Dear Friends and Acton Conservation Trust Members,
The following events may be of interest:
Tuesday, February 6
Not Your Average Cause – Fundraiser
All Day
Not Your Average Joe’s, Acton, 305 Main St, Acton, MA 01720
Acton Conservation Trust has been selected for the Not Your Average Cause program sponsored by Not Your Average Joe’s restaurant. Every Tuesday in February 2024 (the 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th) NYAJ’s will donate an amount equal to 15% of all purchases made by ACT supporters at Not Your Average Joe’s in Acton. Lunch, dinner and purchases in the restaurant are all equally eligible (*excludes alcohol and tip).
There are three ways to participate:
– Mention ACT Cause Night to your server.
– Show your server the certificate below on your phone.
– Print out the certificate below and show to your server.
Click here to view or print the NYAJ’s Cause Certificate. Feel free to share this certificate and thank you!
978-635-0101 or opentable.com for reservations
Tuesday, February 6
The Traveling Tales of an Elusive Species on Martha’s Vineyard: The Spotted Turtle
7-8pm on Zoom
Join LLCT and Liz Olson to learn about spotted turtles. Liz and her team have been tracking and tagging these reptiles since 2020. Tune in to hear some of Liz’s stories from the field. After her presentation there will be plenty of time for questions.
Liz Olson is a Wildlife Biologist and Assistant Director and co-founder of BiodiversityWorks, a nonprofit on Martha’s Vineyard focused on wildlife research and monitoring. She received her undergraduate degree in wildlife management from the University of New Hampshire and her MS in Conservation Biology from Antioch New England University. Liz has studied a variety of species during her 20 year career including piping plovers, river otters, northern long-eared bats, black racer snakes and spotted turtles.
This is a free, zoom program. Please register here in advance to receive the meeting link.
Wednesday, February 7
All-hands Meeting to take Acton Exchange (Acton’s budding local paper) to the next level
7-9pm
Offices of Acton TV (16a Craig Road) or by Zoom
(https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86431644688?pwd=RXNReWE5N2Rzdkc1QjUzQnF5d0NKdz09)
Meeting ID: 864 3164 4688 Passcode: newspaper
All people interested in volunteering to work on the Acton news initiative in any capacity are welcome to attend. We always welcome more writers; we are also actively recruiting photographers, people who have experience with WordPress, and people who want to work on outreach to diverse segments of the town. As always, we welcome questions, comments, and suggestions about Acton’s local news initiative at info@actonexchange.org At this time, we don’t have the capacity to engage with questions or comments about specific articles.
Wednesday, February 7
Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America
Concord Museum Forum
7:00 – 8:00 pm
Free for Members | $10 Non-Members | Free Virtual | Forums are supported in part by the Sally Lanagan Fund
Register here.
Thursdays, February 8 to April 25
Tribal Forestry: Understanding Current Issues and Challenges
Noon – 12:55 pm (not March 14 and 21)
This series will focus on the current state of tribal forest management and Indigenous stewardship, with speakers from different tribes, universities, non-profits, and agencies. Topics will include: the history of forest stewardship on tribal lands in North America, federal laws and tribal forestry, contemporary uses of plants and wildlife stewardship, fire, conclusions from the Indian Forest Management Assessment (IFMAT), tribal co-management, and the future of tribal forestry in the face of climate change. Free. CEUs available for attending foresters. Co-developed and co-hosted by The Forest School and the Yale Center for Environmental Justice at Yale School of the Environment, and Salish Kootenai College. Learn more and register.
Friday, February 9
New Moon Hike Under the Stars – Sponsored by Harvard Conservation Trust
Time: 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Park at the Bromfield School and we’ll meet at the trailhead near the tennis courts.
You’re invited to join us for a New Moon Hike Embrace the beauty of the night sky as we explore the Barba’s Point trail that takes you to the edge of Bare Hill Pond. The hike is less than a mile out and back but has a steep downhill section at the beginning of the trail and climb up on the return. If the ice is thick and safe – and passes a safety inspection– we will be able to walk onto the pond and view the constellations.What’s a new moon? A new moon occurs when the moon is positioned between the Earth and the Sun, rendering it virtually invisible. This celestial event creates the perfect conditions for stargazing, as the absence of moonlight allows the stars and constellations to shine brightly.What to bring: Hiking sticks, flashlights, red headlamps, “yak-traks” for snow/ice walking, and dress appropriately.
Sunday, February 11
Annual Winter Walk in Wright Woods
1:00 PM
Meet and park along Arena Terrace off of Fairhaven Road. This is accessible only from the eastbound lanes of Route 2 and is about one third mile past the Sudbury Road intersection.
Free. Membership event (join!)
Click here to RSVP.This event will occur in light rain or snow. In the case of inclement weather, call the office at (978) 369-6526 after 12:00 pm on Sunday for an update.Dress for weather conditions, including bringing snowshoes, skis or boots — depending on personal preference. Microspikes are recommended in icy conditions.Stretch your legs before the Super Bowl! Take pleasure in the shelter of towering white pines and the placid water of Fairhaven Bay in winter. Guided by trustees, groups will journey from Arena Terrace through the Wright Woods, pausing for a campfire and refreshments at the Fairhaven Overlook midway before completing a loop. The outing is anticipated to last approximately 1.5 to 2 hours.
Sunday, February 11
Bill Klauer’s Meetinghouse Hill Presentation
4 pm via Zoom
Bill Klauer will present the early history of the town’s meeting house and the development of Meetinghouse Hill.
