Drop of Hope Photography Project

The Roots & Shoots youth organization invites everyone to participate in this year's Drop of Hope Water Photography Project. There are even a couple of spaces left in a special photography workshop at Deer Island on Sunday, August 23.

The project encourages youth participation in celebrating bodies of water, building awareness about water issues, as well as creating and enjoying art. Roots & Shoots is again working with the Griffin Museum of Photography and Boston Photography Center on this project. Roots & Shoots is founded by chimpanzee researcher and environmental activist Dr. Jane Goodall.

This project involves three stages:

1. Young people take photos and briefly write descriptions about bodies of water they have visited, projects they have done with water or water issues that are of concern to them.
2. Exhibit the photos and descriptions in an online Roots & Shoots photo gallery, allowing visitors to the gallery to learn about and comment on the photos. (Anyone may submit photos for this portion of the project.)
3. The eventual exhibition of a selected number of the photos in the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA. (Only photos taken by Roots & Shoots members can be selected for this opportunity.)

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Dispatches Photo Contest

Here are some of our favorite photos from recent day trips. If it doesn't have a caption, identify the photo location in a comment and win a free PDF of the Day Tripper! Click the speech bubble for captions, and click on the photo to see a larger version on Picasa.

Sea Turtle Rescue on Cape Cod

One of the great things about living on Cape Cod is the tremendous number of opportunities to get involved with ongoing work to preserve the environment and to protect wildlife, reported reader Rick Silva on the Dispatches Gather group. Rick and friends volunteer at the Humane Society's Cape Wildlife Center, and are involved in saltmarsh monitoring through the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (also see the author's recent article on fish monitoring with the APCC). On Monday, Rick was among a large crowd of spectators who came to Dowses Beach in Osterville MA to watch a group of sea turtles get released into the wild.

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A few of the turtles seemed a bit confused at first, but then slowly headed down the beach...

It's a Jungle in There!

Go ahead, take off that parka - you're surrounded by more than 1,000 varieties of exotic plants glistening with a tropical humidity that belies the date on your calendar. Short of a Caribbean cruise, the Margaret C. Ferguson Greenhouses at Wellesley College are the best pick-me-up around for frozen New Englanders. Bring a sketchbook and a folding chair, or hunt for the lone bench secreted amid one of the lushest spots in the greenhouses and read a book. Seldom crowded, the 15 interconnected greenhouses are free and open every day of the year from 8 am to 4 pm. Parking's nearby, so leave your coat in the car - you'll warm up when you get inside. Wellesley College is at 106 Central Street, Wellesley, and the website gives good directions through the campus. Tel: (781) 283-3094; 15 minutes from the intersection of Routes 2 & 128.

Trains of Our National Heritage

The Day Tripper Divas recently visited a model railroading exhibition at the Museum of Our National Heritage in Lexington, which runs interesting cultural programs all year, including two railroad shows in the winter. The HUB Division of the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) was chartered in 1958 and draws members from Eastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod. The Northeast Ntrak Model Railroad Club arrives at MONH for a similar show on Feb. 17 & 18. Enjoy the photos!

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New Drop-In Playtime

Arlington Family Connection presents....AFC Playtime, a new weekly drop-in group that will meet every Monday (including holidays) from 10-11:30am at Arlington Enrichment Collaborative's space on the 2nd floor of 1100 Mass Ave. Parents and caregivers with kids 0-4 years old are welcome to drop-in anytime to play with age appropriate toys, have a cup of coffee while sitting in a sunny room on comfy couches and socialize with other families. We will also have craft supplies, occasional guest speakers and will end each Playtime with a circle time including a story and a song. The cost for AFC Playtime will be $3/family and it is open to AFC members and non-members. We will also be selling AFC's 2006 Childcare & Preschool Options Books for $8 and The Compleat Day Tripper for $10 ($2 off). For more info, contact Sarah at 781-316-8181 or via email. You can also visit the AFC website for more information about Playtime and the AFC's new "Parents Afternoons Out."

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