Friday, June 9,
2006
Greetings!
This email newsletter provides information on upcoming nature and environmental
related events, exhibits, and information in and around the
This
newsletter is sponsored by the Newton Conservators, the local open space
organization in
In This Issue
* Watch the June Environmental Show on NewTV's Blue Channel:
* Preserving Newton's Historic Green Aqueduct Pathways
* The News from Angino Farm
* Spring at Dolan Pond
* EcoAlert from American P.I.E. - Tree Literacy
* The 10 most unwanted
* Notes of Interest
* News from the Green Decade Coalition
- Rescheduled Annual Plant and Garden Sale
- Environmental Speaker Series: ""Reflections on the Charles River" and
Annual
Environmental Leadership
Awards
- Newton Farmers Market
Begins JULY 11!
* News
from the Newton History Museum
- Brown Bag Lunch
- Stormwater Workshops
Newton
Conservators Activities
-
Newton Conservators Newsletter
-
Newton Conservators Annual Dinner
-
Board of Directors Meeting
- Land
Management Group
- Walking Trails
in Newton's Park and Conservation Lands
Newton Conservators Spring Walk Series
Each Spring and Fall, the Newton Conservators organizes a series of walks to local open space areas. These walks are led by knowledgeable leaders and are open to the public and normally last for an hour or two. These walks (and sometimes bicycle or canoe trips) are a great way to get to know open space areas in Newton. Below is the current walk schedule. A printable version of the walks list is available on the Newton Conservators website at: http://www.newtonconservators.org/events/walksspring06.pdf. If you wish to check out the walk list online for updates and photos of some of the walk areas, see http://www.newtonconservators.org/walks.htm.
Charles River Wildflower Walk
Saturday, June 10, 10:00
AM
Carole Smith Berney will lead
a Wildflower Walk along the Charles River from Watertown Square to Bridge
Street. As a special treat, walkers will receive a copy of her new Wildflower
Guide to the Charles River (see description elsewhere in this newsletter). The
walk will follow the Charles River Pathway and participants will identify
wildflowers found on both the Watertown and Newton sides of the river. Distance
is approximately three leisurely miles. Park at the DCR (formerly MDC)
parking lot off Pleasant Street in Watertown, adjacent to the Sasaki Landscape
Office sign, and meet at the stone pillars on Galen Street. Alternatively, there
is usually parking on the south side of the river where one could walk across
the footbridge near the falls.
Carole Smith Berney is a photographer and naturalist, who has exhaustively studied and photographed wildlife in this section of the Charles River. Note that this walk is on a Saturday morning and is partly in celebration of Biodiversity Days in Massachusetts.
Angino Farm Tour Sunday
June 11, 2:00 PM
The Angino Farm has plantied
its first crops under the direction of Newton Community Farm, which will operate
the farm under an arrangement with the city. A tour of the farm will
show how Newton's last farm will continue as an active agricultural site to grow
organic produce for Newton residents and provide a model for sustainable
agricultural and environmental practices. The tour will be led by John
Regosin, a founder of the Newton Community Farm and Conservators
board member.
Charles River Lake District Canoe Trip
Sunday, June 18, 2:00 PM
An almost-annual favorite is
the canoe trip through the Charles River Lake District, a mixture of
residential, commercial and wetlands. It starts from the Charles River Canoe
Service on Commonwealth Avenue and passes Norumbega Park, Fox Island, Auburndale
Park, Weirs Cove, the Waltham Watch building, Mount Feake Cemetery, Purgatory
Cove and stops just short of the Moody Street dam. These wetlands are well
populated with ducks, geese, blue herons and the occasional hawk or egret, so
you might want to bring your binoculars. Meet at the Charles River Canoe Service
on Commonwealth Avenue in Auburndale. Trip leader is Bill Hagar,
current president of the Newton Conservators. Parking is across the river in the
parking lot near the Route 95 ramp entrance.
