Boston GreenScene

Native Plant Fundraiser @ Mass Audubon’s Moose Hill Nature Center

LOCAL PLANTS are vital for the health of our eco-systems. Why? Partially because many insects do not eat from nor reproduce on plants that are not native. That means that the primary source of food for our birds is restricted by a decline in the insects they eat. The good news? On June 4-5, 2011 you can help raise money to support conservation and do your part to help encourage a healthy backyard eco-system.

Mass Audubon has plants that attract hummingbirds and butterflies, and plants that are almost impossible to kill!  Native plants are the environmentally sound gardening choice since they are naturally found in our area; they tolerate our New England weather conditions (occasional drought, cold winters, and seasonal rains) better than other plants that may need more care.

Join us on Saturday, June 4, and Sunday, June 5, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (while supplies last) for our eighth annual Native Plant Fundraiser.  A large variety of native wildflowers, ferns, shrubs, trees and groundcover will be available for purchase. There will be 30 to 50 individual plants for sale for most species. Most plants are only $7 each, planting and growing Information will be available for all plants. Plants for sale include: Cardinal Flower, Joe Pyeweed, Wild Bergamont, Meadowsweet, Poverty Grass, Indian Grass, Spotted Horsemint, Black-Eyed Susan, Mayapple, Columbine, Jack in the Pulpit, Wild Geranium, Solomon’s Seal, Red Trillium, Yellow Trillium, White Trillium, Bird’s Foot Violet, Purple Coneflower, Christmas Fern, Maidenhair fern, Hay-scented Fern, Lowbush BlueberryBayberry, Mountain Laurel, Witchhazel, and more. All proceeds help to sustain Moose Hill’s educational programs. Bring a tray or box to transport your plants to your car.

Moose Hill is located at 293 Moose Hill St, Sharon. Please call 781-784-5691 for any details.

Boston GreenScene Says, “LevelUp your Earth Day” and Fuel Local Business!

Beantown is FULL of eco-conscious businesses offering high-quality products that are Earth friendly and sustainable, which is why Boston Green Scene is partnering with The LevelUp, a solution from local Cambridge-based, Google-funded SCVNGR.

LevelUp your Earth Day uses discounts to encourage customer loyalty - starting with b.good, who offers REAL fast-food. Their delicious burgers, shakes and sides are made by people, not factories. It’s feel-good food, too -- b.good makes all of their food in-house and sources their all-natural ingredients from local family farms (even their sauces are homemade!) Be sure to try their amazing Sweet Potato fries!

Though a regular LevelUp encourages customers to LevelUp at one business, today, LevelUp will launch “LevelUp your Earth Day” linking three businesses with a dedication to local products and sustainability. The purpose is to celebrate Earth Day and get the word out about LevelUp and local businesses.

LevelUp reps will be at the Earth Fest concert on the Rose Kennedy Greenway April 22, 2011 from 12 to 3 to pass out recycled LevelUp Frisbees and get people excited about organizations right here in Boston that help the Earth. Hopefully this will be the first of many partnerships with LevelUp and Boston Green Scene to encourage more people to visit (and become loyal to) local Boston business!

BU Students Jumpstart Slow Food Movement

Boys and Girls Planting for Health will be held at the Boys and Girls Club of Boston's Blue Hill Club on Wednesday, April 6, 2011 starting at 9 a.m. The event, organized and run by Nature's Sustainers, a community relations class from Boston University, will be held to help Blue Hill Club build a working garden to teach its members about responsibility, healthy living, sustainability and the slow food movement.

Nature's Sustainers will build Blue Hill Club raised bed gardens and provide the Club with necessary gardening tools. The group of 10 students, four graduate and six undergraduate, will do this by finding sponsorships and partnerships as well as soliciting monetary and in-kind donations. In addition, Nature's Sustainers will bring in individuals from local organizations and businesses to talk to the staff and members of Blue Hill Club about the importance of the slow food movement and healthy living.

Once Nature's Sustainers build the gardens, a group of 10-15 Boston-based middle schoolers who will make up the Gardening Club will be responsible for tending to the gardens during the school year. During the summer, every camp program will work in the gardens.

The food produced will be used in Blue Hill Club's kitchen. The kitchen feeds about 250 kids and teens a night and the plants and vegetables will be used to supplement donations from the Greater Boston Food Bank, which provides all the food. This aspect of the slow food movement will teach the Club members how to grow their own plants and vegetables to incorporate into their daily diet.

For more information, contact Samantha Rajotte at samantha.rajotte@gmail.com or (860) 384-3615.

Blue Hill Club is a member of the Boys and Girls Club of Boston. Founded in 1995 and located in Dorchester, the Club annually serves over 1,400 youth ages 6-18 in Dorchester and Mattapan. Blue Hill Club seeks to provide every child and teen the skills and confidence to succeed.

Nature's Sustainers is a community relations student-run organization based out of Boston University’s College of Communication. With the help of local non-profits, we seek to encourage local children to learn about and participate in the slow food movement. Nature's Sustainers' mission is to encourage Boston’s children to grow fruitful gardens that will inspire them to live a healthy lifestyle and appreciate nature. 

 

Milking the corporate cow

By Ryan Parker

Ryan Parker is a former staff member of the United States House of Representatives. Currently, he runs a diversified, beyond organic, small family farm.

 A recent BDN article by Dr. Stephen Sears probably left readers wondering why it was relevant and what they should do about the deadly toxin raw milk. It might surprise the majority of Mainers that the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control have been spending lots of our tax dollars raiding small farms, sending FBI agents into stores with guns drawn, misleading consumers, shutting down family cheese artisans and issuing cease and desist orders to family farms (in Maine) that sell milk to their neighbors.

