Above: A reminder of an Earth Day event and Planet Palooza events still taking place this month in celebration of Earth Day’s 50th anniversary and in memory of Southborough’s Linda Hubley. (images cropped from flyers and contributed photo)
[Note: The Outdoor Concert and Garden Tour initially scheduled for April 30th are being postponed to a date in June TBA.]*
In celebration of Earth Day, I’m reminding readers of the Town’s “Planet Palooza” events and another Earth Day event in town. Two of the events take place today and another tomorrow, with more ongoing and upcoming efforts this month.
Today, you can take part in a special walk and/or join volunteers in a cleanup effort.
A Walk Back in Time: A review of the history of the Beals Preserve use since 1900
Friday, April 22, 11:00 am
Meet at the Pollinator Preservation Garden in the Main Street Field at Beals Preserve for a brief overview of that project before heading out for the history & nature walk lead by Southborough Open Land Foundation President Whit Beals. Sponsored by SOLF.
Park on Main St parallel to the stone wall at the Main Street Field or at the Triangle at Main St and Northborough Rd. (For a map and to learn more about Beals Preserve, click here.)
The above event is part of Southborough’s Open Space Preservation Commission’s Planet Palooza. The series of nature/ecology events were initially planned for the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day in 2020. Postponed by two years, OSPC has also dedicated the series “to the memory of Southborough naturalist Linda Hubley.”
Outside of that effort, volunteers from Verity Opportunities reached out to the Trails Committee about doing some good by organizing volunteers for an Earth Day event:
Earth Day Trail Clearing and Cleanup
Friday, April 22, 1:00 – 3:30 pm
Signup in advance, then meet at Fayville Playground on Central Street. Volunteers will be given assignments for brush clearing, some limbs removal, and trailhead trash clean up on trails around town. For details, see dedicated post.
Other events that are still coming up as part of Planet Palooza are:
30th Annual Earth Day Cleanup
Saturday, April 23, 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
Start out at the DPW building (by the Transfer Station) to sign up, choose a location and pick up trash bags. (To reserve in advance a favorite section of Town to clean, call 508-485-1210 or stop by their office.) Then go out to your assigned area to pick up trash. Sponsored by the Southborough Rotary Club and DPW.
Free treats and coffee will be available starting at 8:00 am. Free Tee Shirts provided to volunteers (on a first come, first served basis). Cleanup begins at 8:30 am. A pizza lunch will follow at the Library at noon. (Rain Date of April 24th.)
Guided Nature Walk at Town Forest.
Sunday, April 24, 1:00 pm
Please join the Southborough Stewardship and Trails Committee for a family-friendly guided nature walk. Get to know the trails, learn about native wildlife, observe and identify plants, trees, and signs of animals. The walk will be led by Dan Harvey, a naturalist and environmental and outdoor educator. We will also reveal the new trail names that many of you voted on earlier this year. Click here for more details and to register. Sponsored by the Stewardship and Trails Committees.
A Guide to Building Backyard Biodiversity Through Pollination Systems
Thursday, April 28, 7:00 – 8:30 pm
In a presentation at the Southborough Library, Dr. Robert J. Gegear will discuss how ecological data collected through his Beecology Citizen Science Project is being used to gain insight into the causes of species loss in native pollination systems. This talk also includes the launch of a new version of the Beecology webapp with automated butterfly and plant ID functions powered by iNaturalist. Sponsored by the OSPC and Southborough Library. (You can read more on the background of OSPC’s work with Dr. Gegear here.)
Indefinitely postponed* – Earth Day Celebration Concert Featuring Folk Singer Claire Dacey
Saturday, April 30, 1:00 – 2:00 pm
[Note: This event will be rescheduled to sometime in June. Stay tuned for details.]*
Bring chairs or blankets to the Southborough Library grounds for this outdoor concert. Claire is an award-winning folk singer/songwriter and instrumentalist with a voice reminiscent of the legendary female folk singers of the 60’s and 70’s. Claire writes and performs moving, original songs in a genuine, openhearted style, with a focus on the inner life and our connection to the natural world. (Rain Date 1:00 pm Sunday May 1.) Sponsored by the OSPC and Southborough Library.
Indefinitely postponed* – Pollination Preservation Garden Tour and Ecological Landscaping Talk with free seed planting give away
Saturday, April 30, 2:00 – 3:00 pm
[Note: This event will be rescheduled to sometime in June. Stay tuned for details.]*
Immediately following the 1-hour concert, the Open Space Preservation Commission will showcase the Pollination Preservation Garden planted last year at the Southborough Library. We will describe the plants chosen for both ecological benefit and beauty and go over next steps for the gardens as well as citizen science and volunteer opportunities. Attendees can pick out free seeds allowing you to grow these flowers at home. (Rain Date 1:00 pm Sunday May 1.) Sponsored by the OSPC and Southborough Library.
Ongoing April Promotions
In addition to one-off events, the following longer term promotions are taking place this month.
2022 Earth Day Poster Contest
Submit now through April 29th
The Conservation Commissions of Southborough and Northborough are hosting their third annual poster contest for kids and teens (ages 0 to 12th grade). Posters will be judged based on creativity and relation to this years theme (Invest In Our Planet) and Earth Day (sustainability, recycling, trees, water, etc.!)
Posters should be hand drawn posters on standard (8½ x 11″) paper. One prize will be picked from each school in the Northborough and Southborough school districts. Home-schooled children are also encouraged to apply and will be grouped in appropriate age group. For details, click here. (You can also look at submissions from last year here.)
Check out the Southborough Library’s nature-based books
During the Library’s regular hours in April
Books chosen specifically by the Library Staff to support Earth Day will be featured on the endcaps in the non-fiction section. Sponsored by the Southborough Library.
Support the Southborough Scholarship dedicated to Linda Hubley’s Legacy
As I’ve previously posted, the Trustees of SOLF are issuing a challenge. They will match donations to the newly established Linda Hubley Scholarship Fund up to a total of $1000. Click here for the SOLF matching fund details. Scholarship Sponsored by the Southborough Scholarship Committee. Match offer sponsored by SOLF.
You can look for any Planet Palooza updates on the OSPC’s dedicated page on the Town website. For my original Planet Palooza post, including events that have already taken place, click here.
Updated (4/22/22 10:12 am): Rotary posted more details on the April 23rd Earth Day Cleanup.
*Updated (4/23/22 7:49 am): The events of April 30 have been indefinitely postponed:
The Open Space Preservation Commission regrets to announce that we are postponing both the Earth Day Concert and the Garden Talk and Tour, our Planet Palooza activities scheduled at the Library for this Saturday April 30th.
We anticipate that both events will be rescheduled for a date in June and will notify the public as soon as a new date is finalized.
