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Quote of the Week
"In
the house I grew up in, (1800 square feet, one story, 3bed/2ba, four
people) my sister had to deal with my practicing the violin, and I had
to deal with my sister’s incessant horror movie binges at top volume,
and we all had to deal with my dad when he got way too into surround sound."
--"McMansion Hell" creator Kate Wagner, explaining her belief that giant houses are actively "bad for the spirit"
If you missed the VCS take on McMansions and the local issue of big houses, see the bottom of our previous Almanac.
The Art of Conservation
Between the Lines, by Kayla Oliver, one of six Special Distinctions awarded in the 2017 edition of our high school art contest. View the rest of the entries, then check out our Winners' Gallery, complete with written descriptions by the artists themselves!
Conservation Calendar
Guided Walk: Edgartown Great Pond
Wednesday, July 26, 9:00 - 11:00 am, Edg.
Join
Sheriff's Meadow Foundation for a guided hike through their King Point
and Armour Preserves on the Edgartown Great Pond. Pre-registration is
required, contact SMF for directions, (508) 693-5207 or email.
Saturdays at Sengie
Saturday, July 29 (and August 5), 9:30 - 10:30 am, Oak Bluffs.
A
Felix Neck program that explores a different aspect of Sengekontacket
Pond each week. From the birds above to the creatures below the water's
surface, this program includes hands-on activities for all ages. Free,
sponsored by Friends of Sengekontacket. Meet at the Little Bridge on
Beach Road, on the pond side. For more info, call (508) 627-4850 or see Felix Neck website.
Island Ecology Class: Weeds and Invasives
Thursday, Aug. 3, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm, West Tisbury.
Island ecologists Kristen Fauteux of Sheriff's Meadow and Julie Russell
of MV Land Bank lead a one-day course on identification and management
of common invasive species and yard weeds. At the Polly
Hill Arboretum, $60 for the public ($50 for PHA members, $40 for staff
of local conservation groups). Pre-registration is required, call (508)
693-9426.
The Climate Change Crisis
Sunday, Aug. 6, 6:00 - 8:00 pm, Vineyard Haven.
Enjoy local farm-to-table appetizers and seafood and hear WBUR's On Point
radio host Tom Ashbrook interview Gina McCarthy, EPA administrator for
President Obama. The interview is expected to cover climate change and
related issues. The event is at the M.V. Shipyard, tickets are $75, see WBUR website for tickets and more info.
Guiding Birding Walks
Tuesdays, 8:00 am, Chilmark. Birding walks led by Soo Whiting, carpool meets at Chilmark Community Center, $10 per person
Saturdays, 9:00 am, Oak Bluffs. Birding walks led by Robert Culbert, carpool meets at the MV Regional High School, $30 adults, $15 under 18
Bring binoculars, a hat, insect repellent, and appropriate footwear!
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Local News
Tonight: Saving Farmland for the Future
Photo by Brendan O'Neill
At
the Agricultural Hall tonight (July 24) at 7:00, President of the
American Farmland Trust John Piotti gives a talk on the current state of
farmland preservation, and the economic and demographic forces that
threaten to undermine recent gains in conservation of farmland.
Partly due to land conservation, a major revival in farming is underway
in the northeastern USA. However, not all the news is good; Mr. Piotti
will explain farming's ebbs and flows over recent decades, and how we
can work to ensure a sustainable future for our food supply while
preserving our agricultural land.
Reflecting the broad importance of agriculture to our local way of life, tonight's talk is co-sponsored by 10
organizations, including VCS. For more info on the event, and the
broader status of agricultural conservation on the Vineyard, see this
story in the Gazette.
Global Environmental Threats: How Medical Models Can Help Us Understand Them
Another exciting collaborative event will be this Wednesday (the 26th),
when VCS and the Polly Hill Arboretum bring Dr. Eric Chivian to the
Island to discuss how medical modeling can help society understand and
address global environmental threats. One example from his talk will be
tick-borne disease, such as Lyme. The talk begins at 5:30 at the
Arboretum's Far Barn, and has an admission charge of $10, or $5 for
members of VCS or PHA.
The founder and former director of Harvard Medical School’s Center for
Health and the Global Environment, Dr. Chivian has a long history of
environmental activism, co-founding the Nobel Peace Prize-winning
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, and as a
scholarly writer/editor (see below). In 2008, he was named by Time
magazine as one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World."
Today he leads a new non-profit, the Program for Preserving the Natural
World.
Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity
Photo by Art Wolf, cover image of Sustaining Life
The
eminent Harvard biology Professor Edward O. Wilson once said about
ants, “We need them to survive, but they don’t need us at all.” The
same, in fact, could be said about countless other insects, bacteria,
fungi, plankton, plants, and other organisms. This fundamental truth,
however, is largely lost to many of us. Rather, we humans often act as
if we are totally independent of Nature, as if our driving thousands of
other species to extinction and disrupting the life-giving services they
provide will have no effect on us whatsoever.
The above passage opens this scaled-down summary by Eric Chivian and Aaron Bernstein of their full 500+ page book, Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity (E.O. Wilson also wrote the foreword of the full book, which can be previewed on Amazon).
It’s a strange sort of truth, seemingly self-evident and almost obvious
– yet with relatively little impact on stemming the destruction of
biodiversity by people who ought to know better.
The “ecosystem services” perspective argues that nature provides
essential goods and services to all (albeit free of charge, which may
explain the lack of appreciation). As two prominent medical doctors,
Chivian (who is speaking here this week – see above story) and Bernstein
focus this view squarely on the effects on human health; academics such
as Wilson and the late Steve Kellert (a former VCS board member, see our interview here) broadened the idea to include their concept of biophilia.
In addition to these valuable perspectives, though, VCS would like to
encourage consideration of the perhaps radical concept that there is an
inherent value to nature, regardless of any connection or benefit to
humanity. Further, with our outsized power to alter the Earth’s
ecosystems comes a moral imperative to do right by the natural world, as
best we can understand right to be. |
