get a Bag” program, where free food scrap compostable bags are given out and a shiny white container is provided at the front desk to put full bags in for composting.

At our monthly Senior Center ECO Conversation in conjunction with ACES just this past Wednesday, we just naturally had to point out our state’s recent achievement. The reason Massachusetts leads the way on reducing food waste and the greenhouse gasses associated with them is because, at the grassroots level in Newburyport, we have been focused on it for years.

In Newburyport, the City and the volunteer sector have been aggressively working locally to mitigate climate impacts in as many ways as we can. We encourage everyone to reduce their food waste and separate the food they can’t use for composting.  Meanwhile in our school cafeterias we encourage the kids to do so too. And we now are helping make it easy and convenient for seniors to do as well.

The journey to make our own community more green, resilient and sustainable will take years. For the last 125 plus years, the industrial revolution has provided enormous benefits but, alas, it has accumulated numerous byproducts in our rivers, our air, and our lives. It will take multiple teams, or maybe a better phrase, it will take a community, working collaboratively, to make that journey to sustainability together.

So please think about your food waste since that is our topic du jour. Buy only what you need. Ask the person at the meat counter to give you only the amount of meat you really need. Get creative when you do have leftovers. And after that, send the scraps on their way to a better place… the compost bin.

Now, back to that story out of Boston, we have all the media coverage we really need right here in greater Newburyport. We really appreciate the Newburyport Daily News covering important news topics like waste reduction and school, City, and volunteer and business community collaboration. 

Molly Ettenborough is Newburyport’s Recycling and Energy Manager, Recycling Office and may be reached at mettenborough@newburyportma.gov. Sara Landry is the Executive Director of the Senior Community Center and can be contacted at slandry@newburyportma.gov. If you’d like to learn more about opportunities to contribute to the waste reduction of all forms, feel free to contact us by email.

ACES believes we can make a BIG difference together. Team members invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Join Our List” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards who are committed to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting acesnewburyport@gmail.com.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on December 6, 2024.

I find myself in an interesting world: one where comfort squash soup bubbles on the stove for dinner as Walmart commercials scream in the background about Black Friday. The Winter Solstice is near and the holidays are in full-force, and I dread that gut-level knot I feel when I see wrapping paper being shoved into trash bags. Doing environmental work on Star Island this year and hosting Climate Café conversations has got me thinking: How can I lead my life and my family gatherings with my own environmental knowledge and passions? What small steps can I take regardless of what the people around me choose to do, in a way that doesn’t feel so big and heavy?

And I keep hearing: Start small. Start here. Start at home. 

Here is what I am doing.

1. I composted food waste at our Thanksgiving dinner. As a Star Island compost mermaid (after many dirty, smelly days!), composting feels like a tangible step because it is easy for me and something that I deeply care about. According to a recent ReFED report, “14% of total annual U.S. methane emissions come from uneaten food.” ReFED also estimates that “316 million pounds of food will be wasted this Thanksgiving.” I started introducing composting to my house by taking our compost bucket to the local collection center, and now we are getting a pick-up service! (See your local pick up services through Black Earth or Mr. Fox composting and free drop-off spots).
2. I am talking about the “why” for holidays at the dinner table. In the book The Art of Gathering and her Ted Talk, author and conflict resolution facilitator Priya Parker explains that “how we gather is how we live.” The “why” underlying all gatherings is deeply important. Holiday meals do not often acknowledge Indigenous history and the colonization baked into them. What land are we on, and what is the specific Indigenous history here? How does Thanksgiving play a role in narratives of colonization? And then: Given this history, how are we choosing to make this holiday meaningful for the context of our family? 
3. I am asking for less gifts and explaining why. Buying and receiving many gifts for the sake of politeness or unwrapping something does not make me feel connected to my family. Something that has helped this feeling is organizing a swap or secret Santa holidays where we do not buy everyone a gift, instead giving one gift. It also takes some social pressure off, and it is financially beneficial. And a lot less wrapping!
4. I am reducing my online shopping and using things already available. I prefer to buy gifts from local artists, or make homemade gifts such as a painting, poem, or printing a photo. Alternatively, my parents are thoughtful gift-givers in terms of experiences. For example, they set a date to go to dinner and a small concert together as a gift. My grandmother and I started a tradition of re-gifting items from her past, like earrings or a favorite book, and I get to learn her story behind them. And then use them in my life!
5. I am giving gifts wrapped in found fabric, compostable (uncoated) brown paper, and towels! I am interested in reducing new-plastic buying as much as possible, including shiny wrapping papers with that beautiful glitter, or rolls of tape, or those cute name tags. One of my friends joined another family’s Christmas day gathering where they exchanged hand-written letters as their gifts to each other. She said they even wrote letters for her, and it was the most special Christmas gathering she had experienced.

And… I will not be perfect in any of these things! 

Messiness is welcome. Holding myself to the level of “saving the earth” is not in my capacity. I like to think of it like this: A homemade bowl of any-old-soup with a side of burnt toast feels more doable and delicious than attempting an expensive, exquisite, five-course meal that takes too long to finish. A simple, often messy, and home-cooked start is perfect. Let’s start with something small (and mighty) this holiday season.

Jaedin Guldenstern is a devoted environmental steward, artist, and activist who can be contacted at jaedinguld@gmail.com.

ACES believes we can make a BIG difference together. Team members invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Join Our List” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards who are committed to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting acesnewburyport@gmail.com.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on November 29, 2024.

Several related climate news items caught ACES’s attention this week. All of them come from COP29, the UN International Climate Conference being held in Baku, Azerbaijan. The conference continues efforts to meet the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global temperature rise to under 1.5 degrees Celsius. However, the urgency grows daily for more collaboration by building consensus on climate finance, transparency, and increased technical and support to developing countries in their fossil fuel transition process.

Funding discussions focused on expanding existing levels from 100s of billions of dollars to amounts in the trillions. These funds are needed to support increased climate mitigation and adaptation efforts in developing countries. Yesterday’s discussions also focused on the critical role of nature, biodiversity, and indigenous populations when developing climate actions. There has been a deep concern for the lack of progress on pursuing nature-based solutions (NbS) to protect, manage, and restore ecosystems. Currently funded at $200 billion per year globally, the UN Environment Program shows an investment of almost $550 billion per year is needed. There can be no viable overall climate or economic solution without nature.

There was also a strong focus on reducing sources of methane. To this end, the COP Presidency introduced the Declaration on Reducing Methane from Organic Waste. The U.S.A. and China co-hosted a summit event on reducing methane and non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions. This is a topic near and dear to ACES, as we double down on our local Reduce Waste programs in Newburyport.

Another discussion topic was what COP29 calls TEC AI, covering emerging technologies related to artificial intelligence and their possible climate applications. News bulletins from the conference sound optimistic about the many unique ways scientists, countries and companies are already harnessing AI to improve climate outcomes. These efforts will be essential for balancing power supplies from various forms of green energy to meet fluctuating energy demands of AI itself and other industries.

Statewide, the city of Holyoke, MA enters the conversation. The climate bill recently passed by the Massachusetts Legislature commits $60 million dollars to build a quantum computing technology industry and research cluster in Holyoke. This new and important step forward could put MA in the forefront of AI. There is the potential for offsetting investments in new locally generated wind and water green energy in western MA to power these AI facilities. This would allow the state to get into a new business, meet more of our energy demands with green energy, and reduce our state’s carbon footprint. This quantum computing cluster will likely also attract other companies and researchers to come to Holyoke, a welcome boost to an old mill city in the post industrial region of Pioneer Valley which once made 80% of the USA writing paper.

Locally, we note that the Tannery’s solar investment is celebrating its 10th anniversary, generating most of their common area electricity needs onsite. A more recent development is the Hillside Center for Sustainable Living which, in addition to being net zero, features collaborative efforts with the YWCA for much-needed transitional housing. Both are David Hall projects. Then, earlier this month, Newburyport celebrated its new ‘net zero carbon footprint’ firehouse, the 6,600- square-foot John F. Cutter Jr. Fire Station. 

There are many areas of progress on climate and the environment and we at ACES will do our best to alert readers to opportunities to work locally to have positive impacts globally. ACES stewards are encouraged by an increasing focus on Sustainability. We welcome any contributions in support of our Greater Newburyport communities. It will require effort from all of us, but together we can make a BIG difference for the welfare of future generations.

Contributors included Ana Satir, Art Currier, Deb Szabo, John Elwell, Lon Hachmeister, Ron Martino, and Tom Starr.

ACES believes we can make a BIG difference together. Team members invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Join Our List” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards who are committed to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting acesnewburyport@gmail.com.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on November 22, 2024.

Recently, some ACES friends mentioned the Japanese inspired practice of "Forest Bathing". This caught my attention since I recently had an educational experience about forest bathing for the first time.

As the Volunteer Coordinator and member of the Port Parks Alliance (PPA), I cleared a vegetated area around two “bonded” trees that are located on the rail trail heading towards the Newburyport MBTA train station and just before the Low Street overpass. This phenomenon is known as “inosculation" which occurs when two individual trees growing in close proximity become morphologically joined. There was overgrowth around this tree, referred to as a "Bonded Pair", and the trees were barely visible. I removed much of this overgrowth, trimmed many bushes, weeded the area around it, added a cobblestone outline, and mulched. The bonded pair can now be seen easily from the rail trail.

While I was working on clearing the area around the bonded pair, a person stopped by and told me about “forest bathing” in Japan. This practice involves people walking through the forest and enjoying the various features of nature. According to an NPR podcast, the act of spending time in the forest is what the Japanese call “shinrin-yoku”, which means "bathing in the forest atmosphere". Think of this “bathing” as a relaxed, open-minded wander around the woods. And it's good for your health! NPR noted it can boost your immune system, lower blood pressure, and help with depression. Forest bathing can also reduce stress hormones, turning down the dial on your body's flight or fight response.

Psychology Today states that, "In shifting our attention away from self-involved concerns and toward the world around us, forest bathing helps people connect more fully with what is beyond the self, imbuing us with an expanded sense of spirituality." With great rail trails and 26 parks in Newburyport, we could become an epicenter of Forest Bathing! If you have experienced some of these benefits let us know and maybe you can help spread the word to others who appreciate it, too.

We welcome hearing from any interested parties who would like to contribute to the welfare of our parks as we support the city’s Parks Dept. We provide additional support for the general maintenance and clean-up of the parks. In addition, when special projects come up and the maintenance crew needs help, we reach out to citizens, high school students, sports teams, Boy/Girl Scouts, and various other organizations for their support. As the coordinator for these activities, please contact me with any question about these activities at biacono@comcast.net.

The Port Parks Alliance was formed to support and collaborate with the City of Newburyport to enhance the care, preservation, and enhancement of Newburyport parks. You can learn more about the Alliance by visiting www.portparksalliance.com.

ACES believes we can make a BIG difference together. Team members invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Join Our List" link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards committed to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting acesnewburyport@gmail.com.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on November 8, 2024.

Our national elections seem to indicate increased skepticism across a large sector of our citizens with various federal executive agencies and regulations which may shift more decision making to the states. Regardless of what side of that issue you are on, “environmentalism” is on a new footing that needs to be reconsidered. To ensure the sustainability of our environment, we all need to foster and support increased levels of collaboration on a local level to ensure the sustainability of our communities is maintained. Whereas, we need to continue to think globally, it is even more important than ever that we now act locally.

