Get in Tune with Nature Concert at Myles Standish State Forest

  

Myles Standish State Forest

Department of Conservation and Recreation

194 Cranberry Road, South Carver, MA

Contact: (508) 866-2580 x126

CARVER– Massachusetts based, award-winning singer/songwriter Erica Wheeler will inspire pride and appreciation for Myles Standish State Forest and turn visitors’ experiences into songs. On Saturday, August 18^th from 1:00pm to 2:30pm enjoy a free family concert that will get you in tune with nature at the Myles Standish State Forest Amphitheater located at 194 Cranberry Road in South Carver.

Erica’s concerts take people on a journey through landscapes and experiences, combining song, story, and humor. She evokes in listeners their own sense of place, and through a group activity, she turns their experiences of the park into a song.  Inspirational, entertaining and educational, her sense of place program help renew the connection between people  and place today.  After the concert, visitors are invited to take part in a free educational hike through the Pine Barrens from 3:00pm – 4:30pm.

The concert is free and open to the public. Co-sponsored by Department of Conservation & Recreation, Friends of Myles Standish State Forest, Luna-C Arts, and the Wildlands Trust. Rain date is Sunday, August 19^th.  Reasonable accommodations available upon request.  For more information, call (508) 866-2580 x126 or visit

http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/southeast/mssf.htm or www.ericawheeler.com.  

The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), an agency of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, oversees 450,000 acres of parks and forests, beaches, bike trails, watersheds, dams, and parkways. Led by Commissioner Edward M. Lambert Jr., the agency’s mission is to protect, promote, and enhance our common wealth of natural, cultural, and recreational resources. To learn more about DCR, our facilities, and our programs, please visit www.mass.gov/dcr.

Tastes of Summer: Farmers' Markets and Herbs

Yesterday, we were the Market Hosts at the Plymouth Farmers' Market! It could not have been a more beautiful day at Plimoth Plantation with children pogo-sticking, homemade ice cream sandwiches, and fresh local produce!

At our booth, we hosted a free herb pet making activity with the intention of letting children get their hands dirty. Turns out, all ages were really into it! Children and adults had fun planting basil, green onions, chives, etc. in recycled pots and containers! Fresh herbs really are one of the best tastes of summer and it can be easy to grow your own in a small space!

In addition to growing herb pets this summer, we are also hoping to grow the next generation of farmers or environmentally engaged youth through our Young Organic Gardeners program. This program puts teen volunteers to work in Bridie's Garden, the organic community garden at the Plymouth Area Coalition for the Homeless in Kingston. All produce grown is donated to the Coalition's Food Pantry. We are currently seeking additional youth between the ages of 15-18 years to help out in the garden on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9:30am to 10:45am. The program will run from July 10 through Aug 16. No prior gardening experience is needed.




For more information about the program, click here: http://www.wickedlocal.com/duxbury/news/education/x57813022/Young-Organic-Gardeners-program#axzz1zTQBo1SO

OR email: Sarah Kugel, Garden Coordinator at skugel@wildlandstrust.org

3 Towns, 50 People, Many Thanks!

Over Earth Week, we worked in 3 towns with 50 volunteers!  Now we want to share our many thanks to our volunteers - for their time, inspirational energy, and hard work:


Kingston - 4/17/12 and 4/18/12

Thank you to Bridie's Garden Volunteers- Together we're growing hope for a better, brighter, and more sustainable food future, while helping meet the fresh food needs of the Plymouth Area Coalition for the Homeless!

   

Pembroke - 4/20/12

Thank you to the Wildlands Trailrunners and Walkers- who utilize our Preserve trails and help motivate others to partake in passive outdoor recreation!  They're also showing great support for our 2nd Annual Run for Conservation! You can click the photos below to enlarge and read the text and later this week you'll be able to register for the 5k run/walk event on June 9 here: https://racewire.com/register.php?id=1779

 

Brockton - 2/22/12

Thank you to the Keep Brockton Beautiful Day Volunteers- who pulled 15 bags of trash and stacks of tires and miscellaneous debris out of our 120-acre urban Brockton Audubon Property. Thank you to the Brockton Mayor's Office for organizing the town wide clean-up and for providing trash bags, food, water, and trash removal.

 

With your help, every day can be earth day and and every week can be earth week. Together we are all helping to save the special places of southeastern Massachusetts! To find out about upcoming volunteer opportunities, email: admin@wildlandstrust.org

A New Park for Plypmton?

Allison Gillum, Regional Conservationist,
AmeriCorps MassLIFT Volunteer
at Wildlands Trust

Allison Gillum, Regional Conservationist, has been an AmeriCorps MassLIFT Volunteer with Wildlands Trust for 1.5 years. She has been focused on helping municipalities and land owners with conservation planning. Most recently she's been working with the Town of Plympton on their first ever CPA (Community Preservation Act) funded land acquisition project.

The proposed project involves 2 parcels: a 10-acre parcel off Main St. to be named Churchill Park at Jones River Brook and Cato's Ridge Conservation Area, a 77-acre town-owned parcel that is currently landlocked. Allison explained that, "The project would provide public access to two incredible parcels of land in the heart of Plympton. I have very much enjoyed working with the Open Space Committee, CPC (Community Preservation Committee), and the Conservation Commission. Plympton is a beautiful, rural town."

