Boston GreenScene

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!

MassRecycle and the MassDEP 2011 Conference & Trade Show

Advancing Recycling & Organics Management: A Sustainable Future explores many cutting-edge topics:

Compost Marketing Workshop
Monday, March 28, 9:00 - 4:00

Wrentham, MA

   

Conference & Trade Show:
Tuesday, March 29, 8:00 - 4:30
Holiday Inn Conference Center, Boxborough, MA

Compost Facility Tours
Wednesday, March 30, 10:00 - 2:00
Jordan Farm, Rutland

For more information, contact Elizabeth Rose at 617.312.5671 or programs@massrecycle.org

Carroon, Snow and McKibben : Great Events to Get Involved

Sustainable Preservation - The Power of Preservation and Reuse as a Green Strategy:  Jean Carroon

March 23, 7 PM at Trinity Church, Boston.
Co-sponsored by Trinity Church and the Boston Society of Architects

Buildings account for nearly 40% of all U.S. energy use and carbon emissions. With one of the country’s leading preservation architects as your guide, the lecture will explore the power of adaptive reuse to reduce those numbers and move us toward sustainability.  Sustainable Preservation makes a compelling argument that preservation and sustainability don’t just protect the environment, but deliver a full range of societal benefits, from job creation to stronger social connection.  Jean Carroon, FAIA, LEED® AP is a principal in Goody Clancy's highly regarded preservation practice and has earned national recognition for her expertise in applying sustainable-design technology to historic buildings. Tickets $15 ($10 BSA and Trinity Church members and students), available 617.536.0944 x225 or sustainablepreservation.eventbrite.com. Book-signing to follow.

Working with Stone- Creating a Connection with the Spirit of Place: Dan Snow                          
March 30, 7 PM at Trinity Church, Boston.
Co-sponsored Trinity Church and The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University

The gardener's perspective is the perfect loci for seeking inward and reaching outward, for ordering the experience of time and space, and observing higher orders. Dan Snow is a designer of outdoor spaces in stone, and an art maker specializing is dry stone constructions. He is the author of In the Company of Stone and Listening to Stone—Hardy Structures, Perilous Follies, and Other Tangles with Nature and the subject of the PBS documentary, Stone Rising.  Tickets $20 member, $25 non member, available  at 617.536.0944 x225 or online www.arboretum.harvard.edu. Book-signing to follow.

The Earth Is Our Garden: Bill McKibben
April 7, 7 pm, Trinity Church, Boston.
Co-sponsored Trinity Church and The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University

Bill McKibben is one the most recognized defenders of our planet and chronicler of how we could better inhabit it. His newest book, Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet, is his latest plea for each of us to consider deeply how we tread upon this earth. In 2010 the Boston Globe called McKibben "probably the nation's leading environmentalist” and Time magazine described him as "the world's best green journalist."  In 2009 he led the organization of 350.org, which coordinated what CNN called "the most widespread day of political action in the planet's history" with 5,200 simultaneous demonstrations in 181 countries.  Tickets $20 member, $25 non member, available at The Shop at Trinity (206 Clarendon Street, lower level), by phone (617.536.0944 x225) or online www.arboretum.harvard.edu. Book-signing to follow.

Event: Greening Government Center

 

What will Boston's Government Center look like in the next ten, twenty, or even fifty years?  The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) is partnering with private firms and local experts to ensure that Government Center and City Hall Plaza is green and accessible to all.  In December 2010, a three-day charrette was held on the re-design and now the BRA and several key stakeholders want to share these plans with the local community at a public event on Monday, February 7th.

Tim Love of Utile Inc. will be presenting the key recommendations and ideas from the charrette, and Tim Love and Gary Hilderbrand of Reed Hilderbrand will discuss their thoughts on the next steps for the green redesign of Government Center. Alex Krieger of Chan Krieger NBBJ and Ted Landsmark of the Boston Architectural College will be sitting on a panel to provide feedback on the design and recommendations. As in the last symposium, the event will provide a chance for the public to ask questions of the presenters and panel, as well as share their thoughts on the Greening of Government Center.  Should be a great event and we hope to see you there!

 

Who: You, open to the public

When: Monday, February 7th, 4:00-6:00 PM

Where: Modern Theatre, 523-525 Washington Street in Downtown Crossing, Boston

Contact: Boston Redevelopment Authority

Cost: Free 

 

EVENT: Eco-Municipalities Lecture

What do Hanover, New Hampshire, Madison, Wisconsin, Lawrence Township, New Jersey, and over 70 cities and towns in Sweden have in common?  

Answer: They are all Eco-Municipalities. 

At this event, learn how eco-municipalities are taking a comprehensive approach to sustainable change, as opposed to carrying out a collection of disparate sustainable development projects.  This event will feature speaker Sarah James, Institute for Eco-Municipality Education and Assistance (IEMEA) and a brief report from Vice Mayor Henrietta Davis about her participation in the European Capital Cities Conference in Stockholm, Sweden. 

Who: You

When: Thursday, February 3rd, 7:00 PM

Where: Main Library Auditorium, 449 Broadway, Cambridge, Lowest Level (L2 in elevator)

Contact: www.instituteforecomunicipalities.org  

Cost: Free 

EVENT: HEET WEATHERIZATION BARNRAISING

If you're looking to keep your 2011 New Year's resolution to volunteer in your community more often or to be more environmentally aware, the team at HEET has the perfect event for you.

Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET) is a grassroots nonprofit that organizes free weatherization parties to teach volunteers hands-on how to lower their energy bills and carbon emissions.  HEET consults with energy experts to pass on accurate information and aims to build community, create social marketing for energy efficiency and help facilitate exchanges of ideas.  Volunteer work includes weatherizing doors, sealing windows, caulking air leaks, and programing thermostats.  You can pitch in to help a neighbor, learn skills to help you save money at home, fight climate change, and meet other concerned Bay Staters!   No previous work experience required.

Who: Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET) 

When: Saturday, January 29th, 2011, from 12:30-5:00pm

Where: First Church of Cambridge, 11 Garden St, Cambridge, MA 02139

Contact: heetma.com

Cost: Free

 

EVENT: Sustainable Preservation: The Power Of Preservation/Reuse As A Green Strategy

Buildings account for nearly 40% of all U.S. energy use and carbon emissions.  With one of the country's leading preservation architects as your guide, the lecture will explore the power of adaptive reuse to reduce those numbers and move us toward sustainability.  

Jean Carroon, FAIA, LEED AP, a principal in Goody Clancy''s highly regarded preservation practice, has earned national recognition for her expertise in applying sustainable-design technology to historic buildings, including Trinity Church and more than a dozen National Historic Landmarks.  In this lecture, Carroon explores the power of adaptive reuse to reduce energy use and carbon emissions, and move us toward sustainability.  Learn how an icon such as H.H. Richardson's Trinity Church in Boston can go green and why a 1970's strip-mall supermarket not only deserves similar attention but also can emerge as a building that delights users and protects the environment.

 

When: Wednesday, January 26th, 2011, 7:00 PM

Where: Trinity Church, 206 Clarendon St, Boston, MA

Contact: Kathy Acerbo-Bachmann - kacerbobachmann@trinitychurchboston.org or go here for more information.

Cost: $15 to the general public

It's about literacy, not landfill.

 

The Great American Book Drive™ to benefit the Prison Book Program and the City Mission Society!

Are your bookshelves bursting at the seams? Do you have books you'd like to donate to a good cause? The Prison Book Program and the City Mission Society are joining forces for the fourth year in a row to make it easier than ever for gently used books to benefit others by presenting The Great American Book Drive™. Let us find your used books a new home! A percentage of the profits from their sale will fund two great programs. It's about literacy, not landfill.

Saturday, November 6th 
10 am - 3 pm (rain or shine!)
  
The NonProfit Center 
89 South Street 
Boston, MA 02111(directions)

 

Green Job in Europe? MIT Euro Career Fair 2011.

Looking for a full-time job or an internship, thinking of studying or pursuing a professional career in Europe? Boston Green Scene is a proud press sponsor of the biggest European Career Fair in USA.

European Career Fair (ECF) at MIT is a great place to start your search. Discover the many opportunities that international companies, academic institutions and non-profit organizations from Europe have to offer. Some of them concentrate on green energy or implement sustainability and green solutions. Submit your resume online at www.euro-career.com. Registration is free! The deadline for resume submission is Friday December 3, 2010.

10/10/10

 

Frustrated about climate change legislation not getting off the ground in D.C.? Concerned about oil spills and the rising ocean levels?  Want to work with others in your community to increase awareness about environmental issues? Well, 350.org is inviting you to a party.  

On October 10th, the folks at 350.org are hosting what they are calling a Global Work Party, and they want you to come.  Or better yet, to throw your own party.  According to 350.org founder, Bill McKibben:  

"On 10/10/10 we'll show that we the people can do this--but we need bold energy policies from our political leaders to do it on a scale that truly matters.  The goal of the day is not to solve the climate crisis one project at a time, but to send a pointed political message: if we can get to work, you can get to work too--on the legislation and the treaties that will make all our work easier in the long run.

It’s been a tough year—but it can be a beautiful day on the 10th Of October if we work together, and party together. And if we do it right, then we’ll take a big step towards the kind of political solutions we desperately need."

 

To sign up to host an event or to find one in your area, check out the 350.org Action Website. 

Let us know if you are planning on hosting an event in the Greater Boston Area and we will make sure the word gets out!