Beverly hosts month long Earth Day Events
Beverly hosts month long Earth Day Events
This past Saturday I stopped by the ‘Science & Tech’ event hosted by GreenBeverly.com. This event is one of several hosted in Beverly, MA during the month of April. Others include ‘Oceans & Beaches’, ‘Art & Creativity’, and ‘Farms & Forests’. The full schedule is displayed on this poster and calendar.
Unfortunately, the weather was a bit rainy so the turnout was not as good as it could have been, but they still had a successful day. There were three primary activities within the event held at Beverly High School: Tours of the Solar Field, Electric Vehicle display and a Bike Rodeo for the kids.
Beverly’s Solar Field
If you’ve not had a chance to see the Beverly Solar Field (Greenway Park next to Beverly High School), I’d highly recommend it. The steward, Fred Hopps, was asked to be the Park’s Site Director in 2004 by Dr. Coleman and has been the ‘voice’ and advocate for the solar field ever since. He provides an excellent tour and contains a wealth of history and passion for renewable energy. Did you know that this solar field was one of many built in the 80’s under the administration of Jimmy Carter’s green energy initiative? Unfortunately, it’s the last original R&D photovoltaic site still standing in the nation today. It was built to promote and study the use of alternative energy sources like wind and solar. It’s hard to believe that it’s still generating power almost 40 years later.
Bike Rodeo
I did not spend a lot of time at the bike rodeo portion of the event as my ‘kid’ turned 18 this past week. However, I could see that they were doing a great job in working with the kids on different safety tips and bike maintenance. And, most importantly, the kids were having a great time.
Electric Vehicles
I strolled a little further to look at the ‘big kid’ transportation – the Electric Vehicles. The event featured a number of Electric Vehicles (EV) from a number of manufacturers. Although it will probably be another year or two before I’m ready to buy an EV, it was nice to hear about the advancements in EV technology (and the reduction in cost!). It was also great to hear that you can get a very solid used EV at a decent price with a nice warranty. I also learned that Beverly is very close to opening an EV charging station in north Beverly. That is great news for the community – and it will further advance the adoption of EV’s in our town.
I look forward to the additional events over the next few weeks and the Climate Café specifically. This is a potluck lunch at the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church on April 28th from 12:00-1:30 and will feature discussions around climate change. The discussions will focus on what we, as individuals or as a community, can do about it. I’m really looking forward to a lively local discussion – and eating some great food! Hope you can join us