The birds and the bees, our Local Hero protects the ponds, a raffle winner, and it’s asparagus season

“Lawns provide no biodiversity, contribute to runoff that pollutes our ponds, and irrigation wastes our only source of drinking water. Plant native plants that are suited to the region and have deep root systems that absorb rainwater. And trees! They provide shade, absorb rainwater and carbon dioxide, and improve the value of your property.”
—Liz Durkee, MV Commission’s Climate Change Planner, at the Climate Week panel “Time to Retreat from the Shore?,” which was hosted by Bluedot Living.

May We Share Some Thoughts?

While we typically rely on the dog days of summer for permission to be lazy, the month of May is increasingly encouraging sloth.

It is, for instance, the month for No Mow May, a UK initiative getting traction here that asks only that we let our lawns grow without cutting. Of course, setting the stage for No Mow May is giving up lawn culture entirely, instead converting our grass to a more diverse and natural landscape. Conveniently, May is Garden for Wildlife Month, which invites us to be part of the National Wildlife Federation’s goal to reach the creation of one million wildlife gardens by 2027. And May 22 is the International Day for Biological Diversity, a UN declaration that urges all of us to just back off and let natural ecosystems flourish, something that’s more likely if we plant wildflower gardens and abandon our carefully manicured lawns. (Want to know how? See our story last year, “Natural Neighbors.”)

It’s a steady drumbeat of a message that you might have heard plenty during the well-attended Climate Week. Thanks to all of you who participated, including in Bluedot Living’s events. (That photo is from the Climate Week Finale on Saturday at the Grange.)

As one participant remarked upon leaving Marc Rosenbaum’s “How to decarbonize your home” seminar, “That was exactly what I needed to hear. I feel so empowered.”

That’s exactly what we needed to hear because that’s precisely what Bluedot aims to do.

We had lots of visitors at our table at the Climate Week finale, wanting to give us story ideas, questions for “Dear Dot,” and to sign up for newsletters. And we had a raffle! Bruce Nevin of Edgartown won dinner for two at one of our favorite restaurants, Atria. If you didn’t get the chance at our table at the Grange to sign up for our hub newsletter (featuring the solutions-focused stories you’ve come to expect from us but from all around the world), we hope you’ll do so now. On another note, Bluedot Living is a proud sponsor of the MV Film Society’s Environmental Film Festival, running from Thursday, May 26 to Sunday, May 29. These are all worthy and fascinating “stories from the front lines of environmentalism.” See you there. —Leslie Garrett and Jamie Kageleiry

“On a typical day, Julie Pringle starts collecting water samples at sunrise,” Sam Moore writes. “From the Edgartown Great Pond and Crackatuxet Cove, to the great ponds of Tisbury and Chilmark, she gathers data from May through October — top to bottom, shore to shore, and week to week. ‘Dissolved oxygen, temperature … lots of different parameters that we can then use to assess the health of the pond,’ Pringle said.
“Pringle, 30, grew up on the Island and is now the Scientific Program Director at the Great Pond Foundation. Her mission is to connect indicators of water quality to the wellbeing of the creatures and people that depend on the Edgartown Great Pond, and other Island ponds.”

Dear Dot,
I never know what to think about the sustainability certification labels on various products. Are they reliable?
–Michael

Dear Michael,
Eco labels exist in a murky area that, in the world of eco-claims, has brought about the term “greenwashing”, which applies to products that advertise environmental bona fides that don’t hold up under scrutiny. Indeed ClimateBert, an AI tool that measured 800 companies’ eco claims, revealed that greenwashing was rampant. Enter eco logos, which ostensibly do the homework for us, slap a label on something, and assure us that our money is well spent.
But is it?
Eco labels lend products a certain credibility and run the gamut from third-party verified and trustworthy to industry-verified and less so to almost meaningless…

Want to help preserve the Edgartown Great Pond? Volunteers can assist with the Ecosystem Monitoring Program and educational outreach events, aiding in water quality and biodiversity data collection, conducting surveys of pond species, helping staff with demonstrations of scientific concepts, and assisting with science communication. For updates on volunteer opportunities, email science@greatpondfoundation.org.
To learn about more volunteer opportunities on Island, consult our Ultimate Simple, Smart, Sustainable Handbook to Martha’s Vineyard.

Think Global, Act Local

On Bluedot’s hub website, we share stories of the amazing work being done all over, such as this one written by part-time Vineyarder Maria Buteaux Reade. She’s involved with Vermont’s Grateful Hearts, which diverts food waste and feeds the community’s hungry. In 2021, Grateful Hearts generated more than 40,000 meals from 6,682 pounds of food destined for waste. “Miracles happen when people collaborate to solve problems,” she writes. “The Grateful Hearts model can be replicated in almost any community.”