How will Massachusetts and neighboring states potentially deal with the pending destructive path of global warming, climate change, and continually increasing natural stresses on the sustainability of our communities from greater environmental variability as our national leadership begins to step back?

Massachusetts and our surrounding states need to take more control over their own climate actions. We can play to our strengths and take advantage of the region’s resources, infrastructure, and political will. This focus will require us to reinforce the importance of collaboration in our New England region.

At ACES, we believe that Collaboration is how difficult things get done. We can work together to keep our rivers clean and cooperate with NH on addressing pollutants entering the Merrimack River. By using state funds and land use regulations, there is likely a quilted pattern of decisions that can improve water quality and enhance tourism with boating, fishing, and swimming. For example, ACES and several allies, the Merrimack River Watershed Council, the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission, and their NH counter parts, have been aided by the participation of MA Senators Tarr and Kennedy toward making progress to clean up the Merrimack together.

We can also work together to help foster offshore wind power for the future. With new deep-water leases in the Gulf of Maine, our New England coastal states can strive for more clean energy and maritime jobs to make it happen. Massachusetts has already invested in offshore wind, including the Vineyard Wind project, which will clean up our energy supply while at the same time perhaps supporting the expansion of AI data centers making us a global competitor in this field.

In solar energy, innovations in efficiency and incentives for rooftop solar could help Massachusetts and its neighbors further tap into solar power. Communities could incentivize community solar projects to ensure access across urban and rural areas. Setting utility “challenge goals” for clean energy adoption along with regulatory and tax incentives for all the grid upgrades that will be needed can be part of the work of our state legislators.

So far, we have only tinkered around the edges of using geothermal power but new technologies are emerging and we should support pilot programs for heating public buildings geothermally where the geology is right for such trials.

There is also the potential for “pumped storage” energy generation as done on the Connecticut River where water is pumped back up into reservoirs above the dams during low demand periods and then re-released during high demand periods. It creates a kind of natural battery where excess energy is stored until needed. That would require finding land that can become a pump-storage reservoir. Another example is the Quabbin Reservoir, built between 1930 and 1939 to provide Boston area drinking water.

States can work together to expand passenger rail. Maybe MBTA rail should extend itself northward beyond Haverhill with more than just occasional service to Exeter NH and up into Maine. 

Lastly, ACES has long been encouraging support of environmental and climate education in schools. We can expand climate science education in K-12 schools to build a climate-literate generation that understands the urgency of climate action. And there is no time like the present. Sustainability specialist jobs and careers will be enjoying an extremely rapid increase after those related to Artificial Intelligence 

By pursuing these initiatives, Massachusetts working collaboratively with greater New England can become leaders in state-led, collaborative-based climate and environmental solutions, potentially creating a model for other states to follow.

Please let ACES know what you think and let’s reset our expectations about the local leadership and collaboration that may be needed to ensure the sustainability of our communities in the face of increasing levels of climate adversity and that can and will be led by MA and our neighboring states.

ACES believes we can make a BIG difference together. Team members invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Join Our List" link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards committed to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting acesnewburyport@gmail.com.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on November 15, 2024.

ACES is a nonpartisan environmental organization with directors, team members, and community participants who may be Republicans, Independents, or Democrats. We admire the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt who established the US Forest Service, created five National Parks, established 51 bird reserves and 150 National Forests. Teddy was a Republican. His cousin Franklin, as a young politician, was becoming a leader in conservation. As chair of the New York State Senate's Forest, Fish and Game Committee, he introduced eight bills addressing conservation, including the Roosevelt-Jones Bill to regulate timber harvests on private land. FDR was a Democrat. Historically, leaders from both major parties have been conservationists.

With elections looming, ACES team members ask that everyone think about which persons running for office can do the best for us and all species in terms of climate, the environment, and the wellbeing of future generations. We must consider the local issues of beach erosion and river cleanliness that state and local officials oversee, as well as the global issue, driven by national and international policies, of reducing society’s carbon footprint.

Our president, vice-president, and congressional legislators’ matter. When the ozone layer was brought into public awareness by the scientists studying it, President Ronald Reagan listened with an open mind to his cabinet and to leaders of other countries and sought to protect the fragile ozone layer on Dec. 21, 1987 by urging Congress to ratify the Montreal Protocol, limiting ozone producing gas uses. Transporting dirty tar sand crude oil through the US was the key driver of the XL Pipeline plan. Thankfully from our perspective, in January of 2021 President Biden revoked a key cross-border presidential permit that stopped this financially driven but extremely harmful construction. Again, one leader was a Republican icon and the other a Democrat.

This coming US election and elections all over the world are at a very important crossroads regarding climate and the environment. Many established financial and social interests have benefited from the environmental damage done since the era of the Industrial Revolution. Those institutions often seek to use civic and political lobbying and power to keep their interests protected.

Whether it’s the British seeking to expand their North Sea oil drilling, India still maintaining 70% of its electricity running on coal, or the destruction of the Amazon rain forests, it will take a solid presidential and congressional approach to foreign policy to be helpful in reducing global warming. We must also recognize the United States’ responsibility in curbing carbon emissions should be a key component of our foreign policy. With just 5% of the world’s population, the US economy accounts for 30 % of global energy use.

Elections matter and who you choose is critical for the future, so please choose wisely and vote as soon as you can as the final day of our US election is November 5th. And all ACES team members request that regardless of your party affiliation or independence, you choose to make our climate, our environment, and the wellbeing of our future generations key considerations in deciding upon your vote.

Contributors included team members Ana Satir, Art Currier, Ben Iacono, John Elwell, Lon Hachmeister, Ron Martino, and Tom Starr.

ACES believes we can make a BIG difference together. Team members invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Subscribe to Updates” link on ACES’ website – https://www.aces-alliance.org/. Please consider joining our community of stewards committed to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting acesnewburyport@gmail.com.

This column was published in The Daily News of Newburyport on November 1, 2024

We are lucky to live in an outstandingly beautiful area, though we also share the reality of living near the nuclear power plant in Seabrook, NH.

C-10, standing for “Safety for Citizens within the 10-mile radius of Seabrook Nuclear Plant,” serves Newburyport and the other towns lying within Seabrook Station’s 10-mile emergency planning zone by monitoring the radiological pollution released into the air by the plant, educating the public on emergency planning and safety issues, and advocating decision makers to choose public and environmental safety above all else.

Things that YOU can do as a resident living near Seabrook Station:

• SIGN UP for Seabrook Station Code Red Alerts
• REGISTER FOR EVACUATION ASSISTANCE if you do not have, or are unable to operate, a vehicle
• ACCESS RADIATION EMERGENCY BROCHURE in print and online with different versions for MA and NH
• GET FREE POTASSIUM IODIDE PILLS from your local town or state health agent; especially critical to have in your at home emergency kit if you have children or are under the age of 45.

C-10 has put the links to all of these FREE resources on ONE WEBPAGE: www.c-10.org/emergency-plans

The reality of climate change means emergency planning is increasingly critical. In April, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a scathing report that scolded the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for failing to hold nuclear power plant operators like Seabrook Station accountable for factoring climate change into their risk analyses and emergency plans. Located right on the Atlantic Coast, our local nuclear plant is vulnerable to storm surges and coastal flooding. Other blind spots in nuclear regulations include risks from solar flares which this past June caused Seabrook Station to power down its reactor, and reduced ability to withstand seismic forces due to advanced degradation of the Seabrook plant’s concrete. C-10 will continue to put pressure on regulators and the plant to do better and close these gaps.

Other actions citizens can take include sending a letter to your mayor, state legislator, or congressional leader, requesting more investment in road and bridge infrastructure to strengthen resilience to extreme weather brought on by climate change. These infrastructure components are critical to the evacuation planning provided for residents if there were ever a nuclear emergency during a severe storm. Another critical request of our politicians (and everyone!) is that they support continued independent real-time radiation monitoring, a service that C-10 has provided to the state for over 30 years. Yet another important action is simply to attend public meetings about dangerous proposals from the plant that could imperil our local environment or public health.

C-10 is actively opposing one such proposal that, if approved, would diminish public safety for the sake of corporate profits. In October of 2022, Seabrook Station’s owner NextEra submitted a waiver request to reduce and consolidate the on-site emergency response resources at Seabrook, also impacting their three other nuclear power plants in Wisconsin and Florida.

Among the 49 “reductions in effectiveness” that NextEra was forced to disclose in its application were fewer Radiation Protection Technicians and complete elimination of other critical emergency response roles. If implemented, estimated response times for many plant staff in a possible emergency scenario would increase by as much as 30 minutes.

C-10 spent over a year reading in excess of 1,000 pages of documents on this issue and presented a well- researched summary to local mayors, state legislators, key first responder groups, and U.S. Congressional leaders in our region. The result: pressure from those officials and media attention, which caused the NRC to host a public meeting in April where the most dangerous parts of NextEra’s application were openly criticized. In August 2024, NextEra announced that the application will be modified to resolve the most contentious aspects of their request. Although this is a partial win for our region, some safety issues are still compromised in the proposal which C-10 will continue to fight.

Sarah Abramson is the Executive Director of C-10 and may be reached at sarah@c-10.org. To sign up to receive C-10’s newsletter or become involved as a donor or volunteer please visit www.c-10.org.

ACES believes we can make a BIG difference together. Team members invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Join Our List” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards who are committed to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting acesnewburyport@gmail.com.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on October 25, 2024.

Everyone needs to be aware of challenges to raising the next generation of environmental stewards. It's a fact that modern childhood has moved indoors. Neighborhood kids no longer venture outside to play until called home for dinner. On average, American children spend between four and seven minutes a day engaged in unstructured outdoor play (not including organized sports) and as many as nine hours a day in front of an electronic screen. This national trend has paralleled an alarming growth in childhood obesity and prescribed pharmaceuticals for children.

Did you know that preschoolers are the fastest growing market for antidepressants? I can’t help but think of this when I see so many adults handing over small screens to children in restaurants, stores, and even public parks.

Many of our youth are sedentary, stressed out, and over-scheduled. Last Child in the Woods author Richard Louv called this Nature Deficit Disorder in 2008. And this is not just limited to kids as it also strikes adults, families, and whole communities. Today, online interactions and information are unfiltered, only sometimes credible, and often overwhelming. Youth report feeling that there are so many possibilities that they are paralyzed by options. They are afraid to make choices and be wrong.

Mental illness rates are also increasing. In 2023, one scientist in Finland wrote that mental illness is now the most common non-communicable disease in Europe and America. She too asks, is this due to “nature deficit disorder?” At the same time, as made most clear in recent weather events, climate change is stressing the earth and our daily lives.

The good news is that robust research shows that childhood spent in nature directly leads to increasing active environmental stewardship behaviors in adulthood. It really is that clear. While we may not, as individuals, be able to cure all, we can do our part with what we have, where we live. As Jane Goodall wrote, “You aren’t going to save the world on your own, but you might inspire a generation of kids to save it for all of us. You would be amazed at what inspired children can do.”

