Purchase your tickets online!

We are still seeking "eco-art" pieces for the Glow Gala silent art auction. If you are interested in submitting artwork, please visit our website or click here: eco-art guidelines & registration form.

See photos of artwork from last year's Glow Gala!

 

In recognition of our multi-faceted work reclaiming brownfields, enhancing vacant open spaces, and building healthier, more sustainable communities, the Trustees of Reservations (TTOR), the nation's oldest regional land trust and non-profit conservation organization, recently named Groundwork Lawrence "Conservationist of the Year" along with its sister organization Groundwork Somerville, and its "parent" Federal agency, the National Park Service.

As part of the Groundwork USA national network of nearly 20 other "trusts", Groundwork Lawrence shares its mission to "change places and change lives" by leading on-the-ground projects, programs, and partnerships.  In each of our communities coast to coast, we respond to local needs by engaging residents, business owners, civic leaders, and youth in hands-on work to create positive change in some of our country's most underserved areas.  Like TTOR, Groundwork Lawrence is a land trust, meaning we actively work to conserve and improve precious urban natural resources-- like our rivers, trees, and vacant, underutilized spaces.

We are honored to have received TTOR's "Conservationist of the Year" award because it illustrates how our work is increasingly recognized by traditional land conservationists as a crucial, holistic piece of the environmental movement-- for making our cities more sustainable means making our society as a whole healthier, more enjoyable, and more opportunity-filled for everyone.

 

If you are interested in joining our CSA next year, please email Rowan to be added to our 2009 waiting list.  Please note that former CSA members will receive first priority in the event that shareholder demand exceeds our capacity.

Groundwork Lawrence's 2008 Farmers Market season came to a close on Wednesday, October 29th.  Despite a very rainy summer, we counted several hundred people coming through the market each week to buy fresh, locally-grown fruits, vegetables, plants, honey, eggs, and baked goods.  In addition, our market benefitted from a vibrant selection of live world music offered at lunchtime on five market days through the Live Lawrence! free summer concert series.  Please join us next summer (opening day TBD-- stay tuned!) for the market's 15th anniversary of providing fresh, locally-grown produce right in the heart of downtown Lawrence!

With the dual goals of learning about the facets of a healthy community and working to achieve it in Lawrence, the Groundwork Lawrence Green Team year-long program is now in full swing!  Ten students, including 9 from Lawrence High and 1 from the Greater Lawrence Technical School, make up this group of motivated, hard working leaders who will be spending the next year working on many exciting hands-on projects and awareness-raising initiatives. 

To date, the Green Team has exercised their civic engagement responsibilities by collecting community input and providing feedback for the City's Open Space Plan, as well as the design of the soon-to-be new Manchester Street Park.  They've also recruited their peers to join over 500 volunteers who took part in our 7th Annual Spicket River Cleanup, and gave Congresswoman Niki Tsongas an insider's tour of Scarito Park and our community gardens there on Rivers' Day in October.  This fall, the Green Team has begun planning a campaign to encourage their peers in the high school to recycle, an effort they hope to eventually take city-wide. They'll also be further engaging in the community by creating "eco-art" for Groundwork Lawrence's upcoming Glow Gala & Annual Fundraiser, which will feature a juried eco-art show and silent auction. In keeping with the "eco-art" theme, each piece must incorporate one of the 3R's (reduce, reuse, or recycle), and must promote greater environmental awareness, which is what Green Team, in part, is designed to do.

Over the winter and this spring, Green Team will continue to explore what it means to live in a healthy community by examining and understanding themselves as individuals and as budding young leaders here in Lawrence.  Toward that end, Green Team will be guided through this process with our 'Eat Right, Move More' curriculum, designed to encourage young people to develop healthy habits by making sound food choices and increasing physical activity.  In addition to examining their own habits and developing personal goals, Green Team members will also look at our urban environment and set goals for addressing the many challenges and opportunities for better health in Lawrence.  Stay tuned for more information from our Green Team leaders!