Newsletter Archive
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March,
2009
March,
2008
February, 2007
February, 2006
March, 2005
January,
2004
October,
2002
December,
2001
April, 2001
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2000
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1999
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Conservation Links
- Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition
- An Association of Massachusetts Land Trusts and Conservation Organizations
- Land Trust Alliance
- Supporting Land Trusts throughout the country.
- Trust for Public Lands
- TPL helps preserve land throughout Massachusetts.
- The Trustees of Reservations
- Local conservation organization
- Acton Land Stewardship Committee
- Maintains Acton conservation lands
- Acton Citizens for Environmental Safety
- Watchdogs for Acton's Environment
- Green Acton
- Advocating for sustainable environmental choices in Acton
- Acton Boxborough Farmers Market
- Sundays, July through November. Support local food, meet your neighbors
News Archive
ACTON CONSERVATION TRUST ANNUAL MEETING Sunday, April 5, 2009, 7:30 PM to 9 PM Acton Town Hall, Rm 204
"Why Manage the Wild Deer Population?"
A
family of deer on the edge of a field at dusk is a lovely sight...but
is it possible that there are too many deer in our area? Patricia
Huckery, will share the recent experience of several towns in dealing
successfully with this timely issue. She will explain how by working
together, public and private land owners can prevent problems, such
as forests which cannot regenerate, excessive deer tick incidence,
car accidents, and damage to farms and gardens. She will also
address, the question of feeding deer during the winter, and how high
numbers of deer can affect rare and endangered plants and animals.
Please join us and bring a friend! For more information contact Susan Mitchell-Hardt, 978-369-9264.
The Acton Conservation Trust
Invites you to participate in
Acton Cleanup Day
SATURDAY, April 25th, 10 am to 4 pm
Join
friends and neighbors in taking care of your very own piece of Acton!
You
can make a difference
to your neighborhood, or a busy street, or a nearby commercial district
CLEANUP DAY SITES
Come to any one of the three locations listed below to pick up trash bags.
Return
the bags full of trash to any of the sites
Refreshments provided
all day.
Acton Center: lawn in front of Acton Memorial Library on Rte. 27
South Acton: Jones Tavern on Rte. 27 before South Acton bridge
West Acton: parking lot at Douglas School on Elm Street
Acton
Cleanup Day contact persons:
Laurence (Laurie) Ullmann 263-2037
lullmann@comcast.net
or
Terry Lindgren 263-8627 terence.lindgren@gmail.com
Acton Cleanup Day has been supported by: Town of Acton, including the Natural Resources Department, the Acton Highway Department, Acton Municipal Department, Acton Citizens for Environmental Safety, the Acton Democratic Town Committee, and local businesses.
RAIN
DATE SUNDAY April 26th
(WILL BE USED ONLY IF RAIN IS VERY HEAVY)
VOTE TO PROTECT LAND IN THE GREAT HILL CONSERVATION AREA
PLEASE SUPPORT ARTICLE 2
at Special Town MeetingThursday, 10/2/2008, 7 PM, ABRHS Upper Gym Fieldhouse
On October 2 at the Special Town Meeting, the citizens of Acton will have a rare opportunity to augment the protected land in the Great Hill Conservation Area. Warrant Article 2 proposes to allocate $730,000 from the Community Preservation Open Space Set-Aside to purchase 5.5 acres abutting Great Hill along with an historic house on the property. A Preservation Restriction will be placed on the house; it will subsequently be sold with a conservation-restricted lot, thereby greatly reducing the total cost of the project.
The Acton Conservation Trust (ACT), which initiated this project with the owner as part of its program of identifying large parcels of open space, strongly supports this proposal. The purchase of these lands will protect the public foot trail and increase the total acreage of one of Acton’s finest, and most heavily used conservation areas. This land has superb wildlife and natural environment values and will contribute to the passive recreational value of Great Hill. Unlike most remaining land in Town, this parcel is 100% upland, making it easy to develop should it not be preserved.
It is also an ideal use of Community Preservation funds, as both the land and the historic house will be preserved, as required by the CPA. Since it will be funded from the CPA, the dollars used will already have 100% State matching funds included. This fact along with the re-sale monies will ultimately make the net cost very reasonable.
We hope you will join ACT and the Open Space Committee in supporting this wise and prudent purchase.
The Warrant for this Special Town Meeting is posted in the Acton Town Hall, Memorial
Library, Post Offices, etc. Printed copies will be delivered to residences by U.S. Mail. It is also available from the town website, www.acton-ma.gov . Click here to get the complete warrant as a PDF file.
Click here for a map of the area, with the parcel highlighted.
ACTON CONSERVATION TRUST ANNUAL MEETING
Sunday, April 6, 2008 7:30 PM
Church of the Good Shepherd
164 Newtown Road
Who Owns the Land?
