Visit our Website
Support Vineyard Conservation
Find us on Facebook 
Quote of the Week
“ You’ve never seen images like this before… It deserves to be seen and felt on the big screen.”
- Robert Redford, on the film Chasing Ice
Conservation Calendar
Native Plant Nursery Volunteer Workday
Saturday, April 6, 10:00 am to noon, Lambert's Cove Rd, WT.
The Nature Conservancy seeks 5-10 volunteers to help remove last year’s
old stems and debris from perennial plant beds in their Native Plant
Nursery. The work is not strenuous, but requires repeated kneeling and
standing. There will also be work planting trays with native seed that
will be grown for TNC’s Vineyard Habitat Network. Snacks and beverages will be provided. Please RSVP to Liz Loucks via email or call 508 693-6287 ext. 15.
Electronics Disposal Day
Saturday, April 6, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, M.V. Community Services (across from the High School).
Bring your old and tired computers, monitors, televisions, printers,
notebooks, copiers, scanners, air conditioners, stereo equipment,
dehumidifiers, cell phones, microwaves, fax machines, all refrigerators,
washers, dryers and ranges. Fees range between $1 and $30. No charge
for mice and keyboards. For more info, call 508 693-7900 ext. 229.
Book Drive
Saturday, April 6, 12:30 - 2:30 pm, at the Oak Bluffs Public Library.
Drop off your gently used books (all ages, all categories) at the second
annual book drive sponsored by the Library Friends of Oak Bluffs. Also
looking for DVDs, CDs and Audio Books on CD, as well as recent textbooks
(last 3 years only). For more info, call the library at 508 693-9433.
Land Bank Walk
Sunday, April 7, 1:00 to 3:00 pm, Aquinnah.
Land Bank staff lead a guided walk at Toad Rock Preserve in Aquinnah.
Rain or shine, dress for the weather and wear sturdy shoes or boots. For
directions and more information call 508 627-7141; see website for property description.
Spring Walk at Felix Neck
Tuesday, April 9, 10:00 to 11:00 am, Edgartown.
Join Felix Neck staff for a guided walk on the Sanctuary to witness all
of spring's offerings. $5, free for Mass Audubon members. See website of call 508 627-4850 for details.
Wee Farmers
Saturdays (April 6 and 13), 9:30 to 11:00 am, at the FARM Institute, Katama.
TFI welcomes 2-5 year olds to the farm for a morning of discovery. Pet a
fiber goat, feed the chickens and help harvest fall veggies. Wee
Farmers must be accompanied by a parent or caregiver. $15 per session.
For more info, or to pre-register, call 508 627-7007
Wild Families at Sassafras
Sunday, April 7, 1:00 - 3:30 pm, Aquinnah.
Games, story time and nature activities for the whole family at
Sassafras Earth Education in Aquinnah. $25. For more information on this
and other programs, see website or call 508 645-2008.
Help Our Ponds
50 Gallons at a Time
With Earth Day approaching, the Lagoon Pond Association is putting a
final push on their rain barrel program. LPA has secured a special price
of $75 for the "Ivy" rain barrel and arranged for a convenient pickup
and demonstration session at SBS on Earth Day, April 20, from 10 - 2.
For more information on the benefits of collecting rainwater, and
details on ordering and pickup, see their new flyer.
In Season Recipe
Easy Leftover Lamb Souvlaki
Continuing last week’s theme of holiday leftovers, here’s a flavorful
way to refresh a leftover lamb roast. This stir-fry method will of
course work with other leftover meats, or sliced chicken breast. These
proportions are for about a pound of meat.
Thinly slice leftover lamb and a medium onion (if desired) and place in a
Ziplock bag with 2 diced cloves of garlic, oregano and rosemary (½
teaspoon each if dried, 1 tbsp if fresh) and enough olive oil to cover.