Cheesecake Brook & Halloran Field Tour
Sunday, June 25, 2:00 PM
The Cheesecake Brook corridor, with its banks along the brook, and the adjoining recreational and park lands, with a new entrance to the Charles River Pathway over the Blue Heron Bridge, has the potential to become a significant open space and recreational resource if some of the CPA, Community Development and city-funded proposals to improve the area are approved. Curtis Betts, along with representatives of the Newton Conservators and the Newton History Museum, will lead a three-mile tour of recent improvements to the area and will discuss plans for further improvements to the corridor. Meet Curtis Betts of the Friends of Albemarle at the new gazebo that is adjacent to the tot lot at the Horace Mann School.
A new handy and compact book on local wildflowers has been published. It's official title is Wildflowers Near the Charles River - Along the Greenway Path in Watertown, Newton and Waltham: An Identification Guide for Walkers by Carole Smith Berney and Patsy Murray. The publication was supported in part by a grant from the Watertown Cultural Council, the Watertown Savings Bank, and by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR, formerly known as the MDC).
Watch the June Environmental Show on NewTV's Blue Channel:
Preserving Newton's
Historic Green Aqueduct Pathways
The June episode of The
Environmental Show on NewTV takes viewers on a tour of Newton's Aqueduct pathways,
highlighting both their special joys and the need to preserve these beautiful
greenways for future generations. The show is produced by the Newton
Conservators.
Beautiful footage shows where the paths begin along the
Charles River and run
through Waban and Newton Highlands to the
Newton Center Playground. Host Cris Criscitiello points out the
wildflowers, trees and birds along the way. Engineer Frank Steiger
explains how the huge aqueduct pipes originally brought water into the city,
dropping six inches a mile because they used only gravity, no pumps. Doug
Dickson, a past president of the Newton Conservators and a member of the Newton
Conservation Commission explains efforts to maintain and preserve these
pathways. Henry Finch, who has frequently
given tours of these pathways for the Newton Conservators, explains the ins and
outs of several areas along the way.
Be sure to catch
this episode of the Environmental Show running repeatedly through the month of
June on Saturdays (10 a.m.), Mondays (3 p.m.), Tuesdays (1:30 p.m. and 11:30
p.m.), Wednesdays (11:30 a.m.) and Thursdays noon, 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.).
It will be shown on NewTV's Blue Channel, which is Channel 10 for Comcast
subscribers and Channel 15 for RCN subscribers. This month's NewTV
production includes video and photos by the team of Duane Hillis, Frank
Howard and Dan Brody, and Editor Patricia Goldman.
The Environmental Show recently was honored at NewTV's Red Crpet Awards in the category of Field Production - Community Impact for their two part series on the Charles River - Flora and Fauna of the Charles River (April 2005) and Appreciating the Charles River (June 2005). The Conservators Environmental Show NewTV team consists of Duane Hillis, Patricia Goldman, Frank Howard, Cris Criscitiello, and Ted Kuklinski.
News from Angino Farm
We pass along this letter from Newton Community Farmer, Greg Maslowe concerning all the great happenings and progress at the farm lately.
Dear Farm Supporters,
Those of you who have driven by the Farm know that things are happening.
In addition to having our spring and first round of summer crops in the ground I
thought I'd give everyone an update on some of the other exciting things taking
place at the Farm:
1) Our Williams College Intern, Liz Gleason, started
this past week. She'll be working with me (Greg) in the field part of the time
and spending one day per week at City Sprouts, a school gardening program in
Cambridge that not only gets students growing food, but then brings that food
into the schools' cafeterias to provide fresh, nutritious produce to the
students. Her main task will be to work with me and the Board of Newton
Community Farm to develop educational programming for the Farm. This will
include working with representatives of the Bowen School on a pilot farm
curriculum that will serve as a model program to be expanded to other Newton
public schools.
2) We held our first educational program, as Brimmer and
May brought 25-30 7th graders for a morning visit. Liz and I gave the students a
tour of the farm operation, highlighting the history of the farm as well as
benefits of local, sustainable food production. After the tour the students
helped lay out beds, mulch paths, transplant tomatoes, spread compost on the
rhubarb and asparagus, and other projects in the greenhouse. Our next
programming event will take place in July when another group of around 25
students studying environmental science comes to the farm for a work day.
