Dedham to rally for the planet on Saturday

Befitting an event with a worldwide reach, Dedham’s part of International Climate Day this Saturday will include an interactive discussion on global warming between high school students in Dedham, Italy, and Peru.

The talks, via Skype – an Internet phone service, will involve students from Dedham High, Noble and Greenough School, the Tuscan town of Montepulciano, and a conservation area in Cusco, Peru called Parque de la Papa (or Potato Park). Some of the Peruvian students, who live in the Andes, will travel up to three hours to participate, said Liz O’Donnell, the vice chair of the Dedham Sustainability Committee.

“These local communities are really excited about interacting with students around the world. And it’s kind of heartwarming that high school students … care enough to take a Saturday and travel and make that happen,” she said.

Dedham residents are lined up to help translate on this end.

Dedham’s “rally for the planet” – to be held at the middle school from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. – is among thousands of such events being held in at least 164 countries on Saturday through 350.org, an international campaign that is trying to raise awareness about climate change.

Countries will gather in Denmark in December to work on a successor environmental agreement to the 1992 Kyoto Protocol. This year is “an absolutely crucial year” for addressing climate change, according to 350.org, and that having 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide is the safe upper limit for Earth’s atmosphere. But the group says what is now on the table for Copenhagen would not meet that standard – hence the “planetary day of action” to tell world leaders that stronger cutbacks on carbon emissions are needed.

The current concentration of carbon dioxide is 390 parts per million, according to the Dedham Sustainability Committee.

O’Donnell said the day will hopefully get people more motivated and aware of climate change before the Copenhagen conference, and serve as a community-building event.

“What we’ve seen in Dedham, which is really exciting, is that there is a huge interest in the community for sustainability and green issues. So we think it’s important to get people together and act on it,” she said.

The town’s participation also makes a lot of sense, coming just after Dedham’s receipt of a Leading by Example environmental award from the state.

“We set out to be a model community, and this fits right in with that,” O’Donnell said.

The event – hosted by the Sustainability Committee and the Clothesline Gang, an eco-team of seven Dedham residents that formed earlier this year – will also feature earth-friendly vendors such as Whole Foods Market and the locally-based Great American Rain Barrel Co. Rally for the planet will also have children’s entertainment such as pumpkin carving with Dedham Civic Pride and live music. There will be tours of the middle school showcasing its environmentally sustainable components, such as solar panels and a state-of-the-art boiler system.

A little later, at exactly 3:50 p.m., six Dedham churches will ring its bells.

“They will basically be sending a message of solidarity, and raising awareness for global climate day,” O’Donnell said.

Dedham Transcript staff writer Edward B. Colby can be reached at 781-433-8336 or ecolby@cnc.com.