At Merrohawke Nature School we wake up every day determined to do our part to connect children to nature both for their good health and the health of the planet. Indeed, our vision is ”Strong Kids. Healthy Planet.” Never has this work been so important. We think seven generations ahead. We ask ourselves: What can we all do today that future generations will be grateful for?

My husband Capt. Rob Yeomans and I co-founded Merrohawke in 2007. Originally known as BOAT CAMP, Merrohawke annually serves 650 youth living within a 50-mile radius of Newburyport and beyond through summer camps, a licensed Forest Kindergarten preschool program, and a Forest and Field School serving 95 homeschooling students during the school year on land and nearby coastal waters.

All our programs provide time to explore the natural world because this is where the taproot of deep connection to the earth -- land or sea -- takes hold. We intentionally create time for youth to follow their curiosity. They catch mackerel, flounder, or striped bass. Watch whales and seabirds. Haul a beach seine net for sand eels. Get muddy. Run wild. Build forts or fancy sandcastles. Race handmade driftwood boats by the shoreline. Dig for seaworms or dig for lost pirate treasure. Climb trees. Catch frogs and fireflies. Carve and coal burn wooden spoons. Weave cordage from milkweed fibers. Tend a fire throughout the day from sunset to sunrise. While youth believe they are "just playing outside," research proves that childhood experiences such as these, and not the more traditional forms of environmental education, directly lead to adults who are active stewards of the earth.

At Merrohawke, we are committed to guiding learning in nature that fosters empathy, resilience, grit, and a deep connection to the earth for the benefit of raising a strong generation of youth, healthy families, a thriving greater Newburyport community, and a flourishing planet for all.

Kate Yeomans is the co-founder and executive director of Merrohawke Nature School. Learn more at www.merrohawke.org.

ACES team members invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Join Our List” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards committed to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting acesnewburyport@gmail.com. We can make a BIG difference together.

This educational column was originally published in The Daily News of Newburyport on October 18, 2024.

As seasons change, it is important to consider the activities needed to protect your plants, pollinators, trees, and other species on your property. Your priorities also need to consider local weather and soil conditions.

With the arrival of the cooler weather and as plants start to die back, many people think “oh, the growing season is over” and focus on cleaning up. However, many plants still need attention; autumn is a good time to assess the condition of plants in your yard.

After an abnormally dry late summer, and several years of drier than normal conditions, some plants may be showing signs of stress. What does plant stress look like?

- Foliage may change color very early.

- Leaves may drop before changing color.

- There may be dieback on branches.

- Plants may be wilting.

- Perennials may be stunted compared to previous years.

Newburyport has recently started a voluntary water ban, but you can still address some drought issues in your yard and prepare for future droughts.

The ban requests that watering be done between 6-9am and 6-9pm. However, it is best to water plants in the morning hours. Why? Letting foliage stay wet into the cooler evening temperatures will only exacerbate mold and fungus issues. When plants are wilted in the afternoon, it is best to wait until the morning to see if they are still wilted. Often wilt is a sign of unexpected high temperatures. However, wilt in the mornings definitely means the plant is thirsty. The only things to water in the evening would be extremely dry containers or lawns where new grass seed has been spread.

If one uses an irrigation system and runs it for short periods every day in perennial beds, then your plants will not learn to extend their roots and search for water. Water only every 3-4 days for an hour on a slow setting. Keeping roots too wet can also cause rot.

If new trees were planted in the spring, continue to water once a week into November. If a warm, dry spell occurs in the winter, go out and give your tree a drink.

How can you prepare your plants to deal with drought?

- Use mulch but wait until the soil has warmed up in May.

- Purchase a rain barrel and hook it up to your gutters.

- Use grey water from washing dishes by hand to water your plants outside.

- Set your irrigation system to water longer, slower, and less frequently.

Other tasks for now – divide your perennials. Some, like peonies and iris, really prefer to be divided in the fall. As the trees and shrubs lose leaves, evaluate their shape and prune for air flow and an open structure. If they are spring flowering plants, one may want to wait and prune after they bloom. But sometimes it is best to evaluate the need to prune during the winter. Do not use too heavy a hand – a 10-15% reduction max!

Dieback in trees from the top often means root issues – uncover the flare and top roots by pulling grass away and make sure mulch is not touching the tree. For large trees you may need to call in a professional to examine the canopy.

Plants, like us, require a certain amount of fussy attention. Consider your plant’s needs as an invitation to a dialogue. Listen, and respond. Everyone, everything, likes to be listened to.

Jean Berger is a member of Friends of Newburyport Trees (FONT) and may be reached at Greenjeans33@comcast.net.

ACES team members invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Join Our List” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards who commit to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting us at acesnewburyport@gmail.com. We can make a BIG difference together.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on October 11, 2024.

Third Spaces are informal public spaces that exist outside of the home ("first space") and the workplace ("second space"). These environments foster social interaction, community building, and informal gatherings.

Characteristics of Third Spaces include:

- Neutral ground: no one owns the space, and it is open to anyone.

- Social leveling: people interact on more equal terms.

- Conversation as the main benefit.

- Accessibility, both physically and financially.

- Playful and relaxed atmosphere.

- Regulars feel comfortable, at ease, and connected.

Examples of Third Spaces: coffee shops, libraries, bars, churches, gyms. These spaces play a vital role in the social fabric, offering opportunities for people to build meaningful connections. Third Spaces are key to sustainable living because they promote shared resources and sustainable practices. By reducing the need for individual consumption e.g., shared tools, shared workshop, these spaces lower energy and resource use. They encourage sustainable transportation through walkability, while supporting local economies by fostering small businesses and community driven initiatives. Many Third Spaces serve as hubs for sustainability education, skill-sharing, and zero-waste practices.

Tinkerhaus Community Makerspace in Newburyport is a Third Space for people who crave creative growth. Whether that person is a child who wants to create a village of clay creatures or a retired person who wants to learn woodworking, we provide a judgement-free zone for supporting their practice. We welcome the person who comes to sewing class to learn to hem their pants but falls in love with color and texture. Or the person who starts out wanting to sand down some old doors and ends up building intricate furniture pieces. We offer these people the environment and the repeated opportunities to fill that need, to grow their creativity, and to connect with people who relate to them.

Last spring we did a project called Bikes and Blooms through a grant from Resilient Newburyport. We built bike parking stands and raised planting beds from wood for the community with a multigenerational group over the course of several days. The kids ranged from 5 to 16. The adults of all ages were a mix of professional and amateur woodworkers and volunteers. The weather did not cooperate at all and frustrations with schedules and materials were high. But the satisfaction of people who powered through tasks that were difficult and continued through some discouraging moments to complete what they had set out to do was immense. And the products are very useful in growing vegetables and encouraging cycling.

This summer was our busiest yet. We ran eight sessions of weeklong programs for kids, several in conjunction with Newburyport Recreation Services, plus we hosted Family Connections of Triton for an early literacy maker series. You might wonder how these activities could be part of a Third Space situation with adult community members? Well, it turns out people are really interested in what everyone else is doing, because the older members who still had plenty of access to their equipment liked to check on what the kids were up to. One of our senior woodworkers was delighted to find out about our kid’s bandsaw class and jumped right in to help. The kids were also excited to see what the adults were making. But the direct multigenerational interactions were the sweetest. Watching our engineering student summer employee teach older women how to create labels for their grandkids’ reusable snack boxes on the Cricut cutter or 3D print a tiny lighthouse for a kindergartener was great. But watching him become a first-time student in the woodworking shop was even better.

Mary McDonald is the director of Tinkerhaus and can be reached at mary@tinkerhaus.org. You are invited to see if Tinkerhaus is the Third Space you’ve been needing. Fall programming is up on www.tinkerhaus.org or come visit at 3 Graf Rd, suite 11.

ACES and its Youth Corps invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Join Our List” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards who commit to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting us at acesnewburyport@gmail.com. We can make a big difference together.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on October 4, 2024.

Time to Talk, Then Act

On a recent Tuesday, about 65 people gathered at The Screening Room in Newburyport to watch the documentary, We’re All Plastic People Now. The film is a dystopian look at the damage too much plastic has wreaked on our bodies from ingesting micro-plastics and the chemicals associated with them.

https://roryfieldingfilms.com/weareplasticpeople/

The showing was sponsored by Storm Surge and the PEG Center for Art and Activism, and was followed by a well-attended discussion at the PEG Center.

Taking their cue from the film, participants were upset and saddened by society’s inability to slow down increasing amounts of plastic chemicals invading our bodies. And they wanted to know what to do about it. 

 People asked if they should ask Massachusetts legislators to follow California in suing Exxon for consciously deceiving the public for years about the emerging health issues. Should they talk to Market Basket about eliminating all plastic bags? Should they boycott Coca-Cola and Pepsi, two of the largest contributors to the single use plastic problem?

And when they learned that Newburyport's schools offer water in plastic single use bottles and get paid by a water brand for doing so… well, they were disappointed.

There is too much plastic in our lives.

You can see it all around. It’s on the roadsides, our beaches, and in your recycling bins headed toward a down-cycled future. Daily, we read of micro-plastic particles in the air we breathe and the food we eat affecting everything from pulmonary and digestive function to reproductive health. We all know it. We need to find better ways to slow down and reverse some of these problems. We need to take proactive steps to reduce plastic’s harm in our lives.

Here are some ideas that have been put forth by concerned residents: 

Avoid buying bottled water, especially in single use plastic containers.

Travel with reusable stainless-steel bottles, and avoid ingesting any more plastic than necessary. Filter your own water with a countertop or under-sink filter meeting high standards of micro-particle removal.
 
Ask governmental bodies to consider a special disposal cost surcharge on single use packaging. Ban, tax, or set adequate deposit return fees for single use products or packaging when it’s not critical. This can reduce the volume of plastic produced. Municipalities and school boards can choose to restrict purchasing such items for use in their buildings. States can pass or update bottle return regulations to achieve much higher levels of return for reuse or recycling of plastics of all beverage bottles including alcohol. Amazon and FedEx need to come up with better methods and packaging designs that use less plastic.

‍
Avoid plastic packaging- especially of the single-use kind.

Explore the emerging trend of patronizing a refillary. A refillary is a shop that sells products by weight or volume into the customers’ own reusable containers. Examples in Newburyport include Green House Goods on Water Street which carries products like body wash, soaps, hair and beauty products, as well as household cleaning products. The use of a refillery saves the world from those oversized throw away detergent jugs or shampoo bottles which are not economic to recycle. 

Buy natural fiber clothing. Maybe it’s time to shift the clothes in our closets to much more natural fiber choices. Since about 35% of all the micro-plastics in the oceans derive from synthetic fiber clothes abraded in the washing cycle, this is important.

Participate in the upcoming Community ECO-Conversation

If you want to help and meet others with the same concerns about waste and its health-related issues, you are invited to a Community ECO Conversation at the Senior/Community Center next Wednesday, October 2 at 1:00 PM.

Call 978-462-0430 to register.

It is an opportunity to explore what each of us can do right here in Newburyport to start making the changes we need.

‍

Food waste is a climate issue.

Nearly one-third of all food produced globally is lost or wasted, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). In the U.S.,approximately 30 to 40 percent of the food supply goes to waste each year, as reported by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). When food is discarded in landfills, it decomposes and releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas that significantly contributes to climate change. Moreover, food waste leads to a major loss of resources—such as land, water, and energy—that are required to grow, process, and transport food.

