840 Sandwich Road
East Falmouth, MA 02536
508-457-0449

Environmental Justice

Green Sanctuary Environmental Action Plan

Our congregation has established a Green Sanctuary Task Force to explore steps toward becoming an accredited Green Sanctuary as described by the Unitarian Universalist Association. The Task Force has drafted an Environmental Action Plan for consideration and comments by the congregation.

Community Garden

Fellowship members prepare for spring planting

Photo by Dorene Sykes

2008 will be our fifth year at the sixty-plot, organic Community Garden at the Falmouth Service Center on Gifford Street. The UUFF gives vegetables it raises to the Community Pantry for distribution to those who need a helping hand. The first scheduled work session at the garden will be held on April 12 from 9 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The second work session will be on April 26 from 9:00 a.m. to noon. At noon on April 26, there will be a celebration of Earth Day and the 25th anniversary of the Falmouth Service Center. There will be a free lunch, entertainment, a short talk by Master Gardener Inez Narbis on organic gardening, and other fun activities. Garden plots are offered on a first come basis for a nominal annual fee of $10, to anyone in the community who wants to try their hand at growing organic vegetables. Gardeners are not alowed to use synthetic fertilizers or chemicals. Each gardener agrees to give 50% of their vegetable crop to the Center for free distribution to people in need at the Center's Food Pantry. Experience varies from beginning gardeners (what's a garden rake?) to master gardeners (use diluted tabasco sauce to control aphids). Monthly community work days and pot-luck suppers provide opportunities for the gardeners to share ideas. The Center provides tools as well as compost, mulch, manure and acceptable environmentally sensitive fertilizers. The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Falmouth gardens two plots. The Fellowship contributes about two bushels of vegetables -- 95% of our crop -- to the Food Pantry yearly. Considering the magnitude of world-wide hunger and malnutrition, two bushels isn't much. But it is our way of working locally to do our part.

News from the Green Sanctuary Committee

Upcoming Programs

See Religious Education: Adult for programs co-sponsored by the Green Sanctuary and Adult Religious Education Committees.

Solar Panel News

Our capital campaign for solar panels succeeded with flying colors, the State of Massachusetts came through with their part of the funding (hooray!), and installation of the panels will proceed as soon as possible. Many thanks again to the whole congregation for your generous support of this project.

"Green" electricity at the UUFF

Should the UUFF switch to purchasing "green" electricity? (for that part of our electricity that will not be generated by our new solar photovoltaic panels, to be installed as soon as the weather permits.) Green electricity, purchased from the local utility, comes mostly from wind and small hydroelectric plants. Our conventional electricity is produced mostly from coal, gas, and nuclear sources. Green electricity would cost the UUFF a few hundred dollars extra per year. The Green Sanctuary committee recommends that the congregation discuss and decide this question at the upcoming annual meeting in June.

Thoughts for Earth Day:

Electricity, home heating, driving, eating: which one is responsible for the most CO2? Answer: home heating. For Earth Day (April 22) are you thinking about reducing your carbon footprint? We recommend: insulating your home and making your home heating more efficient; asking for a free energy audit of your home from the Cape Light Compact; purchasing green electricity; driving a fuel-efficient car; and eating locally produced food, eating less meat, and seeking out grass-fed and pasture-raised meat when you do eat meat. Support community gardening at the Falmouth Service Center! It’s organic and it helps our neighbors as well as ourselves.

Community Wind meeting

The meeting "Community Wind Energy 2008" will take place in Albany, NY from April 14 to 16.

Keep track of your Utility Bills

We are planning ways to calculate our household environmental footprints.