We had a wonderful night with local author John Hanson Mitchell. He is one of the most intriguing, original nature writers alive. John addressed the evolution of land trusts (such as ACT) and the changing legal patterns of private ownership and public land.
The 11th Annual Acton Clean Up Day
2008
Saturday April 26, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
The Acton Conservation Trust
Invites you to participate in
Acton
Cleanup Day
SATURDAY, April 26th, 10 am to 4 pm
Join
friends and neighbors in taking care of your very own piece of
Acton!
Come to any one of the three locations listed below to pick up trash
bags.
You can make a difference and make Acton (your
neighborhood, a busy street, a
nearby commercial district) trash-free.
Return the bags full of trash to any of the sites.
Refreshments provided all day.
CLEANUP DAY SITES
-
Acton Center: lawn in front of Acton Memorial Library on Rte. 27
-
South Acton: Jones Tavern on Rte. 27 before South Acton bridge
-
West Acton: Parking lot at Douglas School on Elm Street
'In
the city and in the woods,
Please keep America looking good'
Acton Cleanup Day has been kindly supported/sponsored by the following local businesses, town departments, and groups: Town of Acton, including the Natural Resources Department, the Acton Highway Department, Acton Municipal Department, and local businesses.
Acton
Cleanup Day contact persons:
Laurence (Laurie) Ullmann 263-2037 or Terry
Lindgren 263-8627
Legislative Victory for Land
Conservation
Congress Acts to Support Conservation of Family Farms and Ranches
Link to ACT Tax
information page
Heath Hen Meadow Brook Conservation Vision - A big step forward
See the press release on our land purchase
Henry D. Thoreau To Speak At Acton Conservation Trust Annual MeetingMr. Thoreau will speak to ACT on Sunday, March 4, 2007 at Church of the Good Shepherd, 164 Newtown Road, 7:30 PM after a brief business portion of the meeting (Refreshments will be served). All ACT Members, their guests, and others are invited to join us for a night with Mr. Thoreau (aka Richard Smith of the Concord Museum), who will comment on his observations while walking through Acton and will read from "Walking". He will answer questions in character and then break character to answer additional questions. Please join us and bring a friend! The entertainment will follow the brief business portion of the meeting. For more information, contact Susan-Mitchell-Hardt at 978-369-9264 |
 |
The Acton Conservation Trust Presents
The ACT Annual Meeting and "Camera in the Woods"
Sunday, April 2, 2006
7:30 pm - 9 pm
Acton Town Hall, Room 204
Want to learn more about the secret lives of your neighbors? ACT will feature a slide show by a noted local naturalist, author, and Executive Director of Sudbury Valley Trustees, Ron McAdow.
Following a brief business meeting, Mr. McAdow will introduce his program by telling us a little bit about the differences between a regional land trust and a local land trust and how they complement each other before getting into the meat of his show..."The Wildlife Trails Education Project," aka "The Camera in the Woods." Yes, the wild neighbors we are talking about include bobcat, fisher and coyote. Come see what they are up to when they think we aren't watching. This program is open to the public and we encourage you to bring your children. Refreshments will be served.
For more information contact Susan Mitchell-Hardt, mitchell-hardt@comcast.net.
The Acton Conservation Trust is proud to co-sponsor
The Acton Town Star Party
Friday November 4, 2005 (bad weather date: Saturday, Nov
5)
6:00 - 10:00 p.m.
NARA Park
All are welcome. Come join us and see the "sky-lites" from our own
backyard.
NARA Park offers great views of the eastern and southern horizons. The
event sponsors will
provide the telescopes, binoculars, and the know-how. Mother Nature
provides the celestial
wonders. All you have to do is bring your curiosity and enthusasim. You
won't be
disappointed.
More at http://www.actonstarparty.com
Other Upcoming Events of Interest
Interested in a community farm in Acton? Join the Acton Land Stewardship Committee for a talk and slide show:
A COMMUNITY FARM —
NATICK'S EXPERIENCE
Lynda Simkins, Director of the Natick Community Organic
Farm
Wednesday, October 26
7 p.m.
Acton Town Hall, Room 204
A community farm can happen only if enough people join together to make
it possible, and
its direction and programs will be determined by those who get
involved.
Please come hear Lynda Simkins.
Annual West Acton OctoberFest, Saturday Oct. 1.
The Acton Conservation Trust had a membership table and conservation information available at this popular festival. It was great to see so may of you there!
