Tag: environment

  • 2021 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards Winners Announced

    2021 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards Winners Announced

    FRAMINGHAM, MA – While this article is not directly about Framingham, it is a great story about an international annual photo competition called the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, (CWPA), founded by Paul Joynson-Hick, a wildlife photographer who’s lived in East Africa for the past 30 years — a story about something that benefits every living thing on Earth — including Framingham.

    Back in 2015, while thumbing through some wildlife photos he began laughing to himself when the expressions on the animals faces or the situations they were in or other aspects of the image struck him as funny.

    (more…)
  • Framingham Earth Day Festival, Saturday April 28th

    Framingham Earth Day Festival, Saturday April 28th

    Earth Day graphicFRAMINGHAM, MA – The Town of Framingham will celebrate Earth Day 2012, on Saturday, April 28th. Events are scheduled throughout out the day.

    The day starts with Framingham’s 12th annual Greenup Day. From 9:00am to 12:00 noon, join friends, neighbors and other volunteers at various locations throughout Framingham to help remove trash and debris from ponds, rivers and streams, parks and roadways to improve Framingham’s environment. For complete information about Greenup Day and details of meetup locations, visit:  www.greenupday.org

    From 10:00am to 12:00 noon Framingham will participate in World Tai Chi & Qi Gong Day on the Centre Common (rain or shine). Tai Chi & Qi Gong are “Chinese healing techniques and exercises have been used to treat certain conditions, stimulate the immune system and harmonize and balance the body’s energy.”  All are welcome! For more info World Tai Chi & Qi Gong Day, visit: www.tqhi.org

    From 11:00am ’til 3:00pm the 2012 Framingham Earth Day Festival will be held on the Village Green, (Framingham Centre Common).  Educational, environmental and fun events for families, kids and people of all ages including on-site recycling, sustainable living demonstrations and over 80 vendor booths showcasing green and eco friendly products, local foods and art and craft items by area artisans. There will be games, crafts, face painting, a magic show  and other activities just for kids.  Live performances by “The Elderly Brothers“,  “Something With Digby” and “Adam & Eve” will fill the Common with music for the afternoon.

    In case of Rain, the Festival will be held indoors at Framingham High School, (on “A” Street).

    For detailed schedules of  events, and other info, visit the following websites:

     

    For more information, contact: Donna Kramer Merritt, Chair, Earth Day Festival Committee by email at: FraminghamEarthDay@gmail.com, or by calling (508) 788-7300.

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  • GeoCaching & LetterBoxing at Callahan State Park

    GeoCaching & LetterBoxing at Callahan State Park

    FRAMINGHAM, MA – The Framingham Conservation Commission and Framingham REI are hosting and sponsoring a Geocaching & LetterBoxing event at Callahan State Park  on Saturday, September 24th, 2011. (Enter park at Edmands Rd. entrance to meet up with organizers and other participants. See directions below).

    Moving Planet, September 24, 2011
    On Saturday, September 24th, 2011, people in 176 countries around the globe will be taking part in Moving Planet events.

    Moving Planet is “a day to put our demands for climate action into motion“, marching, biking, skating — calling for the world to move beyond the use of fossil fuels. Moving Planet is sponsored by 350.org

    According to the 350.org website, “350 means climate safety” and is based on the concept of reducing the amount of CO2 in Earth’s atmosphere from its current 392 parts per million level to below 350 ppm.

    As Framingham’s part in this global effort, those who arrive for the events at Callahan State Park on foot, by bike, on roller-blades — or other non-fossil-fuel based transportation will be entered to win coupons, water bottles, an REI Flash 18 Pack, and more!

    The GeoCaching event begins at 10:00a.m.  Participants must bring their own cache and GPS units.

    According to The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site, (www.geocaching.com), “Geocaching is a real-world outdoor treasure hunting game. Players try to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, using GPS-enabled devices and then share their experiences online”.

    The LetterBoxing hunt begins at 10:00a.m., but participants need to arrive at 9:00a.m. to create logbooks.

    According to Letter Boxing North America, (www.letterboxing.org), “LetterBoxing involves reading clues to find small weatherproof boxes hidden in public places (like parks). Each box contains a stamp and a visitor book. When a LetterBoxer finds a box they print that box’s stamp on their logbook or game card and then imprint their own personal stamp in the letterbox’s visitor book to prove they found the box and to let other letterboxers know who has been there already. Letterboxing combine navigational skills and rubber stamp art in a charming treasure hunt style outdoor quest.”

    The LetterBoxing event is open to children in grades K-5, (friends and family members may participate).

    For the LetterBoxing hunt, participants will attempt to use clues and solve riddles that will help them find where the letterboxes are hidden. Each letterbox will contain stickers, and the child will take one and place it into their logbook as evidence that they’ve found that box.

    (Note, the Framingham LetterBoxing event will use stickers instead of  rubber stamps).

    The GeoCaching and LetterBoxing events will end at 2:00p.m.

