Read the July/August 2023 BCF Newsletter

In this issue:

How Can Belmont Use the McLean Barn?

The Land Management Committee of Lone Tree Hill (LMC), in consultation with the Belmont Historic District Commission, is seeking ideas to give new life to this remnant of Belmont’s agricultural past. Read more.

Opinion: Parking, People,  and Money

In Belmont you, need one parking space per 250 square feet of retail or office space. Your parking lot will have to be bigger than your business. Read more.

Porchfest Returns!

This year, the event will be on Saturday, September 9, 11 AM-6 PM, rain date Sunday, September 10. Read more.

Belmont Will Phase Out Gas Leaf Blowers

A new town policy will soon change the use of gas-powered leaf blowers that emit cancer-causing particulates, send out winds that can exceed Category 5 hurricanes. Read more.

How to Get Your Garden Through Summer Heat

By this point in the summer, your water barrels may be dry and you may be devoting inordinate amounts of time (and money) to watering. Read more.

BHS Students Create Native Plant Garden

The Belmont High School Climate Action Club, with the help of adult and student volunteers, planted our long-anticipated native garden in front of the school. Read more.

Profiles in Belmont: Dean Hickman

Before he became chair of Sustainable Belmont, before the PhD in pharmacogenetics, before moving to the United States, certainly before any awareness of the environmental needs of a Massachusetts town next to Cambridge, Dean Hickman was picking up litter. Read more.

Wild Play is Parenting in the Great Outdoors

Are you concerned about the academification, indoorification, and digitalization of your child’s life? Read more.

Ottavio Forte, Renaissance Man

Tireless energy, intelligence, and curiosity mark the life and times of Ottavio Forte. Now in his 80s, he has enjoyed success in a colorful array of careers and hobbies: electrical engineer, beekeeper, sculptor, winemaker, distiller, gardener, and homespun philosopher. Read more.

Do We Underestimate Bees?

Sit in your backyard by the flowers and watch the bees go about their busy business. Are these garden denizens simply honey-gathering, pollen-spreading automatons? Read more.

UMass Field Station Update

The city of Waltham acquired the property from UMass last year. Read more.

Local Activists Testify to Limit Rat Poisons

The morning we arrived to rally in front of the State House, we noticed two hawks circling the Boston Common. Read more.

A New Weekly Voice for Belmont

Once upon a time, Belmont had a real newspaper. Indeed, within living memory, it had two: The Belmont Citizen (1944–1988) and the Belmont Herald (1931–1988.) Read more.

Letter to the Editor: Airplane Noise

A reader writes about the health effects of airplane noise. Read more.

MBTA Rethinks Tunnel Construction

The MBTA recently changed its position regarding the preferred construction method for the new tunnel under the Fitchburg Commuter Rail Line at Alexander Avenue. Read more.