Ruth Strach and Cindy Gianfrancesco
Cindy Gianfrancesco, SCC member and SLT vice chair, presented the award at the July 13, 2020 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.
Nicholas Rojas video taken during the 2020 LTCC annual meeting. Please see below for an annotated menu and linked video.
scituate_conservation_commission_and_scituate_land_trust_annual_meeting_video__1_.pdf
scituate_conservation_commission_and_scituate_land_trust_annual_meeting_video__1_.pdf
Land Trust and Conservation Commission members Tom Angell, Ruth Strach, Rob Bower, Cindy Gianfrancesco and Anna Cimini helped put together video, text, and voice over work that RI PBS used for inclusion in the "Our Town" series. Check out the Lawton Farm segment on YouTube, starting at 58:36.
Scituate Land Trust & Conservation Commission invite you to a Bat Talk & Walk at Lawton Farm!
Join us Tuesday, August 16th at 7:30 pm for a walk and talk about bats! What are the benefits of bats? What special adaptations do they have, and how can we protect these special mammals? These are just some of the questions that will be answered by University of Rhode Island professor, Dr. Peter August.
Have you ever heard a bat talk? Bats are indeed chatty creatures, but our ears can’t hear them — unless, of course, we use a super special “bat detector.” This device picks up the bats’ “clicks” used in echolocation. During our summer Bat Walk and Talk program, we’ll use the bat detector to hopefully locate bats and follow their movements.
Dr. August is a Professor in the URI Department of Natural Resources Science where he teaches classes in geographic information systems and landscape ecology. He has studied bats in New England, the Caribbean, and South America.
Join us Tuesday, August 16th at 7:30 pm for a walk and talk about bats! What are the benefits of bats? What special adaptations do they have, and how can we protect these special mammals? These are just some of the questions that will be answered by University of Rhode Island professor, Dr. Peter August.
Have you ever heard a bat talk? Bats are indeed chatty creatures, but our ears can’t hear them — unless, of course, we use a super special “bat detector.” This device picks up the bats’ “clicks” used in echolocation. During our summer Bat Walk and Talk program, we’ll use the bat detector to hopefully locate bats and follow their movements.
Dr. August is a Professor in the URI Department of Natural Resources Science where he teaches classes in geographic information systems and landscape ecology. He has studied bats in New England, the Caribbean, and South America.
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
A Winter Moth Workshop was held on Wed April 6th 2016. Hosted by the Scituate Conservation Commission and the Northern RI Conservation District.
Speaker: Heather Faubert, URI Cooperative Extension
Speaker: Heather Faubert, URI Cooperative Extension
Members held a walk at Westconnaug Meadows on April 9th, 2016. "Join the Scituate Conservation Commission and Land Trust members for a walk at Westconnaug Meadows. Along the way members will discuss special features on the landscape and explore amphibians that are found in Rhode Island. We will also take a look at a special wetland found on the property that is used by various amphibian species. The walk is 1.25 miles and will take approximately 1.5 hours. This walk is open to all ages. While dogs on leashes are allowed on the property, we ask that you do not bring them on the day of the walk as we are going to try to listen for frog activity. Please remember to wear sturdy shoes. See you there!"
