Association to Preserve Cape Cod - this week...

What I'm Thinking...

Spring Renewal

by Andrew Gottlieb, Executive Director

Spring, the season of renewal, is upon us. Maybe you are a spring cleaner, maybe not, but how about committing to make your yard a more environmentally friendly place?

Here are just a few things to consider as you plan your spring yard activities:

Kick the habit and lay off the fertilizers. Instead, build soil health to help your plants. Plant native plants that like our soil types and won’t ask you for extra food. Your plants and the waters of Cape Cod will thank you.
Stop using pesticides. Organic pesticides kill just like synthetic ones do, so don’t buy the marketing pitch and just say no. Remember that hole munched in a leaf was likely made by a caterpillar that the birds in your yard need to feed their babies. If you like the birds, a few irregular leaves is a small price to pay.
Add some clover to your lawn area. Clover keeps things green and adds some diversity to lawns and adds nitrogen to your soil without contributing to water quality problems.
Add some native plants to your landscape. Start small if you need to and you will see new life in your yard as birds, pollinators and other beneficial species show up in appreciation. You can always add more each year as part of an eco-friendly conversion of your landscape.

It can be hard to feel like you are making a difference given the size of some of the environmental challenges we face. Taking a stand in your yard will let you become part of the solution in a tangible way that you can see and enjoy. APCC.org is filled with great information on how to convert your yard. Give it a try this spring.

Herring Count Volunteers Still Needed for 2023

Cape Cod has many herring runs that provide opportunities for volunteers to view the spring herring migration while collecting valuable scientific data. This year, volunteers are needed to count herring along the following runs:

Stony Brook, Brewster
Bound Brook and Scargo Lake, Dennis
Bridge Pond and Herring Pond, Eastham
Trunk River and Coonamessett River, Falmouth
Mashpee River, Quashnet River and Santuit Pond, Mashpee
Mill Creek, Sandwich

See our website signup for a full list of runs where volunteers are needed.

Volunteers are needed to count several times a week between April 1 and June 1. Counts are done for 10 minutes. Volunteers must be able to safely traverse rough terrain, be able to visually see fish in the stream, and provide their own transportation to and from the counting site. The counts are reported to APCC via our website data entry system.

People interested in counting herring can sign up at APCC’s website. To learn more about APCC’s herring count program, instructions for counting, past run sizes, and our website data entry system for volunteers, visit APCC’s website. If you have questions, contact Dr. Jo Ann Muramoto, APCC’s director of science programs, at jmuramoto@apcc.org.

Mashpee Training. The town of Mashpee Conservation Department will be holding a volunteer herring count training workshop on Wednesday, March 15, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Mashpee Town Hall, Waquoit Room. Onsite training at the Mashpee River herring run will be included. For more information contact Daniel Kent at (508) 539-1400 ext. 8538 or email conservation@mashpeema.gov.

APCC in the News

CapeCod.Com

APCC's executive director, Andrew Gottlieb, talks to Grady Culhane about issues facing the Cape in this recent podcast.

APCC in the Field

Jordan Mora and April Wobst (APCC) met Annalee Tweitmann and Carley Przystac (Mass Audubon), and Geoff Wilson (Northeast Wetland Restoration), at the Chase Garden Creek Marsh in Yarmouth in February. APCC is very excited to work with these partners on two potential salt marsh restoration projects.

The second site is at the Great Barnstable Marsh, and the purpose of the visit was to ascertain how similar the sites are regarding hydrology and historic agricultural impacts (e.g., ditching and embankments). Monitoring and assessment of the Chase Garden Creek Marsh is supported by the Lavori Sterling Foundation. Photos by Gerald Beetham.

What do agriculture and conservation have in common?

Photo courtesy of Orleans Conservation Trust

A Story of Putnam Farm, Orleans

On a town-owned conservation property in Orleans, there are some exciting plans underway. Once a vegetable farm owned by the Putnam family, now owned by the town with some agricultural activity still occurring, the acreage not under cultivation is getting a restoration makeover!

Like all restoration projects, lots of partners are required. Here's a little bit of the story.

Last week, representatives from the Orleans conservation commission, the Agricultural Council, Putnam Farm growers, an assortment of community members and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Mass Audubon and the Orleans Conservation Trust, and volunteers, convened at Putnam Farm. All were there to discuss and take a closer look at the site to assess how to best accomplish these objectives:

enhancing pollinator/beneficial insect habitat to support the agricultural efforts underway at Putnam Farm
increasing the flora and fauna biodiversity that will contribute to robust and healthy ecosystems
creating educational opportunities to benefit all members of the community.

Wetland restoration specialist Tom Biebighauser is working on a proposal to improve the freshwater ecosystem on the property by increasing the hydroperiod of the shrub swamp to enhance habitat for amphibians as well as to enhance the permanent pond to attract wildlife, such as ducks, turtles, and bats. Any soils removed to enhance wetlands will be used to create sandplain grassland habitat.

Thanks to the project's partnership with the NRCS, Putnam is now receiving support from the Xerces Society. The Xerces Society is best known for their pollinator conservation program working with farmers. Xerces staff provides information on best practices as it relates to native plant pollinator planning, and makes recommendations for the various planting opportunities: uplands, wetlands, hedgerows, wetland buffers, and if created, the sandplain grasslands.

