Our Mission
The Scituate Land Trust seeks to preserve open spaces, natural areas, scenic areas, drinking water sources, farmland, forests, and historic sites. All acquisition activities of the Trust must be approved by the Town Council and the funding of which must be included in the town budget and approval voted at a Town Financial Meeting.
The Scituate Conservation Commission is an advisory board that works to promote and develop natural resources, to protect watershed resources, and to preserve natural aesthetic areas within the Town of Scituate. The Commission seeks to achieve these goals by participating in research projects, educational programs, and planning efforts with other Town and State organizations.
The Scituate Conservation Commission is an advisory board that works to promote and develop natural resources, to protect watershed resources, and to preserve natural aesthetic areas within the Town of Scituate. The Commission seeks to achieve these goals by participating in research projects, educational programs, and planning efforts with other Town and State organizations.
Meetings
The Land Trust and Conservation Commission meetings are held on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at the Chopmist Hill Center (1315 Chopmist Hill Road) at 7:00 pm. The public is welcome.
Please note that meetings are being held via Zoom web conferencing until further notice. The public is still welcome to attend. Links are on agendas.
Subscribe to the town's "E-News", available on the home page of the Town of Scituate website, to receive email blasts for various meetings and events. Agendas and other info are posted in these emails.
Agendas and other info:
http://www.scituateri.org/government/town_meeting_agendas/conservation_commission_and_land_trust_meetings.php
Secretary of State's website for past agendas and meetings:
opengov.sos.ri.gov/openmeetings
Please note that meetings are being held via Zoom web conferencing until further notice. The public is still welcome to attend. Links are on agendas.
Subscribe to the town's "E-News", available on the home page of the Town of Scituate website, to receive email blasts for various meetings and events. Agendas and other info are posted in these emails.
Agendas and other info:
http://www.scituateri.org/government/town_meeting_agendas/conservation_commission_and_land_trust_meetings.php
Secretary of State's website for past agendas and meetings:
opengov.sos.ri.gov/openmeetings
Announcements, news, and recent activities:
The Land Trust received a DEM Recreation Trail grant in the amount of $99,553. Please see the reward letter:
scituate_land_trust_award__letter.pdf
scituate_land_trust_award__letter.pdf
Join the Scituate Land Trust and Rhode Island Land Trust Council for an evening walk at Lawton Farm on Friday, August 20, at 5:30 p.m. to kick of Land Trust Days 2021!
Managed primarily as a grassland bird sanctuary, the Farm’s annual bird count consistently tracks nearly 40 species of birds!
The evening begins with an introduction at 5:30 p.m. The walk starts at 6:00 p.m.
We will be walking for about 40 minutes at a moderate pace, so be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes and bring bug spray. This event is FREE and suitable for all ages. No pets allowed during nesting season.
Rain Date: Saturday, August 21 at 5:30 p.m.
Questions? Contact Rob Bower (robbower@aol.com)
Directions: From Scituate Avenue (Rt. 12), head south on Seven Mile Road 6/10 of a mile. Lawton Farm is on your right.
Our annual meeting was a success! Thank you to all who were able to attend.
We celebrated former member Ruth Strach:
We celebrated former member Ruth Strach:
Ruth Strach, left, with Cindy Gianfrancesco
The Scituate Conservation Commission (SCC) and the Scituate Land Trust (SLT) are pleased to announce this year’s recipient of the Alice M. Howland Conservation Award.
Cindy Gianfrancesco, SCC member and SLT vice chair, presented the award at the July 13 SCC/SLT annual meeting held at Esek Hopkins Park. In her introduction, Cindy recalled walking into her Conservation Commission interview in 2004 to find, sitting across the table, her high school English teacher and this year’s Alice M. Howland Conservation Award recipient, Ruth Strach.
Ruth has worked to preserve and conserve open space in Scituate for all to enjoy for nearly two decades. Appointed to the Conservation Commission in 2001 and the Land Trust in 2003, Ruth was the backbone of these committees, serving as vice chair for many years.
According to Gianfrancesco, “working on the CC and LT with Ruth was a learning experience as she challenged each and every one of us to do our best, not by her words but by her actions. Ruth would articulate every issue with clarity and precision, and the English Teacher and librarian in her would shine brightly in her detailed review of documents and draft meeting minutes each month!