Saute the meat slices and onion in a few tbsp of the oil/marinade until
heated through. Serve it up on pita with sliced tomatoes and this simple
tzatziki-like cucumber sauce:
Cucumber sauce:
-
1 cup Mermaid Farm yogurt
-
1 cucumber, seeded and grated
-
1 Tbsp olive oil
-
1 Tbsp lemon juice
-
1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill or mint
-
1 crushed garlic clove
-
salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients together well, or use a food processor if available (which can also help with shredding the cucumber).
|
Monday, April 1, 2013
Local News
Good News from Flat Point
The new 12.9 acre parcel at
Flat Point (area between the black line and Short Cove), now in process
of being conserved (click to enlarge)
Congratulations are in order this week following the West Tisbury
Selectmen’s assignment to the Land Bank of the town’s right to purchase
12.9 acres of the iconic Flat Point. Until recently, the odds of a
favorable conservation outcome appeared slim. When initially approached
last December, the Land Bank made it clear that it did not have the
money to purchase the land. In response, the landowners – the Fischer
family – wrote an open letter
to the community urging conservation groups “to pursue protecting Flat
Point in its entirety,” and to “please contact the Vineyard Conservation
Society…to voice your opinion.”
In its familiar facilitation role, VCS joined with partners to try its
best. The idea of finding one or more donors willing to extend a
long-term loan to the Land Bank was favorably received, and revived hope
for a Land Bank role. There were a few false starts, but after the
critical intercession on the part of one Flat Point neighbor, VCS board
member Sam Look, to another, Stephen Rattner, prospects brightened.
Steve then initiated what proved to be fruitful discussions with the
Land Bank.
The Land Bank now has 90 days to complete the transaction, but as of now
the result looks tremendously hopeful! Thanks to the Land Bank and to
the many partners who helped make this happen.
The 21st Annual Earth Day Beach Clean-Up
Penny Uhlendorf and Dave Nash serve up pizza from MV Flatbread Co. at last year's after-party. For more photos, click over to the VCS website.
Earth Day is every day, and where better to celebrate it than on a Vineyard beach? The 21 st
Annual Vineyard Conservation Society Earth Day Beach Clean-up will take
place on Saturday, April 20th, from 10 am to noon. Please join us at
your favorite Vineyard beach for a morning of fun and environmental
service.
This year the after-party will be graciously hosted by the Harbor View
Hotel, where you can enjoy delicious food and compare treasure hunting
stories with other beach cleaners. While supplies last, kids will
receive a free special edition T-shirt by ShirtsbyTed, created using
custom artwork drawn by Jules Feiffer. Participants will also be entered
in a raffle to take home Oceans, a beautiful book/DVD/Blu-ray set by Jacques Perrin.
For over twenty years VCS has sponsored this initiative to increase
local support for Earth Day and, more broadly, to encourage a greater
appreciation and respect for the natural beauty of our Island
year-round. Together, we can take responsibility for our Island’s
beaches, one of our most precious resources.
Chasing Ice: Green on Screen Presentation Brings the Arctic to the Vineyard
Icebergs from the Jakobshavn Glacier, Greenland. (Photo by James Balog)
Join VCS this Saturday at 4:00 pm for our next Green on Screen presentation: Chasing Ice,
the critically-acclaimed documentary exploration of Arctic sea ice and
the major changes underway in this beautiful, if imposing, environment.
From the plot synopsis --
In the spring of 2005, acclaimed
environmental photographer James Balog headed to the Arctic on a tricky
assignment for National Geographic: to capture images to help tell the
story of the Earth’s changing climate. . . . Chasing Ice is the story of
one man’s mission to change the tide of history by gathering undeniable
evidence of our changing planet. . . . With a band of young adventurers
in tow, Balog began deploying revolutionary time-lapse cameras across
the brutal Arctic to capture a multi-year record of the world’s changing
glaciers.
The screening will be at the M.V. Film Society’s new Film Center,
located at Tisbury Marketplace. Stick around afterward for an inclusive
and interactive discussion of the film, melting ice and sea-level rise,
and climate change issues in general.
Other News
Yet Another Idea for Carbon-Free Electricity:
Tall Tale, or the Height of Innovation?
The basic principle of a downdraft energy tower.
Solar Wind Energy, Inc., a clean energy developer, has proposed an
ambitious project: the construction of two gargantuan "downdraft towers"
in Arizona near the Mexican border. The skyscraper-sized cylinders (at
2,250 ft in height, they would stand below only the Burj Khalifa
in Dubai) would -- as with a windmill -- generate electricity through
the force of spinning turbines. Instead of wind, however, the rapid
movement of air is a product of the pressure differential between the
top and bottom of the structure. Read more about the project at Forbes; see Wikipedia for more on the technology itself. |