After Dr. Sears’ (Maine’s state epidemiologist) article, you’re probably breathing easy knowing these agencies are fighting such terrible threats as raw milk. Indeed, as the doctor wrote, according to the CDC, raw milk has been responsible for two deaths in the United States since 1998.

Obviously, Dr. Sears simply stated numbers from agency press releases and e-mails rather than actually looking at the Foodborne Outbreak Online Database. There, he would have found that, indeed, in the decade between 1998 and 2008, in a country now home to a population of more than 300 million, raw milk caused two deaths. What he neglected to mention regarding “public health” was that in 2007, in Massachusetts alone, there were three deaths from pasteurized milk.

How could Dr. Sears miss this information when he is so concerned about public health? Presumably, the same way he could quote an oft-stated CDC figure of 1,614 reported illnesses from raw milk. Why the CDC uses this figure is unbeknownst to the population, since its own data reveals 1,254 reported illnesses for the decade in question.

So what is going on here?

This is part of a nationwide campaign to take away your right to eat and feed your children healthy, real food. Sound like a conspiracy theory? Don’t take my word for it. Take the FDA’s. The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund recently sued the FDA because its ban on interstate sales of raw milk is unconstitutional. In the motion to dismiss, the FDA stated the following: “There is no right to consume or feed children any particular food. There is no generalized right to bodily and physical health.”

Scared? It gets worse.

Boston Local Food Festival

 

Dear local food advocates, your dream festival has arrived. 

The first annual Boston Local Food Festival is being held on the waterfront at Fort Port Channel on Saturday, October 2nd.  Billed as an event of "Healthy Local Food for All", the free festival features dozens of local restaurants, farms, breweries, wineries, and non-profits dedicated to a sustainable, healthy, and delicious Boston.  Brought to you with support from the Massachsuetts Department of Agriculture, the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Boston, and several other local organizations -- including the folks that successfully campiagned for the Boston Public Market at Fort Point Channel -- this inaugural event will undoubtedly be the first of many festivals to come. 

The event runs from 11am to 5pm and our only complaint may be that this may not be enough time to take it all in.  For more details: www.bostonlocalfoodfestival.com.  

Event: Second Annual Urban Ag Fair

The Second Annual Urban Ag Fair is coming up in Harvard Square this weekend.  It should be a great day to celebrate fresh, local food in Cambridge -- we'll see you on the 19th!

Who: You

When: September 19th, 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Where: Winthrop Park, Harvard Square, Cambridge

Contact: www.harvardsquare.com

Cost: Free

The 2010 Life Is Good Festival

So, you are still pining from the long Labor Day weekend and don't have plans for this weekend yet?  Well, right after you volunteer on Saturday for the 9/11 National Service Day (we'll be cleaning up Dorchester Park with our friends from Boston Cares) you can head down to the 2010 Life Is Good Festival at the Blue Hills Reservation in Canton, Massachusetts.  This two day festival is a celebration of "music and optimism" and benefits The Life Is Good Kids Foundation which helps kids overcome life-threatening challenges.  For more information on this local benefit and to get tickets visit the 2010 Life Is Good Festival website.  Hope to see you there!

Local Social Entrepreneur's Big Idea: Big Citizenship

Being Green not only means being aware of environmental policies and opportunities around you, it means supporting local businesses, entrepreneurs, and even local authors.  One such author we are pleased to spread the word about is City Year co-founder, Brookline native, and former Massachusetts Senate candidate, Alan Khazei.  Khazei's new book, Big Citizenship: How Pragmatic Idealism Can Bring Out the Best in America, calls on all of us to step up and make a difference.  In a time of contentious, and often unproductive, public discourse, Khazei's call for Pragmatic Idealism is inspiring.  As one of the country's most successful social entrepreneurs, Khazei offers lessons learned, a blueprint for social start-up success, and advice to those striving make a difference in their communities.  Close to this site's heart, Kahzei also clearly identifies that the clean energy wave that our country so desperately needs cannot happen without a coordinated effort from all parties involved. In short, Khazei's new book is a must-read; just be prepared to jump off of your couch and take action after you turn the last page.

To find out more about Big Citizenship and book events happening in your community, check out www.bigcitizenship.us. 

bGreen Mobile Showroom

Our friends over at bGreen have recently completed their mobile showroom and were just covered by the Boston Globe's Innovation Economy.  bGreen founders Barry Greenstein and Lee Schneider have been working hard to ensure that living green is second nature and we are excited to see this green Boston start-up getting recognition.  Check out bGreen for your green lifestyle and building needs and be sure to keep your eye out for the bGreen mobile showroom!

Fun events with healthy treats!

Together with Bear Naked we would like to invite you to Live Bear Naked Tour events in Boston. Bear Naked is participating in these events in the hopes of sharing their delicious, pure granola and parfaits with active, healthy-living enthusiasts. They are also bringing Bear Naked swag to giveaway as a thank you for stopping by!

 

Bear Naked is participating in both smaller community events and major events focusing on healthy living, nutrition and fun. Here are a few of the events currently in the line-up:

 

·         Aug. 7-8 – Pan Mass Challenge

·         Aug. 7 – Naukabout Music Festival

·         Aug. 15 – Falmouth Road Race

 

You can read about what Bear Naked has been doing in Boston at the Live Tour blog. Have a healthy, fun summer!