Boston Flora

Tag: Land Conservation

  • Thursday, April 14, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Wild Foods, Nutrition, and Land Conservation

    Land conservation has many obvious benefits — protecting habitats and watersheds, preventing erosion, offering places of beauty and respite. Few of us consider the additional benefit to our health and well-being that derives from the wild, nutrient-dense foods these natural areas can provide. Take a provocative look at agriculture (particularly small-scale) and its effects on the environment and human health in this Thursday, April 14 lecture by Arthur Haines at Garden in the Woods, Framingham, co-sponsored by the New England Wild Flower Society and the Massachusetts Audubon Society, Drumlin Farm. How does clearing the canopy and understory of a natural area affect wild food sources? Do changes in our diet over the past century have a physiological and genetic impact? Appreciating the critical need humans have for wild food provides another powerful argument for the protection of land from uses that drastically alter its ecological function. $20 for members of the sponsoring organizations, $24 for non-members.  Register at www.newfs.org.

  • Saturday, March 26, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm – The 21st Massachusetts Land Conservation Conference

    The Trustees of Reservations would like to invite you to attend The 21st Massachusetts Land Conservation Conference, being held on March 26, 2011 from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM at the Worcester Technical High School in Worcester. The conference offers an opportunity for anyone interested in “Climate Change and Land Conservation” to learn, share and discuss their experience, and make new connections.

    Climate change is one of the most significant challenges of the 21st century, impacting human life as well as wildlife and our natural landscapes. The conservation community is working to mitigate the impact of climate change by protecting critical lands to serve as carbon sinks and migration corridors for wildlife, and by making natural areas and historic structures more resilient to the stresses of climate change.

    Some of the 30+ workshops at the conference include:

    * BioMap2 : Conserving the Biodiversity of Massachusetts in a Changing World
    * Restoring Ecological Integrity to Your Land in the Face of Climate Change
    * Strengthen Your Message to Gain More Support from More People
    * The Future of Small Land Trusts in Massachusetts
    * Wind Turbine Siting on Land Trust Lands
    * The Soulful Landscape: Restoring Connections between People, Place, and Community

    The conference will also feature a plenary session with MA Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rick Sullivan, and keynote speaker, Environmental Protection Agency’s New England Region Administrator Curt Spalding (pictured below). Mr. Spalding will be addressing EPA’s role in promoting adaptation and resilience strategies for natural resources protection, including land conservation.

    Anyone may register for the conference at www.MassConservation.org; the registration fee is $62 ($52 for students). Call (802) 865-5202 if you have any questions about registering for the conference.

    The Trustees of Reservations’ Putnam Conservation Institute and the Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition are the co-conveners of the 21st Massachusetts Land Conservation Conference, and the co-sponsors are the Land Trust Alliance, The Nature Conservancy, Mass Audubon, and The Trust for Public Land. Visit www.MassConservation.org for complete conference information.