Boston Flora

Tag: Cape Cod

  • Wednesday, July 16, 9:00 am – 12:00 noon – Land Care Day at Tall Pines

    Join the Native Land Conservancy for a land care event at Tall Pines, now called Qâqunôhqus8ee K8âut in Centerville, Massachusetts on Wednesday, July 16 from 9 am – noon. We will be doing general clean up and trail maintenance. We are starting early and ending before lunch to avoid the heat of the day. Bring your sunscreen, bug spray, and hand tools if you have them. NLC will provide light refreshments, tools, and supplies. Meet at the Cape Cod Chamber parking lot, 5 Patti Page Way in Centerville. Register to join at bit.ly/NLCPines

  • Natural Resource Nitrogen Sensitive Area Grant Awards

    Governor Maura Healey and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll announced $825,000 in grants to @townofbarnstable, @townofbrewsterma, @townofchatham, #DennisMA, #Falmouth, #Mashpee, #Wellfleet and @yarmouthmass to protect and improve water quality. Nitrogen can cause serious problems in the water, such as algae blooms, and this funding will help eight Cape Cod communities address nitrogen pollution. At a time where Federal aid to environmentally damaged areas is disappearing, the State is stepping up.

  • Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage

    In 2017, Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage, OLAUG, was formed. They have been cleaning up ponds on Cape Cod from Falmouth to Chatham ever since. Gathering small teams of swimmers, ages 64 to 85, they sweep along the shallows, diving down to pick up beer cans, golf balls, fishing lures, waterlogged dog toys, hats, jackets, shoes, and occasionally a tire, cell phone or box of spent fireworks.

    Whatever they heave up from the bottom, they hand to the Garbage Collector who paddles a canoe or kayak. One swimmer goes ahead looking for snapping turtles and guides the swimmers around them. Their affection and respect for the fish, turtles, and plants that live in the ponds are what motivates them. Well, that and cookies. To learn more, to join, or to donate, visit https://olaug.ma.com

  • Saturday & Sunday, September 11 & 12, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm – Field School: Bees and Other Pollinators

    Early fall is a magnificent time to explore outer Cape Cod; empty beaches, agreeable weather and an abundance of pollinating insects.

    Raise your awareness about the vital role bees and other insects play in our environment. Animals pollinate about 75% of all the food, fiber, beverages, and medicine used by humans, and insects, especially bees, are the primary pollinators. Emphasis of this course will be on the natural history, biology, and identification of pollinators including the often unnoticed but hard-working native bees. Learn about their habitat requirements and conservation issues.

    This two-day course on September 11 and 12 from 8 – 4 will include an online evening lecture and time in the field spent searching for the diverse assortment of pollinators found on Cape Cod, including Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary and the surrounding natural communities.

    Please be prepared for spending time outside in sunny, open environments and off-trail in search of insects. We recommend wearing light-colored clothing and pack long pants and close-toed shoes for time in the brushy habitats. Bring plenty of drinking water and sunscreen, and possibly even a wide -brimmed hat. Binoculars, a 10X or 20X magnifyling glass (or jeweler’s loupe), and backpack in which to carry items is also recommended. Pack a brown bag lunch for each day, light daytime snacks will be provided. Like bees, we need sustenance!

    * Please note: the hours listed on the schedule may vary from the sample schedule in the field school brochure and are subject to change based on tides, staff, optimal wildlife sightings, and other variables. A detailed schedule will be prepared and sent to registrants in advance.

    Due to COVID protocols, participants will need to provide their own transportation to field trip locations around the Cape.

    This course is one of serveral Cape Cod Field Schools offered. Visit www.massaudubon.org/wellfleetbay/fieldschools.

    Instructions and Directions:

    Advance registration is required and is accepted on-line, over the phone, or through the mail. Payment in full is due upon registration. Upon registration you will receive a confirmation letter, then 2-3 weeks in advance of your course you will receive an email with detailed information related to the class.

    Due to COVID protocols, participants will need to provide their own transportation to field trip locations around the Cape.

    $325 for Mass Audubon members, $350 for nonmembers.

    Cancellation received less than 30 days before starting date may result in forfeit of entire course fee. If we can fill your spot with another registration then your balance is returned, less the $50 nonrefundable administration fee. The sanctuary reserves the right to cancel any course with a full refund to registrants.

    For a complete listing of Field School courses visit http://www.massaudubon.org/wellfleetbay/fieldschools Registration is required. Register now with our secure payment portal.

    For more information, contact:

    Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary P.O. Box 236, State Highway Rte. 6 South Wellfleet, MA 02663 wellfleet@massaudubon.org

  • Wednesday, December 19, 11:30 am – 12:30 am – Christmas in Yellowstone

    The Cape Cod Museum of Natural History will screen a PBS original nature documentary, Christmas in Yellowstone, on Wednesday, December 19 at 11:30 am.As snow falls and Christmas lights glow in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, a holiday season of a different sort settles over the great winter world of Yellowstone National Park, designated America’s first national park in 1872 and one of the greatest expanses of unspoiled nature and wildlife anywhere on Earth! NATURE follows in the snowy footprints of Yellowstone’s red foxes, spies on the predatory warfare of wolves and elk, and climbs into the den of a grizzly bear that gives birth to two cubs while deep in hibernation.

