Upcoming Events--May 2009
Save the Date for UVLT's Annual Meeting: June 3rd at Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, NH.

Natural Areas: What Are They, Why Do They Matter, and How Do They Touch Down in the Upper Valley Region?
Tuesday, April 28th, 7 - 8:30pm
Howe Library, Mayer Room, 13 East South Street, Hanover, NH

Mark Zankel, the Deputy State Director of The Nature Conservancy's New Hampshire Chapter, will speak about the unique and valuable role of "natural areas" in New Hampshire's network of conservation lands, along with the status of natural areas in the Upper Valley region, and will preview an exciting new conservation project to protect a large Upper Valley landscape for nature and people. This free, public event is co-hosted by the Upper Valley Land Trust and The Nature Conservancy.

Please visit the Howe's website for directions.

Green-Up Day
Saturday, May 2nd, 9am - 12pm
Various Locations Around the Region

For more information about Green-Up Day visit www.greenupvermont.org, or contact your Town Office.

Training Session for New Stewardship Volunteers
Sunday, May 3rd, 8:30am - 2:30pm
Upper Valley Land Trust's Office, 19 Buck Road, Hanover, NH

Do you like hiking off-trail? Do you enjoy visiting beautiful places? Join the Upper Valley Land Trust's team of volunteer easement stewards to monitor conserved properties all over the Upper Valley. Stewardship volunteering involves meeting landowners of conserved land, hiking off-trail to find property boundaries with a map and compass, and recording what you see as you become our eyes and ears on permanently protected land. This training includes an indoor session with general easement information and instruction on using a map and compass; then we will venture outside for hands-on field practice. For more information, or to register, please contact UVLT at (603) 643-6626 or email Monica.Erhart@uvlt.org.

This is our second training session due to the popularity of the first!

Author Reading: Amy Seidl, Early Spring: An Ecologist and Her Children Wake to a Warming World
Monday, May 4th, 7 - 8:30pm
Howe Library, Mayer Room, 13 East South Street, Hanover, NH

As Michael Pollan and Barbara Kingsolver examine food issues through their own families' meals, Amy Seidl looks at climate change through family walks in the woods, work in her garden, and seasonal events throughout the year. She brings home the message of global warming by considering how it has altered her life, the natural communities around her, and the traditions of her small New England town: the classic, iconic landscape celebrated by Robert Frost, Norman Rockwell, and many others.

"In her wonderful new nature memoir, Early Spring, Amy Seidl does for northern New England what Aldo Leopold does for the upper Midwest in Sand County Almanac. Early Spring is an eloquent celebration of one ecologist's commitment to family, community, and the ever-so-fragile natural world that we were all once intimately a part of. After reading Early Spring, I realized that global warming is the principal threat to all that I love about living in Vermont. Regardless of where you live, this may very well be one of the most important books you'll ever read." --Howard Frank Mosher, author of A Stranger in the Kingdom

Copies of the book will be for sale and signing. The program is free and open to the public. Please visit the Howe's website for directions.

Naturalist Walk
Saturday, May 9th, 8:30 - 11:30am
Hawkride Farm, 109 Jenney Road, Meriden, NH

Join Monica Erhart, UVLT Stewardship Coordinator, Amber Boland, UVLT Conservation Mapping and Field Specialist, and Peg Ackerson, a member of the Mascoma Chapter of the New Hampshire Audubon, as they lead a naturalist walk on a beautiful property (Hawkride Farm)conserved by UVLT Trustee, Myra Ferguson and her husband, Allan. The walk will focus on the property's springtime bird and plant life. Please wear weather-appropriate clothing and footwear. For more information contact Monica Erhart at Monica.erhart@uvlt.org or Amber Boland at amber.boland@uvlt.org, or call UVLT at (603) 643-6626.

Hawkride Farm is located halfway between Route 120 and Route 12A on Brook Road which is runs through Plainfield and West Lebanon, NH.

