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Green Sanctuary Archives
This page provides a chronological look back at many of the various activities in First Parish's Green Sanctuary initiative.
• Return to Green Sanctuary main page
• Go to Green Sanctuary Background page
Garden Work Day at the Eliot School (May '10)
Members of the First Parish Community Farm Team helped put in raised beds and fencing at the Eliot School.
Roll and Stroll to Church (May '10)
First Parish showed its support for Needham in Motion with a community-wide effort during the month of May to encourage green modes of transportation: walking, biking, taking public transportation and carpooling. After a kickoff on May 2, congregants were especially encouraged to walk, bike, or carpool to church for the entire month of May.
Needham Lyceum: The Nature of Needham (April '10)
This Needham Lyceum focused on our local nature areas. Needham Conservation Commission chair and botanist Lisa Standley talked about the natural habitats, wildlife and plants of Needham - how these have changed over the last 100 years, and prospects for the future. Standley also talked about the role of the Commission in protecting Needham's natural resources and trails.
Green Needham 10% Energy Challenge (April '10)
As part of its Green Sanctuary efforts, First Parish continued to promote Green Needham’s 10% Energy Challenge. This simple online tool allows users to make a personal plan to cut energy use. Last year 65 First Parish households took the Energy Challenge. This year, our goal was to increase this to 90 or even 100 households! Go to www.greenneedham.org for more information or to take the challenge. Tom Gehman set up 3 laptops at coffee hour on April 11 and April 18, and volunteers helped people take the Challenge.
Book Discussion on Sustainable Living (March '10). Tad Staley led a four-part discussion of Unitarian Universalist minister Michael Schuler’s book, Making the Good Life Last: Four Keys to Sustainable Living. Each session focused on one of the “keys” – pay attention, stay put, exercise patience, and practice prudence. The last session included an animated discussion of the last chapter, a “Sustainable Code for the Soul
Sustainable Agriculture: A report from EARTH University in Costa Rica (March '10). Mary Scholl, the sister of one of our congregants, was visiting from Costa Rica and gave a Needham Lyceum presentation about EARTH University. This unique school attracts students from many different countries, mostly in the tropics, and aims to produce leaders with a sustainability ethic who return to their home countries to participate in business and government. Interestingly, the campus is located on an 8000-acre banana plantation, which was donated to the school and is being run with sustainability in mind. Their EARTH bananas are available at Whole Foods. Audience members seemed interested in continuing the dialogue, perhaps setting up some kind of computer contact with students there. A follow-up meeting was held between Mary and the chair of the Green Congregation committee, brainstorming ways to set up dialogue.
Gardening Forum with Kate Canney of The Neighborhood Farm. (March '10). Twenty people stayed after services for a soup lunch and a presentation by Kate Canney, a local farmer who produces vegetables on a series of large backyard gardens in Needham. Her presentation and answers to audience questions covered many areas: composting, soil preparation, easy vegetables for beginners, square foot gardening, fencing, and more.
Small Group discussion of sustainable lifestyle choices. In the Winter/Spring of 2010, our Small Group Ministries discussed topics on our relationship to food, in preparation for other Green Sanctuary activities about food and sustainability.
Sustainable Harvest: Local Food Initiatives in Needham (Feb. '10) On February 21, we hosted a Needham Lyceum entitled Sustainable Harvest: Local Food Initiatives in Needham. The well-attended program consisted of viewing and panel discussion about a documentary film (made by First Parish member Wendy Blom) about local food production in nearby Somerville, MA.
One Step Closer to Green (11/30/09)
Good news! First Parish’s Green Sanctuary application has been submitted, and we hope to get UUA approval early in the new year. In the meantime, the Green Congregation Committee is planning a “Grow-a-Row” project to get gardeners in the congregation to pledge a portion of their homegrown fruits and vegetables to the community food pantry. This will involve fun, intergenerational activities – visits to local farms, vegetable gardening workshops, and hands-on work with the Needham Community Farm. If you’re interested in participating or helping to plan this exciting new environmental justice project, please contact Jeanne Gerber.
350.org International Day of Climate Action (10/24/09)
On Saturday, October 24th, a group of dedicated folks from First Parish joined teams for several other houses of worship to celebrate the International Day of Climate Action. After a brief program at First Parish, there was short vigil on the Town Common during which the Paul Revere Bell pealed out 350 times. Afterwards, teams of 4-5 people fanned out to perform various carbon-reducing projects. Th First Parish team weatherized the house of Jack and Linda Davis.
The event was part of an international effort, sponsored by 350.org, to urge world leaders to take bold steps to fight global climate change. People in more than 100 nations participated in a day of action that came just six weeks before a crucial UN meeting in Copenhagen.
The significance of the number 350 is that it represents 350 parts per million of CO2 in the atmosphere – the level of CO2 many scientists believe we must get back down to in order to sustain life on Earth as we know it. We are currently at 385 ppm of CO2.
Want to learn more? Watch the YouTube video of the International Day of Climate Action featuring First Parish and Green Congregation Chair Eleanor Rosellini.