Boston Flora

Tag: mass audubon

  • Saturday, October 24, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – Pumpkinfest

    Celebrate the fall harvest on October 24 from 10 – 11:30 at the Boston Nature Center by creating your own carved pumpkin, playing pumpkin games, and enjoying a fall scavenger hunt. Learn about the history of pumpkins and the Jack-O-Lantern story. Register at least a week in advance to ensure a pumpkin of your own.

    PLEASE NOTE: This program will be conducted in accordance with current Municipal, State, and Mass Audubon Covid-19 protocols. Groups are limited to 10 pre-registered adults. Participants are required to wear a face covering and follow social distancing guidelines. A detailed confirmation letter will be emailed 24 hours before the program.

    Please call 617-983-8500 to register and to order pumpkins.

    Mass Audubon members $10.00, Nonmembers $12.00 per person. Plus $6.00 per pumpkin or bring your own. Registration is required. Register now.

  • Saturday, October 3, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Autumn Colors Photography Workshop

    Join photographer Eduardo del Solar on October 3 at the Boston Nature Center in Mattapan to expand your compositional ability centered on fall color photography. Equipment recommendations for digital cameras, lenses, and accessories will be offered. We’ll discuss exposure, lighting, composition techniques, image critiques, and the ethics of nature photography. The class is from 1 – 4.

    Participants must have either a digital point-and-shoot or digital SLR camera. Cell phone cameras will not suffice.

    Mass Audubon Members $20, Nonmembers $25.

    PLEASE NOTE: This program will be conducted in accordance with current Municipal, State, and Mass Audubon Covid-19 protocols. Groups are limited to 11 pre-registered adults. Participants are required to wear a face covering and follow social distancing guidelines. Mass Audubon cannot loan field equipment at this time. A detailed confirmation letter will be emailed 24 hours before the program.

    In the event of inclement weather, participants will be notified of a make up date. Registration is required. Register now.

  • Wednesday, June 24, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Celebration of Finding Sanctuary Book Launch

    The Museum of American Bird Art is sponsoring a free online book launch on June 24 at 7 pm.

    Join internationally recognized nature artist Barry Van Dusen and Amy Montague, Director of the Museum of American Bird Art, for a virtual gathering to celebrate Barry’s new book: Finding Sanctuary: An Artist Explores the Nature of Mass Audubon. This lively online celebration will feature an interview of Barry by author and artist Julie Zickefoose, live discussion and viewing of Barry’s work, and time for audience participation.

    Over four and a half years, internationally recognized nature artist Barry Van Dusen visited all of Mass Audubon’s 61 wildlife sanctuaries, nature centers and museums, creating drawings and paintings at each location. This beautiful book celebrates the richness, beauty and ecological diversity of Massachusetts and the Mass Audubon sanctuary system and provides fascinating insights into his artistic process.

    After you register you’ll receive an email invitation with a link and information on how to join the gathering. Registration is required. Register online or call 781-821-8853 to register by phone.

  • Tuesday, June 23, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Insects for Beginners Online

    Tuesday, June 23, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Insects for Beginners Online

    Insects may be the most important animals on the planet! If you want to learn why, as well as how to tell a beetle from a true bug, a moth from a butterfly, or a hover fly from a bee this is the program for you, to be held on June 23 from 7 – 9. The Mass Audubon/Drumlin Farm team will focus on the most common insect orders and discuss their unique characteristics and how to recognize them.

    To accommodate safe distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic, this program will be offered as an online meeting with discussion.

    You will receive a Microsoft Teams link and instructions on how to join us the day before the program. Registration is required. Register online or call 781-259-2255 to register by phone. For your own security, DO NOT send credit card information via email. $25 for Mass Audubon members, $30 for nonmembers. For more information contact Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary 208 South Great Road Lincoln, MA 01773 drumlinfarm@massaudubon.org

  • Summer CSA Share at Boston Nature Center

    You can still register for a 2020 Summer CSA share! Boston Nature Center is once again teaming up with Moose Hill, its sister wildlife sanctuary in Sharon, to offer Mass Audubon members the opportunity to get approximately 18 weeks of fresh, organic vegetables.

    With weekly pick-ups at the BNC on Friday afternoons, summer just couldn’t be any sweeter. Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary partners with Ward’s Berry Farm to grow certified organic produce on 17 acres of sustainably farmed land. Moose Hill oversees the management, harvesting, and distribution of the crops, and also maintains the organic standards for annual certification.

    Please Note: Mass Audubon is actively monitoring the COVID-19 situation. Should it extend into the CSA season, we will make changes to our pick-up process that ensure the safety and health of our shareholders and staff.

    For complete information on how it works, and variety of pricing options, visit www.massaudubon.org.

  • Mass Audubon Elects David O’Neill as President

    We are delighted to share that Mass Audubon’s Board of Directors has unanimously and enthusiastically elected David O’Neill to be the 11th President of Mass Audubon.

    David has dedicated his professional career to conservation. For the last five years, he has served as the Chief Conservation Officer and Senior Advisor to the CEO of National Audubon Society (NAS). While there, his powerful vision, collaborative nature, and ability to raise critical funds elevated the entire organization. He led the development of NAS’s conservation strategies, helped to unify the state offices around a single vision, oversaw the organization’s policy, advocacy, and science agendas, and launched innovative programs to help fight the impacts of climate change.

    “David is a committed, proven leader who can hit the ground running on day one, bringing a highly relational and visionary approach,” says Beth Kressley Goldstein, Mass Audubon’s Board Chair. “I could not be more excited for the future of Mass Audubon and look forward to this next chapter in our long history in the Commonwealth.”

