Dear Friends and Acton Conservation Trust Members,
June 25 was Boston Area Gleaner’s June Food Day – Celebrating Gleaning, Summer, and Community!! In case you couldn’t make it, this is what it looked like. It was a fundraiser whose proceeds supported their work to grow local food access. Thank you Usha Thakrar, Executive Director, her dedicated staff, and volunteers. It’s approximately their anniversary for having taken ownership of the Farm and making it their Headquarters! Thank you to everyone who helped make it possible!! ACT and Acton are honored you make your home at Stonefield Farm, Martin Street, Acton. Visit https://www.bostonareagleaners.org/ for more information.
The following news and events may be of interest:
(If you prefer, you may read “Events of Interest” on our website, ActonConservationTrust.org)
Now – Saturday, July 2
Storywalk for “Be a Tree” by Maria Gianferrari
11:00 am – 5:00 pm
George and Lucy Yapp Conservation Land. Newtown Road near Shaker Lane, Littleton
The Storywalk will be up until July 2nd. Make the time for a walk through the lovely George and Lucy Yapp Conservation Land while reading “Be a Tree” by Maria Gianferrari. Each page will be on a placard set in sequence along the trail. It is a read as you walk situation. Make sure to wear sneakers and bring bug spray. This walk is sure to delight children of all ages.
Parking lot is on the left as you proceed toward Acton on Newtown Road. It is not too far past Shaker Lane.
Now – September 5
New Exhibit: Alive with Birds: William Brewster in Concord
Thursday to Sunday, 10 am to 4 PM, Walk ins welcome!
Concord Museum, 53 Cambridge Turnpike, Concord, MA
Visit this special exhibition to discover the beauty of birds. William Brewster (1851-1919) was Mass Audubon’s first President He dedicated over thirty years of his life to the study of birds in Concord at his property, which he called October Farm. Drawn to Concord for its natural beauty and abundant bird life, Brewster made October Farm his experimental field laboratory and documented its wildlife for scientific study and public enlightenment. In 2019, Mass Audubon received a 143 acre parcel of land which was once part of October Farm, which has been renamed Brewster’s Woods Wildlife Sanctuary.
For more information visit https://concordmuseum.org/alive-with birds-
Members free; Adults $15, Seniors $12, Children (6 to 17) $8
Friday June 24-30
National Mosquito Awareness Week
Its purpose is to remind the public how to protect themselves from mosquitoes and the diseases they can carry.
From Lincoln Land Conservation Trust: Mosquito season is upon us! Below you’ll find some great tips for deterring mosquitoes and their bites while still enjoying the outdoors.
These preferred prevention measures do not include the spraying of chemicals designed to kill mosquitoes or their larvae. Chemical spraying can have harmful consequences for humans, pets, livestock, crops, and wildlife. Instead the emphasis in this message is on preventing bites through personal protection and management of backyard spaces. We hope that you will focus on the prevention measures outlined below rather than spray around your yard. Please note: no spraying may be performed within 100 feet of a wetland or 200 feet of a year-round flowing stream without prior approval by the Conservation Commission.
How to Prevent Mosquito Bites
– Personal protection is key! Wear long-sleeves, long pants, and socks when weather permits.
– Many mosquitoes are most active from dusk to dawn Take extra precautions during these times.
– Apply an EPA-approved personal repellent. Follow directions on the repellent label.
– Use mosquito netting, for example over baby carriages or hats.
– Ensure screens are repaired and tightly attached to doors and windows to prevent mosquitoes from entering the home.
– Use a fan when sitting outside. Even a light breeze will deter a mosquito’s ability to zero in on an individual.
Note: Bug zappers and ultrasonic devices kill very few mosquitoes but do harm beneficial insects such as moths and fireflies. Additionally, many “natural” sprays such as lemongrass and peppermint may also target beneficial insects such as bumblebees.
Sundays, July 3-October 16
Acton-Boxborough Farmer’s Market
Elm Street Playground, West Acton
10 AM – 1 PM
Join us for our 14th season of promoting good food and supporting sustainable agriculture. Visit http://www.abfarmersmarket.org for more information.
Monday, July 4 Concert & Fireworks
Mon, 6 – 10 PM
Fruitlands Museum, 102 Prospect Hill Rd
Harvard, MA
Visit https://www.facebook.com/Fruitlands/events for more information.
Wednesdays, July 6, 13
Concord Band at Fruitlands, Harvard, MA
7:15 PM, Gates open at 5 PM
Fruitlands,102 Prospect Hill Road. Harvard, MA
Gather on the lawn for a picnic concert with stunning sunset views. We are thrilled to welcome back the Concord Band, a group of 65 musicians from 40 area towns who have been performing since 1959. The Concord Band will treat concert-goers to a fun roster of timeless music, including pieces memorializing historic events, show tunes, holiday favorites and more.
Bring your blanket, lawn chairs and picnic basket. There is plenty of room on the concert lawn to spread out. Dogs are welcome to join for these picnic concerts and just must remain on leash while on the grounds at Fruitlands.
