Events of Interest October 20, 2022

Dear Friends and Acton Conservation Trust Members,

Many thanks to Jody Harris, ACT’s Events Coordinator, for facilitating this spectacular mushroom forage event with Jonathan Kranz of @bostonmycoclub.     Jonathan led a group of 29  including 3 children through Great Hill Conservation Land (including newly protected land at 4 Piper Lane) to observe and learn about fascinating fungi.  Visit the ACT Instagram page to see the great assortment of mushrooms and to watch the video demonstrating one of the reasons the Giant Puffball Mushroom is so named.

The following news and events may be of interest:(If you prefer, you may read “Events of Interest” on our website, ActonConservationTrust.org

VOLUNTEERING 

BOSTON AREA GLEANERS    (Sign up to volunteer at https://www.bagetc.org/gleanlist.php)

Friday, October 21
Apple Harvest
9:00am – 12:00pm 
Location: Groton, MA

Apple Harvest
9:30am – 12:00pm
Location: North Andover, MA

Scallion and Collard Harvest
9:00am – 12:00pm
Location: Weston, MA

Apple Harvest
1-4 pm 
Location: Groton, MA

Leeks and Greens Harvest
1-4 pm
Location: Lincoln, MA

Saturday, October 22
Carrot and Veggie Harvest
10:00am – 1:00pm
Location: Ipswich, MA 

Kale Harvest
10:00am – 1:00pm
Location: Lincoln, MA

Carrot and Veggie Harvest
1:30pm – 3:30pm
Location: Ipswich, MA

Ride For Food 2022: Thank you!

The Gleaners had a successful bike ride on the 2nd! You can still help us reach our fundraising goal of $10,000 by donating to our team at the link below. We will continue fundraising until the end of October. 

A big thank you to those who have donated already, we truly appreciate your support!  Donate today! at https://ride.threesquaresne.org/team/425405

Write to Outreach@BostonAreaGleaners.org to check out their October Newsletter

Now – October 31
Scarecrow Contest – “Stand Up to Stigma” 
Cucurbit Farm, 32 Parker St 
Calling all entries to Cucurbit!  Enter the “Stand Up to Stigma” Scarecrow Contest to benefit the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Central Middlesex. Bring your $25 donation to Cucurbit Farm and pick up your scarecrow starter frame. Individuals, organizations, and businesses are invited to participate. The scarecrows will be on display for the month of October. Additional info at namicentralmiddlesex.org and cucubitfarm.com.
Be sure to visit Actonius, the Acton Conservation Trust Scarecrow; He’s promoting Land Trusts and “Standing up to Stigma”and the Corn Maze!!

Saturday, October 22
Adult Archaeology Walk
10 am–Noon
Bettina Abe of Acton’s Natural Resources Division will lead a brisk hike along the Nashoba Brook trail, with stops at the stone chamber and Native American ceremonial sites. Trail conditions can be rocky, uneven, and often wet, and thus participation is limited. Registrants will receive a detailed email several days before the walk.
Limited to 20, ages 17 and up.  All programs are free but require registration 
https://tinyurl.com/pinehawk-2022Questions?  Email friends of pinehawk@gmail.com

Saturday, October 22 and Sunday, October 23 – now through October
Thoreau Farm is Open for Tours!
11 AM, 1 PM, and 3 PM 
Thoreau Farm, 341 Virginia Road, Concord, MA 
Take an inside look at the restored 1730s house listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Wheeler-Minot Farmhouse/Henry David Thoreau Birth House. Locally, it is also known as “Thoreau Farm.” Tour includes the lovingly restored second-floor room where Henry David Thoreau was born in 1817. Visits are by guided tour only.  Admission is free.  Suggested Donation $5/person.

Saturday, October 22
Watch for Migrating Hawks with Catriona
10 AM
Ellison Birding Platform, Mandell Hill,  660 Barre Road, Hardwick
The parking area is at 660 Barre Road, Hardwick, directly across from the Ridge Road intersection.  Bring your binoculars. We will have a few spotting scopes too! Let’s see what hawks are still migrating southward for the winter, plus other birds at Mandell Hill.
Questions?  Email, chenshaw@eqlt.org

Sunday, October 23; Rain Date, Sunday, October 30 
Acton Conservation Trust Fall Community Service Day 
1-3 PM 
Spring Hill Conservation Land, Spring Hill Road, Acton 
This fall we will be working at Spring Hill Conservation Area, removing invasive plant growth and widening the blue trail. In addition, there is a need to walk the entire loop system at Spring Hill, cutting back overgrowth to make the trails the proper width. You should plan to wear long sleeves and long pants. Please bring leather work gloves, clippers, bypass pruners and loppers and weed wrenches if you have them. You might need sunscreen and insect repellent as well.
Please register here.
There are also release forms for adults, as well as those 18 years old and under. We will need a signed release form for each participant, so please print the form, fill it out, then bring it with you to the event! If you’re 18 years old and under, please have a parent or guardian sign the form as well.
Thank you for forwarding this email to any and all interested parties. Everyone is welcome to join us, including families, students and scouts.
For more information or questions, please contact Jody Harris at jharris.actonconservationtrust@gmail.com  and/or visit ActonConservationTrust.org.

Sunday, October 23
Open Houses at Jones Tavern (1732/1750) and the Faulkner Homestead (1707) 
3-5pm
Jones Tavern, 128 Main St. and Jones-Faulkner Homestead, 5 High Street
Learn about the origins and development of the center of South Acton at “Mill Corner” through our displays and informational material, while viewing the oldest house and the earliest standing tavern in Acton.   The Nashoba Valley Weavers’ Guild will be on hand to showcase their craft, and to work on the 19th-century loom. 
No admission charge, but donations are welcome. For more information, visit www.Ironworkfarm.org   Parking is available on site or nearby.

