The Orleans Conservation Trust protects and restores natural lands—for people and wildlife, the health of our waters, and the character of our community. | | |
Monday, August 25, 5pm
Refreshments and cash bar at 4:30 pm
Orleans Yacht Club (39 Cove Road, Orleans)
Join OCT for our Annual Meeting! Enjoy refreshments and the gorgeous view over Town Cove as we celebrate the work OCT does to protect and restore land for people and wildlife. Attendees will learn about the partnership between Mass Audubon and OCT to protect endangered terrapin turtles, as well as eco-restoration and trail improvements, our ongoing work with the Orleans schools, and our most recent land acquisition projects. Plus, we'll announce the results of our Trustee election and welcome new Trustees to the Board.
OCT Members can cast their vote for the slate of Trustees online through August 24 at 5pm, and we plan to welcome three new members to the board.
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53 votes have been cast - thank you to all who have voted! We need a minimum of 100 votes, so please vote today! | PLEASE NOTE: Households with two voting members should fill out the voting form twice - once for each member. | | | | | |
Tuesday, August 5, 8-9am OR 4-5pm
Please join naturalist and Kripalu Mindful Outdoor Guide Andrea Higgins for a Newbies in Nature outing to get outside and enjoy the summer! Carry your baby in a front sling or backpack and enjoy the company of other young families while walking the trails of local conservation lands. Find newfound joy while connecting with your baby and seeing the wonder in their eyes as they discover the wild world around them.
Andrea will offer gentle prompts to engage your senses and encourage a deeper connection to nature and your child to create memories that will last a lifetime.
Trails are not suitable for strollers so please carry your baby in a front sling or backpack.
Thanks to generous community support, this program is free. Space is limited so please reserve in advance. Locations and driving directions will be included in your registration confirmation email.
Sponsored by Harwich Conservation Trust and Orleans Conservation Trust. Photos courtesy of Andrea Higgins and Gerry Beetham.
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Friday, August 15, 9-10:30am
Located in the Tonset (translation: “where the land meets the sea”) neighborhood, Mill Pond Valley is closely tied to OCT’s origins. Learn its history and our current management practices on this 1-mile walk.
| | NEW Program: Member-Only Kayak Trip | | |
Tuesday, August 19, 8:30-11am
Join OCT and experienced trip leader Christine Bates on a kayak trip in Nauset Harbor. We’ll paddle out from Mill Pond to the inside of Nauset Spit where we’ll take a short break for a snack and a walk over to the ocean before returning to Mill Pond. (Note: you must have a Town of Orleans Resident Beach Sticker to park at Mill Pond Landing.)
This program is limited to 10 participants. Bring water, snacks, and binoculars if you have them.
Participants must have previous kayaking experience and be strong paddlers, and they must provide their own kayak, lifejacket, and paddle.
| | Story Time & Craft at Snow Library | | |
Thursdays at 10:30am through August 21
Snow Library, Orleans
OCT has partnered with Snow Library Youth Librarian Kim Auclair, on her well-known Thursday morning story time (10:30-11:30am). Children and grandchildren will learn about pollinators: those amazing birds, butterflies, and bees who are so important to our gardens and our food supply. Following the story, children will create a companion craft designed by Kim.
Participants will also get to know the flowers our pollinators love and experience the new native plant garden at the library, contributed and planted by OCT. OCT will also have a Trustee at every story hour to answer questions from both caregivers and children.
Registration is not required for these free programs.
| | Volunteer Workdays are scheduled for the first and third Thursday of each month. Can't make Thursday workdays, but still want to participate? Contact Sam O'Neill at sam@orleansconservationtrust.org. | | Invasive Removal at Twinings Pond Conservation Area | | |
Thursday, August 7, 9:30-11:30am
135 Quanset Road, Orleans
Help us as we continue efforts to restore a rare and crucial meadow habitat at Twinings Pond Conservation Area. Building on earlier efforts to uproot invasives and sow native seed mixes, our workday will focus on the hand-pulling of invasive privet. Following the removal of the privet we will spread a native seed mix to make sure the invasives don't just move right back in!