Our thanks to Rick Francolini for the information and the photos below.

The video below is from Lower Cape TV last May, and gives some insight to the agricultural aspect of this town-owned land, Putnam Farm.

An In-Person Event

On Saturday, March 25th at 1:00 p.m., the Barnstable Youth Commission, Barnstable High School Green Club, and Sturgis East Environmental Club are hosting an event called "PFAS and Your Community." There will be a screening of short films about the impact of PFAS pollution on human health and the environment followed by a panel discussion.

Panelists include Massachusetts State Senator Julian Cyr and Dr. Laurel Schaider, senior scientist at Silent Spring Institute, among other local leaders and experts. Dr. Schaider is the lead investigator of the Massachusetts PFAS & Your Health Study, which is sponsoring the event. See below for more details.

APCC Request for Proposals for Weir Creek Tidal Restoration

APCC is seeking experienced and qualified consultant(s) and/or engineering firm(s) to complete feasibility studies, alternatives analysis and design plans for the tidal restoration of Weir Creek. The purpose of this project is to complete early planning and design for this tidal restoration including: a comprehensive hydraulic and hydrologic study; an alternatives analysis for culvert design to maximize ecological restoration and minimize flooding to low-lying properties; site survey and existing conditions plan; and preliminary design plans (30/60%) for the preferred alternative.

The project period is March of 2023 through June 30, 2024. Proposals are due no later than 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15th, 2023. A Zoom meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 28th at 2 p.m. to answer questions from bidders. Contact awobst@apcc.org for questions.

Download the full RFP with information and details here.

APCC is Accepting Applications for

Seasonal and Year Round Positions

We are accepting applications for the following positions

For more information on these position openings,

CLICK HERE.

Hanging in the Balance - A New APCC Report

Hanging in the Balance: An Urgent Call for Protecting Cape Cod’s Natural Resources is a report by APCC that provides a comprehensive analysis of key natural resources on Cape Cod. The report examines past and present impacts to natural resources, current threats, case studies, and recommended actions that promote protection, preservation and restoration of the region’s most important resource areas.

^{Click here for the report pdf.}

It's Storytime!

Click on the photo below to reach the Hanging in the Balance story map. Don't know what a story map is? It's a format that allows images, both still shots, maps, and video to be linked together in one smooth transition accompanied by text. Once you click the photo, you will be at the story map. Then simply scroll down through the images and text that tell the story.

The Jewels of Cape Cod ~ Our Freshwater Ponds

An aerial photo of a pond in mid-summer by Steven Koppel.

Pond Stories is a collection of writings and other media from Cape Codders and visitors who love the 890 local ponds that dot the Cape. We hope this collection of stories awakens your inner environmentalist to think deeper about our human impacts to these unique bodies of water.

Send us your favorite pond photo, story, poem, video, artwork—we want to share with everyone why the Cape's ponds and lakes are so special! Email your pond connection to kandres@apcc.org

Have a favorite pond? Want to connect with others who are active in protecting their ponds? Join the Cape Cod Ponds Network. For more information about past meetings of the Pond Network and to sign up (scroll down the page), click here.

SAVE THE DATE!

Thursday, May 11th at 7 p.m.

For an APCC Film Event

The Erie Situation

with panel discussion to follow

at the Cape Cinema, Dennis

Tickets $15 through Cape Cinema

Proceeds support APCC

The Pollinator Pathway Cape Cod is a group of organizations promoting native plants and pollinator-friendly land care practices to create a boat load of safe oases for our native bees, butterflies and a whole host of other pollinators that are crucial to the health of our ecosystems. Join us! It's easy. There are no fees. You just need to pledge to ADD native plants, SUBTRACT a little lawn, AVOID yard chemicals, especially pesticides, and LEAVE the leaves. And, help us spread the word. If you wish, please get on the map to show your support of pollinators!

A Cape Cod Native Plant-finder

~ to help you choose the perfect native plant for your garden location.

Beach Plum, Prunus maritima

Email kandres@apcc.org and

we'll send you a CapeCodNativePlants.org decal.

Rain Barrels for Cape Cod

Order online from Upcycle Products

$99 each

includes FedEx shipping to your door

APCC receives a portion of the proceeds.

For more information, click here.

APCC Enewsletters. Our weekly newsletters will now be archived on our website and easily shared.

Here, you can find past newsletters from July 2022 on.

Share this with your friends and they can sign up HERE.

Are you thinking of going solar? We hope so!

In partnership with SUNPOWER BY E2 SOLAR in Dennis, APCC receives $500 for every solar installation when APCC is named as referral.

Thank you to the homeowners who just contracted to install solar panels through E2 Solar.

May the sun always shine for you!

Expressions Gallery, 578 Main Street, Chatham

CLICK HERE

Ocean to Office. APCC has partnered with EXPRESSIONS, a fine art photography gallery located in Chatham center, to provide Cape businesses the opportunity to beautify their offices with coastal photography while directly supporting protection of our cherished environment.

This special offering gives back to APCC. CLICK HERE to learn more.

Thank you to our business sponsors

Donate

Our Contact Information
*{{Organization Name}}*
*{{Organization Address}}*
*{{Organization Phone}}*
*{{Organization Website}}*

*{{Unsubscribe}}*