Harvard’s Climate Initiative Committee confirmed a new date for its Repair Cafe at its meeting on Feb. 12. The event will be on Saturday, March 14, from 1 to 3 p.m., at the Harvard Senior Center, 16 Lancaster County Road.
The event, originally scheduled for Feb. 7, was postponed due to winter weather. Anyone preregistered received an email invitation to attend in March, and registration for the new date is now open.
Committee members said they were excited about the registration numbers for the first Repair Cafe and noted walk-ins may also increase attendance. Although volunteer “fixers” offer a wide range of repairs, climate committee Chair Ellen Sachs Leicher said, “Everybody’s got a lamp to fix.” Lamps and toasters, she added, “seem to be the hot button [items].”
Another outreach event highlighted during the meeting is one organized by Harvard students participating in the MassEnergize Youth Climate Solutions Challenge. The event, scheduled for Saturday, April 11, at Volunteers Hall in the Harvard Public Library from 2 to 4 p.m., highlights the importance of solar energy.
April’s event will include a slideshow, a video of interviews with community members who use solar, and in-person speakers. In addition, there will be solar coaches and two solar vendors, New England Clean Energy and SGE Solar.
The Climate Solutions Challenge focuses on climate issues and teamwork and is open to public high school students throughout Massachusetts. Harvard has the youngest team in the competition, with three eighth-graders participating. The April presentation is one part of the students’ overall project.
—Kristi Hobson Edmonston