Food and Beverage:
• The Hyve at the Fruitlands Café is pleased to be offering a special event pre-order menu for this event. • Please note that all food orders must be placed in advance by 2pm the day before the show and will be prepared by the café during their daytime hours, ready for pick up in the open-air tent at the after-hours event. The café kitchen will not be open during the event itself. Each week’s menu will be available a few days prior to the event. Guests who are registered in advance of the event date will receive an email with a direct link when ordering is live on the website.
• Beverages including wine and beer can be ordered as part of your food pre-order to be enjoyed with your picnic.
• We will not have bar sales available during the event itself.
In the event of rain forcing cancellation, all ticket holders will be contacted via email in advance of showtime. We will be able to rebook or refund any cancelled sales.
Pricing for Concord Band Concerts is per vehicle. One registration covers anyone arriving in a single car.
Any questions? Contact Catherine Shortliffe at cshortliffe@thetrustees.org
© 2022 The Trustees of Reservations | The Trustees is a 501c3 nonprofit organization | Est. 1891
Thursday, July 7 & Thursday, August 4
Tower Hill – Free Admission to the Garden on first Thursdays of each summer month
10 am to 9 pm (July 7)
10am to 8 pm (August 4)
New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill
Enjoy FREE ADMISSION to the Garden on the first Thursday of each summer month! Soak up the sun exploring our beautiful trails and gardens during our daytime hours, or unwind in the evening with live music and local brews from our outdoor Beer Garden. Please note we anticipate a high volume of visitors on these days. Therefore, the admission is first-come-first-serve basis. You can get tickets in person at the Garden or reserve your tickets online in advance to secure your preferred date.
Visit https://nebg.org/free-first-thursdays/ to learn about Things to Do During the Day and During the Evening
Wednesday, July 6, 6 AM to Sunday July 10, 9 PM
The Thoreau Society Annual Gathering: Hybrid Conference (In person/Live-stream)
Wed, 7/6 at the Masonic Lodge, Concord, MA, is free and open to the public.
Use Option #2 to register). Visit https://www.thoreausociety.org/event/2022-annual-gathering-thoreau-society, for more information.
Sunday, July 10
Jane Goodall To Receive the Thoreau Prize in-Person
Concord Carlisle High School
2:30 PM
Jane Goodall will receive the 2022 Thoreau Prize for Literary Excellence in Nature Writing.
This is the largest and most exciting Thoreau event of the year. People are traveling internationally to attend these events. There are over 90 presenters. To orient yourself, please view our schedule. Our keynote speaker is Dr. J. Drew Lanham, who will deliver this year’s Dana S. Brigham Memorial Keynote Address.
How to attend or watch on Zoom:
Option #1: View the schedule and register for the full conference (including Jesse Paris Smith’s in-person concert and Jane Goodall’s in-person address. With this option you can attend the in-person conference OR view the entire conference via Zoom.
Option #2: Purchase individual event tickets and day passes (e.g., the Jesse Paris Smith’s in-person concert, Jane Goodall’s in-person address). Some events included in this option are free and open to the public (registration require).
Option #3: If you’re not opting to view the ENTIRE conference as a live-stream event, you can still opt to watch two of our key events via Zoom:
Register on Zoom to watch Jesse Paris Smith’s concert.
Register on Zoom to watch Jane Goodall’s address.
We request that masks be worn at all events. We are requiring masks to be worn at the Umbrella Arts Association, First Parish, and Concord-Carlisle High School.
Saturday, July 16
Weed Warrior Training in Littleton
9-11 AM
Browns’s Woods, Littleton, MA
Join Dominic Portelli, SVT AmeriCorps Member, and Amy Green, Littleton Conservation Agent, at Browns’ Woods in Littleton for this Weed Warrior training. The primary focus will be learning to identify and pull Burning Bush, but you will also be introduced to other common invasives on the property and how to manage them like bittersweet, multiflora rose, and barberry. You can register at https://www.svtweb.org/calendar/weed-warrior-training-littleton
Tuesday, July 19,
Old Stone Walls and Other Discoveries with Richard T.T. Forman
8:30-10:30 AM
Chamberlin Woods and Newbury Field
Can we find these? Short-lived crop field? Big hickories lining pasture stonewall? Large barn foundation? Two erratic piles? Evidence of forming the Appalachians? A cattail-less marsh? Small stones still atop an original wall? A stone-breaking site? Largest pitch pine in town? Evidence of fire and wire (fence)? The best little-bluestem field? Tree with 5-ft-diameter underground stool? Building site with no cellar hole? Let’s find out, and discover much more…
Join Richard Forman, eminent landscape ecologist and professor emeritus of Harvard, for this mid-summer outing.
Limited to 20 participants. Registration required HERE.
Saturday, July 30
Native New England Shrubs,
9:30-noon,
Wells Reserve at Laudholm, 342 Laudholm Farm Road, Wells, ME
What is woody, short, and typically multi-stemmed? A shrub! Shrubs are an important part of the New England landscape and lots of fun to learn about. We will take a close-up look at nine or ten native New England shrubs, plus a few non-native invasives . We will focus on key identification characteristics and also learn about the natural history and lore of our subjects. Included in our study will be a shrub whose fruits were used to make candles, a shrub whose berries Yankee sea captains brought on long sea voyages to help prevent scurvy, and a shrub whose flowers have been used as a remedy for craziness.
