What Grows On in Rhode Island ~ News Blog

Climate Change @ Easton's Beach Rain Info ~ Oct 24, 2009

 Regarding Easton's Beach Climate Change Event in Newport: If it rains, we'll be in the garage area under the bath houses, at the opposite end of the beach from the Rotunda. People can park in the other parking lot, on the Middletown side of the beach.

See earlier notice in entirety

RI Climate Events ~ October 24, 2009

Programs set for RI Climate events on October 24

Rhode Islanders joining together in the effort to stop global warming announced the programs for the 4 events that will take place in Rhode Island on October 24 as part of the 350.org International Day of Action.

The morning will open at 9 AM with workshops at the First Unitarian Church at the Corner of Benefit and Benevolent Streets in Providence.  Workshops scheduled are:

• How to Write an OpEd Piece and Get It Published:  Robert Whitcomb, Providence Journal Editorial Page Editor
• Individual Food Choices and Climate Change:   Polly Walker, MD, Associate Director, Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future
• Home Energy Conservation Strategies:   David Brown, Independent Energy Consultant
• *Must Have Standards in Energy Legislation:  David W. Oliver, PhD, Corporate Strategy Consultant & Environmental Policy Activist                             
• Using the New Media to Build Public Opinion:   Ben Schreckinger & Sydney Ember, Senior Staff Writers – Brown Daily Herald

There will also be letter writing all morning to President Obama encouraging a strong US position for the Copenhagen global climate talks that will take place in December.

At  noon a gathering for Aquidneck Island and Jamestown will take place  on Easton's Beach in Newport , with brief talks by Senator Theresa Paiva-Weed, Newport Mayor Jeanne Marie Napolitano, and representatives from National Grid, RI Interfaith Power and Light, and the Aquidneck Island Watershed Council. There will be music by the Recovery All Stars. The official launch of the four-town Neighborhood Energy Challenge will offer a positive action that participants can take to fight climate change. Exhibitors will offer ways to save energy. National Grid, a major sponsor of the Challenge, will highlight its programs, particularly “Energy Action: Aquidneck and Jamestown,” a pilot program for efficiency on the islands. Everyone is welcome.

Also at noon there will be a rally at Waterplace Park in Providence that will open with The Beneficent Congregational Church Choir chanting, drumming and singing.  Speakers on the program include Greg Gerritt of Prosperity For Rhode Island, Paul Beaudette, President of the Environment Council of Rhode Island and the Reverend Barbara Fast of the Westminster Unitarian Church in East Greenwich.  Currently there are a several Brown University Watson Environmental Scholars from Africa studying Climate Change and it is expected that one of them will present a global picture of the situation.  The rally will also include children’s activities and a photograph of the participants in a 350 configuration in solidarity with 350 pictures taken at rallies across the globe on that day. 

The Rhode Island events for the International Day for Climate Action will close with a 2 PM talk by Christine Muller on “Climate Change and Justice” at the Fellowship Hall of the Peacedale Congregational Church, 261 Columbia Street, Wakefield, RI followed by the ringing of church bells through southern Rhode Island. 

More information on local Climate Action Day events can be found at the 350.org <http://350.org/> website and by contacting the Environment Council of Rhode Island (www.environmentcouncilri.com <http://www.environmentcouncilri.com/> ) and RI Interfaith Power and Light (www.riipl.org <http://www.riipl.org/> ). 

Green Buildings Open House ~ October 3, 2009

From NESEA:

Make your plans now to join us on October 3rd for the annual Green Buildings Open House (GBOH). It is the largest sustainable energy event in the Northeastern USA!

Rhode Island has seven site in Bristol, Tiverton, Coventry, Providence, and Jamestown Including:

Apeiron Institute for Sustainable Living
451 Hammet Road
Coventry, RI

Island Solar
170 Walcott Ave.
Providence, RI

Wolcott St. Eco-Building
28 Wolcott Street
Providence, RI

17 Gordon Ave
Providence, RI

See the NESEA Green Buildings page for more details.

Upcoming RI Environmental Events ~ September 23 - October 1, 2009

From What Grows On in Rhode Island Calendar:

RI Wild Plant Society events for the fall and the URI Landscape Architecture Lecture Series for the school year are now in the Calendar. RIWPS has a seed exchange workshop on the 30th, and the Landscape lecture is Thursday night on caring for athletic fields.

The Ocean State is the perfect place for the third public meeting of the national Ocean Policy Task Force, September 24, 2009 at the Convention Center in Providence, 4-7pm. This hearing is for the entire East Coast. The link takes you to the meeting's press release, which includes another link to the task force website where you can submit comments.

Everyone is looking forward to Apeiron's First Sustainable Living Festival in Providence next Saturday, the 26th. It will be fun and informative. Also around the state on the 26th, you have several opportunities to unload hazardous stuff, e-waste, and even get documents shredded.

• Water Quality Monitoring Workshop ~ Sept 23
• Ocean Policy Task Force Meeting ~ Sept 24
• Sustainable School Summit ~ Sept 24
• Sustainable Living Festival (Providence) ~ Sept 26
• The Economical Historic Home ~ Sept 26
• E-Waste Fest ~ Sept 26
• Farmer's Daughter Harvest Festival ~ Sept 26-27
• Carnivorous Plant Show ~ Sept 26-27
• Weetamoo Woods Tour (Tiverton) ~ Sept 27
• Blackstone River Wilderness Tour ~ Sept 27

Also note:

• Electober Fest is October 1, brought to you by Clean Water Action.
• Interbike Fesitval OutDoor Demo East is at Roger Williams Park on Oct 10-11.
• Bioneers by the Bay is in New Bedford, MA, Oct 22-23
• Several International Day of Climate Action (350.org events) are planned around the state for October 24.