Local Impact of Food Waste and Farmland Loss

In Massachusetts, particularly in Essex County, agriculture plays a key role in the local economy. However, the region faces a troubling decline in farmland. From 2012 to 2017, Essex County lost 39% of its farmland -- approximately 5,000 acres -- according to the American Farmland Trust. Without intervention, this trend is likely to continue, compounding food insecurity for one in three adults in northeastern Essex County (Greater Boston Food Bank). In addition, the loss of farmland affects local farmers' ability to maintain steady income streams.

Nourishing the North Shore (NNS), a Newburyport-based organization, is tackling these issues head on.

Through food access programs, NNS helps divert food waste and supports local farmers by purchasing fresh, locally grown produce. Generous donations, grants, and government funding support NNS’s mission to get healthy, local produce on every person’s plate.

How Nourishing the NorthShore Fights Food Insecurity and Supports Farms

NNS’s programs, including VEGOUT and Farm SHARE, address food waste, food insecurity, and local farm sustainability. By partnering with local farms, NNS collects excess crops that would otherwise be wasted and ensures that this produce reaches food-insecure families. With a recent USDA grant, NNS also purchases fresh produce directly from farms, and expects to inject over $100,000 into the local food economy in 2024.

VEGOUT Program

The VEGOUT program aggregates purchased and surplus produce from local farms and distributes it to twelve hunger-relief partners. This reduces food waste while providing low-income families with fresh, nutritious produce. In the 2024 growing season, the program is projected to distribute over 75,000 pounds—or 300,000servings—of local produce to families in need.

Farm SHARE Program

Through the Farm SHARE program, NNS supports farmers by purchasing shares of their harvests through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs. This ensures farmers receive a reliable income while food-insecure households access affordable fresh produce. NNS also educates farmers and families on how to maximize government assistance programs like SNAP and HIP (Healthy Incentive Program), further improving access to healthy food.

By investing in local farms, NNS helps reduce waste and build a sustainable food economy that benefits everyone. We invite you to join us in this work to combat food insecurity and farmland loss.

September is Hunger Action Month: How You Can Help

In recognition of Hunger Action Month, Nourishing the North Shore urges the community to take action against hunger and climate change. Here’s how you can make a difference:

Donate: Your contributions help us purchase fresh, local produce and distribute it to families in need.

Volunteer: Your time can directly impact our food access programs.

Learn: Educate yourself about the one in three adults in our community facing food insecurity and the role food waste plays in climate change.

Attend our Fundraiser

Join us for the Sunset Harvest event on October 2nd, from 5:30 to 7:30 PM, at the Sunset Club on Plum Island. Enjoy seasonal bites and specialty drinks while learning more about our work. Tickets support our mission and help us continue making an impact.

Tany Blasko is the Executive Director of Nourishing the North Shore and can be reached at tany@nourishingthenorthshore.org. Please visit www.nourishingthenorthshore.org to take these action steps today!

ACES team members invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Join Our List” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards committed to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting acesnewburyport@gmail.com. We can make a big difference together.

‍

Newburyport’s Master Plan recommends implementing a local bike share program to reduce car dependency for tourism and commuting. The City of Newburyport and Newburyport Livable Streets (NLS) are proposing a pilot program to explore how bike share can work in our City. The goal is to have the system up and running in the spring of 2025.

What is bike share and how does it work? Like buses, subways, and commuter rail, bike share is a form of public transportation. In a bike share system, people rent bikes for short trips, starting and ending their rides at designated locations or “stations.” The bicycles in the system are equipped with locks and tracking devices, and users access them via smartphone applications, membership cards, or kiosks equipped with touch screens. Users locate a nearby bike through the app and unlock it through a coded key or by scanning a QR code. When the ride is over, the user can return the bike to any available station.

Visitors to larger American cities like Boston are likely familiar with bike share systems, but they are increasingly popular in smaller communities as well. Some nearby examples include Minuteman Bike Share in Concord and Acton; Portland Bikeshare in Portland, ME; and ValleyBike serving 10 Connecticut Valley communities and UMass. 

The Newburyport bike share is planned to start out with 30 to 35 pedal bikes and 5 or 6 stations in 2025 and grow to around 45 bikes in the following two years. If successful, the system could also expand to surrounding communities, creating our own regional Seacoast system. 

The City and NLS have been securing funding to cover the costs of the proposed pilot system, both to keep user fares low and to minimize any municipal expense. The City has received a federal grant commitment for about two-thirds of the cost of the pilot, and significant funding pledges have been made by the Institution for Savings and Coastal Trails Coalition. The pilot program is expected to launch with no cost to the taxpayer for the first year, and fundraising for future years is continuing.

One of the primary advantages of bike share systems is their positive effect on the environment. By providing an alternative to motor vehicles, these systems help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other types of pollution.

Bike share systems also enhance mobility, offering a solution for short trips that are too long to walk but not practical for driving. They complement public transportation by filling gaps in the transit network, enabling users to easily reach transit stations. And trading car trips for bike trips helps everyone by reducing vehicle congestion on the roads.

Because Newburyport’s proposed bike share pilot is small in scale, the types of benefits described above will be modest initially, but they will increase as the system grows. Bike share will complement the City’s ongoing sustainability efforts and support an evolution to a more equitable and balanced transportation system.

Go to https://newburyportlivablestreets.org/bikeshare/ to learn more about the proposal and to see links to other small bike share systems.

ACES and its Youth Corps invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Join Our List” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards who commit to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting us at acesnewburyport@gmail.com. We can make a big difference together.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on September 6, 2024.

The climate is global – weather is local. Weather is both ever-present and always changing, but more importantly it is something we have no command over. It can impact our mood and activities, and yet it doesn’t bend to our will. As a control freak, it has always frustrated me that I had no influence on the changing atmospheric conditions around me. Depressing winters, boiling summers, and painful sunburns should sum it up. So, I asked myself, do we have NO control over the weather? 

August 2011. Irene formed near the Cape Verde Islands 500 kilometers off the west coast of Africa and trekked across the Atlantic aimed at the US. The storm eventually surged up the east coast toward Boston, still presenting significant strength. My sister and I were holding our tablets excited to act like reporters! We had been watching Jim Cantore on Channel 47 and wanted in on the action. When the storm hit, we recorded our “observations” as the damage unfolded around us. 

Seeing how initially distant storms like Irene could impact my local community was shocking. Yet, seeing what they can do to a human being's mental state was even more fascinating. It brings out a disquieting sense of fear we rarely see, part of the human condition that emerges when something is beyond our control. But more importantly, I realized that events like Irene can also bring communities together, enhancing local pride to drive meaningful change for future generations. From that moment, I developed a personal passion: I began emerging myself into a world filled with statistics and predictions of the future. 

Through high school I was able to act on my passion, delving further into meteorology. Every website I visited and video I watched provided new-found perspective. Digging deeper, my fear and lack of understanding led me toward an unsettling reality: the weather is a natural process we can’t influence. But weather is driven by climate. As our climate’s temperature rises, exacerbated by human activity, our waters become warmer. Increased water temperatures provide a favorable breeding ground for more frequent, powerful storms. And climate (global warming) is something that we can influence.

This irrefutable knowledge altered my view on the world. I felt it a responsibility of mine to act, joining ACES and Newburyport Storm Surge, both groups addressing global warming and community resilience, where I was able to participate in meaningful work. I even created my own forecasting account to improve local weather communication in Newburyport and interviewed Harvey Leonard, chief meteorologist for Channel 5 News, to include his insights for my podcast.

While meteorology and climate change haven’t been my focus at college, they are always on my mind. Attending a Liberal Arts institution has allowed me to intertwine subjects and use critical thinking to observe the relationship between climate change and meteorological impacts on our communities and our businesses.  Within my business coursework, we analyzed asset valuation and impairment, tax implications, insurance accounting, and the going concern principle, all of which will be impacted. With increased disasters leading to increased destruction within our communities, our businesses will be forced to assess whether the value of assets exceeds their recoverable amount. Likewise, governments may need to offer additional tax relief to businesses affected by disasters, increasing national debt and the complex rules needed to navigate benefits analyses. Additionally, with more frequent disasters, companies may increasingly need to rely on reinsurance and other risk transfer mechanisms. Severe or repeated natural disasters may even threaten the viability of some businesses, particularly those in more vulnerable regions of the country. Cost and risk professionals will need to assess individual companies’ ability to continue as a going concern. 

I leave you with this closing thought: our lives are like hurricanes. We start off as nothing, merely a cloud in the sky. Conditions must be ideal, but when they are, we grow, becoming unstoppable. But, as we mature, we can choose a path to widen our influence. We can all act to have an impact on future climate change and its devastating impacts. Will you be the “storm” to impact our futures, or will you turn out to sea? Will you elicit fear or enhance community pride and community resilience? While we can destroy, we can also unite to repair.

ACES and its Youth Corps invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Join Our List” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards who commit to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting us at acesnewburyport@gmail.com. We can make a big difference together.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on August 30, 2024.

The Hatchery

by Steve Pucci

In 1997 the Massachusetts State Legislature banned the use of leghold traps for beavers within the state. Also banned were trapping the animals and moving them to another location. Having lived in this area for 45 years, I have noticed pretty dramatic changes to the countryside.

I have frequently walked and ridden a bike through a large wooded State Reservation located in Georgetown, Groveland, and Newbury - Crane Pond Wildlife Management Area. The area runs along the Parker River, a large river that ultimately drains into Plum Island Sound in Newbury. Large and complex, the reservation runs over 2,500 acres, and is available for hunting in season as well as fishing. The Parker River is accessible by canoe throughout this area.

First moving to Georgetown in 1980, I was in these woods frequently. Most of the old dirt roads were easily passable. The old Stagecoach Road from Haverhill to Newbury was dry and clear, and still marked by the old town line granite posts from the 1800s. Gradually as time passed and the beavers began to proliferate, these roads began to flood. At first, just wet sometimes after rain or in spring, then water got deeper and deeper until many parts were covered with four to five feet of water. There are now large ponds where there were woodlands. The woodlands are just the skeletons of drowned trees scattered through the new ponds. Beavers have proliferated and have dramatically changed the landscape for their own use. Large dams can be found all around the area and beaver lodges can be seen in many locales.

One section in particular has been of interest to me. On the old Stagecoach Road a large section is completely flooded and impossible to traverse, with water probably four feet deep. It has become a fantastic habitat for birds and other wildlife. Great Blue Herons hatch their young in nests at the top of old dead trees, frogs make raucous music there, and other birds such as osprey, egret, red winged blackbirds, turkey vultures, and bald eagles are frequently seen. We have the beavers to thank for this habitat. They are brilliant and tireless engineers. I have a new appreciation for their efforts: https://www.wnewbury.org/sites/g/files/vyhlif1436/f/uploads/cranepond_trailmap_2014_1_0.pdf

——————————————————————————

A Murder of Crows

by Cherry Underwood

Many people get a kick out of learning that a group of crows is a murder of crows. These English language collective names have been around for centuries. So what are some of the group names of birds we commonly see in this area? Each bird group typically has several collective names. Below is a partial list of bird groups and some of their collective names. 

