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Sound Stewardship Harris Center Elects New Officers |
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(L-R) Outgoing Chair Hunt Dowse, Vice-Chair David Lesser, Secretary Alison Rossiter, Treasurer Paul Faber, and new board Chair Ted Leach.
The board of trustees of the Harris Center for Conservation Education has elected new officers and welcomes the addition of another to the board. The board has elected Ted Leach of Hancock as its chair, with David Lesser of Keene as vice-chair, Paul Faber of Hancock as treasurer, and Alison Rossiter of Hancock as secretary. As board chair, Leach succeeds Hunt Dowse of Hancock, who remains on the Harris Center board. "The Harris Center, under the expert stewardship of outgoing Chair Hunt Dowse, is perfectly poised to move forward with its mission," Leach said. "I'm confident that we have the correct staff, board and leadership in place to stay on that glide path that has been carefully developed over the past several years."
Joining the board is Jane Shapiro of Keene, who is a founder, board member and past president of Dental Health Works, Keene, and serves on the executive committee of the Ladies Charitable Society.
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| The Nature of November |
The leaves have pretty much dropped, the ferns have died back, and fall and winter's rot sets the stage for spring growth.
Beavers are stockpiling saplings in their underwater pantries just outside their lodge. | |
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| Giving Back for the Trails
Nelson's Ian Frederick is on Track as Eagle Scout |
 The trails and grounds at the Harris Center for Conservation Education in Hancock are a bit more inviting and comfortable, thanks to the hard work of Ian Frederick. The 17-year-old Nelson resident has recently completed an ambitious trails-improvement project towards earning his Eagle Scout badge. "It was pretty satisfying as a project," Ian said. "I learned a lot about leadership, and about asking for help from other people, and about tapping into people's abilities." For the Harris Center - and those who use its trails - Ian's project is a nice touch of comfort for the grounds and trails. "Ian did a terrific job," said Laurie Bryan, the Harris Center's executive director. "He put a lot of thought and hard work into the project. We're very grateful to Ian and those who helped him."
Ian had come to the Harris Center as a young child, and remembers when Harris Center teacher/naturalists came to his previous elementary school in Dublin. He has fond recollections of dissecting owl pellets and going on night hikes with a Harris Center teacher/naturalist.
Now a senior at Keene High School, Ian sees conservation in his personal and professional future. He's looking at colleges, with hopes of becoming an environmental engineer. |
Watershed Moments
Dublin and Greenfield Schools
Explore their Lands and Waters |
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Dublin and Greenfield students now have a better understanding of their towns' lands and waters and the connections of those elements.
Led by the Harris Center's Susie Spikol, students in Dublin Consolidated School and Greenfield Elementary School recently completed a unit on watersheds that brought them to surprising places.
Dublin students (pictured) visited MacDowell Dam to learn about the roll of dams, the lay of the land and movement of water. They also visited the Keene Wastewater Treatment Plant to learn how water is treated to keep watersheds clean. Greenfield students also visited MacDowell Dam, along with Rand Brook, a town-protected property, to see a watershed's workings up close and personal.
"We learned so much from our classroom science lessons," says a thank-you note from Dublin teachers and students. "Your lesson using the Smart Board and Google Earth helped us see where the water in our town finally makes its way to the ocean. ... As always the Harris Center has integrated with and enriched our district's science curriculum." |
The View from Island Pond
Photography of Charles Clark on Display
in the Harris Center's Babbitt Room |
The Harris Center is pleased to host the artful photography of Charles Clark of Stoddard. His work is now on display and available for purchase in the Babbitt Room.
Charles, who lives on Island Pond in Stoddard, combines his photography skills with frequent kayak paddles. His interest in photography came naturally. His grandfather, a Finnish immigrant, owned a successful photography studio for many years in Gardner, Mass. His mother was a skilled oil colorist in the era of black and white photography. Charles developed photos using traditional darkroom techniques during his young adult life, and later became fascinated with the new digital photography medium.
Charles' photos capture ordinary wonders of the natural world that he encounters on his paddles on Island Pond. The exhibit highlights the loon families that have resided at the pond since chicks were hatched in 2004 for the first time in memory. |
| Past, Present and Future
A Sense of Place in Stoddard |
 Harris Center teacher/naturalist Jaime Hutchinson recently led a unit on the natural and human history at Stoddard's Faulkner Elementary School.
Students explored the lay of the land in the 1800s, visiting nearby cellar holes and discovering the town's agricultural past.
