About this column:
A weekly column about how the community of Attleboro is meeting the challenges of sustainability.Last November, the Massachusetts Audubon Society installed a set of solar panels on the grounds of the Oak Knoll Wildlife Sanctuary here in Attleboro, as part of the organization’s push to reduce its carbon footprint and make all of its properties “clean and green.” On Saturday, Oak Knoll’s director, Tara Henrichon, unveiled the panels to the public at its first Solar Open House. More than 30 guests dropped by to check out the two massive photovoltaic (PV) panels, which were perched about eight feet off the ground on concrete posts in the garden behind the Nature Center at 1417 Park St. …
It was a mild winter evening last Friday in Attleboro, as 21 intrepid men, women and children set out on a crunchy snow-crusted trail into the woods on an Owl Prowl—in search of feathery predators of the night. At first, our hopes were high that we’d find—with our ears if not our eyes—a Great Horned Owl or Eastern Screech Owl. After all, we’d spent the first half of the evening inside the cozy classroom of the Massachusetts Audubon’s Oak Knoll Wildlife Sanctuary at 1417 Park St., learning all about the owls that often make the Attleboro area their home. My daughter and I joined several …
If you think living in a city like Attleboro means you're far away from wildlife, think again. Attleboro plays host, both permanent and temporary, to countless wild critters, and in many cases, you don't need to venture far from your own door to see them. According to Kathi Gariepy, an educator at Attleboro's Oak Knoll Wildlife Sanctuary on Park Street, Attleboro residents live side-by-side with white-tailed deer, cottontail rabbits, coyotes, raccoons, skunks and red foxes, among many other animals. And as for birds, well, "we see everything—especially in the spring," says Gariepy. "That's …
The new year promises to be an interesting one in Attleboro, mainly because, in all likelihood, Mayor Kevin Dumas will be challenged in his bid for re-election. The possibility of a mayor's race means that the city's future will be a front-and-center topic for debate around town. Citizens will likely (and rightly) grill candidates about everything from taxes and school budgets to the status of the city's revitalization efforts. While these issues matter greatly, I see them as part of the larger issue of sustainability. If we want Attleboro to flourish long into the future, we have no choice …
Whenever we sit down to those big, momentous feasts that inevitably come with the holidays, I can still hear my mother's voice in my head. "Take what you want, but eat what you take," she'd say, as platters of turkey, stuffing and potatoes were passed around the family table. It was hard to heed that advice, with such a seemingly endless array of deliciousness stoking our appetites so that we just had to have a little bit of everything. But that often meant we couldn't finish, despite Mom's warning. To that, she also had a saying: "Your eyes are bigger than your stomach!" Today, for many …
In the deep freeze of winter, it's easy to set aside activities that bring us closer to nature. After all, it's often too cold to even play in our own backyards, let alone go for a hike in the woods or gaze at the stars. But staying engaged with the natural world, regardless of the season, is critical to our ability and willingness to protect and defend it. After all, out of sight, out of mind, right? If you're spending your entire winter going between your technology-filled office or school and your technology-filled house, it can be easy to forget about the world outside. You can miss the …
If you are concerned about environmental issues and make an effort to live both responsibly and sustainably, you may sometimes feel a little lonely. While a green movement is definitely gaining momentum across mainstream American life, you might be the only one in your group of friends or family who is taking an active role to make positive changes. If this is true, I say hold the course. You just never know how your commitment inspires others. Take this story as an example: Over the weekend, I attended the annual Christmas party of my extended family. For a few wonderful hours, more than 65…
If you've been trying to be a bit greener in your daily life, the holidays might present a tempting break from those efforts. After all, recycling, reducing and re-using all the time can feel so— redundant—after a while. But the holidays really present a fantastic opportunity to become more aware of the impacts that our traditions can have on the planet, and then be inspired to make positive changes to those traditions. In my recent travels through the world of trash and recycling, I learned that the days and weeks after Christmas represent a significant increase in the amount of trash that …
In my last column about Attleboro's recycling program, I promised to show you just where our recycled trash goes once the Waste Management trucks pluck it off our curbs each week. So I called Gary Hartmann, the plant manager at Waste Management's Single-Stream Recycling Facility in Avon, Mass., and he invited me to take a tour. As you will see in the accompanying video clip, the facility uses automation to quickly process the collected recyclable trash from 15 cities and towns across eastern Massachusetts. After collecting trash from the big green bins here in Attleboro, the WM trucks arrive…
You already know how much I love my rain barrel, so you probably won't be surprised to learn I love my big green recycling toter, too. Really, I do. I love the fact that, with the city's single-stream program, I no longer have to sort my newspapers and plastics and glass items before recycling. I just throw them all in my big green toter with the big wheels that make it easy to pull to the curb. I even love watching the Waste Management truck pull up and grab the toter with its big mechanical arm, dump it and then place it down again with relative grace and precision. Recently, as I sipped my…
If there's one thing I hope you will not get out of my column, it's a feeling that someone is preaching to you. Taking steps to live more sustainably doesn't have to be like going to the dentist. Any effort, no matter how small, to change our habits in service to the larger green ideal of "reduce, reuse, recycle" will, I hope, make you feel better knowing you've acted toward the solution and not the problem. You might even have fun and save money on the way. Here's one creative way to do just that. The Clothing SwapEvery year, my sister hosts a clothing swap. She invites upwards of 25 women …
If you're like a lot of New Englanders, you probably try not to turn on your heat until November 1. If you're like me, you caved in about two weeks ago, thanks to a few wet and raw days in mid-October when you thought your hands might freeze off right there and then. Delaying the firing-up of your furnace for as long as possible is a noble aspiration. It may save you a bit of money and certainly helps save energy, but it can't last. Inevitably, the heat must go on. So what is an eco-minded, warm-blooded citizen to do? After all, our winter habits can be hard to reconsider when our survival …
There is an upside to the economic downturn of the last two years. You'll find it in the dirt. Yes, dirt—as in gardens. Lots and lots of vegetable gardens. According to a report by the National Gardening Association, seven million American households established their own fruit, vegetable, herb or berry gardens in 2009, a nearly 20 percent increase over the previous year. "More Americans are recognizing the benefits of growing their own produce, including improved quality, taste and cost savings," the NGA report states. "On average, a well-maintained food garden yields a $500 return when …
Now that winter is coming, I've been looking around my backyard, taking note of chores to do before the first snow flies. There are toys and furniture to store in the cellar, and a small garden bed to cut down and compost. And this year, I realize, there's a new task on the list, one I haven't done before. I have to empty and put away my new rain barrel before a deep freeze settles in and cracks the sky-blue plastic 55-gallon tank that saved so much water for us over the blistering hot summer of 2010. It's a task I'll embrace, because, well, I'm in love with my rain barrel. I've been giddy …