Blackbirds – cloud, cluster, merl

Ducks – brace, flush, paddling, raft, team

Eagles – aerie, convocation, jubilee, tower

Egrets – congregation, RSVP, wedge

Gulls – flotilla, screech, squabble 

Hawks – boil, knot, spiraling, stream

Herons – rookery, battery, hedge

Osprey – duet

Owls – parliament, wisdom, bazaar, glaring 

Plovers – brace, congregation, ponderance, wing 

Sandpipers – bind, contradiction, fling, hill, time-step

Sparrows – crew, flutter, quarrel, ubiquity

Terns – committee (common terns), straightness (least terns)

Warblers – bouquet, confusion, fall

While it is fun to know some of these collective names, it is quite alright to say a “bunch of birds flew over.” What thrills us is seeing numbers of birds regardless of what they’re called.

ACES and its Youth Corps invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Join Our List” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards who commit to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting us at acesnewburyport@gmail.com. We can make a big difference together.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on August 23, 2024.

Several of my family members have Parkinson's disease, which some studies have linked to prolonged exposure to pesticides. My extended family owns a nursery, so as kids, they were exposed to lots of different pesticides. My grandmother tells stories of her mother spraying her room with pesticides typically used on trees to keep the mosquitoes away. Her mother would also stir pesticides in a bucket with her bare hands because at the time they didn’t understand how harmful this could be. These stories piqued my interest in learning more about pesticides and the overall environment. 

I recently connected with a local organization called Pollinator PowerWorks to learn more.

Their goal is to help pollinators, such as butterflies and bees, thrive as much as possible. Many people don’t realize how important pollinators are. They are keystone species, meaning an ecosystem absolutely needs them to function. Pollination is essential for the plants to reproduce, so if there were no pollinators, then there’d be far fewer plants for primary consumers (herbivores and omnivores) to eat. If there were fewer primary consumers, then there’d be less food for the secondary consumers (mostly carnivores), and so on, creating a chain reaction. They’re also essential to our food. According to the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, insects pollinate about 75% of global crops, a service valued at almost $600 billion. 

I began to research chemicals in pesticides that could be harmful for these pollinators, but I found conflicting evidence. I then decided to talk to my great uncle who owns a nursery. Because he is a licensed pesticide applicator, I was initially skeptical about what he’d have to say; however, he actually agreed with me. He noted that while chemicals themselves aren’t good for pollinators, the bigger issue is what they are doing to pollinators’ food sources. Many people use herbicides, a type of pesticide used to kill weeds, to make their lawn entirely green.

Getting rid of clovers, dandelions, and other broadleaf plants is a problem, not only because of the dangerous chemicals used, but also because the pollinators need those plants for food.

To bees, an all-grass yard is a dead zone, as there are no plants for them. The best option for helping pollinators is to not spray your lawn to get rid of broadleaf plants such as clovers, and instead to let them grow. Many people actually prefer clovers, which are barely noticeable, hardy, and require less maintenance. However, many people wouldn’t be as open to dandelions because they’re obsessed with making their lawns look as good as possible (my dad), so another option would be to spray your front yard but leave your backyard for broadleaf plants to grow. Even if you must keep an all-grass lawn, you have an important opportunity to help the planet by creating a pollinator garden in your yard. A pollinator garden consists of plants that pollinators rely on. You can include just a few plants you find pretty or incorporate many pollinator plants into your yard’s landscaping. Everyone can make a difference, and every effort counts no matter how small! 

Our family has always sprayed to get rid of broadleaf plants because we had no idea of the effects on pollinators.

We thought that because we used organic products, we were environmentally friendly, but it doesn’t matter what type of product is used if it destroys the food that pollinators need.

Because of my research, we have committed to making our yard more pollinator friendly…even my reluctant dad!

Pollinator PowerWorks is developing a web resource that will help you plan pollinator-friendly gardens.

The pollinator toolkit will be ready soon, but in the meantime, email pollinatorpowerworks@gmail.com with any questions.

Skylar is a risingJunior at Newburyport High School who is a 3-sport athlete and devoted to making a difference in the sustainability of Greater Newburyport. Photo of a local Newburyport pollinator garden was taken by Nicolas Forestell.

ACES and its Youth Corps invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Join Our List” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards who commit to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting us at acesnewburyport@gmail.com. We can make a big difference together.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on August 16, 2024.

With Tropical Storm Debby coming up the coast this week, we’ll see the benefit of having NOAA’s Hurricane Center, as well as its European counterpart, that allowed timely forecasts of the storm’s track, timing, and potential intensities. Having this advanced notice gives cities and towns time to prepare to protect lives and property and, where necessary, to evacuate to high, drier ground.

Meanwhile, municipalities at the Merrimack River mouth have been wrestling for years with these issues. For instance, the Merrimack River Beach Alliance and Sen. Bruce Tarr have been working to understand and mitigate climate-induced damage to our area’s shorelines. So recent news that Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists and engineers may be working with Salisbury officials to explore construction of an offshore artificial reef to mitigate some of the impacts of coastal erosion is good to hear.

There are many examples around the world of artificial reefs being created both for protecting coastlines and also for creating marine habitat. Some offshore reefs have been accidentally created as sunken ships have settled to the bottom off the coast and generate rich aquatic habitats that can support day-trip tourism for fishing.

Some have occurred as a byproduct of other engineered projects. For instance, offshore oil wells, as unwelcome as they can be by environmentalists, do have some small redeeming values. It turns out that the bottom structure, especially of decommissioned wells, has the effect of forming an artificial reef at the base. These aquatic habitats (commonly known as fish aggregation devices) have created localized marine ecosystems and increased fish populations where they are located. The bases of offshore wind turbines have also been shown to create the same underwater habitats that support sea life and local economies beyond just providing clean energy.

Off the coast of New Jersey, there have been artificial reefs put in place for years with great success. They took decommissioned subway cars from New York and stripped them of any chemical or potentially polluting materials like seat cushions, plastics, etc. and then strategically sunk the large metal hulks to the bottom. Within short order these cars began buffering waves and, within a year, had accreted enough aquatic growth from corals to shellfish to seaweed that they become living reefs. Locally, fish populations soared, and small commercial and recreational fishing businesses thrived, as well.

Coastal protection can come in many forms, including dressing our near offshore in “tutus”. Yes tutus.

https://news.northeastern.edu/2023/05/25/magazine/emerald-tutu-floating-wetlands-coastal-erosion/‍

https://ewn.erdc.dren.mil/a-review-of-innovative-technologies-for-erosion-and-flooding-protection/

There are serious academics and startups engaging in the design and testing of floating rings of seaweed growing on attached ropes and anchored to the bottom. The rings sway and float with every sort of tide and softly dampen the wave action, thus slowing coastal erosion. In addition to this erosion protection benefit, the seaweed can be commercially harvested for food. Plus, expanded marine communities develop around them and they become a nursery for better fishing in the future.

So, as Salisbury possibly works with MIT on their artificial reef concept, maybe they should also consider the added cost benefit that it will not only protect our coastline but also potentially create jobs in our highly marine dependent economies.

ACES and its Youth Corps invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Join Our List” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards who commit to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting us at acesnewburyport@gmail.com. We can make a big difference together.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on August 9, 2024.

Per the official City of Paris Olympics website, their mantra for the 2024 Green Olympics is LEGACY AND SUSTAINABILITY, ensuring that this major international sporting event will meet its responsibility towards reining in its potential impact on climate change.

They have set a goal to halve the carbon footprint of their games compared with the average for the London 2012 and Rio 2016 games and have planned that all Olympic venues use 100 per cent locally sourced, renewable energy, whereas it has been common practice to use fossil-fueled generators for additional power in the past.

They also approached meeting their legacy and sustainability goals in their concepts for new construction by building a single competition venue for the games, the aquatic center, and as a legacy building to be in continuous use for future generations. In the end, 95 per cent of their other venues already exist and any new infrastructure was built using low-carbon construction technologies. Likewise, they chose renting furniture, street fixtures, canopies, etc. and not purchasing them, thus also guaranteeing their continued reuse. 

But there’s more. In 2015, the city launched its $1.5 billion plan baignade, or swimming plan, to make the Seine swimmable again – a centerpiece in its successful bid for the 2024 games. The plan included connecting more than 23,000 houseboats, residences, and businesses to the municipal sewer treatment systems, which had previously dumped untreated wastewater directly into the river and installing a major aeration system upstream to naturally destroy remaining bacteria in the river. An accelerator for the project, their goal was to clean up the Seine in time to serve as a venue for three of the swimming events in the heart of Paris, including the swimming leg of the triathlete’s race. This goal is significant as the Seine was once so dirty that swimming in it was banned for more than a century, NBC News reported. Now, their sustainability mantra has ensured residents would benefit from a cleaner river after the games (National Geographic reported, August 2024). 

Unfortunately, an untimely Paris rain event, much like the CSO events that we have in the Merrimack, caused a major water quality incident just as the Games opened, which resulted in a change in venue. 

The audacity of Paris to commit and plan for such environmentally friendly, groundbreaking games is one to admire. What if the Gulf of Maine Seacoast could be pursued as the backdrop to an idea with the same foundation? The Merrimack and/or the Piscataqua could host the swimming segment and a coastal roads venue for bicycle racing would be both interesting and scenic. It could provide an opportunity for ME, NH, and MA to collaborate and be the catalyst for future green investments and ecotourism across the tri-state coastal region. 

Or possibly rowing trials? Many rowers launch out of Haverhill opposite the Groveland shore including St John’s Prep from Danvers. The area‘s senior rowers’ groups, who were major contributors to ACES’ survey of the Merrimack River Users, and State Auditor Diana DiZoglio, a river rowing fan, would likely enthusiastically support crew trials for potential team USA members. Perhaps Governors Healey, Sununu, and Mills might connect on such an opportunity, as well.

ACES and its Youth Corps invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Join Our List” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards who commit to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting us at acesnewburyport@gmail.com. We can make a big difference together.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on August 2, 2024.

‍

With Yankee Homecoming starting tomorrow, its impending arrival started a conversation among several of us ACES folks about what the historic Yankee culture that existed here in New England for hundreds of years might teach us about our environment and its care. Looking around on the web, we found an article in the December 2007 issue of Utne magazine, in which its staff outlined five tenets of Yankee thrift that caught our attention. Here they are verbatim:

First: “You shouldn’t buy stuff you don’t need. The old farmers couldn’t buy frivolous things, so they didn’t.”

Second: “Everybody needs some stuff… If you’ve got to buy something, make it as cheap as possible by amortizing its cost over a score of years.”

Third: “Heavily research your major acquisitions: Know exactly what you’re buying.”

Fourth: "Buy things that are serviceable... We always ask: Is it serviceable? If it is, it means we can buy parts and fix it.”

Fifth: “Take the same conservationist approach to non-mechanical items that don’t break so much as wear out.”

