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| This week in conservation May 19-25, 2008 |
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| Calendar | ||||||||
| Paddle By Moonlight | ||||||||
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| Baltimore Oriole Walk with Rob Culbert | ||||||||
| Tues, May 20, Baltimore Oriole Walk with Rob Culbert, Felix Neck Sanctuary 5:30 PM Learn about Mass Audubon's Oriole Project across the state and look for these beautiful orange birds while walking the sanctuary grounds. Free, Call (508) 627-4850 with questions. | ||||||||
| Rock Gardens Talk | ||||||||
 Tues, May 20, Rock Gardens Talk at 1 p.m. at the Wakeman Center off Lambert's Cove Road in Vineyard Haven with Tom Clark, collections and grounds manager at Polly Hill Arboretum. Free for members of Martha's Vineyard Garden Club, $5 for nonmembers. For details, call 508-693-5334. |
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| Fisheries Lecture | ||||||||
 Wed, May 21, Fisheries Lecture, 5:30 p.m. at Chilmark Public Library. Topic: The State of the Massachusetts Fishing Industry from a Regulatory Authority and Policy Making Perspective, with Paul Diodati, state division of marine fisheries director, and John Pappalardo, New England Fisheries Development Council Chair and Mass Marine Fishery Advisory commission member. Free For details, call 508-645-3360. |
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| Butterfly Garden Cleanup work day | ||||||||
 Fri, May 23, Butterfly Garden Cleanup work day from 10 a.m. to noon at Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Edgartown. Volunteers welcome every Friday. |
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| Alpaca Farm Open House: CANCELED | ||||||||
| Sat, May 24, Alpaca Farm Open House: CANCELED. | ||||||||
| Plant Sale | ||||||||
 Sat, May 24, Plant Sale 10 am-2 pm, M.V. Garden Club, Old Mill, West Tisbury. Open house, refreshments. Also May 25. 508-693-5334. |
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| Versatile Viburnums | ||||||||
| Sat, May 24, Versatile Viburnums, Polly Hill Arboretum, 10am – noon Join PHA executive director Tim Boland for an exploration of the beauty, diversity, and value of viburnums. From our native Island species to many garden worthy selections found within the collections of the PHA, this group of versatile flowering shrubs offers many opportunities for garden use. Join Tim for a lecture followed by a tour of the flowering collections, which should be at peak bloom. The new book, Viburnums: Flowering Shrubs for Every Season, by woody-plant guru Mike Dirr will be available for purchase. $24/$20 for PHA members. |
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| Alpaca Farm Open House | ||||||||
 Sun, May 25, Alpaca Farm Open House: 1 am-6 pm, Island Alpaca Company, 1 Head of the Pond Rd., Oak Bluffs. Meet the new baby alpaca! Felted Slipper Class. 11 am to 4 pm, Knit warm Alpaca slippers and shrink or full them to fit your feet. For the advanced beginner. $45 plus supplies. Refreshments; $5 suggested donation. Also Monday. 508-693-5554. |
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| Save The Date | ||||||||
| Kick the Habit: Chemical Free Lawns | ||||||||
 ORGANIC LAWN CARE PROGRAM May 31st, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. THE POLLY HILL ARBORETUM AND THE VINEYARD CONSERVATION SOCIETY WELCOME: PAUL TUKEY, founder of SafeLawns. org, an international coalition promoting environmental- ly friendly lawn care, for a lively discussion on organic lawns. Perfect lawns are often treated with an arsenal of chemicals, but at what expense? Yours, your children’s, our environment’s? Based on his best-selling book, The Organic Lawn Care Manual, Paul will offer great infor- mation on how you can kick the chemical habit and turn your lawn into an ecosystem teeming with life. Tukey, publisher of People, Places, & Plants magazine, is on a national campaign to educate consumers about natural alternatives, including organic fertilizers, weed killers, biologi- cal pest controls, water conservation and environmentally friendly turf grass. $10.00 donation suggested Call 508-693-9426 for more information. |
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| Innovative and Alternative Onsite Septic Systems and the Nitrex Permeable Reactive Barrier | ||||||||
| Thurs, June 12, Innovative and Alternative Onsite Septic Systems and the Nitrex Permeable Reactive Barrier, Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, 9:00 - 12:30 This workshop will examine the viability of innovative and alternative onsite septic systems (I/As) for meeting TMDL limits for nitrogen on Cape Cod. Presentations will address how these systems function and perform as well as maintenance and management issues. Wastewater experts and engineering consultants will share perspectives on both the advantages and disadvantages of these systems and where and how they are most appropriately used. In addition, the session will feature a presentation on the Nitrex groundwater treatment system and examine its effectiveness for reducing nitrogen loading in coastal areas. Research on this system has been ongoing at the Waquoit Bay Reserve. There is no cost to attend the workshop but registration is required. To register please contact: Tonna-Marie Rogers at 508-457-0495 ext. 110 or Laurie Tompkins ext. 108. | ||||||||
