For more information about upcoming events or to learn how your business or group can organize a clean-up in Lawrence email Kathryn or call (978) 974-0770. You can also find us in the community and learn of other happenings in town on our blog.

2010 Calendar

June 15 - October 26: Regular CSA Season Pick Up
2010 CSA Members receive their first share from Farmer Dave (Dracut, MA). Pick-up location at 60 Island Street from 3:00 - 7:00 PM; continues every Tuesday through October 26.

June 17-19 : Innovative Cities Conference in Lowell
Urban policy-makers, city administrators and planners, business leaders, urban affairs scholars and specialists, teachers and students, artists and environmental activists, and interested citizens will gather at the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center for in-depth presentations and workshops on strategies to strengthen the health of our nation’s cities.

June 28 - Green Team Summer Begins

July 7- October 27: Farmers Market
The Lawrence Downtown Farmers Market will open on July 7 and continue every Wednesday through October 27. Market hours are 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Location: Appleton Way between Essex and Common Streets, near City Hall, which is located at 200 Common Street.

August 2-3: National Night Out
GWL participates in National Night Out activities.

September 11 - 9th Annual Spicket River Greenway Cleanup
In partnership with the City of Lawrence and local schools, community groups, and businesses, this annual event brings together hundreds of volunteers to remove trash, debris and invasive plants from the banks of the Spicket River and the developing Greenway.

October 16 - World Food Day USA

October Community Gardens Closing Day
Community gardeners gather at GWL-managed community gardens to celebrate the season’s harvest and memories with a potluck and begin to clean up gardens for the season.

Nov.- Dec: Winter CSA Season Pick Up

November 8 - Eco- Art Submissions for Glow Gala are due

November 18 - Glow Gala and Annual Fundraiser (6:30-10:00)
Help us celebrate another year of successful projects, partnerships, and programs. Support Groundwork Lawrence while dancing, bidding on eco-art by local artists and youth, and entering to win fantastic raffle prizes at Chester's, 60 Island St., Lawrence, MA.

Past Events

February 27 – Priority CSA Registration Deadline
Returning & Waitlist Members
Building upon two very successful years, the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program is now accepting registrations for the 2009 season. Groundwork will continue to work with
Farmer Dave of Brox Farm in Dracut, MA to bring people farm fresh produce from July through October. More information and Registration forms are available on the CSA page. After February 27th member registrations will be accepted until the CSA shares sell out.

March 15 - GWL to present at GLFHC ( 2-4 pm)

April 10- LCW Annual Convention

April 24- Earth Day Celebration
Please join Groundwork Lawrence's Green Team, City of Lawrence, Comcast, Allied Waste, Covanta Energy, Jackson Lumber, Lawrence General Hospital, Lawrence Heritage State Park, Northern Essex Community College, Sal’s Pizza, and Whole Foods Andover for "Earth Day, Comcast Cares Day" on Saturday April 24 in honor of Earth Day.

Join hundreds of volunteers in making a positive impact on our community by planting trees and flowers, transforming vacant blighted lots, building community gardens and general clean-up of our city!

April 30- Arbor Day

May 1-Fiesta de Salud
Come to the Lawrence Senior Center on Haverhill Street from 10 am-2 pm for a family-friendly health fair sponsored by the Diabetes Coalition. Fun activities, healthy snacks, screenings, information, and more. Groundwork Lawrence will be present--so come learn about our many community programs!

May 12-Community Screening and Discussion of FRESH The Movie
Interested in what you can do to change our country's current food system? Come view this "fresh" new film which is packed with helpful ideas of how to take action-at Chester's (60 Island Street, Lawrence) from 6-8 pm. Refreshments served, discussion to follow the film. Suggested donation is $10 and all proceeds will benefit Groundwork Lawrence's Share-a-Share Program, which subsidizes the cost of CSA shares for those with financial need, providing fresh healthy food to those who need it the most. Thank you to Butcher Boy and the Sidell and Yepez Families for sponsoring this event!