Preserving and perpetuating those values today can be a major benefit to our environment and offset the tremendous impacts of our throw-away economy. Our historic New England culture and unique desire for independence, thrift, and minimalism have served us well throughout the years. These values have been kept alive in greater Newburyport by our institutions like Historical Society of Old Newbury, the Custom House Maritime Museum, various preservationist groups, the ‘If This House Could Talk’ tours, and the annual celebration of Yankee Homecoming itself. From ACES’ point of view, civic and social groups like the motorcycle club which picks up trash while riding, Repair Cafe’, Tinkerhaus, and Time Trade, as well as shops like Oldies Marketplace and New England Sketch Book, embody this kind of thinking. Even our composting efforts in schools and via Black Earth pickups ‘reuse’ the last remnants of last night’s potato peelings. 

What the list of five things above doesn’t include and we think needs to be included are #6: “Eat locally grown and prepared foods” and #7: “Walk and bike more and don’t waste money on more gas than you need to.”

Many of us greater Newburyport “newcomers” don’t have the same deep roots that some local families do, but we can still share in the culture, a culture of thrift, stewardship of land and ocean, and preservation of what’s truly valuable to our lives. There are some people who believe that being less wasteful is a sign of being less prosperous than their income would indicate. They are concerned that their attempt to save gives the appearance of need rather than a reflection of a personal choice to be a responsible citizen. Additionally, there is a mind-set that no matter what they might do to help the environment, it won’t matter because ecology is a global problem which their behavior can’t possibly impact. And then, there are those who think “Why bother? It’s too late to change the way things are.” But we cannot see the future. We can only deal with the present. The present asks that we do what we can, when we can, where we are. Let’s act on the butterfly effect, a metaphor that suggests that even small actions, like a butterfly flapping its wings, can create unexpected results on complex systems. ACES team members commend Yankee Homecoming and its hardworking committees for working tirelessly since its inception in 1958 and we recognize them as fellow environmental stewards and conservationists. See you all at the YHC Parade.

ACES and its Youth Corps invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Join Our List” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards who commit to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting us at acesnewburyport@gmail.com. We can make a big difference together.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on July 26, 2024.

Most of my daily activities and how I perform them consider reducing waste by reusing, repurposing, and recycling to cut my carbon footprint. This personal commitment not only benefits the planet, but also works best for my physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing.

My biggest contribution to cutting my personal carbon footprint is riding my e-bike from here in Seabrook to Newburyport on the rail trail. I go to Newburyport (my hometown) for many reasons, the most frequent (at least in summer) being to deliver my food waste to the Black Earth compost bins in the South End. I do this at least twice a week, weather permitting, which also helps reduce my methane footprint. With the melting permafrost and methane on fire in the Arctic, and methane gas being many times more potent greenhouse gas than CO2, impacts from methane emissions seem to be almost as much of a crisis as impacts from CO2 emissions.

I have always been conscious of how much electricity and oil I use both for cost and for carbon footprint. I save a lot of fuel, especially at night, using low thermostat settings.  However, I have continued to put more effort, creativity and money into trying to reduce my carbon footprint even more in this regard.

Thanks to UNITIL’s monthly reports that use bar charts to compare neighbors with similar size homes, plus the current year's usage compared to last year’s usage, I am glad to see that I have been in the “Good’ category for at least the last couple of years since I moved here mid-2018. I attribute the wintertime improvement partially to having had the attic and basement re-insulated. Since the room with the thermostat is not well insulated, I compensate by setting it between 55 and 60 to ensure that the other rooms maintain 65-68 during the day, then set the thermostat to 50 at night. In summertime I create a microclimate where ceiling fans pull the cold air from the upstairs AC to the downstairs. I use dehumidifiers when ambient temperatures are in thkkje 60's and 70's.

My use of a battery powered mower (the same one for almost 15 years) has further reduced my personal carbon footprint.

Miscellaneous examples of reuse include:

·      buying used clothes

·      refilling containers every week when I buy the toxic-free personal care and cleaning products from the Green House in Newburyport

·      reusing plastic cups from the Senior Center at Eastman Corners in Kingston

·      collecting sticks, pinecones and pine needles to use for outdoor grilling in place of buying charcoal

·      collecting rainwater

·      printing on blank side of used paper I collect, mostly from mail

Thanks to the excellent marketing skills of the Newburyport Recycling Center, they accept the microplastics that I collect at the Joppa and Cashman launches. Since I dread shopping, I buy more selectively and carefully than most, usually dictated by health concerns. For example, I avoid aluminum, a neurotoxin, which unfortunately is ubiquitous in its use for cooking.

My main source of inspiration comes from the first climate sustainability talk show PATTRN on Weather Underground. (I have the Weather Channel on most days to follow storm development, given my atmospheric and air quality studies in the 80’s, followed by 12 years of employment at NJDEP in the Bureau of Air Quality Evaluation). The talk show hosts (also forecasters) interview spokespeople from many environmental nonprofits that I otherwise would never get to hear about, that have invented individual and collective solutions, even for plastic reuse and repurposing!  Efforts are underway to replace black asphalt pavement, possibly with light hemp, to help reduce urban heat island effects.

You can read more about more innovative examples here: About Incredible Eats - Edible Cutlery and Spoon

So don’t despair. There is much being done to help save our environment…and much that each one of us can do.

Gay contributes her musical talents in the area as well as passionately acting as a steward to include  CSO sampling in the Merrimack for the MRWC. She may be contacted at: gaypearson@aol.com

ACES and its Youth Corps invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Join Our List” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards who commit to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting us at acesnewburyport@gmail.com. We can make a big difference together.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on July 19, 2024.

‍

‍

‍

When I think of being environmentally conscious, I remember my parents. Their everyday lifestyle and that of many in post-WW 2 America, showed their awareness, although they never heard the term “environmentally conscious.” People were more respectful of resources. Having gone through the Depression, they didn’t have access to the abundance we both enjoy and abuse today. They reused, repurposed, recycled, and upcycled (RRRU), as a way of life. Clothing and footwear were repaired rather than discarded. There were small appliance and TV repair shops, cobblers, folks who mended, and businesses that paid for scrap metal. Things were used to the nth degree rather than tossed at the first sign of wear. In my father’s workshop, there was a small bucket for scrap metal, and places for newspapers, cloth scraps, and scrap aluminum. All of these went to the scrap yard, paper drives, the rag man, or whatever the appropriate drop-off place was. Food waste went into an in-ground bucket that was picked up by the garbage man and taken to a pig farm where it was used to feed the pigs.

A favorite memory is going to the produce market in the North End on Saturday mornings with my mother to get fresh fruits and vegetables from the peddlers. Under the green overpass (pre- Big Dig) spread before us were all the varieties of fresh produce. Some will remember the peddler putting all of the items in bags as he tallied the purchases which went into the cloth shopping bags my mother then took home to wash. There was no plastic back then. (I still use glass jars to store food as my mother did.) Milk was delivered to our door in glass bottles that were set in their holder when empty so they could be recycled for the next delivery. There were bread men, egg men, and others who delivered goods on a weekly basis.  

While there’s no going back to “the good old days,” we have somehow reinvented some of these opportunities right in our own neighborhood. My concern is that we don’t all intentionally take advantage of our community’s offerings to RRRU. To wit, if you haven’t been to Newburyport’s Recycle Center, please visit.  We can recycle things there like empty toothpaste tubes, pens, and many other items through the Terracycle program. TVs, appliances, electronics, scrap metal, Styrofoam, and more can be disposed of there. Textiles and footwear can go in the Nock Middle School bins. From home we can recycle newspapers, plastics, bottles and cans.  We can get a little green bin and compost our food waste and we can go to the Farmer’s Market for produce. Finally, we can think about how what is ready to be discarded can be upcycled for a new use.

You, too, can be an Enthusiastic Environmentalist. Our planet is begging you. Generations to come will thank you for it. The effort is worth it. It just takes some thought about how you dispose of your trash. Please consider this new, fun way to approach trash disposal knowing that it’s the right thing to do.

Jeanette Isabella is a motivational speaker, life coach and author of "Someday is Here!" as well as a well-known contributor to a caregiving fabric found in greater Newburyport. She is an ACES Advisor on the Education/Learning team and may be reached at: redchair123@comcast.net.

ACES and its Youth Corps invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Join Our List” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards who commit to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting us at acesnewburyport@gmail.com. We can make a big difference together.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on July 12, 2024.

‍

Editor’s note: This is one in a continuing series of educational columns about fostering environmental stewardship and leadership coordinated by ACES — the Alliance of Climate and Environmental Stewards.

As we celebrate the Fourth of July weekend and mark the beginning of summer 2024, let’s include a celebration of Mother Nature and the blessings of our land, waters and fellow species. Healthy ecosystems are those with the most biodiversity where different plants and animals live together, sometimes competing, sometimes collaborating, but developing a balance for the good of the overall community.

As we begin our 248th year of our independence from the British king it might be well to reflect on the diversity of opinion and dynamic social interaction that culminated in our independence. There were firebrands like Sam Adams, and his intellectual cousin John Adams. Unlike today, there were aristocrats like Jefferson who helped keep things together with different motivations and backgrounds but with a sense that “something had to be done” together.

ACES believes it will take all of us working together to grapple with the climate crisis and to learn how to live sustainably. This will mean sometimes suspending our long-held opinions and really seeking information and insights from each other. We need to agree on the facts and put those facts in context with statistical realism. In a concrete way that means prioritizing the threats to our local environment and taking steps to protect ourselves.

We live in a shared space in New England and our lands, and our waters are facing threats from climate change. Recently, we had a tornado in Dublin NH, a March a high tide crested the walls at Hampton Beach, and Fitchburg, MA had dramatic flash flooding and loss of property. Whether one thinks it is ‘just weather’ or a systematically changing climate it still is a bad thing. We need to mitigate ‘bad things’ – together.  

Experts agree on the big picture of what must be done to not make it worse. We must reduce emissions of greenhouse gases whether from burning fossil fuels in cars or power plants, or raising livestock and other farming practices. Meanwhile we must protect ourselves with insurance on our properties even as insurance companies raise their rates because they are no doubt based on actuarial knowledge that climate has changed for the worse. We need to take steps as a society -- locally and individually -- to begin to turn down the heat.

In this hyper partisan political season, we can still make progress together on climate. Whether your business is affected by potential regulations and changes, or you have a family facing higher costs for your homeowner’s insurance, we need to work towards protecting ourselves from sea level rise, giant storms, and the global warming that drives it.

The Earth is like a boat, and we’re all on it. As Woody Guthrie sang in the 1940’s “This land is your land, this land is my land." [see YouTube for his recorded performance] So join ACES and all of our local Allies and communities on helping to bail out our planet, patch it, and sail it towards calmer waters by 2050. And have a happy July 4th, 2024 weekend.

ACES and its Youth Corps invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Join Our List” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards who are committed to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting acesnewburyport@gmail.com. We can make a big difference together.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on July 5, 2024.

‍

‍

This is one in a continuing series of educational columns about fostering environmental stewardship and leadership coordinated by ACES — the Alliance of Climate and Environmental Stewards. This column reflects the opinions of the writer.

‍
In 2020, I shared my perspective in The Daily News of Newburyport about how Newburyport can take actions to mitigate climate change. I focused it on “micro”, “mini,” and “macro” actions. What’s happened since then?
 
At the micro level, I mentioned our commitment to recycling. This continues stronger than ever as reflected in the overflowing recycling bins on trash pickup days. In addition, programs that encourage voluntary curbside compost pickup have taken hold, with a great many of our residents taking part. Our community effort at “curb alerts” makes for a fun recycling program, and easy and free reuse. We should pat ourselves on the back.
 