“She kept us on our toes, and her energy, foresight and respect for our town’s natural resources influenced and enhanced everything the Conservation Commission and Land Trust did, helping to make Scituate a better place to live for all of us for many years to come.
“Aside from all the hard work Ruth put into the Conservation Commission and Land Trust, she accomplished something I personally am extremely grateful for -- she broke the glass ceiling! Ruth was the first woman to be appointed to the Conservation Commission, to the dismay of several men serving on the Commission at that time, including her now husband, Tom Angell!
“It is truly fitting that Ruth receive this award, as Ruth came up with the idea of the Alice M. Howland conservation award, as well as the idea of an annual meeting, which Ruth had so successfully organized for 17 years. These were two ideas that, again, the men of the Conservation Commission did not initially support, but 17 years later it is obviously a great success and I hope we can continue to organize future annual meetings as well as Ruth did.”
As a thank you for all Ruth has done, the SCC and SLT presenter her a beautifully handcrafted pen made by Village Woodturners in Scituate. The wood is Flame Box Elder and was harvested locally. In addition, Ruth Strach’s name has been engraved on a metal leaf to be added to the perpetual tree plaque commemorating all recipients of the Alice M. Howland Conservation Award, that now hangs in the Town Council Chambers.
After the presentation, Tom Angell, SCC chair, congratulated Ruth, and Rob Bower, SLT chair, thanked her for being our “Mother Tree.”
The Alice M. Howland Conservation Award recognizes an individual, group or organization that has rendered outstanding service, either recently or over a period of years, to natural resource conservation in the Town of Scituate. Formerly of Hope, Alice M. Howland was one of Scituate’s pioneers. An 1896 graduate of Vassar College, Miss Howland (as she preferred to be called) donated her large barn and farm property along Hope Pond on the Pawtuxet River in 1932 to be used by the village as a community and recreation center. Today, Hope Associates carries on her legacy and continues to provide these opportunities to citizens of the town at this location. In 1951 Howland became the first certified Tree Farmer in Scituate. Her family’s interest in conservation can be traced back to their interest in forestry and tree planting efforts they undertook on the family farm as early as 1913.
Annual Meeting update!
Tuesday July 13th, 6:30pm at Esek Hopkins Park
You are cordially invited to the 18th Annual Meeting of the Scituate Conservation Commission and Land Trust. On Tuesday, July 13 at 6:30 p.m. at Esek Hopkins Park (at the corner of Battey Meetinghouse Road and Danielson Pike, opposite the State Police Barracks).
We’re glad to be back after postponing last year’s annual meeting due to the coronavirus pandemic. This year is a special outdoor meeting at the site of our recent timber salvage project. Forester Marc Tremblay will speak about the project and our management plans for this 93-acre property. Marc will lead a brief trail walk after the meeting for those who wish to participate. The 2021 Alice M. Howland Conservation Award will also be presented to a deserving local conservationist at this meeting.
Please join us!
The RIWalks Challenge has officially begun – go search for the 30 different nature-inspired “creatures” hidden on land trust trails throughout the state! Click on the button below for more info!
The Esek Hopkins Park tree clearing project has finished. Please see the PDF link below to view the updated
management plan amendment that addresses clean up and future tree planting.
final_recommendations_and_mgt_plan_amendment.pdf
If you would like to help with ongoing trail maintenance, clean up, and future tree planting activities, please contact us.
management plan amendment that addresses clean up and future tree planting.
final_recommendations_and_mgt_plan_amendment.pdf
If you would like to help with ongoing trail maintenance, clean up, and future tree planting activities, please contact us.
Last week's article in Valley Breeze/Observer on the Esek Hopkins project:
valleybreeze.uberflip.com/i/1346810-the-valley-breeze-observer-03-04-2021/3?
valleybreeze.uberflip.com/i/1346810-the-valley-breeze-observer-03-04-2021/3?
Past News:
Valley Breeze / Observer Article from October 26, 2016 "Scituate's Lawton Farm Recreation Area a Challenge for Land Trust Stewards"
Click Here for Article
Click Here for Article
|
RI Land Trust Days - Bat Walk Pictures
|