HAPPY DIWALI
Monday, October 24

Diwali is a festival of lights and is one of the major festivals celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs. The festival usually lasts five days and is celebrated during the Hindu lunisolar month Kartika.

Monday, October 24
PALEOINDIAN LIFE 12,000 YEARS AGO AT THE TENANT SWAMP SITE
7 PM
Archaeologist Robert Goodby discusses his field work at a site, undisturbed since the end of the Ice Age, in Keene, New Hampshire, that revealed information about the economy, gender roles, and household organization of the region’s first inhabitants, and evidence of social networks that extended for hundreds of miles across northern New England.
In-person and streamed. All programs are free but require registration here. Questions?  email friends of pinehawk@gmail.com

Tuesday, October 25
Household Hazardous Waste Day
4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Location: DPW Garage at 14 Forest Road
The Town of Acton holds a Hazardous Waste Day twice a year and offers residents a safe and legal way of disposing of hazardous materials. For more information on hazardous waste disposal or Hazardous Waste Day, please contact the Health Department at 978-929-6632.
Note: These collection services are for Acton residents only and proof of residency will be required.
This year there will be extra precautions in place due to COVID-19:
•  All residents must stay in their vehicles at all times.  Clean Harbors has a policy that anyone who attempts to exit their vehicle will be asked to leave.
• Waste accepted from truck bed, trunk of car, or back hatch of SUV.  Materials will not be accepted from seats or when handed from residents.
• Clean Harbors will not be returning any containers (gas containers, storage totes, etc.).  Please plan accordingly.
• If possible, make one trip to Household Hazardous Waste Day. 
See our Household Hazardous Waste Day Flyer for more information. 

Wednesday, October 26
Walden Woods Project – Silent Spring Revolution: A Conversation with Douglas Brinkley
7pm – 8 PM 
Virtual
http://www.walden.org/events/silent-spring-revolution-a-conversation-with-douglas-brinkley/

Thursday, Oct 27
Star Watch at Wolbach
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM EDT
Wolbach Farm, Sudbury
The Skylight Astronomical Society of Stow returns to share their technology and knowledge of the night sky. Peer through a variety of telescopes set up in the field. We have seen the rings of Saturn, the red glow of Mars, and distant galaxies! Register here.

Sunday, October 30 
Rich and Healthy: No-till for Successful Farms
10 AM-5 PM
Orange, MA
Are you a farmer or market gardener seeking to start or transition to no-till methods that use simple tools, build healthy soil, reduce labor and cost inputs, promote climate resilience and increase your connection to the land? You’ll learn several no-till, climate resilience techniques in this experiential, day-long workshop with seasoned farmer Ricky Baruc and no-till soil science researchers. Guest soil science researchers will share their knowledge too!– Caro Roszell from American Farmland Trust and PhD candidate Alexa Smychkovich.  Details here.

Thursday, November 3
CEREMONIAL STONE LANDSCAPE MOVEMENT –A LOCAL PERSPECTIVE
7 PM
Many of the “mysterious” stone structures of New England, once thought to be by-products of colonial farming, are now understood as originating in pre-colonial ceremonial practices of Native Americans. Peter Waksman’s talk focuses on contributions to the new understanding made by people and locations in Acton and nearby towns.  In person at the Acton Memorial and remote access via Zoom. Register for all events here.

Sunday November 13 
COMMUNITY SERVICE DAY

1-3 pm
This annual effort again takes place on the Trail Through Time, a multicultural heritage trail in the North Acton conservation lands. The focus will be on trail and site maintenance. There will be an optional brunch beforehand at Legend’s Cafe in West Acton at 11:30 AM.  Register for all events here.

Tuesday, November 8 
CISMA Fall Meeting
1:00-3:00 pm
via Zoom
The CISMA Steering Committee will be hosting their annual Fall Meeting on Tuesday, Nov.  8.   Primary Topics: Examples of Local Invasive Plant Management Projects.

Mass. Rivers Alliance, River News & Notes
Special Edition, 50 Years of the Clean Water Act
Fifty years ago, on October 17 1972, Congress passed the Clean Water Act. This marked a new era in water quality nationwide.
Since its passage, the Clean Water Act has been a catalyst for restoring waterways and preventing pollution around the country. 
Industrial point-source pollution in particular has been curbed by the Clean Water Act – no longer can power plants, manufacturers, and other industrial sites dump waste & chemicals into the nearest river. In Massachusetts, that means a cleaner Housatonic River, Connecticut River, Boston Harbor, Cape Cod Bay, and more. 
If you drink water, swim, fish, boat, or enjoy simply sitting by a clean river, you have the Clean Water Act to thank! We’re celebrating this anniversary – 50 years of water protections. 
But there’s still more work to do. Read on to find out how you can stand up for your local environment to ensure we have 50 more years of clean waters protections.

On the first day of their 2022-2023 term, the Supreme Court heard Sackett v. EPA, the most important water case in recent history. The ruling will determine which waters can be protected under the Clean Water Act (those considered “waters of the United States”). Listen to the oral arguments here.

CPA Update from Community Preservation Coalition 
Any News on the $20M for CPA?
Legislature Still Undecided for Now

Over the summer, we reported that an unusual turn of events disrupted the Legislature’s plans for allocating the state budget surplus, including a $20M distribution that was intended for the CPA Trust Fund. As of today, a bill to close out the books for the FY22 state budget has not yet appeared for a vote.
While it’s still possible that the Legislature may work out the details by the end of October, this is looking increasingly unlikely given that key legislators are still citing various “complications” with completing the task. Hopefully we are seeing a repeat of what occurred during the 2021 state budget process when surplus funding was provided to CPA communities in a second distribution. Read the Full Article on the Coalition Website.

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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”!