Now let’s turn to examples at the “mini” level of environmental action. Good news there too. What other small cities have this many options for ride sharing or commuting? Although the bus options at the Park-and-Ride moved to Seabrook, they are still relatively close and immensely popular.

The local MeVa bus routes are now FREE, and ridership has shown a noticeable increase.

As the population ages, bus rides to the store and medical facilities become not just a luxury, but a necessity. In addition, our bike trails have expanded significantly.

The route around the Route 1 traffic circle has been reconfigured for safety and ease. The fact that we are at the “rail’s end” means we can take advantage of a train to Boston and beyond! 
 
At the macro level, I explained the boom in solar rooftops, which continues. It has been heartening to see how 200-year-old homes can be retrofitted to accommodate solar, on small plots of land, and with shared living in half houses, duplexes, and condo units and rentals.

Energy awareness programs have made many of our 200-year-old-plus homes as tight as 20-year-old homes.

The growth in Rail’s End net-zero rentals has a major impact on how we impact the environment to be better!

But in my opinion, it’s not all good news. We have much to learn. At a macro level impact to the environment, we need to be careful in the choices we make involving older homes.

Our older homes were often built using local materials. But we continue to see old homes bulldozed to make way for McMansions.

Or they are gutted inside and out, emptied into dumpsters filled with early growth woodwork and period features, adding to waste. Gutting a home, much less a room, should be a last resort. Removing every 200-year-old clapboard held by hand-hewn nails, as well as plaster and lath walls, especially when they are not damaged or rotted, isn’t always necessary. And, in the end, our landfills get full, and our usage of limited resources skyrockets.
 
When it comes to climate change, it’s the decisions we make as individuals, whether at the micro, mini, or macro level, that ultimately will make a difference.

A hundred years from now, the current period of “gut and rebuild” will be looked upon as a mistake and our community should encourage less of it.

We need to continue to treat our old Newburyport homes like the climate assets they are by making personal choices to minimize wholesale reconstruction. Not just for history’s sake but for the climate’s sake as well.
 
Jack Santos is a Newburyport resident and retired technology executive who now spends his time supporting local history efforts and historic preservation, with a keen interest in the local impacts of climate change. He may be reached at jack@jacksantos.com jack@jacksantos.com

ACES and its Youth Corps invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Subscribe to Updates” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards who are committed to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting acesnewburyport@gmail.com. We can make a big difference together.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on June 28, 2024.

This is one in a continuing series of educational columns about fostering environmental stewardship and leadership coordinated by ACES — the Alliance of Climate and Environmental Stewards.

On Monday, 17 June 2024, the City of Newburyport held a historic ribbon-cutting  ceremony for the opening of the new Market Landing Park, an expanded version of the smaller waterfront park created in 1991 and managed by the Newburyport Waterfront Trust for the past 33 years.

Their directive was: to hold, manage, maintain, conserve, and utilize the land for the enjoyment of the citizens of Newburyport, Newbury, and West Newbury in perpetuity, allowing the public free access to the waterfront forever.

‍
The new Market Landing Park, the product of patient civic collaboration over many years, sits on a 4.4-acre waterfront land parcel that was initially acquired under eminent domain by the Newburyport Redevelopment Authority (NRA) as part of a 1968 urban renewal project which had extensive plans to develop the property with buildings.

 In April 1972, a small group of Newburyport residents and business owners organized “The Friends of the Newburyport Waterfront” to protect public rights to the lands of this urban renewal project, particularly those filled tidelands on the Merrimack River. The Friends were supported by attorneys William (Bill) Harris and Robert Wolfe who pursued the restoration of ten historic “ways to the waterfront” reaching from Merrimac and Water Streets to the river across the NRA waterfront land. Between 1976 and 1980, The Friends litigated in the state Land Court and finally determined that two of ten historic ways and landings were to be held in irrevocable public trust to be operated to the net public benefit.

‍
In the same year, the Committee for an Open Waterfront (COW) was formed to be the voice of the waterfront, replacing The Friends of the Newburyport Waterfront. In 1991, the Newburyport Waterfront Trust commenced management of two small parks, a 20-foot-wide public boardwalk, and potentially six prospective historic ways to the waterfront.

‍
​Over the intervening 30-some years many attempts to develop the remaining NRA waterfront lands have come and gone, but the waterfront land has remained open.

Finally, after shifting public views on sea level rise and continued advocacy by COW and many other concerned citizens, we have a glorious open waterfront park along the Merrimack. The new waterfront park is there for the public to enjoy as intended by The Friends over 50 years ago, including bikers, strollers and dog walkers. It has plenty of picnic tables, swings, and Adirondack chairs for all. This is a good reason to celebrate. 

 
COW and its membership are not gloating over this community victory to preserve our open waterfront. Rather, we are extremely thankful for all those elected officials, including current and former Mayors and City Councilors who supported our efforts, and successive waves of COW advocates who donated their time and sometimes their money to preserve an open Newburyport waterfront.

‍
Monday’s ribbon-cutting was a special achievement which should be held up high.

In the early 1970s, Newburyport became the first city in the nation to use its redevelopment money to restore our history rather than demolish it, resulting in the rebirth of this great city. We have shown what can be achieved by goodwill, collaboration, patience, persistence, and hard work. Congratulations to COW and to all of Newburyport on the new and improved waterfront park. In an age of marketing via social media, we are glad to help spread the word and invite folks down to see our wonderful new park, #theWAPA.

 
Lon Hachmeister is a long-time member of Committee for an Open Waterfront (COW) and a current Board Member of ACES. He may be reached at lonehachmeister@aol.com.

ACES and its Youth Corps invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Subscribe to Updates” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards who are committed to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting us at acesnewburyport@gmail.com. We can make a big difference together.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on June 21, 2024.

In Newburyport, we all share the goal to become a more sustainable community. The toughest part of doing this is to find out how everyone can do their part. In the city of Newburyport where we have over 2,150 students who unquestionably contribute to our town's carbon footprint, starting in schools is a logical way to involve our youth. In past years, the Newburyport School District worked on reducing waste by encouraging recycling, forming student-led Green Teams, and taking students on field trips about sustainability. Composting programs have been started in both the Bresnahan Elementary School and the Newburyport High School, which seems to also be a constructive step toward our common goal.

When I was tasked with the I am We project - a civic action project for grade 8 students to become engaged in local, state, and federal government - my interest went straight to doing something about sustainability.

As a student at Nock Middle School, it would be hard not to notice the overwhelming amount of waste we produce. There are trash cans in every room that are filled by the end of the day. Within the 8th grade, we fill almost three whole bins at lunchtime, and as a whole school we send five barrels of trash to the landfill EACH DAY. Landfills are the third largest source of human related methane emissions in the U.S. Methane emissions are harmful to our earth because methane is a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.

We have the power to reduce the amount of human methane emissions through composting.

However, I was keenly aware that the Nock and Molin schools do not actively compost, and I wanted to find out why and how to get my school community started. Serendipitously, there were already a few staff members in the district working towards this same goal. Over the course of the past couple months, my partner Cameron Grelle and I connected with staff members and collaborated to direct and design the Pilot Composting Program within the Molin School. The fourth grade was the ideal group to start this, as most of them have previous experience at the Bresnahan. First, we educated these students to inform them of how the program will work. This presentation included a guide to what can or cannot be composted and why. Students were given the option of participating and most chose to participate. 

The pilot program could not be launched without student and parent volunteers.

The Green Team teachers and staff coordinated with sixth-grade volunteers and recruited parents because we knew that having monitors is especially important while working with such young students. We trained the sixth-grade volunteers, making sure they knew what can be composted and how to help when fourth graders had questions. The program began to take shape on March 5th, and it is still going today. By the end of this program the fourth-grade lunch was saving about 28.4 lbs. of trash per day from going into landfills and diverted to composting. We see this program expanding as the fourth graders become fifth graders and the new third graders come to the Molin School.

We hope that all grades in the Molin and Nock Schools will eventually make composting a habit for lunchtime. However, as students, we have experienced firsthand how many pieces must go into making this program successful. We cannot jump start this in all grades yet because of the time, effort, and cooperation needed by all of us.

Additionally, it is critical that Newburyport School District create a policy supporting these practices.

This program not only showed clear waste reduction but also growth in the students' knowledge of composting. We hope students will share this knowledge with their parents and influence others to practice the waste reducing act of composting.

ACES and its Youth Corps invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Subscribe to Updates” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards who are committed to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting us at acesnewburyport@gmail.com. We can make a big difference together.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on June 14, 2024.

This is one in a continuing series of educational columns about fostering environmental stewardship and leadership coordinated by ACES — the Alliance of Climate and Environmental Stewards.

The five Rs generally associated with reducing waste are: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE, REPURPOSE, and REFUSE. Now there are six – REPAIR.

Repair Cafés are gatherings of people who can repair things and those who have things that need to be repaired. On April 14, 2018, the first Repair Café in Newburyport was held welcoming 90 Visitors and 146 items needing repairs.

The seeds of the Café were planted in 2016 when members of the Time Trade Network of Greater Newburyport and the City of Newburyport’s Toward Zero Waste Initiative learned of the concept. We became very excited about the possibility of starting one here. With guidance from international and local Repair Café/Fixit Clinic organizations, and field trips to other Cafés, we were sold!

What were our goals? To rescue items from the waste stream, to promote a culture of repair, to make damaged items functional again, to restore cherished and irreplaceable items, to create a space for community connections, and to have fun doing it. From the first Café until now, our goals continue to be met due to the enthusiasm and dedication of our organizers, general staff, repairers, and visitors.

People are saving, rather than tossing, items that need repair.

On April 27, our sixth full Repair Café welcomed 140 visitors to Newburyport, with over 275 items to be repaired. Everyone had been eagerly awaiting its return after a four-year hiatus. Here are snippets of what folks had to say:

VISITORS

“This was my first Café experience and I'm still astonished by the stunning repair the two masters did—in two shakes of a lamb's tail —of my original and irreplaceable Osterizer Blender.”

“So easy and free. Keeps stuff out of landfills.”

“Awesome array of services, so organized/friendly.”

“Love this event.”

“I love the joy from those who love to restore items along with the hope of those who may get their item restored.”

REPAIRERS

“As always it is such a great event, meeting so many people…I do find it disappointing when we must tell people that we are unable to repair, but often just us doing the diagnostics helps them make a decision to recycle, etc. The ones we do fix, the owners are so happy and thankful, and that makes it so worthwhile.”

“I really enjoyed my first Repair Café.  Everyone on the team was so welcoming I felt right at home. I’ve always enjoyed fixing things and our ‘customers’ were so grateful for anything we could do. I can’t wait for the next one.”

“This year I had the honor of repairing a hole of a "fits-just-right" dark blue sweater. It once belonged to Merle and now his daughter lovingly wears it and tends to it; the sweater wraps his daughter in his love. A great big Teddy Bear was triaged in the sewing department, three people working to staunch the flow of stuffing, give him a new nose, and patch his numerous holes so that a young one could have his friend back.”

