Hazards of landscaping Community Conversation at The Gables

SALEM — The daffodils are lovely but the weeds aren’t far behind. Landscapers deploy en mass this time of year to commence months of hard work transforming overgrown yards littered with winter’s detritus into scores of little wonderlands. The work isn’t just hard, it’s hazardous. In The House of Seven Gables’ third Community Conversation of 2017, a group of experts talks about the health and safety of landscapers, with its base of immigrant labor. The discussion is at The Gables’ Visitor Center, 115 Derby St., on Wednesday, May 17, at 6 p.m. Jeanne Kempthorne, an attorney mediator and founder of the Good Neighbor Mediation Project in Salem, will be joined by Jamie Banks, executive director of Quiet Communities Inc., and Rick Reibstein, an environmental lawyer and law professor. Together, the group will lead a discussion about the exposure of harmful pollutants and noise in the landscaping industry. Professor Reibstein will also address environmental pollutants such as the lead, pesticides and mold that affect immigrant and low-income communities. Professor Reibstein has provided training throughout New England on environmental issues in residential real estate, and teaches environmental law to non-law students at Boston University and Harvard Extension School. He is the former assistant director of the Massachusetts Office of Technical Assistance for Toxics Use Reduction, and he was an EPA environmental and lead enforcement attorney.  Jamie Banks, Ph.D., MS, is an environmentalist and health care scientist dedicated to promoting clean, healthy, and sustainable landscape maintenance. She founded the environmental behavior company, Planet Rewards, and later formed Quiet Communities as a nonprofit organization to help communities, organizations and businesses reduce noise and pollution from outdoor power equipment. Community Conversations are free and open to the public. Reservations are recommended. If you have questions about this event, please contact Ana Nuncio at anuncio@7gables.org or call 978-744-0991, ext. 105. About The House of the Seven Gable Settlement Association The mission of the House of the Seven Gables Settlement Association is to preserve its National Historic Landmark and leverage its power as an icon of American culture to engage diverse audiences and provide education opportunities for the local immigrant community. For more information visit www.7gables.org. This year The House of the Seven Gables focuses on life and labor over four centuries on the historic museum campus. Special programming includes an interactive exhibit, lectures, conversations and family programming. All programs will be designed to share the history of work using The House of the Seven Gables as a model for both ordinary and extraordinary jobs. Website: http://www.7gables.org/event/what-health-dangers-do-immigrant-laborers-face-in-the-landscaping-industry/ Facebook: http://bit.ly/2qqmK1u Caption: Attorney Jeanne Kempthorne (pictured), founder of Good Neighbor Mediation Project in Salem, joins Dr. Jamie Banks, an environmentalist and health care scientist, and Dr. Rick Reibstein, an expert on environmental pollutants, for a discussion on health hazards related to landscaping at The Gables on Wednesday, May 17, at 6 p.m.