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Harrisville's Historic
Seaver Farm to be Protected |
A June 27 paddle focused on Silver Lake's conservation success. (Neil Jeneral photo.)  | The Harris Center has announced that it will soon be able to purchase a conservation easement on the historic Seaver Farm in Harrisville.
The 33-acre farm is located between Breed Road and Seaver Road near the Silver Lake boat launch area and has substantial water frontage on Silver Lake and Seaver Reservoir.
The farm was originally owned by Nathaniel Breed Jr., who settled there in 1767 and lived in a house built in 1774 by Paul Whitcomb. By the mid-nineteenth century, the farm and the house were part of a 460-acre farm owned by Wellington Seaver. It eventually passed to one of his nine children, Edgar G. Seaver, who continued to live there until his death in the late 1970s.
Seaver left the house and most of his land to Paul Geddes, who has retained the land intact since receiving it about three decades ago.
Geddes has now offered to allow the Harris Center to purchase the development rights on the land through a conservation easement at substantially below the market price.
The Harris Center expects to complete the purchase of the easement soon.
The land has very high conservation values, in part because of the scenery around Silver Lake, but also to preserve water quality in the lake and reservoir and to retain prime agricultural soils.
Meade Cadot, Director of Land Programs at the Harris Center, said: "We were delighted to be given the chance to work with Mr. Geddes and his advisors to preserve this land." |
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The Nature of July |
Sundew, a carnivorous plant |
The sundew is a carnivorous plant that's common in New Hampshire's bogs and sunny wetlands.
It traps flies and other insects with its sticky, glandular hairs, then slowly rolls up the edges of its leaves. Like other carnivorous plants, they're found in nutrient-poor soils, and gain their nutrients in part from the insects they consume. A sundew's hairs produce enzymes that digest its prey. |
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A Wol's Nest Reunion!
August 1; Spread the Word! |
Wol's Nest campers are finding creative ways to stay cool. Join Wol's Nest alumni young and old for a 35th anniversary reunion on Aug. 1, 10:30 a.m., at the Harris Center.  | Announcements! Announcements!
Attention former campers, counselors, parents, grandparents, one and all: Join the Harris Center in celebrating 35 years of the Wol's Nest summer program.
To bring together the many smiling faces of Wol's Nest, we're having a reunion. It's Sunday, August 1, 10:30 a.m., at the Harris Center. We'll have fun recollections, activities you'll remember, barbeque lunch, songs, and an optional hike up Bald Mountain.
Please RSVP by July 19 by calling 603-525-3394 or emailing jacobs@harriscenter.org.
 Help us spread the word through Facebook and build a buzz. |
July 25, 4 to 6 p.m.
Sharon Arts Center and Harris Center
to Host Reception for "An Artists' Circle" | |
Jon Brooks' "Abijah Crossing the Piscataquog" is one of many works on display at the Sharon Arts Center.  | The Sharon Arts Center and the Harris Center will host a reception on Sunday, July 25, for artists in the exhibit, "An Artists' Circle," on display in Peterborough between July 9 and August 27.
The reception will be from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Sharon Arts Center gallery in downtown Peterborough. Refreshments will be provided.
"An Artists' Circle" is an exhibition featuring noted artist James Aponovich and 13 other artist friends. While these artists have exhibited together in various combinations, not all know all of the others personally. This exhibition completes the circle by bringing them together for the first time. Although they work in a variety of mediums, much of their work is characterized by fine detail and meticulous application.
In addition to Aponovich, participating artists include sculptor Gary Haven Smith, glass artist Susan Pratt Smith, painter Sean Beavers, furniture masters David and Janet Lamb, illustrator David Carroll, sculptor and furniture maker Jon Brooks, potter Gerry Williams, printmaker Peter Milton, painting and drawing artist Elizabeth Johansson, gallery owner Bob Larsen and watercolorist Ana Aponovich.
