top of page
shutterstock_1491626576.jpg

Conservation

Our Mission and Vision

Dedicated to implementing sustainable solutions for our town, with a focus on recycling, waste elimination, composting and responsible use of our resources. Together with the other Sustainable Marblehead working groups, we work toward making our beautiful community better.

icons-03.png

Beach Cleaning

Volunteers meet weekly at Devereux and other beaches, weather permitting.For information, send us an email

 

Or grab a bucket and pair of gloves and go on your own. To participate in a global effort to track and remove waste, download the Clean Swell App from Ocean Conservancy.

 

Click here for a picture of an astounding amount of trash a volunteer recently collected at Devereux.

icons-01.png

Gardening & Lawn Care

Tips for the garden:

 

  1. Plant trees, which absorb carbon from the air.

  2. Shrink your lawn or use organic lawn care practices. Some ideas for natural care are on this fact sheet.

  3. Replace the lawn with a tree with well planted beds since many caterpillars drop to the ground to pupate.

  4. Return plant pots to local garden centers to be reused as they cannot be recycled.

  5. See the Pollinator Action Plan tile for information on native plants and for support of at-risk pollinators.

icons-15.png

Recycling

Most recycling questions can be answered at Recycle Smart MA, which includes a searchable 'recyclopedia.'

Information about the town's recycling program can also be found on this fact sheet

​

Watch the video from our recent webinar, Compost, Recycle, Trash?

 

Here's an idea for recycling clean plastic bags and 16 oz bottles: ecobricks! View the fact sheet here. For a video, click here.

icons-09.png

Composting

Composting reduces methane from landfills, saves resources, and returns nutrients to the soil. Sign up for weekly curbside collection for $99/ year plus the cost of a bin at Black Earth and receive a free bag of compost in the spring. Food scraps can also be taken to Black Earth's bins at the Transfer Station.  Read the Marblehead Reporter article on addressing global warming here in town. 

 

icons-05.png

Reducing Waste

It takes hundreds of years for plastics to degrade, and research shows most commonly used plastics never fully go away but rather break down into smaller and smaller pieces. These microplastics have been found in wildlife, in our oceans, and in all the remote corners of the planet. Ideas to reduce single use plastics can be found here.

 

Replace single-use plastic with reusable water bottles and fill them at Marblehead’s new hydration stations at Chandler Hovey Park, Devereux Beach, Seaside Park and Gatchell Playground. Be Green, Drink from the Sink.

icons-06.png

Pollinator Action Plan

Recent Accomplishments

1.

Engaged local merchants about how to improve recycling and reduce waste, especially single use plastics.

3.

Ongoing summer weekly cleanings of Devereux Beach to reduce plastic and other debris from going into our oceans.

5.

Provide up to date information about recycling and composting via Zoom. 

7.

Developed a plan with Rec & Park to install new water filling stations and repair existing fountains.

9.

Coordinated with Marblehead Health Department Recycling Committee in promoting latest information on "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle," through recyclesmartma.org and recyclopedia websites.

2.

Organized and delivered a well-attended talk on organic lawncare and permaculture.

4.

Working with Ecobricks.org to create waste based building products.

6.

Toured Republic's Recycling Facility.

8.

Promoted sustainable practices in articles in the Marblehead Current.

10.

Organized four well-attended webinars on pesticides, biodiversity, organic lawncare and permaculture. Click here for videos.

Join Us

Meet time: Third Mondays
Leader(s): Evans Slepian and Mary Ellen Miller
Email: sustainablemarblehead@gmail.com

bottom of page