     

    Events will be held RAIN or SHINE! 

    Directions: Follow Edgell Road or Water Street to intersection of Edmands/Water/Edgell, (in Nobscot).  Turn onto Edmands Rd. and follow approximately 2 miles, pass Nixon Road (on right) then look for “Callahan State Park” sign and small parking lot on the left.

    To register for this event, contact Maeghan Walters, of the Framingham Conservation Commission at (508) 532-5460, or by email to: mnw@framinghamma.gov

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  • Caution! Turtles Crossing

    Caution! Turtles Crossing

    Painted Turtle, Framingham, MA (USA)
    This painted turtle may look both ways before crossing the road — but might not be fast enough to get to the other side before being run over by a car. (Photo from Jmailk, WikiMedia Commons)

    FRAMINGHAM, MA – Town of Framingham Conservation Commissioner Nicola Cataldo sent out an email reminding residents that several species of turtles are currently nesting around town.

     

    The turtles which sometimes nest hundreds of yards from the many ponds and slower moving parts of the Sudbury River where they live will frequently attempt to cross roadways.

    Residents are advised to be on the lookout for the turtles and avoid running them over.

    The most populace species is town is the Eastern Painted Turtle which has a (more…)

  • 2011 Earth Day in Framingham

    2011 Earth Day in Framingham

    Earth Day graphicFRAMINGHAM, MA – on Saturday, April 30, 2011, from 11:00AM to 3:00PM there will be an Earth Day Festival on the Framingham Centre Common.

    Environmental groups, local artisans, displays of energy saving products along with information about recycling, composting and other displays and activities are planned.  Get ideas about how to be more green, while you enjoy live music, delicious foods and fun stuff for kids.

    A detailed list of Framingham Earth Day (“Earth Month”) events follows, but first:

    Why Earth Day?

    Many people think Earth Day is about recycling, cleaning up trash and trying to save energy — it is!  But, there was much more to (more…)

  • Staples Youth Social Entrepreneurship Competition

    Staples Youth Social Entrepreneurship Competition

    Staples Youth Social Entrepreneurship Competition
    Do you have the next great idea?

    FRAMINGHAM, MA – Staples, Inc. and Ashoka, the world’s community of leading social entrepreneurs, have launched the fourth annual Staples/Ashoka Youth Social Entrepreneur Competition.

    The global competition highlights youth-led organizations focusing on social issues affecting their communities, and is part of Ashoka’s Youth Venture, an initiative that identifies and fosters young entrepreneurs all over the world who are creating positive change.

    Since 2006, Staples Foundation for Learning, the charitable arm of (more…)

  • European Fire Ants

    European Fire Ants

    PHOTO - Myrmica Rubra (European Fire Ant)
    Myrmica Rubra (European Fire Ant). Photo courtesy of Gary Alpert at en.wikipedia

    FRAMINGHAM, MA – Professor Eldridge Adams studies the “behavioral and population ecology of social insects” at the University of Connecticut. Working with Wen Chen, a Ph.D student, Adams is researching the spread of Myrmica rubra, or the European Fire Ant which is part of the INANE, (“INvasive Ants of New England”) project.

    Adams contacted Darren Guertin, (Framingham’s Conservation Agent), asking that people, especially those involved with nature centers, wildlife sanctuaries, and similar organizations report any sighting of the ants.

    The ants are red in color with a darker shade of red to the head.  They primarily live under fallen trees, stones and in the soil.  They build colonies which consists of many nesting sites with up to 100 queens.  Considered an invasive species, the aggressive European Fire Ant eats (more…)

  • Upcoming DPW Recycling Events

    FRAMINGHAM, MA — This spring the Department of Public Works will be hosting several events aimed at increased recycling and environmental awareness.

    On Saturday, April 18th the second annual Shred Fest will be held at the Recycling Center on Mount Wayte Ave from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm. This event provides free and secure paper shredding of your confidential documents. Watch a video monitor as your documents are shredded in their first step to being recycled. The only (more…)

  • Framingham Named a ”Tree City USA”

    FRAMINGHAM, MA – The Town of Framingham has been named a “Tree City USA” by the National Arbor Day Foundation (NADF), it was announced this past week. Tree City USA is a national awards program run by the NADF and administered in Massachusetts by the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Urban and Community Forestry Program.

    Becoming a Tree City USA requires that a municipality meet standards, set by the NADF and the National Association of State Foresters, which include passage of a tree care ordinance and implementation of a tree or forestry board, as well as an official proclamation or formal observance of Arbor Day.

    State Senator Spilka commented, “One of the features that make Framingham such a wonderful residential community is its beautiful foliage. Not only is it environmentally sound, but it adds to Framingham’s warm and inviting demeanor. Such a feature can be easily taken for granted by a community, so it is to the great credit of Framingham’s residents and municipal government that it has earned Tree City USA status.”

    Visit The National Arbor Day Foundation website for additional information.

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