3) The Board of Aldermen approved funding for de-leading the farm house.
The specs have been written for the work, and it should go out to bid this week.
The tentative completion date for the work is August 15! Thank you to the
Aldermen, and everyone else, who worked so hard to get this funding approved in
record time.
4) The apple trees, which were pruned for the first time in
many years and then ravaged by Winter Moths, are showing signs of recovery.
Likewise, the historic grapevines that we pruned hard to allow access for
construction of the greenhouse have leafed out and are looking good.
5)
Perennial crop planting is well underway. The raspberry patch is planted, as is
the asparagus. The blueberries arrived the other day and will be planted in the
coming week. These crops, and other permanent plantings, will provide the Farm
with produce for the next 25-30 years!
6) We are beginning to develop
our volunteer network. We have a half dozen people who have already become
regular volunteers on the farm. In addition, we've had over two dozen volunteers
lend a hand at one time or another over the spring. Volunteers are crucial to
the success of the Farm. Thank you to those of you who have already come by, and
I'm looking forward to meeting, and working with, many more of you. We are
currently looking for a Volunteer Coordinator to help organize work events. If
you're interested in serving in this vital role, please contact me or one of the
Board members. Anyone interested in volunteering is, of course, welcome. The
best way to volunteer is to call me at least a day or two in advance to inquire
about the upcoming work schedule. Even on
rainy days there is work to be done in the greenhouse, or in the barn preparing
it for the opening of the farm stand.
7) There have been a number of
supportive articles on the Farm in the Newton Tab. I was contacted just today by
a writer for the Tab who is interested in writing another story: this one
following the life of a vegetable from the day it is planted to the day it is
eaten. The author is especially interested in following a plant planted by a
volunteer, so stop by and you might just become famous!
8) Finally, I
thought I'd give a run down of some of what's been planted for those who haven't
had a chance to stop by the Farm yet:
spinach, arugula, mustard greens,
lettuce, radishes, shelling peas, snap peas, leeks, scallions, onions, parsley,
cilantro, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, carrots, beets, Swiss chard, and bush
beans
There's lots more in the greenhouse waiting to be transplanted in
the next couple of weeks. I encourage you to stop by and see all the exciting
things taking place.
Greg Maslowe
Farm Manager
Newton Angino
Community Farm
(gmaslowe(AT)bu.edu)
Spring at Dolan Pond
The American Toad chorus was heard a few times early this season, primarily at Dolan Pond. One wonders if the goldfish, eventually cleaned out of Quinn Pond by a great blue heron, had unbalanced the toad population there. Usually in June, the tiny toads move out of the ponds onto land to move out to become our common garden hop-toads. Dolan Pond is one of the few places in Newton where they breed.
May brought a wonderful
succession of warblers and other birds to Dolan Pond. Yellow warblers seem
to be staying around to breed this year. This spring there were an
abundant number of baltimore orioles and warbling vireos.
The Newton Housing Authority has recently completed the renovations at the Forte house (76 Webster Park) and a family is expected to move there in July. A memorial plaque honoring conservationist Irene Forte (who passed away at 104) is expected to be unveiled at that time. Habitat for Humanity's resources had been stretched by Hurricane Katrina but hopefully a groundbreaking for the Habitat portion of the property will take place later this year. Two thirds of the property is being preserved as open space and will become part of the Dolan Pond Conservation area.
Erica Horowitz and Corinne Mitchell, students at Newton North High SchoolWe are students of Newton North High School, and have been studying wetlands as part of an environmental service project for their AP Biology class. Check out their new poster on the bulletin board at Dolan Pond dealing with wetland depletion, the plants and animals that depend on wetlands for survival, and ways in which the reader may help preserve wetlands.
To find out more about Dolan Pond, check out http://www.newtonconservators.org/4dolan.htm. Dolan Pond is only one of the many wonderful open spaces in Newton. Find a place near where you live or work, open your eyes and ears, and make it your own. You never know what surprises await you!
