Backyard Collective!

The Conservation Alliance (CA) is a group of outdoor industry businesses that have banded together and pooled their "membership dues" to distribute money in the form of grants to worthy environmental organizations. The group was founded in 1989 by outdoor industry giants like REI, The North Face, Kelty and Patagonia, and today it disburses about $1 million to projects across the country that protect wild lands where people recreate. Employees of Conservation Alliance member companies also get their hands dirty now and then for a day of environmental volunteerism to benefit their local communities, which they call a "Backyard Collective."

The Forest Society was a direct beneficiary of a large Backyard Collective that took place recently involving employees from Eastern Mountain Sports, Nemo Equipment, Jetboil and other outdoor businesses in the Northeast. A group of hearty volunteers gathered at the McCabe Forest in Antrim to help construct a trail from our new trailhead on Route 202 to the existing trail system. Four footbridges were also built during this workday, to span small drainages along the trail. Forest Society land stewards and a handful of staff were there to organize and lead the volunteer teams, and an amazing amount of work got done in just a short time. Following the trail project, a pizza party was held at EMS headquarters in Peterborough, and more than 100 volunteers gathered to celebrate the success of different Backyard Collective projects that had taken place earlier that day. Here is a link to the story on the Conservation Alliance's blog!

Bird Survey Work

Land Steward Brett Hillman has a been doing some interesting volunteer work for the Forest Society this summer as part of his gradutate coursework in Conservation Biology at Antioch University New England. He has been conducting surveys of breeding birds at two Forest Society reservations where there is significant early successional habitat: the Morse Preserve in Alton Bay, and Harmon Preserve in Freedom. Early successional habitats such as grasslands, pine barrens, and shrub/scrub areas provide important nesting habitat for some of the state's declining bird populations, such as Eastern Towhee, Golden- and Blue-Winged Warblers, Field Sparrows, and Bobolinks. New Hampshire is, percentage-wise, the second most forested state in the nation (behind Maine) and as old pasture and field land has reverted to forest over the last century, we are at risk of losing some of the wildlife that depend upon open areas.

Early Successional Habitat at Morse Preserve (photo: C.Deegan)

Harmon Preserve and Morse Preserve contain very different habitat types (Harmon is a pine barrens natural community while Morse contains old fields and a former comercially-managed blueberry operation) but both will require considerable active management on the part of the Forest Society if we are to maintain the early successional habitats here. In both locations we are considering controlled burns to re-establish natural communities - in the case of the pine barrens, this community actually depends upon fire in order for the pitch pine to regenerate successfully. The baseline bird surveys that Brett is conducting for us will help us determine which species are currently using the properties, which can be compared with future surveys conducted following any management prescriptions.

A big thank-you to Brett for doing this survey work on his own time! Brett also has a blog about New England's natural evironment, so check it out in the links section of this blog. For his post on bird work at Harmon and Morse Preserves click here.

Thank You SPNHF Volunteers!

(photo: J.Savage)

The annual Summer Volunteer Appreciation BBQ was held on September 1st this year. The weather was nice and warm despite the September date, and we were able to celebrate on the Forest Society's back deck with its views of the Merrimack River floodplain and state house in the distance. This event is held each year to recognize and celebrate all of the amazing and varied work that the Forest Society's volunteers do for the organization each year. From land stewards working on their adopted reservations, to green building tour leaders, to the "stuff it" club that helps with getting out large mailings... all our volunteers are essential to the success of the organization in meeting its goals.

SPNHF Forester Wendy Weisiger talks with steward Kamal Nath (photo: J.Savage)

This year we honored Rhoda Mitchell with the Trish Churchill Volunteer of the Year Award, presented annually to a volunteer who has given exceptional service over the past year or years. Rhoda has been caring for the many plants inside the Conservation Center, quietly, expertly, andpersistently, for more than a decade! We were glad to be able to recognize her contribution after so many years of service, and hope that she will continue to have a hand in making the Conservation Center a more beautiful place to work and conduct the business of land conservation for many years to come.

Here's the press release from the Forest Society's website about Rhoda's award if you're interested!

President/Forester Jane Difley presenting the Volunteer of the Year Award to Rhoda Mitchell (photo: J.Savage)

Rhoda with one of her "charges" (photo: J.Savage)