New on the VCS Board

The Vineyard Conservation Society, at its annual meeting on June 29, voted to approve the nomination of four new directors: former Martha’s Vineyard Commissioner Mimi Davisson; Richard Toole, who currently serves on the Oak Bluffs conservation commission and the zoning board of appeals; marketing and nonprofit management consultant Alan Ganapol; and Julie Anne McNary, professional fundraiser.

Think you know the Vineyard? This spring you will have the opportunity to test that knowledge with How Green is Your Vineyard? A board game that will include up to 1,800 questions in six categories: conservation, agriculture, history, commerce, arts and culture and odds and ends.

Businesses and organizations can participate by purchasing a space on the board and contributing questions to the game.

South Mountain Company's high-performance building engineer Marc Rosenbaum gave a presentation on Innovative Mechanical Systems for Low Heating Load Buildings at the fifth annual North American Passive House conference in Portland, Ore. Passive House is a German standard that was designed to make the world's most energy efficient buildings.

His case studies included a recent South Mountain deep-energy retrofit of a century-old carriage house for the Woods Hole Research Center.

The local chapter of Ducks Unlimited, a conservation nonprofit dedicated to preserving habitat, hosted its 34th annual dinner last Saturday at the Harbor View Hotel in Edgartown. And though turnout may have been the smallest in the organization’s long Island history, the group felt good about the evening, according to chairman Cliff Meehan.

The Stone Soup Leadership Institute announced this week that the Menemsha Inn will host the Vineyard’s first youth summit for sustainable development. The summit will be held from June 26 to July 2; 50 young people aged 16 to 23 will envision their future and learn to become leaders of a more sustainable world.

The first youth delegates to the Vineyard Youth Summit for Sustainable Development have been named and will meet this week ahead of their June summit.

Delegates include Oscar Thompson, nominated by the Martha’s Vineyard Charter School, who is interested in the environmental challenges facing the Island, specifically nitrogen runoff from fertilizers and septic systems.

Teenagers and young adults, some from the Vineyard, others from the Caribbean, were on an unusual bus tour of the Island last week, taking in the Dumptique, school gardens, Island Cohousing, the Farm Institute and Morning Glory Farm. The young group was part of the Stone Soup for the World Youth Summit, and the sight-seeing was designed to coax them in their contemplation of how they could build a more sustainable future.

Ponds in Peril, a forum to follow last summer’s successful event sponsored by the Vineyard Conservation Society, will be held on Wednesday, July 21 starting at 7 p.m. at the Sailing Camp in Oak Bluffs. The featured speaker will be Michael D. Giggey, a principal at Wright-Pierce Engineering. Mike will address water quality and wastewater management and infrastructure issues associated with growth and development on the Vineyard, presenting case studies of Sengekontacket Pond, Lagoon Pond and Lake Tashmoo.

Colorful cocktail dresses and navy blazers stood out against the dusty brown parking lots of the West Tisbury Agricultural Hall Monday night, as Islanders flocked to honor former Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation president, the late Stephen R. Crampton, at the foundation’s annual summer benefit.

Sheriff’s Meadow Sanctuary, the Edgartown property that gives its name to the Island’s largest private landowner and conservation group, is slated for restoration.

Adam Moore, executive director of the Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation, said at the foundation’s annual dinner this week that more than $300,000 of the $500,000 needed to refurbish and maintain the 20-acre property for public use has already been raised, and the foundation is actively seeking the balance from friends and neighbors.