EcoAlert from American P.I.E. - Tree
Literacy
The removal of trees is one of the most
longstanding and significant ways in which we have altered the landscape of the
United States. In the past, forests were cleared to allow for agriculture, to
provide fuel for domestic purposes, to provide charcoal or wood for
construction; sometimes to fuel locomotives, and sometimes to smelt metals. More
recently, trees are simply taken down under the banner of
'development.'
Deforestation exacerbates the
global climate crisis. Trees capture and store carbon dioxide. This Œcarbon
sink¹ effect exists as trees grow; (older trees grow less rapidly and thus have
a lower intake of carbon dioxide). All trees eventually die and rot, then
releasing most of the stored carbon back to the atmosphere. The use of trees to
curb climate change, therefore, can not fully counter-balance the current high
level of greenhouse gases emitted in the U.S. Trees, however, can store a
considerable amount of carbon dioxide, and their loss only increases the release
of heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere.
The importance of trees in
curbing global warming can be measured by visiting
<http://www.americanforests.org/resources/ccc>. The Climate Change
Calculator, devised by the American Forests organization, enables a
determination of how many trees are needed to capture and safely store the
fossil fuel emissions associated with our own daily activities. The results can
be startling and at the same time stimulate a search for ways in which
individuals and households can make a difference.
The unrelenting
appetite for fossil fuel has put Earth - and the entire community of life - in
jeopardy. It's time to heed the warming warnings...to powerdown our energy
requirements, drive a fuel efficient vehicle, drive less, buy energy-saving
products, use green power, and support clean energy policies. It¹s time, too, to
plant trees.
Are there trees in your neighborhood landscape? Does your
community have a community forestry program? Developing such a program is within
the means of any community, large or small. At a time when humans are doing away
with much of the planet's familiar and unfamiliar flora of the forest, it¹s time
for communities and residents to work together to plant, help preserve and
protect their community trees
Alienation from our natural, forest roots
is at the heart of the global climate crisis. Trees can help abate the crisis by
capturing and storing carbon dioxide, and tree literacy can help restore our
unity with nature.
Act today on this EcoAlert,
and thank you for your environmental responsibility. This feature is
courtesy of American P.I.E. , Public Information on the Environment, a 501(c)3
non-profit organization, P.O. Box 676, Northfield, MN 55057-0676,
Telephone: 1-800-320-APIE(2743); fax 507-645-5724, E-mail: Info(AT)AmericanPIE.org.
Notes of Interest
Writing on the Landscape, June 11th, 10:00am-1:00pm, Jamaica Pond
The Environment Page is a monthly feature of the Newton TAB dedicated to providing vital current information about environmental science, policy and local conservation activities. For more information, also see http://greendecade.org.
The Newton History Museum
at The Jackson Homestead (527 Washington Street) always has interesting
programs. As part of their community commitment, they are happy to send you this
listing of program highlights, events, and invitations each month.
You may register for programs by telephone at 617-796-1450 or by sending an
e-mail to museuminfo(AT)newtonma.gov. For more
details about any of our programs, please visit our website at www.newtonhistorymuseum.org.
Thanks to all those who supported the city's acquisition of
Angino Farm. Shares for this initial year have all been
allocated under the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model. Check out
the latest info on our local farm at http://www.newtoncommunityfarm.org.
For over 35 years, "Envi Sci" has been an alternative to traditional summer camps. The Environmental Science Program (http://www.newtonenvisci.org/) centers around the idea that students learn best about their surroundings when taught by other students in the specific environment. Leaders are trained to educate students while daily hiking or biking to many diverse sites in Newton and surrounding areas.
You can visit the Mass Wildlife website at http://www.mass.gov/masswildlife. Subscribe to MassWildlife News, a free electronic monthly newsletter updating you on research, events, new laws and other agency activities. All you need to do is send an email to: Join-MassWildlife.news(AT)listserv.state.ma.us
The next city Off-leash task force meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 15, 6:30pm, Room 222, City Hall. The task force is moving toward coming up with a proposal. If you are a Newton dog person, check out the newly revamped website of NewtonDogs organization at http://www.newtondogs.org.