“While I mend people’s treasures at the Repair Café, I get to listen to their stories. Recently, a woman unwrapped her decorative plates and told me she bought them on her honeymoon. Her son accidentally broke them years ago, so she put them in boxes where they stayed for decades. She recently found them and is sure they’ll make the perfect wedding gift for her son. I repair the plates, and she leaves beaming. I’m glad Repair Café provides a place to lend a listening ear. Every conversation is a reminder of how much we all have in common.”

Start saving your items for the September 28, 2024 Café!

Contact the Repair Café Newburyport organizers at repaircafenbpt@gmail.com with questions or to share your repairing expertise.

ACES and its Youth Corps invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Subscribe to Updates” link on this page. Consider joining our community of stewards who are committed to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting acesnewburyport@gmail.com. We can make a big difference together.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on June 7, 2024.

Editor’s note: This is one in a continuing series of educational columns about fostering environmental stewardship and leadership coordinated by ACES — the Alliance of Climate and Environmental Stewards.

by Ron Martino

June 5 is designated by the United Nations as World Environment Day (WED). It is a day to encourage people to take action to protect the environment. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) leads the day, which has been celebrated since 1973. WED is supported by many non-governmental organizations, businesses, and government entities. Some ways to participate in the spirit of WED include restoring land to optimal use, using water wisely, and buying sustainable products.

June 8 is World Ocean Day which helps unite and rally the world to protect and restore our blue planet. It supports collaborative conservation, working with its global network of youth leaders and 2,000+ organizations in 150+ countries, and providing free and customizable promotional and actionable resources.
 
In support of ACES' goal of thinking globally while working locally to address climate and environmental challenges, we are pleased to share some of the tips provided to us by the UN for living more sustainably with a focus today on reducing plastics in our rivers, oceans, beaches, and in our lives. They are nothing difficult or costly to anyone. It’s just a matter of getting these ideas in motion and they will start to become good habits. The health of our planet depends upon more good habits to protect our resources. So here they are:
 
Create a Clean a Beach Day: if you live near a coastline as most of us do, join beach clean-ups in your area. Or take your family along on a beach walk and start your own clean-up. To find local events and volunteer opportunities, check out the Environmental Calendar under the EVENTS tab, located on this website.

Clean a River: Rivers are direct pathways of plastic debris into the ocean. Join a river clean-up or do your own! The river will look clean and benefit its ecosystem and the ocean. 

Shop Sustainably: Next time you are out shopping, choose food with no plastic packaging, carry a reusable bag, buy local products, and refill containers to reduce your plastic waste and positively affect the environment.

Try a Zero-Waste Lifestyle: Become a zero-waste champion. Invest in sustainable ocean-friendly products, reusable coffee mugs, water bottles, and food wraps. Consider options like bamboo toothbrushes and shampoo bars. These will help you save money and the ocean too. 

Travel Sustainably: When you are on holiday, try to limit your single-use plastic intake. Refuse miniature bottles in hotel rooms; carry a reusable drinking bottle. And use reef-safe sunscreen to avoid microplastics.

Advocate for Change: Ask your local supermarkets, restaurants, and local suppliers to ditch plastic packaging. Refuse plastic cutlery and straws, and tell them why. Work with your local authorities to improve how they manage waste.

Dress Sustainably: The fashion industry produces 20 per cent of global wastewater and 10 percent of global carbon emissions. That’s more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. “Fast fashion” is so last year. Consider sustainable clothing lines, vintage shops and repair your clothes when possible. Buying locally is also part of sustainably dressing.

Choose plastic-free personal care products: Personal care products are a major source of microplastics, which get washed into the oceans straight from our bathrooms. Look for plastic-free face wash, day cream, makeup, deodorant, shampoo, and other products.
 
ACES realizes so much plastic is designed into our everyday lives that shifting towards a plastic free future will be a journey. So, let’s put one foot in front of the other and begin to reduce plastics in our lives.

For more information about UN World Environment Day is the link:

[https://www.worldenvironmentday.global/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwgdayBhBQEiwAXhMxthtQDxdty__4AUd4Rq7SjbXP_vyqyYYxJDricPOqDfGfKFV44HFkmhoCfRkQAvD_BwE].

Ron Martino is an ACES Advisor/Mentor who is passionate about reducing plastic pollution. He can be reached at ronmartino.aces@gmail.com. ACES and its Youth Corps invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Subscribe to Updates” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards committed to Making Every Day Earth Day by contacting acesnewburyport@gmail.com. We can make a big difference together.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on May 31, 2024.

This is one in a continuing series of educational columns about fostering environmental stewardship and leadership coordinated by ACES — the Alliance of Climate and Environmental Stewards.

by Madelyn Kaplin

If you were to travel back in time 200 years, you would probably notice quite a few differences compared with our modern world. Sure, there would be no cars on the roads, and the people walking on the street would dress and speak rather peculiarly- but look up: the night sky you would see is vastly different from the one you see today.

The reason? Light pollution.

The advent of the electric light bulb in the 19th century revolutionized the way people were able to live, travel, and work. But the ability to artificially light our world at night has had unintended consequences on our health, our perception of the world around us, and the ecosystems we depend on.That view of the night sky from 200 years ago would have been unobscured- truly dark and bursting with stars on a clear night.

Today, 80% of the world’s population lives under light polluted skies, unable to see the Milky Way.

Over the past decade the night sky has grown brighter by nearly 10% annually. Light pollution- the human alteration of outdoor light levels from those occurring naturally- obscures our view of the universe. We rarely think of light as a ‘pollutant’ in the same way we consider plastic or carbon dioxide- but when lighting is used in excess, and light ends up in places where it is not needed or intended, it, too, can become an environmental pollutant with negative effects.

Exposure to high levels of artificial light at night suppresses melatonin production and disrupts our natural circadian rhythm, increasing our risk for a host of negative health outcomes such as sleep disorders, depression, diabetes, and heart disease. Outdoor lighting that shines when or where it is not needed also wastes energy and money- nearly $3.3 billion annually, according to some estimates.

Humans are not the only ones affected. Every species alive today has evolved with the daily cycle of light and dark. Light pollution prevents fireflies from finding each other to mate, reduces the efficiency of nighttime pollinators like moths and bats, and can even impact when trees bud out and drop their leaves.

Every spring, 3.5 billion birds return to the U.S. from wintering grounds in Central and South America to make nests, lay eggs, and raise their chicks.

80% of migratory species are nocturnal migrants, taking flight at night to avoid predators and stay cool.

These birds cross vast distances (anywhere from a few hundred to many thousands of miles) and use the position of the stars to help guide them.

Not only can a bright night sky make it harder for birds to navigate, but the glow cast upwards from cities and developed areas attracts birds in from miles away, luring them off their course and into dangerous, unsuitable habitat. Disoriented, they may become entrapped, circling lighting sources until they become exhausted, depleting themselves of the energy they need to migrate. Collisions with buildings are perhaps the biggest risk- more than 500 million birds die from flying into buildings every year.

Light doesn’t endure the way plastic or other pollutants do.

If we change how we choose to light our outdoor spaces, we can quickly undo some of the harm caused by light pollution.

Now, as spring migration reaches its peak, is the perfect time to act. Turning off outdoor lights at night, especially between 10pm-6am, using automatic light controls such as timers, dimmers, or motion sensors, switching to warmer color lights (3000 or less on the Kelvin scale), and using down-shielded outdoor lights that prevent light from escaping upward are excellent steps toward helping protect a dark night sky for both wildlife and people.

Madelyn Kaplin is a member of Biology and Visitor Services teams at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. She can be reached at madelyn_kaplin@fws.gov.

ACES and its Youth Corps invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Subscribe to Updates” link on  Please consider joining our community of stewards committed to Mak Every Day Earth Day by contacting acesnewburyport@gmail.com We can make a big difference together.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on May 24, 2024.

Editor’s note: This is one in a continuing series of educational columns about fostering environmental stewardship and leadership coordinated by ACES — the Alliance of Climate and Environmental Stewards.

by C. Peter Erickson

Year upon year, during nine months of cold and chill, the ocean delivers all manner of flotsam to our sandy shores here on Plum Island. With the coming of summer, folks arrive to take in the sun, sea and sand, and just to come out and play. Finally, winter in New England has ended! Storm tides of winter, now just a memory, remain traced by the bathtub ring of sea hay, driftwood and seaweed, all along the so-called “wrack line” high on the beach.

It is understandable that for many, all this debris on the beach is something of an annoyance. But for migrating shorebirds, the table is set. While sandpipers, sanderlings, and willets skitter along the shore break, our special guests, the piping plovers, nest among the high beach wrack line, venturing to water’s edge early and late in the day. All manner of shorebirds feast upon minute crustaceans spawned in the wrack line and in the sands between grassy dunes and ocean surge. Given the threatened status of piping plovers, our “Plover Wardens” have been authorized to string off sections of the beach to protect them from foot traffic by human visitors. This safe space attracts nesting terns as well, spearing inch long sand eels from the briny deep then returning to nest among their neighboring plovers, while offering air cover to them in return. These diminutive terns have been seen driving off a gang of crows on the hunt for plover chicks. They’ll shoo away dogs and poop on your hat if you don’t keep moving past their nesting. Ya’ gotta love the aerobatics and the sheer courage of nesting terns.

Meanwhile, all along the wrack line gusty spring winds and summer shore breezes have been blowing sand up to the toe of the dunes. Drifting sand that has become captured here will bury most of that messy looking debris, while raising the surface of the beach and building up the face of storm-torn dunes. Already, this season’s windrow of sea hay is mostly covered. Beneath the surface, this organic material has begun to decompose, adding nutrients to otherwise sterile silt and sand. Dune grass and beach plants are beginning to emerge. There remains ample space for foot traffic, beach blankets, and ball games closer to the water’s edge. Well suited to salty and sandy wind scoured environments, dune vegetation cannot tolerate even a modest number of footsteps. Allowed to fill in naturally, these plants will continue to gather drifting sand, helping to propagate future generations of vegetation. And so the dune building cycles will continue for as long as we let nature run its course, uninterrupted by foot traffic and beach sweeping.

I have heard the word “synergy” defined as when: "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts”. As true as this may be, I prefer Buckminster Fuller’s definition: “The whole is unpredictable from the sum of its parts”. Who could guess that the small but mighty shorebirds, and their dependence upon the wrack line, would be essential factors towards building our protective sand dunes. First comes the wrack line, attracting nesting shorebirds. In the absence of foot traffic, air cover arrives courtesy of nesting terns. Soon to follow, as summer follows spring, are native beach grasses that further build and stabilize the face of protective sand dunes, thereby sheltering the beachfront homes behind them. If next winter’s storms take another bite out of the face of the dunes, then the process will begin all over again, just so long as we humans let it be. It’s all connected. With just a little help and understanding from we human visitors, when left to nature, dunes will build dunes. Who knew?

C. Peter Erickson, a resident of Plum Island with a strong interest in what happens in the natural world around us, can be contacted at cperickson48@gmail.com‍

ACES and its Youth Corps invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Subscribe to Updates” link on ACES’ website – https://www.aces-alliance.org/. Please consider joining our community of stewards committed to Making Every Day Earth Day by contacting acesnewburyport@gmail.com. We can make a big difference together.

This column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on May 17, 2024.