2005 Annual Meeting -- March 6th, 7:30 PM - 9 PM
Acton Town Hall, 472 Main Street, Room 204
-
Linda McElroy and Bob Guba, who created and sustained the Land Stewardship Committee through its first 10 years, were honored with the Acton Conservation Volunteer Award for 2005
Guest Speaker: Michael Tougias
Topic: Quabbin: A History and Explorers Guide
The program featured the demise of the "lost towns" flooded to create the Quabbin, the construction of the massive reservoir, and how the Quabbin works today. In addition Tougias took the audience on a natural history tour of the Quabbin and surrounding area with suggestions for day trips.
Tougias' slides included before and after images of the
lost towns, workers building
the dams and aqueduct, the grand opening of the reservoir, wildlife of
the Quabbin, unique
natural places, and favorite trails and entrance gates. Tougias also
discussed three
fascinating events from the region he calls "forgotten history" as well
as a
couple of surprise findings. For more information, visit Tougias'
website, http://www.michaeltougias.com.
Annual West Acton OctoberFest, Saturday Oct. 1.
The Acton Conservation Trust had a membership table and conservation information available at this popular festival. It was great to see so may of you there!
2004 Annual Meeting -- February 12th
The Annual Meeting of the Acton Conservation Trust was held on Thursday, Feb.12, in the Acton Town Hall, Room 204.
| 7:00PM | Business Meeting | |
| 7:30PM-9:00PM | Public Meeting and Presentation |
The board was proud to present the first "Acton Conservation Volunteer" Award to Carol Holley, who has done so much for Acton's environment over the years.
We were delighted to have as our guest speaker this year, Mr. Jack Clark, Advocacy Director for Massachusetts Audubon Society. He talked about Mass Audubon's latest report, "Losing Ground - at What Cost?" on the impact of the loss of open space to development.
2003 BioDiversity Days - Two events
June 8, 2003: For Naturalists - sponsored by ACT
Acton Conservation Trust and the Acton Conservation Commission will continue our efforts to document the flora and fauna of Acton Conservation lands. This year we will focus on Nagog Hill Conservation area - documenting the plants, animals, insects and fungi.
Who can participate: Any naturalist (amateurs welcome) who can complete a datasheet and are willing to work for a few hours - one their own or with a partner. Specialists in insects, butterflies and dragonflies are especially needed.
How to get started: Contact Karen O'Neill (koneill@massaudubon.org) for a datasheet.
June 1st, 2003: For Everyone, especially families - sponsored by Artemia Associates
A Special Invitation to Participate in Acton's Biodiversity Bonanza...
If you were a bird that ate insects from trees, what kind of beak would you have? Why are moose teeth different from shark teeth? How many species of animals will we find in Great Hill Pond?
Bring your family! Join the Acton Discovery Museum and Artemia Associates to celebrate Massachusetts' Biodiversity Days. This is the 4th year Acton has participated in the state-wide challenge to familiarize citizens with the wealth of animal and plant species in their communities.
Biodiversity Bonanza will take place Sunday, June 1, 2003 1- 4 pm at the Acton Discovery Museum (177 Main St.) and the Great Hill Conservation area (off High St. behind S. Acton Fire Station). For more information visit our web site at artemiaassociates.com.
2003 Annual Meeting -- February 14th
The Annual Meeting of the Acton Conservation Trust was held on Tuesday, Feb.13, in the Acton Library meeting room.
| 7:00PM | Business Meeting | |
| 7:30PM-9:00PM | Public Meeting and Presentation |
Wayne Petersen, Field Ornithologist from Mass Audubon, gave an entertaining and educational slide show on the changing patterns of bird populations in Massachusetts
2002 - Third Annual Educational Forum -- October 18th
On Thursday, Oct. 18th, the Acton Conservation Trust held its third annual Educational Forum.
The forum topic was: "The Massachusetts Community Preservation Act: Will it work for Acton?".
A diverse and expert panel focused on the legislative background, the technical procedures, and the practical issues surrounding the Community Preservation Act (CPA). Panelists included: State Senator, Pam Resor, James Hellen from the Executive office of Environmental Affairs, John Murray, Treasurer and tax collector for Acton, and two representatives from neighboring towns.
2002 Biodiversity Days
On June 8 - 10, 2002, ACT and the Acton Conservation Commission once again joined other towns across the state for Biodiversity Day.
We call on both amateur and professional naturalists in Acton to join us for a series of nature walks and biological surveys. Last year, we found over 300 species of plants, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals in Acton. A variety of habitats were explored (including some very deep, wet bogs!) and species uncovered. This effort was part of the statewide Biodiversity Days program designed to develop local inventories of common and uncommon plant and animal species. The goal was to find at least 200 species of wild flora or fauna in our backyards, neighborhoods, conservation areas, and waterways.
To view last years report and the statewide efforts, log on to: http://data.massgis.state.ma.us/Biodiversity
Acton Conservation Trust Library
Questions? Contact Susan Mitchell-Hardt (978) 369-9264 or info@actonconservationtrust.org