Check out Nature Events in nearby communities and organizations by checking out the Links page of the Newton Conservators website at http://www.newtonconservators.org/links.htm. Check out Brookline at http://www.brooklinegreenspace.org/ , Weston at http://www.westonforesttrail.org/ , Waltham at http://www.walthamlandtrust.org/index.html , Wellesley at http://www.wellesleyconservationcouncil.org/ and Watertown at http://www.watertowncitizens.org/
News from the Green Decade Coalition
RESCHEDULED ANNUAL PLANT
& GARDEN SALE TO BENEFIT GREEN DECADE
PROGRAMS
Saturday, June 10 -- 9:30am to
12:30pm
10 Lindbergh Avenue, West Newton (off Waltham St., 3 blocks from
Washington St.)
Rescheduled from
May, this event includes free advice from expert gardeners plus all kinds of
plants available for sale. Proceeds benefit the Green Decade
Coalition/Newton´s environmental education programs.
Special this year is a generous donation of plants from the recent Newton Plant
Sale; purchase of these select items will benefit both the Green Decade and the
Newton Pride Committee. We accept and appreciate plant donations: annuals,
perennials, ground cover, vines, seeds, tree & shrub seedlings, plus
decorative items such as flower pots, baskets & more! Please drop off
donations the week of June 5-9 to 10 Lindbergh Avenue, West Newton. Tables will
be set up to receive your donations. All plant donations must be labeled but do
not have be in containers. Volunteers are needed at the sale on Saturday.
ENVIRONMENTAL SPEAKER SERIES: ""Reflections
on the Charles River" and Annual Environmental Leadership
Awards
Monday, June 12, 7-9 PM
Newton Free Library, Druker
Auditorium. Free to the public.
Co-Sponsored by the Green Decade
Coalition/Newton and the Newton Free Library
The Green Decade will
present their Annual Environmental Leadership Awards to a Newton individual, an
organization and a business who have have made an outstanding contribution to
the environment. The event will also include a slide presentation by the
Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) on the beauty and wonderful
recreational resource of the Charles River. CRWA is a member of the Green
Decade, dedicated to protecting and making the river safe for our
enjoyment. For more information: 617-965-1995 or greendecade.org,
Upcoming Events. To see 2005 and 2004 award winners:
http://greendecade.org/environmentalawards.html
NEWTON
FARMERS MARKET BEGINS JULY 11!
The Farmer Market will be in two
locations again this year: Cold Spring Park on Tuesdays, 1:30-6 pm and on
Fridays, 10 a-2 p at the Post 440 parking lot on California St., Nonantum.
The Farmers Market will run through October, and the Green Decade will have a
stand at both markets. Join our volunteers for an hour or two and help us
provide resources about the environment and the Green Decade. To volunteer
or for more information, contact
contact@greendecade.org.
News from Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA)
Volunteer with CRWA! - Love being on the river? Want an excuse to be outside this summer? We still need volunteers to help monitor the health of the river! Become a water quality monitoring volunteer and collect river samples once a month - usually the third Tuesday morning. Currently we need volunteers at sites in Bellingham, Norfolk, Franklin, Newton, and Boston.
If you live in or near these communities and are interested in volunteering, please contact Rebecca Scibek at (781) 788-0007 x200 or rscibek(AT)crwa.org.
Brown Bag Lunch on Tuesday, June 13th from 12:30-1:30pm, at CRWA’s Office - Join Urban Restoration Specialist Pallavi Mande and Director of Projects Kate Bowditch as they discuss their work with environmentally sensitive urban development in the Harvard/Allston area. To RSVP, email rscibek(AT)crwa.org.
Attend the Stormwater Sessions
Workshop in June - The Charles River Watershed Stormwater Sessions: Designing
and Paying for a Better Stormwater Management Program is a day-long workshop
on low-impact development (LID) approaches, stormwater best management practices
and the tools and techniques to finance them. Co-sponsored by CRWA and MA Office of
Coastal Zone Management, the workshop will be held on Wednesday, June
21st at
Newton Conservators Activities
The Newton Conservators Newsletter is the official publication of the Newton Conservators and may be found online at http://www.newtonconservators.org/newsletter.htm. The latest issue should be in the mail shortly and if you are a Newton Conservators member should be receiving it in the near future. This is the first issue under new editor, Eric Reenstierna, who is taking over after many terrific years under the editorship of Doug Dickson.