All of these events and more are listed in the Calendar.

Much more is in the Calendar than I can possibly mention here, so take a moment to check it out again. Bookmark, set up an RSS feed, subscribe to it.... See what's growing on in Rhode Island in the next few weeks.  Remember that you can also forward individual events information to your friends DIRECTLY THROUGH THE CALENDAR.

Weekend Environmental Update ~ September 19-20, 2009

From Little Rhody's Biggest Environmental Calendar:

SATURDAY's (September 19th) menu includes:

• International Coastal Cleanup in more than 80 locations
• 3 other afternoon cleanups
• Open Garden Day in Providence (the poster has the wrong date because this event was postponded from last week)
• United Plant Savers Conference in Coventry
• 36th Harvest Fair at Coggeshall Farm in Bristol
• Waterfire

SUNDAY (20th) choices include::

• Coggeshall Farm's Harvest Fair continues
• Buffer Planting & Restoration Project
• Bird Banding (Audubon, Bristol)
• Blackstone River Wilderness Tour
• Autumn Advent at Kettle Pond Visitor Center
• Fish Ladder Groundbreaking Ceremony at Slater Mill Park, Pawtucket
• Wild Mushroom Walk at Kimball Wildlife Sanctuary
• The Impact of a Green Municipal Building in Tiverton

You can also keep up with news through the RI Feeds website which retweets on the ProvGardener's  Twitter. For more environmental news see:

• Feed of What Grows On in RI News Blog 
• Feeds of other RI environment-related feeds available for

• FOOD
• GARDENING, FARMING, LANDSCAPING
• NATURE/OUTDOORS
• GENERAL ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS

Earth Day ~ April 22, 2008

Remember to check the

Earth Day events Calendar at What Grows On in Rhode Island!

REMINDER ~ Environmental Justice League of RI ~ April 5, 2008

From Environmental Justice League of RI:

The next meeting of the Environmnental Justice League of Rhode Island is this coming Saturday, April 5, 2008 between 10am-12:30pm in the Ballroom at Algonquin House, 807 Broad Street, Providence.  Directions to Algonquin House are available online.

Hope to see you Saturday.

--
Steven Fischbach
Community Lawyer
Rhode Island Legal Services
56 Pine Street--Suite 400
Providence, RI 02903

401-274-2652 X-182
401-453-0310 (fax)
steve.fischbach@gmail.com

See the New Calendar!

What Grows On in Rhode Island has a NEW CALENDAR FORMAT, and I'm hard at work setting things up so we can all be in the know! It is already very useful, and I have many improvements in store.

I've made a subcalendar for the MOST RECENTLY ADDED EVENTS. I have added many more events to the Calendar in the past week than I have been posting in this blog, so be sure to take a look at the RECENTLY ADDED Calendar.

What Grows On in Rhode Island is also gathering all the Rhode Island (and neighboring Massachusetts and Connecticut) EARTH DAY & ARBOR DAY EVENTS into another subcalendar. Be sure to keep me posted on any and all Earth Day events so everyone can turn out and clean the place up in the last week or so of April ~ and plant some trees, too!

Audubon, Roger Williams Park Zoo, Clean Water Action, the West Warwick Jaycees, Apeiron Institute for Sustainable Living and some others are already submitting events. No cleanup or celebration is too small to be listed. The Calendar is updated daily so subscribe to it!

I have to go post some more events now ... ~ SK

REMINDER! ~ Land & Water Conservation Summit ~ Early Registration Deadline is February 22; Summit is March 15, 2008

From RI Land Trust Council:

EARLY REGISTRATION CLOSES FRIDAY!

Register before February 22 and save $15

2008 Land & Water Conservation Summit

Saturday, March 15, 2008  8:30 AM - 4:00 PM

Location:  URI Kingston Campus,  Memorial Student Union Building

Cost:   $40 before February 22      $55 after February 22

Full Program & Registration: www.landandwaterpartnership.org   

Reminder ~ Environmental Book Club ~ February 19 & 20, 2008

From Audubon Society of Rhode Island:

Hi everyone, Happy President’s Day!

This month’s Environmental Book Club meetings are this week, on Tuesday (Bristol) and Wednesday (Smithfield). We will discuss a series of essays on forestry:
The story of Chipko, a movement in India that successfully challenged government forestry policy (and is the origin of the term “tree-hugger”): http://www.markshep.com/nonviolence/GT_Chipko.html   
Writings by Mitch Lansky, a Maine low-impact forester—available at http://www.lowimpactforestry.org/ (“Big Oaks, Little Acorns,” “Not Wilderness,” and “Old Growth: A New Paradigm….”)

BRISTOL
Tuesday, February 19 7-8:30 pm
Audubon’s Environmental Education Center
Directions: http://www.asrieec.org/directions.htm

SMITHFIELD
Wednesday, February 20, 7-8:30 pm
Audubon’s Powder Mill Ledges Refuge
Directions: http://www.asri.org/pml.htm

See you there!

July Lewis
Policy Assistant
Audubon Society of RI
401-949-5454 x3044