RECENT EVENTS

8th Annual Woods, Water and Wildlife Festival

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On Saturday, August 7th, close to 200 people joined Moose Mountains Regional Greenways and UNH Cooperative Extension at the eighth annual Woods, Water and Wildlife Festival at Branch Hill Farm in Milton Mills.

This family-friendly day is held each year to bring together MMRG members and the community. Participants enjoyed a sparkling summer day taking hayrides to the Salmon Falls River, where Dave Kellam explained what a healthy river is and how to keep it that way. The Piscataqua Hounds also took advantage of the beautiful day to ride a course on the conserved land of Branch Hill Farm. A live redtailed hawk and beaver captivated the attention of kids and adults alike as Dave Erler from Squam Lakes Natural Science Center explained the habits and habitat needs of each animal.

Many demonstrations attracted those wanting to learn traditional skills: the art of making bread and butter pickles, the craft of splitting stone and building of fieldstone walls, hands-on corn grinding and other traditional farm skills, and how to build wooden canoes and kayaks by hand.

A Worm Holes Tent brought by Bambi Miller of Strafford County Conservation District showed the fascinating underground view of the earth beneath our feet. Festival-goers explored the new Branch Hill Farm Communal Organic Garden and asked questions of agriculture and community gardening experts. Participants in guided nature walks and talks learned about invasive species and about the field and shrub habitats needed for native animals or how to identify native trees.

Children had great fun running through a flag maze and painting tree cookies that they helped cut from a pine log using a hand cross-cut saw. A favorite event was Ruth Scruton’s traveling barnyard where kids interacted with all sorts o f animals.

Food was consumed heartily, including vegetarian dishes, traditional burgers, and blueberry yogurt smoothies. Homemade blueberry pie slices sold out fast while the York River Ramblers entertained the crowd with a variety of toe-tapping tunes! There were five happy raffle winners; one went home with a whole blueberry pie and others won baskets stuffed with fresh produce and preserves.

MMRG would like to thank the many volunteers and presenters who donated many hours. This event would not be possible without the contributions of our sponsors: David Hutchins Builders, Dawn Evans & Family, Devonshire Realty, D. F. Richard, Inc., Donald F. Whittum Law Office, Evergreen Valley Snowmobile Club, the Frank Massin Agency, Ilex Wetlands Consultants, Index Packaging, James H. Schulte Law Office, Land Bank of Wolfeboro & Tuftonboro, Liberty Mutual, Long Meadow Construction, Moose Mountain Public Accounting, Moose Mountain Recreation, Norman Vetter, Pioneer Heating & Plumbing, Piscataqua Hounds, Profile Bank, Proulx Oil & Propane, Royle Timber Harvesting, Sang Curtis, Siemon Family, S & S Plumbing and Heating, Teneriffe Mountain Blueberries, Trager by Kari Lygren, Wayne Stocker Appraisals, Wentworth Hunt, and Wolfeboro Oil. The event is underwritten by the Siemon Company and Branch Hill Farm/Carl Siemon Family Charitable Trust.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Stay Tuned for More Events Coming Soon!

MMRG NEWS

Two New Directors!

MMRG is pleased to welcome two new directors to the board, Cyndi Paulin representing Farmington, and Dulcie Lavender representing Brookfield. Both have proven themselves enthusiastic volunteers in organizing the 2010 Woods Water and Wildlife festival, which took place on August 7.

Cyndi Paulin has extensive experience with non-profits and volunteer management and is currently Director of the Carroll County Collaborative. Cyndi is particularly interested in the value of conserving land for the long-term well-being of people as well as for maintaining diverse habitats for wildlife. When not cooped up inside for work, her preference is to be outside, whether out in the garden or exploring local woodlands.

Dulcie Lavender is an Information Technology manager at Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. in Dover. She is also a member of the Brookfield Conservation Commission and an alternate on the Zoning Board. She and her husband Tom donated an easement on their 70 acre property in Brookfield in 2008, with the help of MMRG.

Wolfeboro Joins Moose Mountains Regional Greenways

Wolfeboro has joined Moose Mountains Regional Greenways as the seventh town being served by MMRG. Founded in 2000 and serving the towns of Wakefield, Brookfield, New Durham, Farmington, Milton and Middleton this membership-driven organization represents a dynamic collaboration between community leaders, private landowners, concerned citizens, and public and private conservation organizations. MMRG is very pleased to include Wolfeboro among its member towns. Michael Hodder of the Wolfeboro Conservation Commission said, “The WCC feels that multi-jurisdictional alliances such as MMRG will become more and more common as citizens understand that their local environments don't end at their town borders.”

MMRG works only on voluntary land protection projects. This means that the lands on which we concentrate our efforts are either for sale or the owners came to us asking for help to conserve their land for future generations. Families that want to place conservation easements on their land while retaining full use and ownership of it are our most important beneficiaries. Some want to realize the many tax advantages that are available when they place lands into conservation.