Tuesday, March 19, 2024
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Greening Martha

‘Our Island is shrinking’

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The natural erosional processes that inevitably shape Martha’s Vineyard are being sped up by increased climate change and sea level rise. With significant amounts of beach being taken back by the sea each year, and...

Nature Conservancy restores sandplain grasslands

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The sandplain grasslands of Martha’s Vineyard are a rare and imperiled ecosystem that exist almost exclusively on islands in Massachusetts, and some of the most outstanding examples of these unique systems are right here...

Going out on a limb

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Martha’s Vineyard Airport is distributing 2,500 tree seedlings to Island schools, to be given out to children. According to airport director Geoff Freeman, the airport is working on a number of green initiatives, and the...

Keeping the Island clean, one beach at a time

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People on Martha’s Vineyard are more conscious about the impact of human activity on the natural environment than ever before. With the economy of the Vineyard’s coastal community relying so heavily on the health of...

Citizen scientists help monitor water quality

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The Buzzards Bay Coalition recently published the first 28 years of its Baywatchers water monitoring program data in “Scientific Data,” a leading peer-reviewed nature research journal. From 1992 to 2018, the Baywatchers program has collected...

Steamship Authority considers electric ferry future

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The Steamship Authority (SSA) is conducting a feasibility study to examine the existing 10-boat fleet, and what it might take to start switching over to electric ferries in the future. According to a 2018 report,...

South Mountain: Green technologies becoming ‘commonplace’

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The overarching focus of South Mountain Co.’s work for the past 30 years has been on bolstering environmental sustainability on-Island, while making sure their building projects are positive and uplifting experiences for all participants. South...

Island companies lead the way in sustainable home energy

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Locally owned design and engineering firms are offering sustainable alternatives for home energy, and are working to educate the Island community about the financial and environmental benefits of reducing their carbon footprint. When Brian Nelson...

The cleaning power of oysters

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Oysters are a delicious shellfish that folks on Martha’s Vineyard are lucky enough to have grown fresh, practically in their backyard. But some are unaware of the benefits these bivalves can have on marine...

‘A spectrum of services for a spectrum of needs’

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The eighth annual Food Is Medicine Symposium invites Islanders to educate themselves about the myriad ways nutrition can benefit those who are at risk or living with chronic illness. But Food Is Medicine Massachusetts (FIMMA)...

Bringing climate action back home

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There are so many ways to support our environment and advocate for sustainable practices, in both our individual and collective lives. The three-part climate change course offered by the West Tisbury library provides a wealth...

Climate change course seeks to educate and inspire

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The West Tisbury library is offering a three-session course for those interested in learning more about climate change, and how to use that knowledge to combat the devastating impacts it has on society. The first...

Your Martha’s Vineyard climate change roadmap

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There’s no longer any question that climate change is real. Dukes County is ranked one of the fastest warming regions in the nation, and sea level rise continues to change the character of Martha’s...

New federal report contradicts White House

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On Nov. 3, 13 federal agencies jointly released an updated report that determined that global warming was continuing to contribute to sea-level rise, increased severe storms, colder winters, warmer summers, and drought. The cause,...

Martha’s Vineyard Transit Authority gets grant for greener buses

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The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and the Martha’s Vineyard Transit Authority (VTA) have been jointly awarded a $1.2 million grant for low or no-emission (“LoNo”) transit buses by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA)....

Greening Martha: The argument for more working farmland and woodland

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Widespread management for agriculture or wood production on the Vineyard’s limited land area may seem counterintuitive or trivial when stacked up against the Island’s economic reality and high levels of consumption. Shouldn’t the Vineyard’s...

A conservation future for the Vineyard

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Massachusetts offers an unusual and urgent opportunity for… conservation. Following widespread agricultural decline in the 19th century, the landscape reforested naturally, and … has more natural vegetation today than at nearly any time in...

Mill Brook summer data points to deadly temperature spikes

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Mill Brook begins its journey in the Chilmark woodlands and travels approximately four miles, crossing 10 dams of various construction as it passes through West Tisbury, before it flows into Town Cove and feeds...

Life of a Tree: The cedar of Cedar Tree Neck

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This is the third in a series of articles that will describe unique and old trees across Martha’s Vineyard — one tree for each town (March 9, “The Quansoo oak,” June 9, “The West...

Life of a Tree: The West Chop pitch pine

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This is the second in a series of articles that will describe unique and old trees across Martha’s Vineyard — one tree for each town (March 9, “The Quansoo oak”). Each article relates the...