On Saturday, March 9, the partnership of the Vineyard Conservation Society and the MV Film Society will host its next Green on Screen event, a series of films that explore and bring attention to environmental issues. This time; everything you ever wanted to know about biophilic design but were afraid to ask.
Take a look at a Vineyard book shelf and you’re likely to find The History of Martha’s Vineyard by Charles Banks or Moraine to Marsh by Anne Hale. For conservationists, Aldo Leopold’s book A Sand County Almanac published in 1949 is equally iconic. “I think anybody can be inspired by what he wrote,” Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation director Adam Moore said this week. “It’s one of the key pieces of literature in our environmental history in this country.”
The following was submitted as testimony for the Martha’s Vineyard Commission public hearing on its development of regional impact checklist.
The Vineyard Conservation Society is an advocacy organization. Our focus is on environmental, land use, and growth and development issues on this Island. We have over 1,000 seasonal and year-round members, and we have been doing this work for nearly 50 years.
What I am here to advocate for this evening is some version of tightened plan review for high-impact residential development.
The Vineyard Conservation Society (VCS) will begin its program of guided winter walks this Sunday, Nov. 11, with an interpretative hike around the agricultural land and outwash plain at Katama Farm. The walk takes place from 1 to 3 p.m.
This year’s winter walks embrace the theme of historic land usage crossroads and feature properties where possible crises were averted with the help of VCS.
At Katama Farm, the community united to prevent development that could have resulted in hundreds of building lots.
In following the news coverage of Hurricane Sandy, I was struck by a strange reversal in reporting from before and after the storm. In the days leading up to landfall, the effect of climate change on the likelihood, strength or impacts of the storm was largely ignored; in accounts of the damage post-Sandy, the subject of climate change has been routinely raised.
Art and nature are more closely tied than ever at the Gay Head Gallery on State Road in Aquinnah. A current show features art across a variety of mediums with special goals — to relay the beauty of the natural world and contribute to conservation efforts. A dozen artists have work on exhibit for sale, and anywhere from 10 per cent to 100 per cent of the proceeds from sales will benefit the Vineyard Conservation Society and the Moshup Trail Project.