May 15, 1:00 - 3:00 PM - The Mighty Merrimack
Lawrence Heritage State Park , 1 Jackson Street, Lawrence, MA
Step out this spring! Join Essex Heritage for a walk along Lawrence's North canal with DCR interpreter, Jim Beauchesne. Discover the power potential of the Merrimack River, historic textile mills, and the formative history of the industrial revolution that lives on through thoughtfully assembled interpretive exhibits and preserved artifacts. We begin at the restored boardinghouse, now home to the Lawrence Heritage State Park Visitor Center. Follow Jim’s lead along the esplanade of a nineteenth-century canal, past giant mills, in the footsteps of the Bread & Roses strikers, to the base of the Great Stone Dam. See this 19th-century engineering wonder from a new and not often visited perspective. A ~1 mile round trip, all within a National Historic Register district! For more info and to register for the event, see: http://www.essexheritage.org/explorers/index.shtml

June 1- CSA Registration Deadline

June 5- Community Gardens Opening Day
Community gardeners gather to celebrate the opening of GWL-managed community gardens and the beginning of the growing season with workshops and seedling-plantings.

June 12- Kite Festival, 11am - 3pm
The Kite Festival hosted in partnership with Lawrence Heritage State Park, Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, Northern Essex Community College, and Lawrence Summer Meals Program, is a family-friendly event that includes free kite-making and kite-flying (with Archie Stewart of Kite Education) at Pemberton Park, located on the banks of the Merrimack River. The event features lunch courtesy of the Summer Meals Program, face-painting, music and free trolley rides. Youth volunteers are needed to help with kite-making. Download the flyer here.

2009 Calendar

March 26 – The Local Food Movement Discussion
Join Groundwork Lawrence in a discussion about what’s going on locally in the food movement. Meet Farmer Dave from Dracut and learn what going on in local agriculture. Find out about Community Supported Agriculture, the Lawrence Farmers Market, and the Community Gardens, where people are growing their own food. Learn what they are doing and what they have to say about it!

March 27 – GreenStreets deadline to apply for a Tree
As part of our GreenStreets program, we are partnering with Bread & Roses, Habitat for Humanity, Lawrence CommunityWorks, the City of Lawrence’s First Time Homebuyer Program, and local residents to identify homeowners and determine if their yards are suitable and eligible for a FREE tree. Once qualified, GreenStreets participants will receive free assistance with selecting a tree and determining a suitable location, as well as technical assistance and volunteer support for a tree to be planted during spring of 2009.

April 21 – Earth Day Celebration
Groundwork staff and Green Team members kick off their year-round Green It Up! anti-litter campaign and week-long city-wide clean-up event on Tuesday, April 21st in honor of Earth Day. Meet at 9 AM at the North Common, at the fountain across from City Hall, to participate in the cleanup until 1 PM. Corporate teams, residents, and youth volunteers needed! In addition, Lawrence residents and Neighborhood Associations are encouraged to join the Green Team in this effort by hosting clean-ups in your own neighborhood on April 21st. We suggest you hold your clean-ups on Tuesday and place your filled bags at the curb to ensure that all trash can be picked up during the residential collection on Wednesday, April 22nd. Residential trash pick-up is on Wednesday this week because of the Patriots Day holiday observed on Monday April 20th.

April 24 – Arbor Day
GWL and the City of Lawrence celebrate National Arbor Day with a tree-planting celebration of our GreenStreets Program. Join GWL, Youthbuild, Habitat for Humanity, Lawrence Community Works, Bread and Roses Housing, Inc, and the City of Lawrence First Time Homebuyer Program at 8 Hazel Place in Lawrence from 10 a.m. - 12 Noon. Check out a map of the location here.

May 19 – Urban Land Protection Forum4
Advancing land conservation in urbanized areas.
Please check out the press release (June 4,2009) here.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009, 8:30 am-4:30 pm at the Doyle Conservation Center in Leominster, MA.
The Urban Land Protection Forum4 builds on three forums held in Lowell (2004), Boston (2006) and Lawrence (2007). This year’s event will bring together practitioners from the public and private sectors to share success stories, develop strategies, partnerships, and address the following topics:

• How do you justify your projects to funders? What are the measurables?
• Grant Programs – if you’re not participating, now’s the chance to ask questions!
• Stewardship – What are the benchmarks?
• Brownfields – What are the obstacles?

May 30 – Community Gardens Opening Day
Community gardeners gather to celebrate the opening of GWL-managed community gardens and the beginning of the growing season with workshops and seedling-plantings.

June 24 - 5% Day at Whole Foods in Andover
You can support Groundwork Lawrence by shopping at Whole Foods in Andover Wednesday June 24 all day. 5% of net sales will then be donated to GWL. The Andover store is at 40 Railroad St in Andover-near the Commuter Rail Station off Rt. 28.