The Board of Directors of the Newton Conservators meets monthly usually on the third Wednesday of the month (usually at City Hall). Members are welcome to attend. If you wish to attend you can contact us to confirm the date, time, location, and agenda. The April meeting will take place on Wed.. June 21, 7:30 pm at City Hall Room 203.
The Newton Conservators have an
active Land Management Group led by Landscape Designer, Beth
Schroeder. Each week, usually on Tuesdays, the group visits one of our
open space areas to catalog the flowers, plants, animals, and other creatures
that are found there. If you are experience and knowledgeable in the areas
of nature related identification, please let us know if you would like to assist
in this long term effort to catalog the biodiversity in Newton.
The Walking Trails in Newton's
Park and Conservation Lands map guide put out by the Newton
Conservators is a great resource for those who would like to explore Newton’s
open space. It is a 56-page guide containing detailed trail maps of 27
conservation areas in Newton, featuring parks, ponds, gardens, trails, canoe
launches, nature guides, rock climbing, scenic views, handicapped access,
geological features, and bird watching areas. The guide also contains photos,
driving directions, interesting historical details, and an overall map of
showing the locations of the 27 natural. Many more folks have been
observed out in our conservation areas with their trail guide in hand;. It
is available by web, mail and also at Newtonville Books and New England Mobile
Book Fair. Walking Trails in Newton's Parks and Conservation Lands may be
purchased for $7.95 online at http://www.newtonconservators.org/buyaguide.htm
or by mailing a check payable to The Newton Conservators, Inc. to The Newton
Conservators, P.O. Box 590011, Newton Center, MA 02459. It makes a
great gift for your outdoors and nature loving friends.
About the Newton Conservators
This email newsletter is sponsored by the Newton Conservators, a local organization The Newton Conservators, a nonprofit citizen advocacy organization which actively promotes the acquisition, creation, and preservation of natural open spaces for the people of Newton. Since its formation in the late 1950's, The Newton Conservators has been instrumental in safeguarding more than 200 acres of open space in Newton, creating several major public parks, and enacting ground-breaking environmental ordinances with respect to the protection and preservation of trees, wetlands and clean air, and the conservation of energy. that promotes the protection and preservation of natural areas, including parks, park lands, playgrounds, forests and streams, which are open or may be converted to open spaces for the enjoyment and benefit of the people of the City of Newton, Massachusetts for scientific study, education, and recreation. It further aims to disseminate information about these and other environmental matters. A primary goal is to foster the acquisition of land and other facilities to be used for the encouragement of scientific, recreational, educational, literary, and the other public pursuits that will promote good citizenship and the general welfare in the City of Newton. Please visit our website at http://www.newtonconservators.org or the address below.
If you would like to join the Newton Conservators, please send your name, address, phone and email address (if you wish email alerts) to The Newton Conservators, Inc., P.O. Box 590011, Newton Centre, MA 02459. Membership Options are the following: Individual $25, Family Member $35, Sustaining Member $50, Donor $75, Patron $100. Membership is tax deductible. Your membership includes the Newton Conservators Newsletter and emails and invitations to participate in guided tours of local conservation areas, lectures, and other programs and activities. You will also receive by mail a copy of the new Newton Conservators open space map book, "Walking Trails in Newton's Park and Conservation Lands".
About Newton Conservators Nature Notes
If you would like to be more directly kept apprised of future nature related events, walks, lectures, and exhibits, you are invited to join the Newton Conservators sponsored "Newton Conservators Nature Notes" email list by sending an email request to emaillist(AT)newtonconservators.org or contacting Ted Kuklinski . Newton Conservators Nature Notes is automatically sent to members of the Newton Conservators who provide their email addresses as one of their membership benefits. Newton Conservators Nature Notes may be found online at http://www.newtonconservators.org/naturenotes.htm. You are welcome to submit any items for this sporadical newsletter via email to the same address. Please feel free to forward our newsletter to others you feel might be interested in the information contained herein.