Town meeting approval is needed on May 16 to keep this project moving forward. For more information about the project, see the brochure (front and back) Allison designed below:

Is next week really February?

Here are some of our favorite nature photos from January... what a month!

We hope you'll take a peak, leave a comment, and have a great weekend! -From all of us at Wildlands Trust

Downy Woodpecker at Weir River Woods, Hull.

Mushroom atop tree stump at Rounseville Preserve, Rochester.

Downed Pitch Pine at Great South Pond - South Triangle Pond Conservation Area, Plymouth. 

Fox tracks along the bank of Snows Pond (a coastal plain pond) at Robinson-Gilmore  Preserve, Rochester.

Fungi growing on a hemlock snag at Robinson-Glimore Preserve, Rochester.

South Triangle Pond at South Triangle Pond Conservation Area, Plymouth.

(Photo Credit- Above: Alex Etkind, Below: Sarah Kugel)

Wildlands Trailrunners at the Halfway Pond Conservation Area, Plymouth.

P.S. You can visit www.wildlandstrust.org to learn more about the properties featured in this post!

6 Office Resolutions + Snowy Owls

Gabriela Silva

Meet Gabriela Silva, our Assistant Director at Wildlands Trust. She works behind the scenes to make sure our land protection and stewardship staff have the tools and funds to do their jobs well. As a New Years resolution, Gabriela is hoping to get outside more with her family! Over this past weekend, she visited the Little Conservation Area off Union Street in Marshfield. Approaching a dock on the ~75 acre preserve that overlooks the North River, Gabriela and her family bumped into friends they hadn't seen in over 4 years. Have you ever bumped into old friends or made new friends on the trails? Whether you answered yes or no - we invite you all to become our trail buddies through participating in our free Wildlands Trailrunners program.

Gabriela and son at Little Conservation Area off Union Street in Marshfield.
(Town CPA project)

View of the North River reached by trail on Little Conservation Area.

Next weekend, Gabriela plans to head to Duxbury Beach with her family to look for Snowy Owls. Here are some photos that Allison Gillum, Wildlands Trust Regional Conservationist - AmeriCorps MassLIFT Volunteer, took of the graceful birds on Jan. 8, 2012.

Even though these birds appear on Duxbury beach almost every year, the last time I set out to observe them was on my 9th Birthday! Time flies...

Tell us about your new years resolutions (nature related resolutions) and winter wildlife sightings on our facebook page.

Need some inspiration for a nature related resolution? Here's a list of several office resolutions proposed by our staff and volunteers:

1. Compost our lunch scraps.

2. Participate in staff exercise (weekly walks / stretching series).

3. Get outside more with our families.

4. See many of our ongoing land protection projects come to fruition.

5. Save the Davis-Douglas Farm and create a center for connecting people to the land.

6. Use less paper.

Thanks for reading & don't forget to click "Join this site" so you can get our blog posts sent directly to your email inbox!

-Post by Sarah Kugel, Community Outreach Coordinator, AmeriCorps MassLIFT Volunteer at Wildlands Trust (You can reach me at skugel@wildlandstrust.org)

The First Snow w/ the "Wildlands Trailrunners"

The "Wildlands Trailrunners" aren't just runners! We're also walkers and all committed to staying active, even as the temperature drops.

Yesterday the "Trailrunners" group set out to the Emery Preserve West, located off of Ship Pond Road in Plymouth, where we enjoyed the crunching of the first snow under our feet!

 

The group is now on break until after the New Year. Depending on snowfall, weekly walks/runs may switch to weekly snowshoe sessions. As a reminder, these meet-ups are free and open to the public, all ages and levels are always welcome! *If you would like to be notified via email of our events, please email a request to admin@wildlandstrust.org


-Post by Sarah Kugel, Wildlands Trust, AmeriCorps MassLIFT, skugel@wildlandstrust.org

Winter Trailblazing

Winter Trialblazing in Rochester, MA.

As the cold weather approaches, don't run inside and hibernate! The winter is one of the best times to enjoy your local conservation lands. Whether you enjoy hiking or snowshoeing, birding or cross-country skiing, there are great trails for you to explore this winter.

The Wildlands Trailblazers will be working throughout the winter to help maintain these trails for the enjoyment of the public. Below is a list of upcoming volunteer trail work days. All volunteer work days begin at 10am and run approximately 2-3 hours. Tools, training, and water are provided.

Upcoming Wildlands Trailblazers Work Days

• Saturday, December 10th, Harrington's Wilderness, Marshfield
• Saturday, January 21st, Delano & Rounseville II Preserves, Rochester
• Saturday, February 11th, Great River Preserve, Bridgewater

We hope to see you out on the trails this winter!

-Questions & RSVPs can be directed to Alex Etkind, Wildlands Trust Land Steward, AmeriCorps MassLIFT Volunteer, aetkind@wildlandstrust.org

Turkey Talk

Did you know that... Last year, the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Becoming an Outdoors Woman (B.O.W) program partnered with Wildlands Trust to host an Intermediate Turkey Hunt?

The hunt began at dawn on April 30th 2011 at the 230-acre Great River Preserve in Bridgewater, MA. Four intermediate women hunters were led by two experienced hunting guides. One of the women, Cynthia Langill, successfully harvested her first turkey!

The Great River Preserve is one of the few Wildlands Trust’s properties that allows hunting during legal hunting seasons.