For more information, call the Harris Center at 603-525-3394 or the Sharon Arts Center at 603-924-7676. |
| August 7 - Sept. 22
"Conserved Farmlands" Art Exhibit Comes to the Harris Center | |
"Norway Hill," by Chris Reid, is among the works featured in "Conserved Farmlands."  | Another remarkable group of artists will be exhibiting their art at the Harris Center, bringing a message of farmland conservation.
From August 7 through Sept. 22 "Conserved Farmlands" will be on display in the Harris Center's Babbitt Room.
This group of talented artists have long painted and shared the region's farmlands and have an ideal venue for this exhibit. Their backdrops provide an array of agricultural benefits and scenic beauty, protected for future generations to enjoy.
Paying tribute to places protected by the Harris Center, Monadnock Conservancy and other partners are artists Mary Iselin, Francelia Mason Clark, Alicia Geilenberg-Drakiotes, Chris Reid and Ann Sawyer.
Meet the artists for an opening reception Saturday, August 7, from 3 to 5 p.m., and enjoy the art in the Babbitt Room through Sept. 22. A portion of art sales benefits the Harris Center. |
| Exemplary Stewardship:
Camp Wildwood Removes Harris Center's Invasive Weeds |
The kids from Mass. Audubon's Camp Wildwood remove invasive plants from the Harris Center.  |
art of the mission of the Harris Center is to promote understanding and respect for the environment through "exemplary stewardship."
Stewardship was the focus last week as we removed non-native invasive plants from the Harris Center's grounds. And there are lots, both in variety and quantity.
Roberge showed the Wildwood campers which plants are native and which are invasive weeds, such as buckthorn, oriental bittersweet, autumn olive and wisteria. Then the campers got to work removing the plants.
Wildwood campers will return to the Harris Center later this month to pull some more invasive plants.
Thanks Wildwood and Steve! |
| Back-Tracking ... a look back at the Harris Center's 40 years
Great Traditions Continue at Wol's Nest! |
Wols Nesters from 1983 prepare for the evening campout.  | Some things never change ... for good reason!
One of the longstanding highlights of the Harris Center Wol's Nest summer camp has been the sleepover. Sometimes it's pitching a tent on the Harris Center's grounds (as seen in this photo from 1983). And sometimes it's camping out at some other great place, like Greenfield State Park. Either way, it's all part of the fun of connecting children with nature.
If you want to reminisce about Wol's Nest days, join us at the Harris Center on August 1, 10:30 a.m., at the Harris Center for a Wol's Nest Reunion. Please RSVP by July 19 by calling 603-525-3394 or emailing jacobs@harriscenter.org. |
Preparing to Fledge: Nubanusit Lake's Eagles are Raising Three Young |
An adult bald eagle at the Nubanusit Lake nest.  |
Three young eagles are preparing to fledge from the nest at Nubanusit Lake.
The female adult eagle from the Nubanusit nest has produced 16 fledged young in the past seven breeding seasons, including three sets of triplets!
The female's leg has a faded gold band identifying the bird as W22. At 18 years old she is the oldest bald eagle breeding in New Hampshire. She was raised in captivity in 1992 by wildlife rehabber Tom Ricardi and fostered into a nest at the Quabbin Reservoir in Massachusetts.
The male is 13 years old and was banded in 1997 on the Quabbin Reservoir.
The eagle nest is high in a tall white pine on the northwestern shore of Nubanusit Lake, straddling the Nelson-Hancock town line. The land is owned by Eleanor Briggs of Hancock, who founded the Harris Center for Conservation Education in 1970. Last August Briggs
donated to the Harris Center a conservation easement that protects from development 27 acres around the nest, including more than 1,500 feet of shoreline.
The Nubanusit nest is carefully monitored each year by New Hampshire Audubon's senior biologist Chris Martin and David and Nellie Robinson, volunteers who live on the lake and keep their spotting scope pointed at the nest during nesting season. |
Deadline Extended to Aug. 1 Want to Help Conserve New Hampshire?