Near the end of Jaime's unit with the school, one teacher asked her class why it is important to study the local landscape with the Harris Center. Among the responses:
- "So we know about where we live;"
- "So we can tell these stories to our kids;" and
- "So we can get a job like Jaime's!"
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| Keene on the Outdoors
Jonathan Daniels School Connects with Ashuelot |
 This muskrat was among the fine illustrations for field guides prepared by fourth graders at Keene's Jonathan Daniels School.
Emily H., a student in Judy Martin's class, described what the muskrat eats, where it lives and how big it grows - up to 4 pounds!
Harris Center teacher/naturalist Polly Pattison recently led the fourth graders on a unit exploring Keene's many connections with the Ashuelot River.
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| December 19: A Legacy Continues
Join a 110-Year-Old Tradition:
The Christmas Bird Count |
Saturday, December 19
This year marks the 110th anniversary of a great birding tradition: the annual Christmas Bird Count. You can join in this important volunteer, citizen-science tradition on Saturday, December 19, by participating in a local count.
The count has its roots from another holiday tradition, known as the Christmas "side hunt," when people would choose teams and compete for the number of birds shot. By the late 1800s, however, declining bird numbers prompted ornitholigist Frank Chapman to launch an annual census of birds. On the first census in December 1900 there were 25 sites participating, including locations in California, Ontario, and Keene, N.H.
New Hampshire's participation in the Christmas Bird Count is coordinated by N.H. Audubon and there are 21 bird count areas, including the Peterborough-Hancock site launched by Meade Cadot in 1973. Each count's survey area is a 15-mile circle. Participating in the count is as easy as counting birds in your own backyard.
Dave Rowell has been the Peterborough-Hancock count coordinator and compiler for 16 years. To join the fun, call Dave at 603-924-8790. All participants, family and friends are invited to a pass-the-hat pizza and potluck party at 6 p.m. at the Harris Center to share results and camaraderie.
The Keene count is on December 20. For information, contact Lance Tanino: 603-203-3060. |
| Out and About with the Harris Center |
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November 28 (Sat) - Maintaining and Documenting Historic Culverts. Work off those Thanksgiving calories by helping Jim Orr and other Harris Center volunteers clean out culverts on the Cadot Trail before snow flies. Part of the Harris Center's trails grant this year is to not only take care of these culverts (erosion controllers), but to take detailed records and document these as historic structures. We'll discuss the folks who made them and lived in the neighborhood, including the Whittemores, the Tuttles and others. Harris Center supplies the tools; just bring enthusiasm and a willingness to get a little dirty. Meet Eric Aldrich and Jim Orr at 9 a.m. at the Cadot Trail trailhead, Old Dublin Road, Hancock. Done by noon. November 28 (Sat) - Hike it off on Mount Caesar. Join Denny Wheeler (who recently walked every street in Keene) and Brian Bishoff for this easy post-Turkey Day amble to the ledges of Mount Caesar in Swanzey for good views and good cheer. Meet at 9 a.m. at the Golden Rod Grange on Route 32 near Monadnock Regional High School.
December 6 (Sun) - Ice Storm '08, Revisited on Crotched Mt. We'll hike the Francestown Forest side of Crotched Mountain a year after the big storm to review the damage and recount the tales. With a 1,200-foot elevation gain, this is a strenuous 5-mile hike, with nice beaver meadows, interesting geology, and vistas from high ledges. Meet leaders Ben and Robin Haubrich at 9 a.m. at the Farrington Road trailhead (off Route 136, near the Greenfield-Francestown line). Back by 1 p.m.
December 12 (Sat) - On (and Off) the Trail to Trout Pond, a scenic highland pond high above Highland Lake.We'll be in the heart of the Society for the Protection of N.H. Forests' Peirce Reservation. At nearly 4,000 acres, it's the Forest Society's largest. Our leader will be Geoff Jones, who managed the land for three decades and oversaw a recent harvest near Trout pond designed to help early successional habitat and give a splendid view for all of us to enjoy! For this moderately strenuous hike through forever-wild and carefully managed forest, we'll meet Geoff at 9:30 a.m. at the Stoddard Fire Station on Route 123 in the village, and drive to the reservation's main entrance near the top of Shedd Hill. From there we'll hike to Trout Pond for lunch (BYO), and then head down to the studio of artists Richard Whitney and Sandy Sherman on Crescent Pond. Carpool should get us back to our cars by 3 p.m. | |
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