Regional Environmental Council

July 28, 2005

Crow Hill Meeting
Wednesday, August 3rd
6:00 PM
Crow Hill Summit
An outdoor meeting will be held at Crow Hill summit to discuss present and future plans to protect this conservation area. Specific concerns about new development adjacent to the conservation land will be discussed. Representatives of Mass Audubon and Greater Worcester Land Trust will be at the meeting. Trails to the summit will be flagged, and can be accessed from Dartmouth Street. Neighborhood residents are invited to attend and get involved in efforts to further protect Crow Hill. For more information, contact Patricia Austin at 508-752-6732.

Community Health Fair
Sunday, August 7th
10am-3pm
Elm park
Come check out the Community Health Fair organized by the Pleasant St. Seventh Adventist Church.

Family Health Center’s Health Fair
Friday, August 12th
11am-3pm.
Family Health Center,
26 Queen Street

The clean energy program is currently on summer hiatus.

Current Activities and
Ways You Can Get Involved
EJ celebrated with 25 Main South and Piedmont residents who have coordinated Earth Day clean ups in the past with a dinner and conversation about future trash action in these two neighborhoods. Others interested in being a part of the ongoing ‘talkin trash’ discussion and action should contact Jen Smith. Many thanks to those who came and supported making it happen, especially Yolanda Matias, a long time neighborhood Earth Day cleaner upper who opened up All Saints Church for this meeting on July 21st.

EJ is working on a video to show on Worcester cable about Worcester’s trash and recycling systems. Participants in Youth Grow are working with EJ to make this happen, including Youth Grow leader, Krystal Hernandez meeting with the Department of Public Works to talk about how youth can be involved in the project.  

Call REC to give your top picks for most trashed public places in Main South and Piedmont! EJ recently met with Luis Melendez, Court Services Coordinator for Office of Community Corrections, who has planned clean ups throughout Worcester with 15-30 people almost every day throughout the summer. Your street may already be on the list but call to make sure it is!  

REC is looking for August’s Mrs./Mr.Ecoclean to promote nontoxic cleaning in the home! Candidates can send photos to Jen at ejcoordinator@recworcester.org. With your permission, your photo will be added to the informational flyer REC has created to get the nontoxic message out about the importance of safe cleaning.

EJ has created these informational flyers, available in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese: Making Worcester Lead Safe (contacts and phone numbers for Worcester services to deal with lead paint), Safe Cleaning for your Home (recipes for nontoxic cleaning jobs at home), and Clean Streets and Safe Neighborhoods (contacts and info for Worcester city services to dealwith solid, bulk, yard, and hazardous waste related concerns andquestions). Soon to be posted on our new and improved website, butavailable now for those who would like them. Call 508-799-9139 or email us.

A victory for our health and environment!  On Thursday, July 14, both the State Senate and House of Representatives voted to override Governor Romney's veto of funds for analysis of safer alternatives to toxic chemicals. The Senate vote was unanimous, and in the House, only four representatives voted against the override. This means that the Massachusetts Fiscal Year 2006 Budget will include $250,000 for the Toxic Use Reduction Institute (TURI) to research safer alternatives for five of the worst toxic chemicals commonly used in industrial and consumer products. TURI has a fifteen year track record of assisting businesses in Massachusetts to reduce their use of toxic chemicals, and has supported many of our toxic use reduction projects here in Worcester. To learn more about them, see www.turi.org.  

On June 24, REC board members, staff and local representatives of other AHT coalition groups met with State Senator Harriette Chandler of the 1st Worcester district, to urge her to support the three bills which are AHT's priorities for this year. Specifically, weasked her to testify in favor of An Act for Healthy Massachusetts: Safer Alternatives to Toxic Chemicals at a State House hearing on June 27. 

She was very receptive to our requests and did submit testimony in favor of this bill. Senator Edward Augustus, of the 2nd Worcester district, also submitted testimony in favor of this bill. To learn more about AHT and their legislative priorities, see www.healthytomorrow.org.

The YouthGROW program just celebrated the mid-season mark. The pounds and pounds of vegetables that are harvested each week from the Oread St. YouthGROW farm are donated to the food pantries at Jeremiah's Inn, Centro Las Americas, and the Mustard Seed and are sold at the Artichoke Food Coop. An article authored by YouthGROWers appeared as the cover story in the recent issue of In City Times. Check it out to see more about the program!

UGROW is embarking on a project to collect the oral histories of Worcester's community gardeners this summer. Then, over the quiet winter months, the histories will be woven into a small book. We are very excited to begin hearing the many funny, touching, and memorable stories that the gardeners have collected over the years.

Community Garden Tour
August 28th
4-6pm
Meet at Castle Street
REC will be holding a historical tour of Community Gardens in the Main South neighborhood in collaboration with Preservation Worcester on August 28th from 4pm-6pm. Everyone is invited to meet at the Castle Street Community Garden to begin a fascinating exploration of the rich history of the neighborhood – from the first women’s college in the United States to the role of artists in the neighborhood – and four thriving community gardens. Wear walking shoes and bring your curiosity. Children are welcome and transportation is available to take people between sites. Call the REC office for directions or more details at 508-799-9139.