From 12A:

From I-89, take Exit 20 in West Lebanon and follow Route 12A to the south. In about 2 miles, turn left* onto True's Brook Road. Stay on this road as the name changes first to Brook Road, then to Willow Brook Road, about 4.8 miles. Turn left on Jenney Road. Approximately 1/2 mile up Jenney Road on the left is the driveway entrance. There is a granite post marking 109 Jenney Road. The Ferguson house is on the top of the hill on the right at the end of a 1/2 mile long driveway.Park your car below the house by continuing straight on the driveway and following the parking signs.

From RT 120:

From I-89, take NH 120 south to Meriden Village. At the flashing yellow traffic light, turn right* onto Main Street. Continue on Main Street and pass a covered bridge on the left. Main Street then changes to Valley Brook Road. Travel about 2 more miles from village to what appears to be a fork in the road. Take the road on the right, Jenney Road. Approximately 1/2 mile up Jenney Road on the left is the driveway entrance. There is a granite post marking 109 Jenney Road. The Ferguson house is on the top of the hill on the right at the end of a 1/2 mile long driveway. Park your car below the house by continuing straight on the driveway and following the parking signs.

*If coming from the south, turn in the opposite direction (i.e., "right" not "left").

Marc Rosenbaum, P.E.: Deep Energy Retrofits and Zero Net Energy Homes
Tuesday, May 12th, 7 - 8:30pm
Bugbee Senior Center, 262 North Main Street, White River Junction, VT

Join the Upper Valley Land Trust, Sustainable Energy Resource Group (SERG), the Vermont Chapter of the SIERRA CLUB and the Vermont Earth Institute, as we host Marc Rosenbaum, P.E., for a presentation on Deep Energy Retrofits and Zero Net Energy Homes. James Hansen recently spoke in the Upper Valley about the challenges we face due to climate change. In his presentation, Rosenbaum will offer practical solutions to counteract this global threat.

As Peak Oil creeps up on us and the urgency of halting climate change sinks in, we'll need to fix the buildings we have and make new ones that don't need much energy. Rosenbaum will give us a view from the trenches of state-of-the-art low energy houses and extreme energy makeovers of existing homes. Visit his company website for more information about Rosenbaum and his work: www.energysmiths.com.

There will be time for questions at the end of the evening. The event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP by contacting Nora at noradoyle-burr@uvlt.org or (603) 643-6626 ext. 102. Use Google Maps for directions to the Bugbee Senior Center.

Bike/Walk to Work Day Breakfast
Friday, May 15th, 8 - 9am
UVLT's office, 19 Buck Road, Hanover, NH

UVLT will host Buck Road employees for a breakfast in honor of Bike/Walk to Work Day. This is a region-wide event coordinated by Upper Valley Rideshare and Upper Valley Trails Alliance. This is a great chance to try a new mode of transportation to get to work, get outside and visit with your community members! Visit www.bike2work-day.com for more information about a breakfast happening near you. Contact Nora for more information about UVLT's breakfast at noradoyle-burr@uvlt.org or (603) 643-6626 ext.102.

Spring Paddle the Border
Sunday, May 17th, 10am - 3pm
Woodsville Community Field, Woodsville, NH to Bedell Bridge State Park Boat Launch, Haverhill Corner, NH

View the beautiful Connecticut River Valley from a great vantage point; meet new friends and fellow paddlers. The paddle is held twice a year--weather permitting. The spring paddle will go from Woodsville Community Field on Connecticut Street, just off Route 135 in Woodsville, NH to the Bedell Bridge State Park Boat Launch off Route 10 Haverhill Corner, NH. There will be a shuttle service from the take-out to the launch site generously provided by First Student Bus Company and available from 10am - 11am. The approximate paddle time is 3 hours.

Afterward the Rotary Club will have a barbecue to benefit their high school scholarship fund. The event is sponsored by the Newbury Conservation Commission (NCC), Haverhill Recreation Commission (HRC), and Lower Cohase Chamber of Commerce, with support from Woodsville/Wells River Rotary Club. For more information contact Michael Thomas at mikethom1@kingcon.com or 802-757-3960.

Find out more at www.uvlt.org. Call us at (603) 643-6626 or email noradoyle-burr@uvlt.org for more information.