June 27 – Kite Festival, A Family Fiesta
From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Kite Festival, a Family Fiesta, hosted in partnership with Family Services, Inc. and Lawrence Heritage State Park, is a family-friendly event that includes free kite-making and kite-flying (with Archie Stewart of Kite Education) at Pemberton Park, located on the banks of the Merrimack River. The event features lunch courtesy of the Summer Meals Program, face-painting, music and free trolley rides. Youth volunteers are needed to help with kite-making. Please check out our flyer and send it to your friends!

July 28 – Community Build-Garden Beds at Manchester Street Park
We're excited to have help from Reading Home Depot, the MA Office of Refugees and Immigrants, and the City's Community Development Department to build 30 raised garden beds at Manchester Street Park. View more information here. and here.

August 3 – National Night Out
GWL participates in National Night Out.

September 16 – DTA/DAR Announcement
At 1 p.m., the Downtown Lawrence Farmers Market is very pleased to host a joint press conference for the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) and the Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR). The commissioners of both departments will speak, announcing their partnership and new funding which will be available in the spring of 2010 to farmers markets, nonprofits, and other community groups across the state who wish to apply

September 16 – Manchester Street Park Ribbon Cutting
At 3 p.m., Join us and the City of Lawrence at the Official Ribbon Cutting for Lawrence's newest gem on the Spicket River Greenway!

September 19 – 8th Annual Spicket River Cleanup
In partnership with the City of Lawrence and local schools, community groups, and businesses, this annual event brings together hundreds of volunteers to remove trash, debris and invasive plants from the banks of the Spicket River.

June 30 – October 27: CSA Pick-Up
2009 CSA Members receive their first share from Farmer Dave of Brox Farm (Dracut, MA). Pick-up location at 60 Island Street from 3:00 - 7:00 PM; continues every Tuesday through October 27.

July 8 – October 28: Farmers Market
The Lawrence Downtown Farmers Market will open on July 8th and continue every Wednesday through October 28. Market hours are 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Location: Appleton Way between Essex and Common Streets, near City Hall, which is located at 200 Common Street.
Check out the Live Lawrence! Concert Series Schedule - at the Farmers Market from 1 - 2 p.m.

October 31– Community Garden Closing Day
Community gardeners gather at GWL-managed community gardens to celebrate the season’s harvest and memories with a potluck and begin to clean up gardens for the season.

November 6 - 8 – Greening The City Conference
Join Groundwork Lawrence and Somerville at Greening the City: Fostering Inspired and Innovative Leadership for Just and Sustainable Urban Communities, a conference sponsored by Lesley University and Mass Audubon. Kathryn Prybylski and Nancy Bernhard will be presenting the workshop: Changing Places, Changing Lives, how Groundwork Trusts in Lawrence and Somerville are building healthy, sustainable communities and empowering residents to improve their quality of life through environmental and open space improvements, community food programs, youth initiatives, and educational programming and events. Join us for an interactive discussion on how to build sustainable communities.

Nov - Dec 09 - EBT/SNAP Workshops for Farmers’ Markets
Janel will be presenting at 4 workshops being held by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR), Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) and United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (USDA-FNS) to talk about how MA farmers’ markets can benefit from participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as Food Stamps) and Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT). Join us to learn information on:

• Background on SNAP
• USDA application process
• Experiences/Best Practices from a farmers’ market currently using EBT
• Information on Massachusetts preferred EBT vendors
• Grant opportunity to offset the cost of wireless EBT terminals and outreach

Workshop Dates/Times and Locations:

• Amherst: Thursday, Nov. 12, 2:00 – 3:30PM: Dept. of Agricultural Resources Western MA Office, 101 University Dr., Suite C4, Amherst, 01002
• Waltham: Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2:00 – 3:30 PM: Federation of Massachusetts Farmers’ Markets, 240 Beaver St., Waltham, 02452
• Holden: Thursday, Nov. 19, 3:00 – 4:30 PM: USDA Rural Development, Medical Arts, Building, 52 Boyden Rd., Holden, 01520
• East Wareham: Wednesday, Dec. 2, 3:00 – 4:30 PM: UMass Cranberry Experiment Station, 1 State Bog Rd., E. Wareham, 02538

Please RSVP to David Webber or call 617-626-1754.

December 10, 6:30 - 10:00 – Glow Gala and Annual Fundraiser
Help us celebrate another year of successful projects, partnerships, and programs. Support Groundwork Lawrence while dancing, bidding on eco-art by local artists and youth, and entering to win fantastic raffle prizes at Chester's, 60 Island St., Lawrence, MA.