Be a Coverts Volunteer |
o you volunteer in your community on behalf of the environment, but would like to learn more about wildlife, forests, and conservation? For the past 15 years, hundreds of landowners, community volunteers and others interested in habitat and forest conservation have come together at the NH Coverts Project Training Workshop. The application period has been extended, with applications accepted on a rolling basis through August 1.The 16th annual New Hampshire Coverts Project Workshop will be held September 22-25, 2010 in Greenfield, NH. Trainees will learn about wildlife habitat, land stewardship, and habitat conservation. Anyone with an interest in wildlife, land management, and community outreach is invited to complete an application. UNH Cooperative Extension coordinates the program in partnership with N.H. Fish and Game, N.H. Division of Forests and Lands, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Applications are evaluated on several criteria, including your level of enthusiasm, your experience volunteering, and the location and size of your landownership (although owning land is not required). To apply, click here, or contact the Coordinator, Malin Ely Clyde at 603-862-2166. The name of the project, Coverts (pronounced "koh-verts"), comes from the name for a thicket that provides shelter for wildlife. The term symbolizes the project's goal of enhancing, restoring, and conserving wildlife habitat. Trained volunteers for the Coverts Project help educate the public on how sound forest management practices can enhance wildlife habitat. Room and board is provided at minimal cost, along with field trips, reference materials, and professional contacts. For three and a half days, participants learn about the latest concepts in wildlife and forest ecology, habitat management, land conservation, community conservation planning and effective outreach. In return, Coverts volunteers agree to return to their communities, share what they've learned, and motivate others to become stewards of the states forests and wildlife habitats. |
| Out and About with the Harris Center |
June 20 hike in Rindge with the Monadnock Conservancy. Join Conservancy folks for a hike July 10 on the new Cranberry Meadow Pond Trail. (Emily Hague photo.)  |
July 9 (Fri.) - Senior Friday Hike to Crotched Mountain's New Dutton Brook Trail. Check out Crotched Mountain Foundation's new, universally accessible 1.8-mile trail. Meet leaders Ollie Mutch and Lee Baker at 10 a.m. at the southeast corner of Ocean State Job Lot parking lot near the Route 202/101 intersection in Peterborough. Ends around 12:30 p.m.
July 10 (Sat.) - Eastside Trail Work with Jim Orr. Help fix up the Harris Center's popular Eastside trails (Boulder Train, Dandelyon) on this intergenerational volunteer opportunity. We'll clear about 2 miles of trails. Meet at 9 a.m. at the Harris Center. Ends around noon.
July 10 (Sat.) - Peterborough to Pack. Explore the new Cranberrry Meadow Pond Trail linking downtown Peterborough to the summit of Pack Monadnock! This marked trail features a wetland boardwalk, rustic log bridges, a long amble along a beautiful cascading stream, hemlock glades, a secret pond and mature hardwood forests. The 3-mile trail connects the Wheeler Trail near Cheney Avenue to the Raymond Trail on Pack Monadnock. It was made possible thanks to the support of Swift Corwin, many volunteers, Friends of the Wapack, N.H. Trails Bureau, the town of Peterborough and generous landowners who've protected their lands with the (cosponsoring) Monadnock Conservancy. Meet at the back of the Toadstool parking lot at 9 a.m. for this moderately challenging hike. Back around noon.
July 10 (Sat.) - Sunny Times at Sunnyfield Farm. Families, join Harris Center naturalist Susie Spikol and Dan and Ruth Holmes of Sunnyfield Farm for a slow amble around this beautiful Peterborough working farm. Learn all about Sunnyfield Farm and discover how our farmlands are essential habitat for many plants and animals. Meet at Sunnyfield Farm at 10:30 a.m. Ends around noon.