To join the Zoom meeting, use this link.
Meeting ID: 896 3975 3571
Passcode: 834627
Sunday, February 11
Super Cup Sunday Fungus Saunter
2pm
$30/ person Register (Limited to 16 participants)“For those who think Super Bowl Sunday is a bore,” Mycologist Lawrence Millman will lead a mushroom identification walk in Estabrook Woods on Super Bowl Sunday. Part of the Thoreau Sauntering Society programs presented by Thoreau Farm.
Tuesday, February 13
Know Your Land: Understanding Conservation Restrictions and Chapter 61
7:30-8:30 PM
Zoom webinar
Are you interested in learning about how you can protect your land with a Conservation Restriction or how to save money on property taxes with Chapter 61? This Zoom event features Ben Urquhart from Harvard’s Conservation Trust who will speak about Conservation Restrictions and Harald Scheid, Harvard’s Town Assessor, who’ll speak about Chapter 61. Registration required: click here.
Thursdays, Feb. 22 and 29
Making Land Available for Farming
Noon – 1:30 p.m.
These two webinars are intended to help farmland owners and their representatives explore motivations, strategies, and mechanics for making any amount of land available to a farmer Learn more and register.
Saturday, February 24
Middlesex Conservation District: Backyard Invasives Identification and Removal
2:00 – 3:30 PM
Maynard Public Library
77 Nason St, Maynard, MA 01754
Join SVT Land Steward, Jane Maloney, for a program covering common invasive plant and insect species in Massachusetts. Attendants will learn what defines a species as “invasive”, how to identify them, and how to manage them in their backyards or wherever they’re stewarding the land. There will be time for questions at the end of the presentation. Register here.
Saturday, February 24
PlugIN Tour: Clean Energy Home of the Month – Focus on Heat Pumps
Two sessions: 11am and 1pm
South Acton address sent with registration
How we use energy matters for the natural world and for future generations. Each month through July, EnergizeActon.org’s PlugIN campaign will feature a home with a different technology or theme. This month visit a home where the owners have switched to a heat pump hydronic system and other clean technologies. Feel the comfort level for yourself! The homeowner is one of Acton’s Clean Energy Coaches and he looks forward to your questions about transitioning off fossil fuels. There will be two free sessions, one at 11am and one at 1pm. The address will be sent upon registration. For info and registration, click HERE.
Tuesday, February 27
PlugIN Talk: Heat Pumps for Home Heating and Cooling
7:00-8:00pm zoom
In this virtual talk, Bob Zogg (a founding member of the HeatSmart Alliance) will introduce homeowners to modern heat pumps and their advantages, including types of heat pumps, their role reducing greenhouse gas emissions, examples of energy costs and emissions comparisons, available incentives, and the role of clean energy coaches. Bob retired from a long career in energy consulting and his presentations are as clear as they are passionate! There will be lots of time for questions and answers. Sponsored by EnergizeActon.org and the HeatSmart Alliance. For info and registration, click HERE.
Wednesday, Feb. 28
MCA Metrowest Conservation Alliance – Land Protection Workshop
2:00 – 4:00 PM
Pompositticut Community Center
509 Great Rd, Stow, MA 01775
Join us for this interactive, in-person workshop highlighting the new land priority maps! We will present an overview of the land protection priority mapping tool and data viewers.
We will be breaking into small groups to identify land protection priorities in your community and discuss regional protection strategies. There will also be time for networking and idea sharing.
Please bring your Open Space Plan to compare the town-identified priorities with the results of the mapping tool.
Register here
Sunday, March 10
Blight: Author Emily Monosson in Conversation with Brent Ranalli
2 PM
$10 to attend at Thoreau Farm Register
$5 to attend online Register
A prescient warning about the mysterious and deadly world of fungi—and how to avert further loss across species, including our own. Presented by The Write Connection at Thoreau Farm. On-site book sales support The Shop at Walden Pond.
Learn more about our Programs
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Announcements:
Did you miss Lincoln Land Conservation Trust’s (LLCT)January Fireside Chat “Bats with Chris Richardson?”
Learn all about current research into New England’s bats by watching the recording.. The recording will be available for a week.
Policy and Advocacy, Mass Audubon Advocacy
Take action: Make the horseshoe crab an official state marine animal!
Horseshoe crabs are iconic animals. While they’re called crabs, they’re more closely related to spiders and scorpions. They’ve existed in a practically unchanged form for over 400 million years, and beachgoers in Massachusetts have been struck by their otherworldly bodies for generations.
They’re also a lynchpin in the marine ecosystem, and their nutritious eggs fuel the migrations of coastal waterbirds, including the federally threatened red knot.
Now, there’s an opportunity to give these unique creatures the recognition they deserve: a new bill would designate the Atlantic Horseshoe Crab as the official marine invertebrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The time is right for people to share and celebrate their connections with the horseshoe crab. While horseshoe crabs were once a common sight up and down our coasts, their populations are now depleted due to overfishing and habitat loss. We’re committed to securing strong protections that will allow these creatures to once again thrive in our state.
Recognizing the horseshoe crab’s essential contributions to our state’s ecology, economy, and character would amplify their plight to policymakers and build support for protecting them. Write to your representatives today to tell them to recognize and protect horseshoe crabs in Massachusetts. TAKE ACTION!
Coyote mating season is here. What you should know.
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Sincerely,
Susan Mitchell-Hardt
President, Acton Conservation Trust
www.ActonConservationTrust.org