Be sure to bring shoes and clothing for off-trail travel, water, and any personal items you may need. And be aware of ticks and poison ivy!
We will meet at the Twinings Pond Conservation Area trailhead located at 135 Quanset Road at 9:30AM.
Important Notice: This workday will take place rain or shine. Mechanical hand-pulling of plants is easier and more effective when soil is wet, so we'll hope for some rain.
| | Bioblitz at Namequoit Wood | | |
Thursday, August 21, 9:30-11:30am
203 South Orleans Road, Orleans
Join us in the recently re-wilded Namequoit Wood for another biodiversity data collecting Bioblitz. Using the Seek and iNaturalist apps, we will photograph and identify plant and animal species that inhabit the our property. This biodiversity information will allow us to make data-driven stewardship decisions.
Be sure to bring your fully charged smartphone, water, and any personal items you may need. And be aware of ticks and poison ivy!
We will meet at the OCT office located at 203 S. Orleans Road at 9:30am and carpool to Namequoit Wood.
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Upcoming Programs:
- Newbies in Nature Walks (8/5)
- Mill Pond Valley Walk (8/15)
- Member-Only Kayak Trip (8/19)
- Foraging with Russ Cohen (9/9)
- Hike to Pochet Island (9/14) - FULL
Upcoming Events:
- OCT's Annual Meeting (8/25)
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At Home with Nature
Nature-friendly practices you can adopt for your yard
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Native Plant of the Month: Purple lovegrass,
Eragrostis spectabilis
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Sometimes a native plant has such a wonderful name that you can't help but be intrigued. Such is the case with purple lovegrass.
Who cannot love a grass whose seeds, and the stalks bearing them, are tinged with purple at the height of summer, giving the entire mound a hazy pink glow? As summer gives way to fall, the pink fades to shades of blush and beige, and the finely textured stalks capture morning dew. As the Latin name also suggests, this grass is spectacular.
The geographic range of purple lovegrass is impressive, too. It can be found in the wild in just about every US state east of the Continental Divide (skipping just Montana), and also in Arizona.
Purple lovegrass thrives in full sun in sandy soil, as the photo at left, taken on the Salt Pond trail in Eastham, demonstrates. It shrugs off the hot, dry spells of peak summer that make many other plants wilt. In moister and more fertile soils, in fact, it will be outcompeted by taller perennials.
For all its toughness, purple lovegrass is delicate in appearance. It makes a neat mound about 12 inches high excluding the seed stalks, which may reach another foot in height, and the seeds create a scrim-like effect before and between taller plants. To ensure it pops in a garden bed, purple lovegrass should be planted in small groups.
For those of us with "Cape Cod lawns," purple lovegrass may be a solution if planted on a larger scale. The North Carolina extension service says purple lovegrass "can be mowed a few times a year if it is being used as a lawn alternative that is exposed to light foot traffic."
What’s not to love?
Every month, Meg Voorhes profiles a different native plant for the Mayflower Point Association in Orleans, where she lives. Thank you, Meg, and Orleans Pond Coalition, for sharing this month's native plant.
| | Learn more about living At Home with Nature on our webpage. | | Orleans Conservation Trust is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit established in 1970. Over its 50-year history, the Trust has preserved more than 660 acres in Orleans. Among the most active land trusts on Cape Cod, OCT stewards a range of ecosystems, from freshwater ponds and wetlands to saltmarshes, wooded upland, and coastal grasslands, managing its lands to protect and enhance wildlife habitat, restore native ecosystems, and provide public recreation and education through a network of trails and informational signage. OCT also educates residents and visitors about important natural values and environmental issues in Orleans and around Cape Cod via guided walks, free lectures, its website, newsletter, and other communications. | | | | |
