Harvard’s first crowdsourced Earth Day celebration, Earth Day Show and Tell Around Town, on Saturday, April 30, will highlight the efforts of residents to meet the challenges of climate change.
Since the Fall Town Meeting of 2021, volunteers and town officials have embarked on the arduous task of lowering the town’s carbon footprint with a new Climate Initiative Committee and a nascent Climate Action Plan; however, approximately 90% of Harvard’s carbon emissions comes from the homes and transportation of residents, according to the 2018 greenhouse gas inventory drawn up for Harvard by Kim Lundgren Associates.
Just as the residential sector of Harvard is responsible for the vast majority of the town’s carbon footprint, it also offers some of the most promising adaptations and hopeful responses to the climate crisis, as the Earth Day Show and Tell Around Town event will highlight. The spirit of residents is perhaps best symbolized by the charming hand-painted signs made of recycled materials—courtesy of the Bromfield School’s Green Team—recently planted around town to mark participation and advertise the event.
Students paint signs for Earth Day Show and Tell Around Town to put up at host homes/farms. From left are Deborah O’Rourke, Helen Holzmann, Felicia Jamba, Annabelle Purcell, and Gretchen Day. (Courtesy photo)
Co-sponsored by the Harvard Climate Initiative and Harvard Energy Advisory committees, the event features open houses, gardens, and an electric vehicle petting zoo, all of which Harvard residents can tour to learn about the pragmatic approaches other Harvard residents are employing to lower carbon emissions and promote local resiliency. According to HEAC Chair Brian Smith, “Earth Day is an opportunity to learn from others in the community.” This year is unique, he points out, because “the urgency and the opportunities to mitigate your impact on the world have never been greater, globally and locally.”
Several dozen Harvard residents have responded to the charge: Host sites include small farms such as Micheldever and Good Spirits, the Community Garden, Reed-Powell conservation land, and private homes scattered from town center to town limits.
Robin Hu of Porchside Farmstand on Mass. Ave. will showcase regenerative farming techniques—which she defines as “a type of farming which mimics nature and by doing so heals and improves our soil”—that she uses to bring fresh produce to town center. Noting the importance of increasing the ability of soil to sequester carbon and promote biodiversity, Hu said home gardeners might want to try covering garden soil with hay or leaf mulch year round, adding compost, or planting cover crops.
Town center will also feature an electric vehicle petting zoo at the Hildreth Elementary School parking lot. Along with other EV and electric equipment owners, Harvard resident Dan Adams plans to bring his 2021 Ford Mustang Mach E. “EVs are a lot of fun to drive—at least mine is,” he said.
Tables with posters and demonstrations set up outside the Harvard General Store by local organizations and town committees will offer outreach to residents on recent environmental activities and initiatives. Even the General will throw its hat into the ring with a cooking demonstration on an induction stovetop burner. Ellen Leicher, chair of the Harvard Climate Initiative Committee, will donate the countertop unit to a refugee family after the event, and notes that donations will be accepted for local Afghan refugees.
The Harvard Conservation Trust plans to tell residents about recent land acquisition projects; the Board of Health will offer recycling information; and the Garden Club of Harvard will offer a demonstration of vermiculture composting. Electrical engineer and member of the Planning Board Stacia Donahue said that she would share her knowledge of LED lighting and light pollution, topics that have garnered public attention in Harvard of late. In addition, Planning Board members will be on hand to discuss current topics such as the reconstruction of Ayer Road and a proposal to study the commercial district’s market potential.
If Harvard residents want to discuss legislative issues and they time it right, they might even catch special guests state Rep. Dan Sena and state Sen. Jamie Eldridge at the General Store.
Elsewhere in town, numerous private homeowners are opening their doors to event-goers to showcase their energy-efficient adaptations, ranging from ground source heating to heat pump heating and cooling, solar panels, and other innovations. Lexington native and Harvard transplant Richard Jenson is enthusiastic to open his home, Rivendell, an architect-designed, net zero home that has been featured in several publications including Boston magazine. A retired math professor, Jenson is quick to offer facts and figures, including a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) score of -23, which means, “In terms of energy usage and cost, we generate more than we use.” Perhaps more than the energy specs, Jenson wants to share what is possible in new architecture. “I just love the house and I’m eager to talk about it.”
For budding scientists and nature enthusiasts, a fascinating spot on the Earth Day map will be the American Chestnut project at the Reed-Powell conservation land. Termed a germplasm conservation orchard, or GCO, the site was established by Brian McLain as part of the New York chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation and is maintained with the help of Jim Lee. The orchard focuses on generating local genetic adaptation to the American chestnut blight, a disease that decimated native chestnut trees over the last century, erasing the presence of mature chestnuts from our forests. McClain will be on-site to describe the project and discuss ways that Harvard residents, including young people, might become involved.
These and many other fascinating Earth Day demonstrations await those who sign up: Prior registration is required via the Harvard Climate Initiative website at www.harvardsclimateinitiative.org. Those who sign up will receive a map of the homes and gardens on the tour, including a description of what is on display at each site. As HCIC member Deborah O’Rourke, who is coordinating outreach for the event, sums up, “The real heart of [the event] is to have neighbors sharing personal experiences with neighbors on how to lower their carbon footprint.”
Earth Day Show and Tell Around Town
Saturday, April 30, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Rain date Sunday, May 1
Prior registration is required at www.harvardsclimateinitiative.org.
For town center events, park at Hildreth Elementary School or Bromfield School.
