Sustainable South Coast

Wing’s Court is a lovely, tucked in space that has the potential to bring solace and community to citizens who are in the downtown. We feel it could do this better if it were more GREEN. On Saturday, May 3, a meeting will be held in the Bristol Building Foyer at 10 a.m. to take a look at a proposal to make Wing’s Court a Downtown Green with spaces designed for public gardening, for learning about permaculture and for seeing how rain gardens and rain barrels (and other sustainable practices) work. This is a project/grant looking for everyone’s vision of what a real green, heart of downtown would be like. Please feel free to email your thoughts to nbcentroid.com if you are unable to attend and would like to comment.

April 23, Van Jones and Richard Heinberg will speak at White’s of Westport for a breakfast talk on peak oil and green jobs. 7:45 a.m.-9:30 a.m. $25 students $35 adults
Van Jones will later speak at the New Bedford Public Library, time TBA

Volunteers needed to assist with our 1 1/2 acre vegetable garden. Volunteers can be one-time visitors or repeat contributors, no gardening experience necessary, just an interest in working outside, in the garden, to help our neighbors. We also work with volunteer groups, including schools and youth programs. All of the food grown on the farm is donated to hunger relief agencies on the Southcoast through our partnership with the United Way and the Hunger Commission.
Contact: Derek Christianson, Dartmouth YMCA, 276 Gulf Road, Dartmouth, MA 02747
508-993-3361, dchristianson@ymcasouthcoast.org

“Peak oil” expert and author Richard Heinberg will be appearing locally.

April 22, Tuesday, 12:00 noon, Richard Heinberg will speak at
Bristol Community College, H Building, 777 Elsbree St., Fall River. His
lecture title is, “Cheap Oil - Going, Going, GONE!”

April 22, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m., Richard Heinberg will lead a discussion on
peak oil at UMass Dartmouth in the Library Browsing Area.

Sustainable SouthCoast
Organizational and general networking meeting
Discuss programs, check in, envision activities for the year
Wednesday, April 9, at Bristol Building, corner of 752 Purchase St.
(Purchase and Union Streets), New Bedford.
Steering Committee meets 6:30, general meeting at 7:00, end at 8:30.
We will continue to discuss programs, including joint programming for
Sustainable SouthCoast and the New Bedford environmental collaborative.

Environment Coffee
Check-in of environmental interests
Wednesday, April 9, 7:30 AM, Room 314, City Hall
Share resources, news, etc. Discuss and sign up for the New Bedford
environmental collaborative.

Tuesday, April 8 6:30 – 8 PM: Free film showing: King Corn
An amusing exploration of the culture of America’s largest crop
Web site: www.kingcorn.net
New Bedford Whaling Museum, 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA 02740

Sustainable Design and Permaculture
A Free Introductory Talk for Earth Day 2008!
Friday, April 18 • 6:30 to 8 pm with discussion afterward
752 Purchase Street, Bristol Building Hall next to the Green Bean Café, New Bedford
Get a jump on the growing season and hear an overview of ways to garden/farm and landscape your land fruitfully and sustainably! Hear about spiral gardens, rain collection, city gardens, gardening abundantly with little water (and little effort!), and gardening with perennials. Hear about design principles and systems you can easily apply to your home, farm, workplace, and community to help you live well in the city or the country.
Read the rest of this entry »

A letter from Sustainable SouthCoast member Dave Gould
to Senators Patricia Jehlen and Mark Montigny

I read with interest as the local landlord association squirmed via email over your proposed legislation regarding lead. I too own a three-family and lead fortunately has not been a problem with our property. We replaced the windows years ago and the previous owners were heavy users of wall paper. There is no old paint between the wallpaper and the old horsehair plaster. I can’t say if the old plaster is lead contaminated, but I doubt it. I am relying on the fact that the local health board would have made an issue by now if it was; considering the age of New Bedford’s housing stock.
Read the rest of this entry »

It’s still frosty, however locally grown food was found on a recent visit to Eva Sommaripa at Eva’s Garden in South Dartmouth. Eva filled a bag with potatoes and beets stored during the winter in underground barrels,
and then some cuttings of rosemary, wild cress, arugula, miners lettuce, and turnip greens growing in her greenhouse. She also provided venison given to her by bow hunters who hunt on her farm in the winter.

“>An article about Freecycle, the recycling network, is in today’s Standard-Times
Among Sustainable SouthCoasters, we have our own organic freecycling: one member just gave his old car to another member whose son knows just how to fix it. One whole car diverted from the junkyard!
Now, can he afford to drive it? “>Panic at the Pumps

From Eva Sommaripa: It’s the photo-based art of Chris Jordan, who portrays the enormity of U.S. waste stream in his work. [click here]