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Quote of the Week
"A film that will leave you dreaming about what it would be like to step off the edge of the world and discover you could fly."
--John Pancake, Washington Post , on Jacques Perrin's Winged Migration
Conservation Calendar
Island Grown Storytime
Thursday, May 14, 10:30 to 11:00 am, West Tisbury
Storytime at the West Tisbury Library features a seafood, the May
Harvest of the Month from Island Grown Schools. Free and open to all
ages, more at WT Library or (508) 693-3366
Felix Neck for Little Ones
Thursday, May 14, 10:30 to 11:30 am, Edgartown.
This spring, Felix Neck's "Nursery School Naturalists" is every other
Thursday. Watch spring unfold and welcome the warmer weather through
stories, crafts, walks, live animal presentations, and more. $9 ($6 for
members), ages 3-5 accompanied by parent, registration required. More at
website or (508) 627-4850.
Volunteers Needed for Sandplain Grassland Restoration
Friday, May 15, 1:00 to 4:30 pm, Katama.
This Friday, The Nature Conservancy plans to spread native wildflower
and grass seeds over six acres of their Bamford Preserve in Katama, so
they need lots of help! Stay for the whole afternoon or just one hour;
the work involves a lot of walking and can be tiring. Contact Liz Loucks
at TNC for more information, (508) 693-6287 or via email.
Mytoi Spring Planting and Garden Clean-up
Saturday, May 16, 9:00 am to noon,
Chappaquiddick
Celebrate Spring by helping care for Mytoi Garden.
Spend the morning with The Trustees of Reservations at the Island’s
only public Japanese-style garden. Bring your own work gloves, rakes,
and shovels. For more info, call (508) 693-7662 or email.
Electronics Disposal Day
Saturday, May 16, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, Oak Bluffs.
Many electronic devices and appliances contain toxic chemicals that can
be harmful if not disposed of properly, not to mention that getting rid
of them at the dump is expensive! Free yourself of burdensome junk at MV
Community Services, across the street from the high school. Fees range
from $2 - $30 and benefit MVCS. Complete price list and general info here, or call (508) 693-7900 ext. 267.
Wee Farmers
Saturdays, May 16 and 23, 9:30 to 11:00 am, Katama.
Visit the animals and help plant the Friendship Garden at the FARM
Institute. For ages 2-5, must be accompanied by adult. $15 per session.
For more info, see website, call (508) 627-7007, or email.
Polly Hill Volunteer Info Session
Thursday, May 21, 10:00 am to noon, West Tisbury.
Join PHA staff for an introduction to the many ways you can become
involved at the Arboretum. Participants will tour the plant collections,
review Arboretum history, and learn what goes on behind the scenes. More at website. Free, but please call (508) 693-9426 to register.
Beach Tracking
Saturday, May 23, 9:00 to 10:00 am, State Beach.
Walk the beach with a Felix Neck shorebird biologist to record field
data, search for birds and nests, and identify bird and mammal tracks in
the sand. Meet at the State Beach access trail on the Oak Bluffs side
of Big Bridge. All ages, free, for more info call (508) 627-4850.
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Monday, May 11, 2015
Local News
Nature as Inspiration:
The Films of Jacques Perrin
Full color filming in complete darkness - a new opportunity to document the hidden world of animal behavior. (Still image from Une Nuit sur Terre/A Night on Earth)
In collaboration with the MV Film Society, this Memorial Day weekend VCS is bringing French filmmaker and actor Jacques Perrin to the Island for an environmental film festival showcasing his spectacular nature films. The festival, titled “Nature as Inspiration,” will be held at the MV Film Center, located in Tisbury Marketplace on Beach Road.
Five of Perrin’s more recent nature films will be screened across four
days, from May 21 to 24. A highlight of the weekend will be Saturday
night’s North American premiere of A Night on Earth. The film
features the first use of new technology allowing full-color filming in
the dark, a cinematographic breakthrough for the ability to capture
truly natural animal behavior in the middle of the night. Advance rushes
from The Seasons, Perrin’s new film premiering fall 2015, will
also be previewed and discussed after the showing. Other Nature as
Inspiration showings include Oceans, Winged Migration, Microcosmos, and Himalaya. As an appetizer for the spectacular nature films, on May 20 there will be a screening of the Academy Award-winning classic Cinema Paradiso, in which Perrin stars.
The festival will include panel discussions with Jacques Perrin, local
environmentalists and artists, live music, and other special guests.
There will be an opening night reception in the Film Center lobby on May
21 and a special champagne reception Saturday evening (the 23rd). For tickets and more information please see the Film Society's website, or contact them via email or at (508) 696-9369. The festival is made possible by a grant from The Richard Lounsbery Foundation.
The Art of Conservation
Contest Ends Thursday!
Thanks to VCS Board member Joan Malkin for contributing to this piece (Photo by Chris Baer)
Last week, a small group of students pushed
off onto Chilmark Pond loaded down with bags of camera gear. Paddling in
search of the perfect contest entry, they collected photos of the pond,
the ocean, wildlife, and the nearby cliffs of Lucy Vincent Beach.
Time is running out! All submissions for the second annual Art of Conservation contest are due this Thursday, May 14. Make sure to register today, and good luck! Read more about the contest is the previous Almanac, or view the poster.
Help VCS Spread the Word About Lawn Fertilizer
Our brand new brochure
outlining how to comply with the Vineyard's new fertilizer regulations
is in stock at the VCS office. While we are hard at work distributing
them to stores and other public places, we want to get this info out to
more people than we can possibly reach by ourselves. So we need your
help!
Are you a member of a homeowners' association? Please consider taking a
stack of brochures to your next meeting and maybe even saying a few
words about how your neighborhood can help improve water quality on our
Island. (Of course, you don't have to be in a HA to share the word with
your neighbors!) For those who work in a town office, library, or public
business, you can help out by simply putting out a stack for your
visitors.
If you'd like to help, please contact us at the VCS office, (508) 693-9588 or via email. Thank you!
Free Recycling for Boat Shrink Wrap
Attention boaters and boatyard owners/workers: Shrink
wrap recycling is currently available in Vineyard Haven near the Tisbury
Wharf. Look for the dumpster with the VCS sign on it across from the MV
Shipyard. When the dumpster is full, Bruno's will haul it away and VCS
will pick up the tab. It really is that easy to help us protect our
Island's environment!
Thank you to all the volunteers, organizers, boatyards, haulers, and
individual boaters who have supported this program over the years. By
now, you have helped keep many tons of plastic waste out of our landfills, incinerators, and oceans.
That's a lot of plastic! See the process, and the product baled for transport. Thanks to Tomar Waldman for photos and her outstanding work on this program. |
