Visit our Website
Support Vineyard Conservation
Find us on Facebook
Green Tip of the Week
"Pre-cycle" by considering product packaging when shopping.
Packaging makes up 33% of our household waste, so look for products with
limited, recycled, or reusable packaging.
--From The Island Blue Pages.
Conservation Calendar
Landscape History at Polly Hill
Wednesday, July 25, 10:00 to 11:00 am, at the Polly Hill Arboretum.
Learn about the land upon which the arboretum sits: From pre-contact
Wampanoag woodlands, to a 19th century roadside inn, to its days as a
sheep farm in the 1870s, hear the story of this landscape from Karin
Stanley, PHA staff member and amateur historian. Learn about the old
buildings, stone walls, and landscape features, and view historic photos
from our past. $5/free to PHA members.
Sengekontacket Nature Program
Saturday, July 28, 9:30 to 10:30 am, Oak Bluffs.
Join a Felix Neck naturalist for a free program at Sengekontacket. For
ages 14 and under, accompained by parent. Meet at the Little Bridge, on
pond side. Sponsored by Friends of Sengekontacket. For more info, call
508-627-4850.
Shellfish Talk at Lagoon Pond Assoc. Meeting
Saturday, July 28, 10:00 am, Sailing Camp Park.
"Oyster Guru" Robert 'Skid' Rheault speaks on the role of shellfish in
water quality at the Annual Meeting of the Lagoon Pond Assoc. For more
info, call 508-693-2478.
Tank Time at Felix Neck
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 1:30 to 2:00.
Watch turtles, frogs, and salt water tank animals eat their lunch at the
Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary. Free with sanctuary admission ($4
adults, $3 kids). For more information and other programs, see Felix Neck website.
Mytoi Garden Volunteer Time
Wednesdays, 9:00 am to noon, Chappaquiddick.
Join gardening volunteers at Mytoi to help mulch, weed, prune and keep the garden looking its best. Insect spray recommended. For details, call 508-627-3599.
West Tisbury Farmer's Market
Wednesdays and Saturdays, 9:00 to noon at the Grange Hall, West Tisbury.
Fresh picked produce from local farms, flowers, delicious baked goods
and prepared foods from Island kitchens and more. For more info, see new website.
In Season Recipe
Zucchini Chips
For summertime snacks, baked zucchini chips are a surefire hit. Also,
as an alternative to the delicious but greasy zucchini fries from the
take-out shack, they're quite a bit healthier (mental health as well,
since you won't have to find parking!)
Ingredients:
-
one pound fresh local zucchini
-
1 tablespoon olive oil
-
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
-
1/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs
-
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
-
salt and fresh ground black pepper
Preparation:
-
Preheat oven to 450 F.
-
Slice the zucchini into 1/4-inch slices. A mandolin slicer is very helpful because keeping a uniform thickness is important to the cooking time.
-
Toss the zucchini with the oil in a large bowl.
-
In a small bowl, combine the Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, the garlic and cayenne powders if desired, and a pinch of salt and black pepper to taste.
-
Dip the zucchini slices into the mixture, coating evenly on both sides.
-
Place slices in a single layer on a baking sheet covered with cooking
spray (or, to make them even more crispy, on a wire rack on top of a
baking sheet).
-
Bake until crispy and brown. Watch carefully and test for done-ness, they can take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes.
|
Monday, July 23, 2012
Local News
Living Deliberately:
A Climate Change Awareness Event
Margot and Bill Moomaw outside one of the Vineyard's new energy-efficient homes.
Thanks to all who attended our climate change awareness event last week.
A well-packed Grange Hall (most of the 130 in attendance found a seat,
though a few had to settle for windowsills) was the backdrop for a
lively presentation by guest speakers William and Margot Moomaw on how
to live deliberately in the face of current and future climate change.
Drawing on not just the “deliberate” quote of Henry David Thoreau but
the general spirit of living simply, the Moomaws made the case for
taking action individually. Arguing that political change may be a long
time coming (or too late), they presented methods for people to improve
their home’s energy efficiency, the many green energy options available,
and possibilities for using tax credits to defray the costs. While many
of the specifics dealt with how technology can be used to help us live a
sustainable but modern life, the sense of “living deliberately” – that
simple choices, like whether a home really needs large windows on all
four sides – ran through their presentation.
For those who missed the presentation, read on for a link to the complete video!
Local Impacts, Local Productions
For the last several years, VCS has made climate change awareness and
education an organizational priority. However, any way you approach the
issue - the causes or the solutions; local impacts or global change; the
viewpoint of science, economics, or politics - it is truly complex,
sometimes overwhelmingly so. As part of our Summer of Climate Change
educational effort, we are excited to share two new videos that help
make sense of it all.
Climate Change at the Grange
The first video is that referenced above: a complete recording of the Moomaws' presentation
on climate change impacts and green living, including introductory
remarks by VCS Executive Director Brendan O'Neill and the many excellent
questions and comments from audience members. The talk, originally
broadcast last week on MVTV, is still airing occasionally on MVTV
channel 13 (see schedule for times).
We are very interested in reader feedback regarding this talk: What
aspects of the Moomaw's presentation did you find particularly valuable
or compelling? What was the most surprising fact or concept raised?
Alternatively, was there anything that was confusing, or that you wished
they had covered but didn't?
An Island in Conflict:
What to do about Climate Change
The second video
to share today comes from longtime VCS friend Marnie Stanton. Funded by
the Edey Foundation, Marnie's video features an extensive interview
with Islanders Chris Murphy and Liz Durkee, along with shorter excerpts
from other local opinion leaders. She touches on a variety of issues,
but really focuses in on the difficult decisions the Island faces as sea
level rise and increased erosion complicate the business of coastal
planning and managing development. Where should hard armoring of the
coast be allowed, and where should we allow beaches to grow and recede
naturally? How do we manage the competing interests of private business
and property with the public good?
Not Your Vineyard Lawn
It is quite a long journey, at least ecologically speaking, to Martha's
Vineyard from any location where the local conditions are so favorable
for growing turfgrass that exporting the Earth like rolled up carpet is a
viable business model.
Who knows what invasive species are coming along for the ride to the Vineyard's newest instant lawns . . . some turf pests,
perhaps? Or maybe the turf companies have sprayed enough insecticide to
make sure that's not a concern, and we should just be looking out for
hitchhiking seeds of invasive plants.
A more attractive, and much more environmentally sustainable alternative to the chemically fed exotic lawn is the native Vineyard Lawn.
Native grasses and wildflowers are locally adapted to our soil
conditions and look their best without the "chemical enhancement" that
wastes time and money, and more important, threatens our coastal ponds.
On top of all that, native plants support our native wildlife, a more
interesting fauna than the squirrels, robins, and Japanese Beetles that
characterize the suburban lawn ecosystem.
Other News
Hurricane vs. Nor'easter: Do You Know the difference?
Both hurricanes and nor'easters
rotate counter-clockwise. The reason the winds of nor'easters tend to
come from the north and east has more to do with the size of the storm
and the fact that the strongest winds can occur far away from the
storm's center.
Hurricane season has just begun, with Nor'easter season lined up to
pummel our shores just as the hurricanes take their leave. Did you ever
want to learn more about the meteorology of these fearsome marvels of
nature? A recent Marine Extension Bulletin,
published in cooperation between WHOI's Sea Grant Program and the Cape
Cod Cooperative Extension, lays out clearly their differences and
similarities -- definitely an interesting read! |
