Events

Join Rich Earth at one of our upcoming events – details below!

Talk: Forests of the Northeast Convergence
September 12, 4pm ◆ Sirius Community, Shutesbury, MA 
Rich Earth will be giving a talk as part of the ‘Bioregional Gathering’ day of this convergence, organized by Permatours and hosted at Sirius Community in Shutesbury, MA (where you can learn more about humanure in action!). This talk will include:

Film Screening: Unless Something Goes Terribly Wrong
September 14, 2026 , 6:30 pm ◆ Greenfield Garden Cinemas, MA – TICKETS
The City of Greenfield and Greenfield Garden Cinemas are hosting a screening of Unless Something Goes Terribly Wrong, a documentary focused on wastewater treatment described as “a buddy comedy about poop and the thankless pursuit of making a better world.” Unless Something Goes Terribly Wrong follows one wastewater treatment facility in Portland, Maine, and the funny, close-knit team that keeps it running. It examines the challenge of maintaining municipal infrastructure that’s both critical and practically invisible to citizens. Directed by Kaitlyn Schwalje and Alex Wolf Lewis, the documentary has earned numerous awards, including audience awards at the New Hampshire Film Festival and Camden International Film Festival, as well as Best New England Film at the Newburyport Documentary Film Festival.  In addition to the screening, the City of Greenfield is offering two tours of its municipal wastewater treatment plant in September. Space is limited to 10 participants per tour. Community members can register for a tour online. 

Tabling: Wastewaterpalooza Open House 
September 19 2026, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm ◆ Clean Water Center, MASSTC, Cape Cod MA 
Rich Earth’s Abe Noe-Hays and Julia Cavicchi will be at MASSTC’s Open House, hosted as part of Cape Cod Clean Water Week.  This will be a great opportunity to hear updates on the Falmouth UD Pilot Project! 

Talk: Is Urine Fertilizer Safe? Understanding Pharmaceuticals, PFAS and More 
September 19 2026, 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm ◆ Falmouth Public Library, ​300 Main St, Falmouth, MA 02540
Reclaiming human “waste” as a resource protects watersheds from nutrient pollution while giving farms a local, sustainable source of fertilizer. Communities across the Cape and Islands are actively exploring urine diversion as an affordable, practical strategy for reducing nutrient pollution, including a funded pilot project underway in Falmouth. But applying fertilizer made from diverted urine on farmland raises new questions: What happens to the residual medicines in our urine? What about pathogens, heavy metals, and PFAS? Rich Earth’s Abe Noe-Hays will share the latest research on the safety of urine fertilizer, and place it in the context of other common farm inputs including irrigation water, manure, and biosolids. This presentation will support informed decision-making for safe human waste management, clean water, and fertile farms. (Download a shareable event flier). 

Partner Event: Connecticut River Conservancy Source to Sea Cleanup
September 18-19 & 26, 2026
In addition to peecycling, another great opportunity to help keep the Connecticut River Conservancy healthy is the Source to Sea Cleanup – celebrating its 30th anniversary! Find a cleanup hub near you to get involved.  The Franklin County hub will be hosting a cleanup day for Green River in Greenfield, MA on September 26 – read more details here. 

Talk & Tabling: North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival
September 26-27, 2026 ◆ Orange, MA 
Stop by our booth in the Portal to the Future zone of the Garlic & Arts festival, learn about our Western Mass planning efforts, how to fertilize with urine in home gardens, or pick up a portable peecycler!  

Talks & Tabling: Common Ground Fair  
September 25-27, 2026 ◆ Unity, ME
Join us at the 50th annual Common Ground Fair, a massive celebration of rural living hosted by The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA). Stop by the Energy & Shelter tent to visit Rich Earth’s joint booth with Ajna Projects & Design (Ben Goldberg)! We’ll have a display of many different urine-diverting and compost toilet options, educational resources, guides, and more. We’ll also be giving our ‘Urine My Garden’ talk thrice in the SLS Speakers Tent: Fri Sep 25 2:00 – 2:50; Sat Sep 26 11:00 – 11:50; and Sun Sep 27 4:00 – 4:50. 

Tabling: Fabric of Life’s Barnfest
October 10, 2026, 12:00 – 5:00 pm◆ Shelburne, MA
Stop by our table at this community celebration hosted by Fabric of Life! Barnfest features local crafters and artisans, musicians, children’s activities, dancing, and the weaving together of an amazingly vibrant community. “Fabric of Life is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to the preservation and passing on of knowledge and skills that enrich our daily lives. We strive to see traditional skills flourish in our modern world and make these educational opportunities available to future generations. Working together creating practical things of beauty not only improves quality of life, but also strengthens communities.”

Climate Resilient Toilet & Greywater Systems 
Thurs October 15, 2026, 6:00 – 7:00 pm ◆Wendell Library, MA  
Massachusetts continues to face long-term drought, with lowering water levels in both rivers and groundwater impacting wildlife habitat and human water supplies. Meanwhile, flooding and contamination can threaten water quality and access to safe sanitation. Join Nina Gordon-Kirsch (Connecticut River Conservancy Massachusetts River Steward) and Julia Cavicchi (Rich Earth Institute) to explore how rethinking the human role in water and nutrient cycles can help build community resilience! Learn how water conservation and reuse can help us make the most of the water that flows into our homes and communities. We’ll share practical guidance for greywater and compost toilet systems, including Laundry-to-Landscape and emergency sanitation preparedness. We’ll also cover current MA rules and how to get involved in legislative advocacy and community planning.   

Urine My Garden: Why & How to Peecycle
Thurs October 22, 2026, 6:00 – 7:00 pm ◆ Wendell Library, MA  
Discover the age-old practice of “peecycling” – reclaiming the nutrients from your body as part of the food nutrient cycle. Human urine is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, offering a local, renewable alternative to commonly used synthetic fertilizers. Learn how reclaiming the human “waste” as a resource builds resilience for local food systems, while conserving clean water and protecting our watershed from nutrient pollution. Deb Habib and Ricky Baruc will share their local experience with on-farm nutrient cycling at Seeds of Solidarity. Julia Cavicchi (Rich Earth Institute) will share practical tips for peecycling in home gardens, insights from Rich Earth’s 14 years of community and farm-scale implementation in Vermont, and opportunities to get involved in Rich Earth’s latest efforts to grow urine diversion in Western Mass (the real “trickle down” effect). Together, we can pee the change!

Global Virtual Rich Earth Summit
November 4-6, 2026­ – Register
Connect with participants from around the world for three days of presentations, panel discussions, workshops, and networking. Learn about the latest research, hear lessons from pilot projects, discover emerging technologies, and build the partnerships needed to accelerate the transition toward circular sanitation systems.

US In-Person Rich Earth Summit 
April 7-9, 2027 ◆ Marine Biological Laboratory, Cape Cod, MA – *Save the date!* 
Join national and state leaders on Cape Cod, where severe nutrient pollution is driving momentum for urine diversion as an affordable, scalable solution for watershed protection. Together we’ll digest gleanings from the Global Virtual Summit and apply them to a region leading the nation in municipal-scale urine diversion. Come to exchange strategies across nutrient-impaired watersheds, explore planning approaches, and see pilot projects firsthand while connecting with the ecological sanitation community through workshops and exhibits. Save the date in your calendar or contact with inquiries. 

Interested in hosting a collaborative event? Check out our list of Educational Offerings or contact to discuss! 

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