    Roles prior to his work at National Audubon include Vice President at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Executive Director of the Chesapeake Bay Trust, and Director of Land Use Policy and Outreach for the Urban Land Institute. He is particularly inspired by our desire to expand our work on climate change, to tackle equity, diversity, and inclusion issues including our reach to new audiences, and to widen our lens to affect the health and resilience of Massachusetts, New England, and beyond.

    David will join the organization in early June, succeeding Gary Clayton, who, after 30 years with Mass Audubon (the last five as president) will retire in May. David is looking forward to building on Gary’s legacy and working with him to get to know our community, including members like you. He is also ready and able to be an effective leader during the current health crisis.

    A leadership transition in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis may cause uncertainties. However, the Board has deep confidence that the combination of the staff’s commitment and expertise and David’s leadership with counsel from Gary will ensure that the organization stays strong, impactful, and nimble.

  • Friday, May 15 – Saturday, May 16 – Mass Audubon Bird-a-thon 2020

    Given the events of the last few weeks, you may have started wondering whether your favorite spring birding fundraiser is taking flight this year . . .

    Yes, Bird-a-thon 2020 will still run from 6:00 pm on Friday, May 15, through 6:00 pm on Saturday, May 16, as scheduled. Bird-a-thon, Mass Audubon’s largest fundraiser, brings together supporters from across the state to raise essential funds for nature conservation, education, and advocacy—and to compete in an exciting team birding competition. Each year, more than 800 birders work with their team members to see, hear, and identify as many bird species as possible in a 24-hour period. Team members and other supporters raise money for Mass Audubon sanctuaries and programs in honor of their participation.

    The format of this year’s competition, as well as some of the rules, will be changing due to COVID-19 and Governor Baker’s stay-at-home advisory. We’ll be sharing more in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for details about this year’s carbon-free, safety-focused, home-based Bird-a-thon!

    In the meantime, you can join a team and start fundraising today! If you have any questions about participating on a team, please contact the Team Captain directly. For an overview, visit www.massaudubon.org.

  • Help Protect Patten Hill in Shelburne Falls

    Mass Audubon has an opportunity to protect 67 stunning, hilltop acres adjacent to High Ledges Wildlife Sanctuary in Shelburne Falls. But to make it happen, they need your help to raise $430,000 by June 2020.

    The generous support of many individuals helped protect 167 acres of the Patten Hill property in 2016. Today, help is needed to permanently conserve the rest of the farm and preserve the legacy of open space for future generations.  

    This spectacular property boasts views of the mountains in all directions—Mount Greylock to the west, Mount Monadnock to the east, Mount Tom to the south, and the Green Mountains of Vermont to the north.

    Protecting this property will result in more than 1,000 connected, protected acres. In addition to the long-distance views, it contains important grassland bird habitat, forest and a stream corridor that includes a series of beaver ponds. The parcel will connect the 792-acre High Ledges with the undeveloped 574-acre Shelburne Falls Fire District land (a public water supply property) and the 221-acre Davenport Farm, creating the type of wildlife corridor that is essential to accommodating wildlife movement in the age of climate change.

    In addition, purchasing Patten Hill will safeguard the drinking water supply by protecting the streams and ponds that drain into the North River and the Shelburne Falls public water supply lands, maintain increasingly rare grassland habitat, enhance the popular public trail system, and preserve the outstanding views to and from the property. Give online at www.massaudubon.org or call Liz Albert at 781-259-2104 or email lalbert@massaudubon.org.

  • Saturday and Sunday, February 29 and March 1, 10:30 am – 2:30 pm – Sugaring Off Tours

    Spring celebrations begin early at the sanctuary with the age-old tradition of maple sugaring. The warm days of late winter awaken the flow of sap in the maples, causing buds to swell and resulting in sweet-smelling, billowing clouds of steam rising from the sugarhouse. On Mass Audubon’s naturalist-guided tours at Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary in Topsfield on February 29 and March 1, learn how to identify a sugar maple, observe tapping and sap collection methods, watch the sap being boiled down in the sugarhouse, and get a sweet taste of the final product.

    Afterwards, warm up by the woodstove in the Barn, where hot beverages and food will be available for purchase. Visit our gift shop to browse a selection of maple products, and be sure to bring home a bottle of our own freshly made maple syrup. Tours last about an hour and run in all weather. Register online or call 978-887-9264 to register by phone.

  • Tuesday, February 4, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – The Impact of Climate Change at the Local Level

    Dr. Amy Weidensaul will speak about the effect climate change has had on local flora and fauna. In addition, she will provide suggestions on how to reduce one’s carbon footprints at the individual level. This Andover Garden Club event will take place February 4 at South Church, 41 Central Street in Andover.

    Weidensaul, who is director of Mass Audubon’s Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary, has more than 20 years of experience in the environmental field. Prior to assuming her current role, she served as deputy director for conservation and education at Audubon Pennsylvania and director of the Shehan Audubon Center at Audubon Maryland-DC.

    Weidensaul has also served as the outdoor center director of South Mountain YMCA near Reading PA. She has been involved in environmental issues at the state level in Pennsylvania.

    In 2011, she received the Together Green Fellowship for conservation leadership. Weidensaul earned a BS in biology from the University of New Hampshire, a master in education from Lehigh University, and a PhD in Environmental Studies from Antioch University.

    The event will begin with social time and refreshments, followed by a brief business meeting and the program.

    Cost: $10 donation requested for guests (includes refreshments)
    Hours: 10:00 AM to approximately noon. Call 978-475-3021 for more information.