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| Employment Opportunity | ||||||||
| The Vineyard Energy Project | ||||||||
 The Vineyard Energy Project which promotes energy efficiency and renewable energy on Martha’s Vineyard is seeking an Executive Director. The ED will represent the organization, collaborate, develop and implement policy, manage a small staff and develop a long term funding strategy to broaden the use of progressive energy solutions across the island. Qualified applicants have an energy background, familiarity with current alternatives, professional writing and computer skills, and the ability to manage and lead with a broad vision. A BA/BS is required, advanced degree in business or communications desirable. For more information, go to www.vineyardenergyproject.org Interested applicants should contact ppimentel@noresco.com. |
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| Announcement | ||||||||
| Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) News |
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| Health Update | ||||||||
| Families will make case for vaccine link to autism |
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The Institute of Medicine said in 2004 there was no credible evidence to show that vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal led to autism in children. But thousands of families have a different take based on personal experience. |
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| Wildlife Update | ||||||||
| Polar Bear Is Made a Protected Species |
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| Transportation Update | ||||||||
| Nissan Plans Electric Car in U.S. by ’10 |
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| Bicycles Pedaling Into the Spotlight |
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| The world produced an estimated 130 million bicycles in 2007—more than twice the 52 million cars produced. Bicycle and car production tracked each other closely in the mid-to-late 1960s, but bike output separated sharply from that of cars in 1970, beginning its steep climb to 105 million in 1988. Following a slowdown between 1989 and 2001, bike production has regained steam, increasing in each of the last six years. Much of the recent growth has been driven by the rise in electric, or “e-bike” production, which has doubled since 2004 to 21 million units in 2007. Overall, since 1970, bicycle output has nearly quadrupled, while car production has roughly doubled. http://www.earthpolicy.org/Indicators/Bike/2008.htm |
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| Energy Update | ||||||||
| Congress Votes to Stop Stockpiling Oil |
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WASHINGTON — Groping for a quick response to rising gas prices, Congress voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to order the Bush administration to stop depositing oil in a national reserve even though lawmakers predicted the impact for consumers would be modest at best. |
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| Sustainable Update | ||||||||
| Change We Can Stomach |
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 Email Subscription InformationThe Almanac is provided as a public service by the Vineyard Conservation Society with the intent of providing quick and easy access to the Island's government process and environmental community. You are recieving this free email service because you have subscribed to the Vineyard Conservation Almanac. More information about island conservation issues, meetings and events can be viewed at http://almanac.vcsmv.org. If you do not wish to continue receiving these emails please click here to unsubscribe. Thank you for subscribing to the Almanac! |
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Have ideas for content for the Almanac? Please send them along to: |
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Fishing is the business of solving the dilemmas of catching fish, requiring great skill of both the captains and their men. 
BOSTON — The state Senate unanimously approved legislation yesterday that would open up the state's ocean sanctuaries to renewable energy projects, as long as they complied with an ocean management plan.
Thimble farm is now officially Whippoorwill Farm. Look for the new sign on the Edgartown/Vineyard Haven Rd., in Oak Bluffs. 
The polar bear, whose summertime Arctic hunting grounds have been greatly reduced by a warming climate, will be placed under the protection of the Endangered Species Act, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced on Wednesday.
DETROIT — The Nissan Motor Company plans to sell an electric car in the United States and Japan by 2010, raising the stakes in the race to develop environmentally friendly vehicles. “Plug in” technology was displayed to the news media in Tel Aviv with the Nissan-Renault electric car prototype. 
TARRYTOWN, N.Y. COOKING, like farming, for all its down-home community spirit, is essentially a solitary craft. But lately it’s feeling more like a lonely burden. Finding guilt-free food for our menus — food that’s clean, green and humane — is about as easy as securing a housing loan.