Boston Flora

Tag: Sandy Vorce

  • Tuesday, October 4, 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Eco Tour: Ecological Maintenance Techniques at Mass Audubon

    At Mass Audubon Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary, well-maintained trails wind through serene forests of deciduous and evergreen trees, across meadows, and around ponds and vernal pools. Located just six miles from downtown Boston at 10 Juniper Road in Belmont, this unique 90-acre natural oasis offers recreation and environmental education for all ages. With a wide range of habitats, maintenance on this property is diverse, challenging, and never ending but careful planning along with well-executed ecological practices are proving successful.

    Join tour guide Sandy Vorce on Tuesday, October 4 at 3 pm to learn about the innovative landscape maintenance techniques that the Mass Audubon staff and volunteers practice to keep the landscape healthy and beautiful.

    Landscape maintenance topics included on the tour:

    Invasive plant control and meadow maintenance – both handled with the help of Habitat’s Goats
    Stormwater management – dealing with drought and deluge
    Lawn maintenance using push mowers to reduce noise and emissions
    Recycling organic matter – techniques that plan ahead for climate change
    Weed management using Habitat staff and volunteers

    Sandy Vorce is the property manager at Mass Audubon’s Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary. Sandy tends everything from gardens to goats and enjoys working with volunteers of all ages and backgrounds in caring for the property and its’ inhabitants. She is a former Ecological Landscape Alliance board member and now participates with local Land Trusts and Friends groups. $23 for ELA members, $33 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/eco-tour-ecological-landscape-maintenance-techniques-at-audubon-habitat/#sthash.HACXWB8J.dpuf

  • Tuesday, September 20, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Webinar: Reawakening Large Landscapes, Activating the Space

    The September 20 webinar on Reawakening Large Landscapes is sponsored by the Ecological Landscape Alliance and presented by Sandy Vorce, Audubon’s Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary.

    Large landscapes pose challenges – but also opportunities. In this presentation, Sandy Vorce invites us to expand our landscape vision to more fully engage visitors. Through sights, sounds, and design options (beyond plant material), landscapes can educate, entertain, and inspire. There are many ways to activate the space, draw visitors in, and enrich the experience: from easily implemented ideas such as expanded signage, pollinator gardens, and edible landscape elements to surprisingly effective options like on-site bee keeping or the use of goats and sheep to control invasive plants.

    Sandy is the property manager at Mass Audubon’s Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary. Sandy tends everything from gardens to goats and enjoys working with volunteers of all ages and backgrounds in caring for the property and its’ inhabitants. She is a former ELA board member and now participates with local Land Trusts and Friends groups.
    – See more at: http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/webinar-reawaking-large-landscapes-activating-the-space/#sthash.bHdwXvbS.dpuf   ELA members free, nonmembers $10.

  • Wednesday, January 13, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm – Large-Scale Landscapes Symposium

    On January 13, 2016 (Snow Date January 14), join ELA and Wellesley College for a symposium on the development and maintenance of large-scale landscapes that utilize fewer inputs, are designed and maintained with the environment in mind, and become more sustainable over time. Experts who work daily in successful, sustainable large-scale landscapes will lead four presentations and one panel discussion. If you are a landscape professional responsible for planning and maintaining the landscapes of college campuses, municipal parks, cemeteries, public gardens, land trusts, private estates, or other large landscapes, join ELA as we explore ecological options for large-scale landscapes with a distinguished lineup of presenters. Included in the program are Ronnit Bendavid-Val of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on Addressing Wear and Tear in High Use Areas, a panel discussion on Maintaining the Maturing Landscape with Mark Richardson, Horticulture Director of the New England Wild Flower Society, Ray Oladapo-Johnson, Director of Park Operations at the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, Sue Pfeiffer, an arborist at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, and John Olmstead, Wellesley College Landscape Manager. Also featured is a talk on Designing Rain Gardens for Long-lasting Success with Clay Larsen, Healthier and Lower-Cost Lawns with Chip Osborne, and Reawakening Large Landscapes: Activating the Space with Sandy Vorce of Audubon’s Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary. Fees $85 – $110. For complete information and registration visit http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/large-scale-landscapes-symposium/

  • Thursday, January 16, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm (Snow Date January 17) – Managing Large-Scale Landscapes Sustainably

    Join the Ecological Landscaping Association (ELA ) and Wellesley College on Thursday, January 16, from 8:30 – 4:30 at the Wellesley College Science Center for a symposium on the development and maintenance of large-scale landscapes that utilize fewer inputs, are designed and maintained with the environment in mind, and become more sustainable over time. Experts who work daily in successful, sustainable large-scale landscapes will lead four panel discussions. If you are interested in sustainable landscapes for colleges, parks departments, public agencies, cemeteries, golf courses, forests, land trusts, public gardens, or other large landscapes, this event is for you.

    Maintaining Large-Scale Landscapes
    Landscapes Over Time, Soil Compaction, Invasive Plants, Recycling Organic Matter, and Sourcing Quality Compost

    Panelists: Dennis Collins, Mount Auburn Cemetery, John Forti, Strawbery Banke Museum, and Stuart Shillaber, Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy.  Please note that both Dennis Collins and John Forti are past Garden Club of the Back Bay presenters.

    Large Lawns: Ecological Approaches
    Mowing Frequency, Inputs, Pests, Disease, and Alternative Energy Mowers

    Panelists: Richard Luff, Sagamore Golf, Fred Newcombe, PJC Ecological, and Anthony Ruggiero, Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy

    Runoff as Resource: Large Scale Stormwater Solutions
    Erosion to Irrigation, Collection Options, Dealing with Large Rain Events, Water Quality, Minimizing Demands of Potable Water

    Panelists: Tom Benjamin, LA/Sustainable Designer, Brad Buscher, Groundwork Lawrence, Eden Dutcher, GroundView, and Kate Venturini, University of Rhode Island

    Managing Semi-Wild Landscapes

    Designating “Semi-Wild” areas, Identifying Invasive Plant Threats, Setting Management Priorities, Tackling What is Feasible (and Leaving the Rest)

    Panelists: Tobias Wolf, Wolf Lighthall, Heidi Kost-Gross, G/S Associates, and Sandy Vorce, Mass Audubon

    Registrations are limited – Use This Link to Register Online Now

    For more information: ela.info@comcast.net

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