Somerville, Massachusetts

somerville-massachusetts

_Image above by @liz_ Our work in Somerville is developing in partnership with [Parts and Crafts](http://partsandcrafts.org). Somerville is also home to [Sprout](http://thesprouts.org) and the Boston-area Dorkbot chapter. ##Projects## In Somerville, we've been interested in * measuring vegetation health using [near-infrared cameras](/tool/near-infrared-camera) * detecting heat leaks with cheap, DIY [thermal photography](/tool/thermal-photography), allowing for better winterization and heating bill savings * investigating waste flows, such as where our trash goes -- with Pablo Rey from [Basurama.org](http://basurama.org) * check out this map of a [landfill in Saugus, MA](https://mapknitter.org/map/view/saugus-incinerator-landfill) which we made in late 2011 * improving the [DIY spectrometer](/tool/spectrometer) for investigating oil and tar contamination (mainly for use at the [Gowanus Canal](/place/new-york-city) and along the [Gulf Coast](/place/gulf-coast) *Above: a kite map of the Saugus incinerator ash landfill, where most of the Boston area's trash ends up.* We occasionally have meetups at the Pirateship, so get in touch [on the mailing list](/wiki/mailing-lists) if you're interested in participating in or organizing a local meetup. At Parts & Crafts, we've been doing occasional workshops building [spectrometers](/tool/spectrometer), [infrared cameras](/tool/near-infrared-camera), such as the one used to take this photograph: ###Tool sharing Folks on the local **plots-boston** discussion list often lend and borrow Public Lab kits and other resources. To request a kit, or help with a kit from other local members, please email the list -- you can sign up in the upper left. To offer resources borrowing, please add your name and the available tool below: * DIY Spectrometer: [warren](/profile/warren), [kgradow1](/profile/kgradow1) * Kites (9-foot & 7-foot): [warren](/profile/warren), [kgradow1](/profile/kgradow1) * Balloon Mapping kits: [warren](/profile/warren) * Space for events: [kgradow1](/profile/kgradow1) * [Infragram](/wiki/infragram) cameras: [warren](/profile/warren) Other things are often available, so please ask on the list if you're wondering! **** ##Pollution reports Nearby pollution issues (by [SkyTruth Alerts](http://alerts.skytruth.org/)): ...