Alison McPherson is a member of Eliot Church and part of the Climate Care Team.

​Many of us take it for granted that the butterflies, bees, and flowers “come with the property” on which we live. But these insects play an important role pollinating our flowers, and ensuring the supply of fruits, grains, and veggies. Michael Benn grew up in Guyana (British Guiana, South America). There he first learned the beauty and bounty of orchids, mangoes, and nature’s botanical gifts to us. He was first exposed to bees kept by his father who was an agricultural officer for the British Guiana government.

​Every spring we labor in our gardens to produce images similar to those shown in the garden catalogs. But alas they succumb to an army of spider mites, aphids, caterpillars, etc. We fight back.  Armed with a collection of pesticides, insecticides, and fungicides, and other chemical toxins,  we apply these to “protect” our plants. In the process we annihilate the vital pollinators in the garden. Michael has been raising honeybees in his West Roxbury garden for the past three years. This year about 40 pounds of honey was harvested by Michael’s beekeeping mentor and friend, Doug Stuart and his wife Chris. In keeping with recommended agricultural practices, he only took about half of the available honey. The balance is for the bees to consume during the long winter months.

Winter: the season of soups and scarves. Staying cozy in cold weather is comforting, and there are ways to do so that keep costs low and help the climate. Our goal is to use less energy and use renewables for the energy we are using. How do we do that? Here are some tips:

1. First is to make sure our homes are as well weatherized (prepared for cold weather by insulating and air sealing). If you have not had a Mass Save Home Energy Assessment in the last two years, call and schedule to get a free audit of your home. After this assessment, you’ll get some free energy saving devices like power strips and a programmable thermostat, and you’ll get recommendations for adding blown-in insulation with at least 75% discount. The City of Newton recommends working with Home Performance Contractor Endless Energy to go through the Mass Save energy assessment and weatherization process – contact them through our website, below. Anyone with an electric or gas bill can get an assessment, even renters.
2. There are a lot of little things you can do around your house to better keep the heat in and the cold out, even without a professional’s help, such as weatherstripping doors, adding plastic window films over windows, or turning the thermostat down just one degree. These little pieces can add up to over a 30% difference in heating needs!
3. Save money and reduce emissions by participating in your municipality’s community choice aggregation program. Many cities and towns across the state have established electric supply programs with higher percentages of renewable energy than the basic service provided by the utilities. With recent increases in basic service prices in our fluctuating energy market, these established green energy programs provide cheaper and cleaner energy. For example, Eversource has proposed a supply rate of 25.6 cents per kWh for January-June 2023 with only 22% renewables, whereas Newton Power Choice offers 100% renewables for 14.4 cents per kWh, and lower rates for lower percentages of renewables.

Liora Silkes is the City of Newton’s Energy Coach, providing education and support for the Newton community to take climate action at home through the City’s 4 Our Future campaign, featuring four key climate actions. Learn more at newtonma.gov/4ourfuture and be in touch at lsilkes@newtonma.gov.
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