Association to Preserve Cape Cod |
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| Be the Difference by Andrew Gottlieb, APCC Executive Director
We introduce a lot in the environment that society then spends bucket loads of money to remove. The Cape has a $4 billion bill to pay to remove nitrogen from the wastewater to restore estuarine water quality. The U.S. taxpayers have spent $1.4 billion, with more to come, to remove contaminants from the drinking water at Joint Base Cape Cod. The cost of treating PFAS in water is unknown but it’s a lot. So here is a novel thought, let’s stop introducing chemicals we don’t want in our bodies into the environment and how about we begin by stopping the widespread and indiscriminate use of pesticides in our yards and public spaces.
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The 2014 Cape Cod Pesticide and Fertilizer Use Inventory drew upon data from a variety of sources and concluded that individual homeowners are the largest users of both pesticides (more than 70%) and fertilizers (more than 80%), golf courses are the second largest users of pesticides (8.7%) and fertilizers (15%), while managing utility rights-of-way only accounts for 0-1% of Cape-wide pesticide use. I doubt the numbers have changed much in the last nine years, so the point remains that homeowners are the primary source of pesticides being used on Cape Cod. And for what really? Is the perceived benefit of a “perfect” turf lawn, a grass species that doesn’t really want to be here in the first place and which provides no ecological or habitat benefit, worth the price exacted by the regular applications of pesticides (aka poisons)? Is the eradication of the caterpillars that may make small holes in leaves of ornamental plants, but are also the food source for those songbird babies you probably like having around, really that critical to your use and enjoyment of your property? Are you really so busy that you can’t spend 10 minutes a day for a week or so to pick those squash beetles and tomato hornworms off your garden plants that the only option is to spray toxic compounds on the plants that produce the food you eat?
There is a multi-billion-dollar industry that has its heart set on convincing you that a lawn with some clover and other flowering plants is bad, that you can kill all insects without hurting the beneficial species that rely on them for food, and that it's all as safe as it is necessary. The business model of these companies is good for them; it’s not necessarily so good for you and it’s not good for the land, plants, animals, and the water.
There is another and better way forward. Native landscaping techniques described on APCC’s website provides a starting point for better practices. At the risk of being overly simplistic, it is about working with nature and not against it. By relying on plant species native to the area, the need to fertilize and use pesticides goes away. Sure, not every leaf will be perfect, but that change will be more than offset by the life you attract to a native landscape versus one chemically treated to be perfect, yet sterile. And all those baby birds that survive because you allowed those soft gooey caterpillars they eat to live will pay you back by eating mosquitoes in your yard once they fledge.
Say goodbye to the fertilizers and pesticides and support nature. Nature will thank you in more ways that you can imagine and your wallet will be fuller as well. |
In the field with our ecologists... |
Field work requires preparation, and sometimes it means getting to work with power tools. Here's Eliza Fitzgerald, APCC's restoration technician, assembling quadrats for monitoring vegetation plots and for placing marker horizons on the Barnstable Great Marsh! She also made two groundwater wells for collecting water level data on the marsh. |
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Below Eliza and Jordan Mora, APCC restoration ecologist, are installing data loggers in groundwater wells and creeks to measure water levels and salinity in the Barnstable Great Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary as part of pre-restoration monitoring for a Mass Audubon project related to ditch remediation and runneling.
"Runneling" is a technique that involves creating a shallow groove, or channel, in the surface of the marsh—a runnel—that will funnel seawater from where it collects to the marsh’s edge, helping to drain it. Due to accelerated sea level rise and historic agricultural practices, pools of water are forming in the interior of salt marshes, causing dieback of native vegetation and causing the marsh to sink. Runnels help to restore more effective drainage during low tides to build back stability and improve the salt marsh’s resilience to sea level rise.
