News
February 4th, 2012
Winter Trail Challenge: The Harvard Conservation Trust partnered with Fruitlands Museum for a Winter Trail Challenge. Participants of any age, but mostly teams of young children, dropped in during Winterfest to try their observation and map-reading skills. Those willing to take on the challenge, roamed the woods looking for clues that, when all gathered, earned them a Harvard Conservation Trust collapsible water bottle. In addition, two participants, Emily Moran and Jason Romeo won our raffle of $100 towards any rental equipment at EMS. Congratulations Emily and Jason!
January 1st, 2012
Annual New Year's Day Walk: HCT's annual New Year's Day walk was held at Holy Hill conservation area, off South Shaker road at noon. Jonathan Feist led over 50 walkers on a relatively warm January day through the secret Shaker worshiping grounds, and into Shaker village. Cookies and hot chocolate were served.
Jonathan gives a short introduction to Shaker history and the day's route.
The group heads into Shaker Village.
November 16, 2011
Russell Cohen gave a very entertaining talk at HCT's Annual Meeting titled "Foraging for Food in Your Own Backyard". Russ, who is a professional environmentalist and wild foods enthusiast, shared a slide presentation featuring many wild edibles found in your own backyard. He is the author of numerous articles and his recent foraging book, Wild Plants I Have Known…and Eaten is now in its third printing. Russ takes stock in his harvests and dinner preparations using his yield. Several of his recipes have even appeared on PBS’ Victory Garden! Russ shared some of his baked goods, including a Japanese Knotweed tart, with the audience!
Below is Russell showing off his cookbook to Dennis Delaney, outgoing HCT President.
September 2011
On September 11th, the Harvard Conservation Trust held its second annual 5K trail run; Run for the Hills. It was a beautiful day with over 240 runners and walkers participating! Click here for more photos and here for race results.
June 2011
Fifth grader, Kelly Pickreign, was awarded a cash prize from Race Director and HCT Trustee Ted MacMahon, for her artfully designed poster of the Trust's annual Run for the Hills 5K trail run. This year the run is scheduled for September 11th at 2pm at the McCurdy track in Harvard. Great job Kelly!
April 2011
A celebration of Elizabeth May's extraordinary life was held on Saturday, June 11, at at 11:00 am at the Harvard Unitarian Universalist Church in Harvard Ma. A Harvard resident and former Harvard Conservation Trust President and Trustee, Elizabeth’s contributions were great and widespread. Elizabeth resided on West Bare Hill Road with views to the west. Her property boasts the evergreen trees that have played host to the Harvard Conservation Trust’s annual Christmas Tree Sale for many seasons. There was a time in the middle of the last century when her house and property here in Harvard served as a summer retreat and weekend refuge. Those were the days when she was Dean and later acting President of Wheaton College. Then in the 1970’s, she moved to Harvard permanently.
During her time serving on the Trust, she possessed an unwavering commitment to conservation and was very dedicated to protecting the Watt Land in Still River – over 125 acres. In addition, Elizabeth made a considerable contribution in preserving her 14-acre parcel. May’s Easement is protected under the auspices of the Harvard Conservation Trust and will be enjoyed for years to come! Read more.
Science Fair Winners announced!
The Harvard Conservation Trust awarded a cash prize to the following Harvard students for their exemplary exhibits at this year's Science Fair.
Top Prize for the high school went to Jessica and Julia Berger, 11th grade, for "Health of Harvard Forests: Ozone Damage on Eastern White Pine". Second place prize went to Bernadette Stadler, Katja Lierhaus, and Kaya Phillips, 11th grade, for their exhibit on "Carbon Capture". For the middle school, Top Prize was awarded to Teague Neschke, 6th grade, for "Squirrels Favorite Food".
Julia and Jessica Berger
Teague Neschke, Bernadette Stadler, Katja Lierhaus and Kaya Phillips
January 2011
At the 2011 Harvard Conservation Trust's Annual New Year's Day walk, co-hosted with the Littleton Conservation Trust, over 50 walkers were treated to a unseasonably warm (but welcome), tour of the Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge. Rona Balco, of "Friends of the Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge", led the walk, pointing out nature sightings and giving an account of the site's history along the way. Walkers also enjoyed the traditional cookies and hot cocoa with marshmallows.
Don McIver, left, of the Littleton Conservation Trust joins
Rona and John Balco of Friends of the Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge
November 2010
At the 2010 Harvard Conservation Trust Annual Meeting, Priscilla Endicott was awarded the William Tolle Hermann prize. The prize was established in 1986 by the Harvard Conservation Trust to recognize and honor those citizens and friends of Harvard whose commitment and service to our Town have made a difference by enhancing those qualities and amenities that make Harvard such a special place to live. It was considered most appropriate that this award be named in affectionate memory of the former Trustee, the late Bill Hermann of Westward Orchards, as no one better exemplified the spirit of the award.
Priscilla was given a hand-turned bowl, made by local designer & artisan, Dave Durrant. The bowl holds special meaning, not only because of its excellent, local craftsmanship, but also because of the source of the wood Dave used. It hailed from a downed cherry tree on Priscilla's property. While the wood made its way "off-premise" for a short while, it will now return to its origin in a new & different form! It is engraved on the bottom with the following inscription:
Priscilla Endicott
William T. Hermann Prize
2010
With gratitude
Harvard Conservation Trust
Cherry from the "Ark"
D.W.D. 2010
Following the presentation of the award the members were entertained by Dr. Wendy Hagen Bauer, professor of Astronomy at Wellesley College. She gave a fascinating talk on what is above us in the skies - constellations, stars & the cosmos. Her research at the Whitin (White-in) Observatory at Wellesley focuses on the process of mass loss from stars in the late stages of their lives using data from the Hubble Space Telescope.
After the talk, members gathered for the traditional gingerbread, cider, and lively conversation.
October 2010
The Harvard Conservation Trust has moved its office to Fruitlands! Come stop by the office and explore the museum and grounds.
October 2010
New watertight ammo boxes have replaced the existing treasure hunt boxes hidden in some of our conservation areas. Click here to see the locations and clues to finding these treasures.
September 2010
A successful Run for the Hills 5K was held on September 12, 2010 to showcase and promote open spaces in Harvard. To see photos of the day and runners, click here.
September 2010
We have added a new “Nature Sightings” section to the website. Email any nature photos to the office at mgentry@harvardconservationtrust.org and we will post them on the website.
