Environment

Watertown School Welcomes a New Tree for Arbor Day

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Students at Cunniff School returned from Spring Break to find a new addition to the school – a dwarf apple tree. 

The tree was planted as part of Watertown Tree Warden Chris Hayward’s Arbor Day program. Trees have been planted at schools around town for the past several years, Hayward said. “The tree will get about 12 feet tall and 8 feet wide,” Hayward said. “And it will bear fruit.” On Friday, the whole school came out to the courtyard to see the new tree and get an Arbor Day gift of their own.

Environment

Watertown State Rep. Honored For Environmental Record

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The Environmental League of Massachusetts honored a Watertown state representative for his work and record on voting for environmental issues. The group sent out the following announcement:

State Rep. Jon Hecht, a Watertown Democrat, is a true leader on environmental issues, according to his perfect scores on the Environmental League of Massachusetts’ unique and inaugural legislative scorecard. The scorecard gauges true leadership on environmental issues – not just votes, upending more traditional rankings that are often based mainly on non-controversial votes. The legislative scorecard from ELM, the oldest environmental advocacy organization in the Commonwealth, awards additional points to lawmakers who led by sponsoring important legislation and deducts points for lawmakers who filed measures that ELM opposed. It also takes lawmakers to task over their recent practice of ensuring controversial votes are not recorded roll call votes – preventing voters from truly gauging which representatives and senators on truly on their side.

Environment

Town Council Considering Plastic Bag Ban in Watertown

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A Town Council subcommittee has begun wading into whether the town should have a ban retail stores using plastic bags in Watertown. The Rules & Ordinances Committee discussed a possible ban last week, but did not come up with any decisions, but the committee may start steps toward creating an ordinance, said committee Chairman and Councilor Ken Woodland. “We are forming a draft of an ordinance with the help of the town attorney and will review that draft at the next committee meeting,” said Woodland. “The next meeting is when we will work out the final details and make more concrete decisions.” Woodland said the next meeting is tentatively scheduled for March 3.

Environment

LETTER: Neighborhood Solar’s Thank You

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Now that Neighborhood Solar has drawn to a close, I wish to thank all who made this program a success. First thanks go to Ben Mayer of SunBug Solar and all of SunBug Solar for being willing to be Neighborhood Solar’s installer. A solar program is only as good as its installer, and Neighborhood Solar was lucky enough to have the very, very best. Next, Neighborhood Solar is truly a neighborhood endeavor and thanks go to Gary Shaw, a LEED architect, who spent hours with me at SunBug headquarters planning the program and picking the equipment. My kitchen cabinet of Katherine Codega and Deb Hopper with open laptops, iPad, and good munchies made the website a possibility. A special thanks to Katherine for her design and maintenance of Neighborhood Solar’s website.  She also designed the lay-out for Neighborhood Solar’s cards. And her niece, Kathy Codega, designed our wonderful logo.  The enthusiasm and help of these neighbors made this project happen. Michael Fredrickson and Andy Compagna deserve thanks for hearing the details, offering advice, and having much patience and good humor throughout the program’s inception and duration. A thank you to Sophia Hecht, who used many community service hours, walked the streets with me, and handed out Neighborhood Solar literature and cards.

Entertainment

Come to an Evening of Film, Live Music, Desserts and Community!

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An evening full of activities, including a film about climate change, live music and tasty desserts will be on offer on Sunday, Jan. 11. Watertown Citizens for Peace Justice and the Environment will host the event at the Apartments at Coolidge School, 319 Arlington St., Watertown from 6:30-9:30 p.m.

At 6:30 p.m. there will be a showing of the film “The Wisdom to Survive: Climate Change, Capitalism and Community.”

A Potluck Sweet Feast will begin at 7:45 p.m. and following that attendees can enjoy live music provided by Old Time Music, beginning at 8:15 p.m.

See more at watertowncitizens.org or see the group’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/watertowncitizensPJE. For questions email watertowncitizens@gmail.com.

Environment

LETTER: Watertown Resident Joining Community Solar Program

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Dear Editor and Watertown Neighbors,

I know that many of you have received information about a current Watertown solar initiative called Neighborhood Solar. Recently, my husband, David Breakstone, and I decided to explore this option.  We had no idea what to expect. 

I attended one of the informational meetings and found Ben Mayer of SunBug well-organized, informative, and willing to answer all questions. The program and the process made sense, so David and I asked SunBug Solar, Neighborhood Solar’s installer, to do a site visit and give us a proposal. We thought we would not be good candidates because our roof is already partly covered with solar thermal panels for hot water. Ben Mayer’s site visit affirmed that we could indeed have solar photovoltaic panels.

Business

Beams from Demolished Watertown Building Have a Bright Future

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When the old Circle Supply building on Bacon Street was torn down, the demolition company found some diamonds among the rubble – old pine wood beams. 

While the wood looked in rough shape, it was just what Cambridge-based Longleaf Lumber wants. The beam are made from heart pine that came from the southern longleaf pine forest and was brought up to construct the building, said Marc Poirier, co-owner of Longleaf. “The building seems to go back to the 1920s, but the wood looks older,” Poirier said. “It is beautiful, dense beams. They have a lot of damage but we will saw off the waste and end up with the pearls inside.” The heart pine is prized because it is rot and insect resistance, but it has been harvested out of existence, except for some groves that have been preserved.

Around Town

See How the New Park Along the Charles River is Shaping Up

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The area along the Charles River, east of Watertown Square has a snazzy new look featuring places to sit, look over the river and to appreciated the natural surroundings. Travis Mazerall, the project designer from Sasaki Associates, recently led a tour of the park near the intersection of Charles River Road and Irving Street has been turned into place that can be enjoyed by everyone, including the blind and visually impaired. The path includes wires hung across posts every 20 feet, or so. “Some have indicator beads about the size of a fist, that tell the user what is around, such as if there is a bench across from it,” Mazerall said. The project is being built by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), but is funded by a mix of local non-profits, foundations and some money from the town.