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And then later in the week, in the salt marsh along Scorton Creek in Sandwich, an initial field assessment was conducted in advance of pre-restoration monitoring of the salt marsh that APCC’s restoration team will complete later this season. The restoration of this site will entail enlarging a culvert under Jones Lane to improve tidal flow to rejuvenate the salt marsh. It will be completed by the town with funding by USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Cape Cod Conservation District.
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APCC Cyanobacteria Monitoring Program |
The interactive map can be found at APCC.org/cyano. When on the map, click and drag the map to find the pond you are interested in, or simply enter the pond name and town in the map's search box and click "zoom to." Once you find your pond, you can click on the pond and a popup will give information on the date of the last sampling and the results.
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You can sign up to receive an email whenever a cyanobacteria bloom is detected in a Cape pond that is being monitored. Click here to sign up for the cyanobacteria alert. |
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| APCC has QR code stickers that link to our cyanobacteria webpage. If you'd like one or more to post on or around your pond, request by email to [email protected] |
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APCC Internship Positions Available |
Internship for State of the Waters: Cape Cod: The Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) seeks a college- or graduate-level intern to assist with our “State of the Waters: Cape Cod” project. The internship provides a paid salary but does not provide benefits. Work involves scoring and grading water quality data for coastal embayments, ponds, and drinking water. Applicants must be proficient in the use of Microsoft Excel for data entry, calculations, and data analysis and possess a high degree of attention to detail and accuracy. The internship will run from August 1 through October or potentially into November 2023. For more information, visit APCC’s website: https://apcc.org/employment/. To apply, email a cover letter and resume to Dr. Jo Ann Muramoto at: [email protected]
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APCC seeks to fill two paid intern positions in our Cyanobacteria Monitoring Program, starting in August through November. |
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Celebrating Cape-friendly Landscapes! |
The above photo is the front walk. The photo below is "a flower plot where there was just lawn eight years ago." - Anca Vlasopolos |
Do you have a Cape-friendly landscape to share? Tell us your story, send a few pictures and a brief description or comment to [email protected] |
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Town of Orleans Knocks it Out-of-the-park for Pollinators! |
To see it in person, this lovely planting is next to Snow Library and the village green. Native plant species for pollinators now in flower include butterfly milkweed, bee balm, and purple coneflower. |
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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!
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The Jewels of Cape Cod ~ Our Freshwater Ponds |
Tryouts for Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage (OLAUG) were held June 25th and membership soared from seven to twenty-two swimmers and kayakers! And our 2023 schedule of clean-ups is packed, from Brewster to Falmouth with Orleans, Centerville, Mashpee, and Dennis in between—we are committed to clean ponds!
Photo above: Tryouts at Deep Pond, E. Falmouth, and below: Susan Baur, Robin Melavalin and Jane Driscoll suit up for Jenkins Pond clean up. |
Below: OLAUG had a table at Brewster Conservation Day that was voted number 1! |
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 [email protected] |
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, CLICK HERE.
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The next meeting of the Cape Cod Ponds Network will be TUESDAY, AUGUST 1st at 2 p.m.
at Wequasett Resort, Harwich
To register for the pond network meeting, click here.
(You need not register for OneCape to attend the pond network meeting.) |
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| By popular request...
APCC Caps are now available for purchase! $25 includes shipping & handling Click here for more information and to order. ~ This is one great way to show your support for APCC's work. |
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A Cape Cod Native Plant-selector ~ to help you choose the perfect native plant for your garden location. |
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| Coastal Plain Joe Pye Weed, Eutrochium dubium |
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Sally Baer's rain barrel! |
| 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. |
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| APCC Enewsletters. Our weekly newsletters are archived on our website and easily shared.
You can find past newsletters and share with your friends to sign up for future enewsletters HERE. |
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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.
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| Thank you to the homeowners who just contracted to install solar panels through E2 Solar. May the sun always shine for you! |
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Expressions Gallery, 578 Main Street, Chatham
CLICK HERE |
Expressions Gallery donates 20 percent of its profits to APCC's work.
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Thank you to our business sponsors |
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