Dear Friends and Acton Conservation Trust Members,
Many thanks to Jody Harris, ACT’s Events Coordinator, for facilitating ACT Service Day at Spring Hill Conservation Land – and thank you to the 20 Students from ABRHS fulfilling service hours for National Honor Society and AP Environmental Science. They came equipped with gloves, loppers and clippers. Many thanks to ACT Members, and Neighbors who helped widen the blue trail and re-route a wet section of the yellow loop trail. Visit ACT’s, website, ActonConservationTrust.org and/or ACT Instagram page to enjoy more photos of the event as well as others – such as our crew preparing to inspect the boundaries of the Wright Hill perpetual Conservation Restriction (CR) in West Acton. (The land is permanently protected and the CR is held by ACT).
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 28
Eggplant Harvest
9:00am – 11:30am
Location: Stow, MA
Apple Harvest
9:00am – 12:00pm
Location: Groton, MA
Sweet Potato Harvest
10:00am – 1:00pm
Location: Sharon, MA
Apple Harvest
1:00pm-4:00pm
Location: Groton, MA
Saturday, October 29
Hallow-glean Beet Harvest!
10:00am – 12:30pm
Location: Ipswich, MA
Hallow-glean Beet Harvest!
1:30pm – 3:30pm
Location: Lincoln, 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!!
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.
Friday, October 28 to Sun, Oct 30, 2022 8:30 PM
Glow By
5:30 PM
Cucurbit Farm, 32 Parker St, Acton, MA
Carved Jack O’Lanterns will adorn the fence along Parker St. at the farm on October 28, 29 and 30th. Everyone is encouraged to participate. You can pick up your pumpkins, the week leading up to the 29th with a mere $5 donation. Then bring the pumpkin home, carve it, and return it to us and we will light it up for 3 consecutive nights for all to enjoy!!! The scarecrows will be the backdrop of the Jack O’Lanterns extravaganza. Spectators of the Glow By are encouraged to donate to NAMI.
Nami Information: https://www.namicentralmiddlesex.org/
Saturday, October 29
Run the Runway 5k and 1-mi fun run for kids!
11-noon Registration; Noon: Kids Race starts; 12:30 PM 5K Race starts
Minute Man Air Field, 302 Boxboro Road, Stow 01775
This long-standing event hosted by the Minuteman Airfield raises money for the BCTrust and Stow Conservation Trust. All of the proceeds from the races and donations go to conservation! This is a wonderful community event with many fun activities for the whole family, including hot air balloon rides. Hope to see you there! Register for the races at: tinyurl.com/runtherunway5k
Saturday, October 29 and Sunday, October 30
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 1
Acton Garden Club’s November meeting, “Botany for Gardeners” presented by Gretel Anspach
10:15am
Town Hall, Room 204, 472 Main Street or via ZOOM (see club’s website actongardenclub.org for further information).
Botany is the branch of biology dealing with plants. You can be a fabulous gardener and know next to nothing about botany. But if you learn a little botany, patterns start emerging and keeping your garden healthy and vibrant becomes much easier. A little knowledge about botany can also open your eyes to the fascinating ways plants have adapted to be able to grow in almost every environment on earth.
Wednesday, November 2
Mass Audubon Annual Meeting, Hope, Urgency, Action. The Time is Now.
5:30-8:30 PM
Museum of Science, 1 Science Park, Boston, Complimentary self-parking ; Virtual is an option.Our program will celebrate our 2022 honorees who epitomize our mission:
The Honorable Charlie Baker, Governor, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
The Nature of Massachusetts Award
Jane Calvin and the Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust
Allen H. Morgan Award
Jocelyn Chin, Our Sisters’ School, New Bedford
Fifth Grade Team, Robert J. Coelho Middle School, Attleboro
Tara O’Brien, Hampshire Regional High School, Westhampton
Conservation Teachers of the Year
Featuring a conversation with Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, Chief of Environment, Energy, and Open Space, City of Boston
Kindly RSVP by Friday, October 21, 2022 Members Only.
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 6
Daylight Saving Time ends
2 AM
Saturday night set back your clock one hour (i.e., gaining one hour) to “fall back.”
From Farmers Almanac, “The general idea is that this allows us all to make better use of natural daylight: moving the clocks forward one hour in the spring grants us more daylight during summer evenings, while moving clocks back one hour in the fall grants us more daylight during winter mornings. However, DST has many detractors—and rightfully so!…Many Americans wrongly point to farmers as the driving force behind Daylight Saving Time. In fact, farmers were its strongest opponents and, as a group, stubbornly resisted the change from the beginning.” To read more, visit https://www.almanac.com/content/when-daylight-saving-time
Tuesday, November 8
Election Day
Tuesday, November 8
CISMA (Cooperative Invasive Species Management Areas) 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
Tuesday, November 8
A Changing Climate: Addressing the Crisis (Webinar) presented by SVT’s Lisa Vernegaard
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM EST
Online – Your Home over Zoom
How will climate change affect our region, and what does it mean for land conservation? Join SVT’s Executive Director, Lisa Vernegaard, for this webinar to learn what you can expect and what SVT and other land trusts are doing to address the crisis.
Tuesday, November 8
Full Beaver Moon Accompanied by a Total Lunar Eclipse
6:02 am
It will be very close to full the night before, so plan to look for it starting on Monday, November 7, just after sunset!
During a lunar eclipse, the Moon, Sun, and Earth stand in a line with the Earth in the middle, causing our planet’s shadow to be cast onto the Moon. This gives the full Moon a reddish, coppery hue, as well as the nickname “Blood Moon.” Read more about what a Blood Moon is—and isn’t. This total lunar eclipse will be visible from most of North America, reaching its maximum at approximately 6:00 A.M. Eastern Time on Tuesday, November 8. Be sure to convert to your local time zone to find out when to look for the eclipse! In the Eastern U.S. and Canada, the Moon will be very close to setting at this time, so try to find a location with a clear view of the western horizon
Why the “Beaver” Moon? This is the time of year when beavers begin to take shelter in their lodges, having laid up sufficient stores of food for the long winter ahead. During the time of the fur trade in North America, it was also the season to trap beavers for their thick, winter-ready pelts.
To learn more visit https://www.almanac.com/full-moon-november
Thursday, November 10
Town of Acton Open Space & Recreation Plan Public Forum
7 pm
Virtual Zoom Webinar
The Town of Acton is updating the Open Space and Recreation Plan to cover the years of 2023 through 2030. An Open Space and Recreation Plan (OSRP) is a tool through which a community plans for the future of its conservation and recreation resources. The Town is looking to update the goals of the plan and list capital projects that will help us complete the intended goals for Acton.
Residents now have an opportunity to review and comment on the goals that the Town’s Working Group has put together. This forum will also give everyone the opportunity to review the results of the Town wide OSRP survey that was implemented in Spring 2022.
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://actonma.zoom.us/j/82347214521
Or One tap mobile :
US: +16468769923,,82347214521# or +13017158592,,82347214521#
For more information visit https://www.acton-ma.gov/civicalerts.aspx?AID=1485
Sunday November 13
COMMUNITY SERVICE DAY
(time to be determined)
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.
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”!