Presenter, Roland “Boot” Boutwell is a freelance itinerant naturalist who taught the core course in “Native New England Shrubs” and lead field trips for the New England Wild Flower Society for nearly 20 years and was a part time teacher/naturalist for the Massachusetts Audubon Society. He teaches nature programs and leads nature walks for a number of other organizations including: Arlington, MA Community Education; Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester, MA, The Winchester, MA public schools; The Friends of the Middlesex Fells (Greater Boston) and numerous other organizations. His hobbies include photography, acting in community theater, and the guitar.
RESERVATIONS required; To reserve your space, please email suzanne@wellsnerr.org or call (207) 646-1555 x116.
• Members: $10.00 • Non-Members: $13.00
NEWS:
Better than the Great American Lawn
The NY Times interviewed Dan Jaffe Wilder last week for a great article all about lawn alternatives. Dan recommends starting small (maybe adding clover and violets to the lawn) and then working one’s way up to a shrub and perennial garden, or native wildflower meadow. Read the Article Here.
Beech Leaf Disease From MLTC Newsletter, June 23, 2022
Beech leaf disease (BLD) is a newly described disease, first identified in Ohio in 2012. The disease complex is associated with a foliar nematode, Litylenchus crenatae. The disease causes damage to a tree’s leaves, leading to reduced vigor, and can eventually lead to mortality. The disease has quickly spread and has now been found in eight U.S. states and one Canadian province. The first detection in Massachusetts was in 2020 in Plymouth and symptomatic trees have since been found in Bristol, Worcester, Middlesex, Essex, and Norfolk Counties.
DROUGHT ALERT! Summer has just begun and after several months of low rainfall, our watershed is in drought. These low flow conditions contribute to warmer water temperatures, lower dissolved oxygen, cyanobacteria blooms, invasive species growth, and even fish kills.
Please visit our website for information on how you can conserve water! https://www.oars3rivers.org/whatyoucando/conserve-water
The Acton Water District’s latest Water Quality Report is available online at www.actonwater.com/ccr
Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mt. Auburn St, Cambridge MA
Mount Auburn Cemetery is the first rural, or garden, cemetery in the United States, located on the line between Cambridge and Watertown, Mass. From mid-April to mid-May it is recognized as one of the premier birding destinations in Massachusetts.
Mount Auburn Cemetery Grounds are open to all visitors 12-7 PM every day. All visitors are asked to respect the rules. Public Restrooms are open. For your safety as well as that of fellow visitors, please follow the social distancing protocols outlined on the new signage at the restrooms. For more information, visit https://mountauburn.org/coronavirus/
Birding at Stonefield Farm
If you are interested in birding at the farm either on your own or as part of a group, please contact BAG’s Duck Caldwell for more information at duck@bostonareagleaners.org.
VOLUNTEERING:
Boston Area Gleaners
Friday, July 1
Salad Greens Harvest!
9am – Noon
Stow, MA
Tuesday, July 5
Pack Mixed Produce Boxes
1-4 pm
Acton, MA
Sign up to volunteer at https://www.bagetc.org/presignup.php?access=public
For specific questions email group leader, Deb: dhicks@bostonareagleaners.org ,
Don’t forget: The most up-to-date trip information is always on the website. We may post trips after the weekly email goes out. To stay in the loop about last-minute calls for volunteers, you can join our volunteer emergency text list!
Boston Area Gleaners (BAG)
Seasonal Apprentices – July – November; $15/hour, full-time July-November
Boston Area Gleaners (BAG) are still hiring for seasonal apprentices. To apply, please send your resume and cover letter to hiring@bostonareagleaners.org.
Please help us spread the word at your favorite local spot! Visit here to volunteer https://www.bagetc.org/gleanlist.php
East Acton Village Green Plant Care Needed – Now through Summer:
Volunteers are needed to take care of the new plants at the East Acton Village Green this spring and summer as they become established. Contact Bettina Abe: babe@ActonMA.gov for further information.
Goat Hikes – Good Pickin’ Farm
5 Gould Road, Westford
Where Growing Minds and Nature Connect Visit the farm, https://www.goodpickinfarm.com/scheduling.
Experiential fun and learning through farming, arts and recreation and pony rides!
For more information call 425 306 7203, email: hello@goodpicikinfarm.com
Support Acton Conservation Trust while you make purchases on AmazonSmile! ACT will receive a small payment, and these add up!From your desktop or laptop computer, AmazonSmile is available at at smile.amazon.com on your Web browser. Bookmark it for easy use!
AmazonSmile is available from your mobile phone as well. To activate AmazonSmile in the Amazon Shopping app, simply tap on “AmazonSmile” within the Programs & Features menu or Settings and follow the on-screen instructionS.
Sincerely,
Susan Mitchell-Hardt
President, Acton Conservation Trust
www.ActonConservationTrust.org
P.S. Welcome new “Events of Interest” subscribers! As a nonprofit organization focused on conserving land in Acton, we rely upon the support of our members. Visit our ACT website, and click on “Join Us”!