    In addition to the stunning footage of landscapes and wildlife, trail alongside author and photographer Tom Murphy, who has been coming to Yellowstone for the past 26 winters, camping and photographing amid the silence and solitude of the park. And go behind the scenes with filmmaker Shane Moore to find out how he kept up with Murphy during a harrowing trek, reminiscent of the legendary John Colter’s first journey into the park nearly two hundred years ago.

    Join us for a breathtaking look at wintertime deep within America’s first national park. Free with Museum Admission. For more information please call: 508-896-3867, ext. 133

    Image result for Christmas in Yellowstone movie

  • Tuesday, November 14, 5:15 pm – 7:30 pm – Drafting the Cape Cod Formula

    When the National Park Service wanted to create a federal park on Cape Cod, residents worried about what would happen to their homes, communities, and coastal traditions. This Massachusetts Historical Society lecture examines how citizens articulated their concerns, and how these responses helped the NPS and Senators John F. Kennedy and Leverett Saltonstall to create a new acquisition and land management policy that would then be applied to other living landscapes. The lecture will be given at the Massachusetts Historical Society building on Boylston Street in Boston by Jacqueline Gonzales of Historical Research Associates, with comment by Steven Moga of Smith College.

    Free and open to the public. To RSVP: email seminars@masshist.org or call (617) 646-0579.

  • Saturday, November 4, 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm – Hydrangea Winterizing Workshop

    Hydrangea macrophylla are the least cold-hardy of hydrangea species and are hard to keep alive during harsh Cape Cod winters. Heritage Museums & Gardens Hydrangea Curator Mal Condon will provide information and demonstrate techniques for protecting hydrangeas from the ravages of winter, in this workshop on Saturday, November 4 from 1:30 – 2:30 at the gardens on 67 Grove Street in Sandwich. $10 for Heritage members, $25 for nonmembers (includes Museum admission.) For more information visit https://heritagemuseumsandgardens.org/event/hydrangea-winterizing-workshop-2/ Photo by Luc Balemans from www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com.

  • Tuesday, June 20, 12:30 pm – What’s Your Tick IQ?

    The Cape Cod Museum of Natural History will present Tick Training and Lyme Disease Prevention with the Cape Cod Medical Reserve Corps on Tuesday, June 20 at 12:30 pm at the Museum, 869 Main Street in Brewster. Those of us who live on Cape Cod are probably familiar with the high incidence of Lyme disease in our area; however, people who visit in the summer as vacationers, campers or camp counselors may know very little about this problem. It is essential that they understand about Lyme disease, prevention of tick bites and monitoring and dealing with tick bites.

    The Museum is pleased to offer this one hour program to our visitors, volunteers and staff. This program is taught by Medical Reserve Corps volunteers who have extensive training in Tick borne Illness.

    Free with Museum Admission. For directions and more information visit www.ccmnh.org.

  • Thursday, June 22, 12:00 noon – Live Bee Hive Opening

    Meet The Cape Cod Museum of Natural History’s bees up close with beekeepers George Muhlebach and crew who will open their live hives for visitors. Learn how bees have a symbiotic relationship to flowering plants and how beekeepers contribute to maintaining the biodiversity in our ecosystem. Veils provided.

    PLEASE NOTE:
    The first opening is at 12 noon, if that fills, a 2nd is at 12:45 and if needed a 3rd opening at 1:30. We only take reservations for Noon until that is full, and then open the next time slot.

    THURSDAYS:

    June 22, 29

    July 6, 13, 20, 27

    August 3, 10, 17, 24, 31

    RESERVATIONS REQUIRED due to limited space.
    CCMNH Members $4/Non-Members $5: call 508 896 3867 x 111. For more information please call the Museum at 508-896-3867 ext. 133. Image from www.samlesburyhall.co.uk.

  • Tuesday, May 9, 7:00 pm – The Outer Beach

    Those who have encountered Cape Cod or merely dipped into an account of its rich history know that it is a singular place. Robert Finch writes of its beaches: No other place I know sears the heart with such a constant juxtaposition of pleasure and pain, of beauty being born and destroyed in the same moment. And nowhere within its borders is this truth more vivid and dramatic than along the forty miles of Atlantic coast what Finch has always known as The Outer Beach. The essays here represent nearly fifty years and a cumulative thousand miles of walking along the storied edge of the Cape’s legendary arm.

    Finch considers evidence of nature’s fury: shipwrecks, beached whales, towering natural edifices, ferocious seaside blizzards. And he ponders everyday human interactions conducted in its environment with equal curiosity, wit, and insight: taking a weeks-old puppy for his first beach walk; engaging in a nocturnal dance with one of the Cape’s fabled lighthouses; stumbling, unexpectedly, upon nude sunbathers; or even encountering out-of-towners hoping an Uber will fetch them from the other side of a remote dune field.

    Throughout these essays, Finch pays tribute to the Outer Beach’s impressive literary legacy, meditates on its often-tragic history, and explores the strange, mutable nature of time near the ocean. But lurking behind every experience and observation both pivotal and quotidian is the essential question that the beach beckons every one of its pilgrims to confront: How do we accept our brief existence here, caught between overwhelming beauty and merciless indifference?

    Finch’s affable voice, attentive eye, and stirring prose will be cherished by the Cape’s staunch lifers and erstwhile visitors alike, and strike a resounding chord with anyone who has been left breathless by the majestic, unrelenting beauty of the shore. He will speak and sign copies of his book on Tuesday, May 9 at Porter Square Books, 25 White Street in Cambridge, beginning at 7 pm. For more information visit www.portersquarebooks.com.