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Home My WebLink Aboutconservationofficee-newsletterjune2021Lexington Conservation Caring for our public land June 2021 Lexington 2021 Rain Barrel Program Partnership Once again, the Town of Lexington is offering rain barrels at a discount with easy pickup at the Lexington Compost Facility, 60 Hartwell Ave, beginning July 10th from 9-11am. Barrels need to be ordered ahead before 6/30/21. How to Purchase Your Rain Barrel: Rain Barrels are available for purchase by residents at the discounted price of $79.00 through American Rain Barrels. How to Order: https://www.greatamericanrainbarrel.com/community/ Select Town Pick-Up: Sat, July 10th 9:00-11:00am Lexington Compost Facility 60 Hartwell Ave Deadline:June 30th , Midnight When You Buy a Rain Barrel, you will: Decrease your water bill by up to 40%. Have an alternate source of water during droughts. Have a healthy, chlorine and chemical-free water source for plants and gardens. Improve residential storm management. Slow pollution from runoff. Lower municipal water demands & save energy at treatment plants. Clean Water Tips: Mulch, Compost, or Bag your Grass Use a mulching blade on your lawn mower and add the nutrients from the cut grass back into the soil Compost your lawn clippings to make a natural fertilizer for your garden. Bag your grass clippings for curbside pickup. But whatever you do, don't dump them in a storm drain or leave them on the sidewalk ! When grass clippings decay on your lawn or in your composter, that's healthy fertilizer. But when they rot in our streams, that's water pollution! Check here for more clean water tips ! Participate in Pollinator Week! Fourteen years ago, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved and designated a week in June as "National Pollinator Week". Pollinator Week has now grown into an international celebration, promoting the valuable ecosystem services provided by bees, birds, butterflies, bats and beetles. Celebrate Pollinators all week long (or more) with these pollinator dependent recipes or watch this Habitat Restoration and Management Webinar series. Bee-come a Citizen Scientist Sunday July 18th 10am-12pm (Location TBD) Wild pollinators have declined in abundance, diversity, and geographic distribution at an alarming rate over recent years. These declines pose a significant threat to ecosystem health and biodiversity, yet we currently lack critical ecological information needed to develop effective conservation and restoration strategies for threatened species. The 'Beecology Project' aims to fill this gap by recruiting citizen scientists from across the region to digitally collect and submit ecological data on native pollinator species using our freely available smartphone and web apps. As a Beecologist, you will contribute valuable information on the diversity and health of pollination systems in your local area and importantly, help to keep our native ecosystems buzzing for years to come! Dr. Robert J. Gegear is a Professor in the Department of Biology at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Find out more here! Explore Conservation Properties with CLC Sunday June 13: 10 am - 12 noon - iNaturalist Walk in Dunback Meadow This exploratory walk of Dunback Meadow will provide a second opportunity to use iNaturalist to see what can be learned using this handy smart phone resource. Plants will be the focus (since they are easiest to photograph) but we'll look at other organisms as available. Prerequisite: Bring your phone with iNaturalist installed and ready to use. Please try it out: take a few sample photos and have your phone enabled for cellular data. The usefulness of iNaturalist depends on taking good photos. The app may be found at: https://www.inaturalist.org/ . It's free, but may require registration on the iNaturalist web site. Group limit - 10. Masks and pre-registration required . Send an e-mail to walk leader Barbara Katzenberg to register and receive confirmation of the meeting point location. Title your message: Registration - Dunback Walk. Heavy rain cancels. Walk Leader: Barbara Katzenberg (barbara.katzenberg@gmail.com) Willards Woods Public Meeting 6/17 @ 7:00PM (in-person*) The Willards Woods Ecological Land Management and Design Plan is ready for public review! Please join us on Thursday June 17th at 7:00PM in the Select Board Meeting Room while Land Stewardship Inc. describes their proposed management actions for Willards Woods. Review the draft Ecological Land Management and Design Plan and provide feedback by 6/30/2021. We hope to see you there! *While this meeting is currently scheduled in-person, please check our Public Meeting Calendar for updates regarding a virtual meeting if extension providing temporary suspension of certain open meeting law requirements is approved by legislature. Questions? Contact Conservation Coordinator Amber Carr at acarr@lexingtonma.gov LexingtonNext: Lexington's Comprehensive Plan Update 6/15/21 @ 7:00PM The Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee (CPAC) is inviting the Lexington community to: review key findings of the inventory of existing conditions refine a vision and goals to guide Lexington's future and to begin identifying strategies for achieving these These then will form the foundation upon which LexingtonNext, Lexington's Comprehensive Plan, will be developed. This is a public event, and all attendees will be automatically entered into a free raffle and eligible to win prizes! Participants must be present to win. Check our Public Meeting Calendar for updates regarding this event Massachusetts Forests are Essential for Meeting Our Climate Goals: Are They up to the Task? Monday, June 7, 2021 at 7:30 PM Join Dr. William Moomaw, Professor Emeritus of International Policy at The Fletcher School, Tufts University and Distinguished Visiting Scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, as he speaks to Massachusetts forests and climate change. This event is sponsored by the League of Women Voters Lexington, and is open to the public at no charge, however registration is required at http://www.lwvlexington.org. Please note: This event will follow the LWV Lexington Annual Meeting, which begins at 7PM. After a brief meeting, then a short recess, Dr. Moomaw will speak at 7:30PM. Calling All Volunteers! Join us on Stewardship Saturdays for volunteer work and camaraderie Next Event: Next Event: West Farm-(Piggy field) June 19th June 19th 9 A.M.-12 P.M.9 A.M.-12 P.M. Three seasons ago the Stewards along with neighborhood volunteers cleared the North stone wall between the upper field and what is locally known as The Piggy. This June we're hoping to do the same with the South stone wall. Steve Perkins working solo has made a great start on a portion and the difference is amazing. Let's finish the job and restore the field to its former pastoral glory. Gardening gloves are recommended. There will be some small trees to remove so qualified chain saw operators are invited. Steady rain cancels. Parking available on Oak Street near the upper entrance and side street off Oak. Signs will be posted directing you to The Piggy. All welcome. If you know you're joining us, please shoot me an email or just show up. Leader: Ira Bernstein (iratunes@gmail.com) Find out more details and register for upcoming events! Have Something to Share? This is the place for all things stewardship in Lexington, including upcoming volunteer work events, newly completed projects, local trainings and educational events, as well as news from the Lexington Conservation Office. Please e-mail landstewards@lexingtonma.gov, with submissions for our next edition. Did a friend forward you this newsletter? Sign up here by choosing Conservation News and Events! Stay up to date on COVID-19 See the Town's COVID-19 Information webpage Lexington Conservation | 781-698-4532 | landstewards@lexingtonma.gov | www.lexingtonma.gov/conservation/conservation-stewardship STAY CONNECTED: