The Orleans Conservation Trust protects and restores natural lands — for people and wildlife, the health of our waters, and the character of our community. | |
NEW Program! "Get to Know OCT" Walk | |
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Thursday, July 18, 10-11am
Three Ponds Conservation Area
135 Quanset Road, Orleans
Introducing a new way to "get to know" Orleans Conservation Trust!
Whether you're new to town and want to check out our hiking trails, or you're a regular and want to hear a little bit more about OCT, these walks are the perfect opportunity to join us. Bring your questions, hear about how you can get more involved, and enjoy the nature of our community with OCT trustees and volunteers.
Unlike our monthly educational walks, we won't be making guided stops along the trail. Instead, we'll take a leisurely stroll where we can have a conversation and talk about all things OCT.
Limited participation; advanced registration required.
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Biodiversity Seekers: A New Volunteer Program | |
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Tuesday, July 16, 5-6:30pm
203 South Orleans Road, Orleans
Do you love spending time outside observing nature, and have a curiosity for plant and animal identification?
OCT welcomes volunteers to help test our Biodiversity Seekers program, a new initiative designed to build a bank of biodiversity data for our properties. On a periodic basis, volunteers will be asked to attend ”bioblitzes,” group data collection sessions, using iNaturalist’s Seek app to identify and categorize flora and fauna on OCT lands. The program aims to ensure OCT makes land stewardship decisions informed by good data, and it may evolve to allow individuals to collect data on their own time, too.
This orientation will cover what, why, and how information is being collected. No experience necessary; all are welcome!
Meet at OCT's office; 203 South Orleans Road.
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OCT Office Demonstration Garden Session | |
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Wednesday, July 17, 9:30-11:30am
203 South Orleans Road, Orleans
Drop by to learn about, and care for, the OCT Demonstration Garden for pollinators and wildlife. We will focus on weeding and adding edging material to keep our garden soil from eroding. Learn about selecting plants for a pollinator garden, native plant care, and more!
Please dress accordingly for the weather and bring your favorite garden tool.
Meet at OCT's office; 203 South Orleans Road.
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Wednesday, July 24, 9:30-11:30am
135 Quanset Road, Orleans
Ever wonder what wildlife is present in Orleans? Come help us find the bugs, birds, reptiles, flowers, plants and all of the other living things that visit Twinings Conservation Area.
Please bring a fully charged smartphone (with Seek by iNaturalist pre-downloaded if you're able), clothes conducive for off-trail travel, and any other personal items you may need.
Meet at the trailhead at 135 Quanset Rd.
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Save the Date!
OCT Annual Meeting
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Tuesday, August 27, 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 Trust's exciting new projects, including At Home with Nature, an initiative to help residents increase the habitat value of their home landscape; our ongoing work with the Orleans schools (see photos below!); and our most recent land acquisitions and stewardship projects. Plus, we'll announce the results of our Trustee election. OCT Members can cast their vote for the slate of Trustees and for an amendment to OCT's Declaration of Trust online through August 26 at 5pm, and we plan to welcome three new members to the board.
We need a minimum of 100 votes, so please vote today!
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PLEASE NOTE: Households with two voting members should fill out the voting form twice - once for each member. | |
Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival Garden Tours | |
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Wednesday, July 10 and Thursday, July 11, 10am-4pm
As part of Orleans Days with the Hydrangea Festival of Cape Cod, two OCT trustees will open their gardens for visitors. Both of these gardens support OCT's At Home With Nature initiative and demonstrate nature-friendly practices you can adopt in your yard, and both homeowners are also members of the Steering Committee of Pollinator Pathway Cape Cod.
Both of these gardens are great examples of what we hope homeowners will consider doing to their properties: removing invasives, adding native plants to create perennial gardens, restoring native shrub understory, and limiting lawn size. In short, creating habitat-friendly landscapes to support native pollinators.
Garden tours are $5 per person, payable at each garden.
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3 Seacrest Drive, E. Orleans
The garden 3 Seacrest Drive (East Orleans) will be on the Tour supporting the Master Gardeners of Cape Cod. Gary Bowden and Mark Ziomek's yard showcases their efforts to have beautiful and habitat-friendly property. This garden is a burst of color in July and showcases a diversity of plants and shrubs. The gardens showcase how a home gardener can extend the blooming season with native plants, while also adding beauty and pollinator interest. The garden beds are densely planted to reduce weeds and use of mulch, as well as reduce water needs. The natural lawn has been reduced every year with the creation or expansion of new beds. The property has over 100 hydrangeas of many varieties, including natives. The gardens and lawn are chemical free. Gary will host a short garden talk at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. each day.
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150 Quanset Road, S. Orleans
Painstakingly carved out of 5 acres of invasive shrubs and vines over the past 24 years, the lush perennial and shrub borders of 150 Quanset Road in South Orleans are examples of the extensive use of native plants and their effective integration with non-natives. After meandering through garden “rooms” surrounding the house including the sweeping front garden, a contemplative “Circle Garden” surrounding an ancient oak, a rose-bordered terrace garden, and a boxwood-lined rose garden, visitors can then stroll down woodland paths past an old barn and through native plantings of red twig dogwood, clethra, baptisia, native azaleas, river birch, blueberries, ferns and wildflowers, all nestled within acres of conservation land and bordered by freshwater ponds. Proceeds from this garden support the Nauset Garden Club, the founding organization of Pollinator Pathway Cape Cod.
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Upcoming Walks:
- Mill Pond Valley (7/17) - registration full
- Get to Know OCT Walk (7/18)
- Putnam Farm (8/6)
- Hike to Pochet Island (9/15)
- Woods Cove (10/10)
- Three Ponds (11/13)
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Upcoming Talks:
- "Designing with Nature on Cape Cod: Meeting Nature Halfway" by Jack Ahern (9/10)
- "Coexisting with Our Wild Neighbors" by Stephanie Ellis (10/9)
- "Birds, Bees, and Butterflies in Your Backyard" by Mark Faherty (11/6)
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Save the Date! OCT's Annual Meeting will be Tuesday, August 27 at 5pm. | |
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At Home with Nature
Nature-friendly practices you can adopt for your yard
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How do I know what native plants to plant?
Plants native to Cape Cod have adapted to the Cape’s unique coastal environment and well-drained sandy soils. Beach Plum (Prunus maritima), Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana), or Bayberry (Morella pensylvanica) are very hardy options for filling larger spaces, but there are many, many more of all types and sizes that will thrive in Cape conditions while providing food and habitat for local wildlife. Natives are low-maintenance and can create a sustainable and visually appealing garden. Learn more about native plants from the Native Plant Trust.
Check back monthly for more At Home with Nature tips, and visit our new webpage!
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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. | | | | |