July 11 (Sun.) - Rye Pond Paddle for Bog-land Wildflowers. Join Eric Aldrich and botanist-artist Frankie Brackley-Tolman for an easy paddle and poke around Rye Pond, gem of the Virginia Baker Natural Area. A search of the boggy shore reveals a rich variety of boreal bog plants including bog (pale) laurel, insectivorous pitcher plants, golden-flowered bladderworts, and, in some years, a plethora of pretty little pink orchids (rose pogonia). This was a traditional favorite trip for naturalist and photographer Richard Johnson to lead between 1987 and 1996. During part of that time, land around the bog faced an uncertain future. We began protecting the bog portion in Nelson in 1995. We protected the Stoddard section in 2007 as part of the Robb Reservoir acquisition. Meet at 9 a.m. at the Rye Pond shore along Route 123 between Hancock village and Route 9 in South Stoddard. Done by noon.
July 18 (Sun.) - Follow the Bull to Royalston Falls. Moderately easy stroll over gently rolling terrain along a brook with potholes, a natural arch and scenic falls. And yes, there is the now- famous Royalston bull moose, the first to be fitted with a "texting" GPS collar in Royalston in 2006 (which showed that the animal also roams in NH!). Meet leaders Denny Wheeler with Jan Miller and Ollie Mutch at 9 a.m. at the Four Corners Store in Richmond at the intersection of Routes 32 and 119. Back about 1 p.m.
July 21 (Wed.) - Willard Pond Sunset Paddle. Join us for a family sunset paddle at NH Audubon's wild Willard Pond Sanctuary. Discover the wonderful habitat of this stunning sanctuary. Listen and look for loons while poking around the lake's edge. Meet at the sanctuary parking lot at 6 p.m. Ends around 8 p.m. Bring your own boat and (required) life jackets.
July 25 (Sun.) - Harris Center Reception for "An Artist's Circle," this summer's exhibit at the Sharon Arts Center. Join Harris Center supporters and enjoy the extraordinary art of James and Beth Aponovich, David Carroll and others. Also on display will be waterfowl art of the late Robert and Virginia Warfield. Refreshments, courtesy of the Sharon Arts Center.
4 to 6 p.m. at the Sharon Arts Center gallery in downtown Peterborough.
July 31 (Sat.) - Marlborough's Buffler Land with Denny Wheeler and Brian Bishoff. This will be a moderately easy hike, mostly on a former rail-bed to Babbidge Reservoir in Roxbury. We'll pass a small granite quarry, a beaver pond, and bushwhack back to the rail-bed. Meet at 9 a.m. at the Homestead Bookshop on Route 101 in Marlborough. Ends around 2 p.m.
Aug. 1 (Sun.) - A Wol's Nest REUNION! Announcements, Announcements: Attention former campers, counselors, parents, grandparents, one and all: Join the Harris Center in celebrating 35 years of the Wol's Nest summer program. We'll have fun recollections, activities you'll remember, barbecue lunch, songs and an optional hike up Bald Mountain. Help us spread the word (find the Harris Center on Facebook) and build a buzz. Please RSVP by July 19 by calling 603-525-3394 or emailing jacobs@harriscenter.org.
Aug. 7 (Sat.) - "Conserved Farmlands: Monadnock Barnyards Revisited." Join this group of talented artists who have long painted and shared the region's farmlands. Their backdrops not only provide an array of agricultural benefits, they provide a breadth of scenic beauty, protected for future generations to enjoy. Paying tribute to places protected by the Harris Center, Monadnock Conservancy and other partners are artists Mary Iselin, Francelia Mason Clark, Alicia Geilenberg-Drakiotes, Chris Reid and Ann Sawyer. Meet the artists for an opening reception from 3 to 5 p.m. at the August 7 opening and enjoy the art in the Babbitt Room through Sept. 22. A portion of art sales benefits the Harris Center.
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Contact Info:
Eric Aldrich
Harris Center for Conservation Education
603-525-3394
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