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| This week in conservation July 23 - 29, 2007 |
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| Mass Audubon at Felix Neck | |||||||||||
Every place has a story to tell. Do you want to hear the stories of Sengekontacket? Go on a Kayak Quest and to explore one of the island's most beloved ponds. Sengekontacket Stories Quest takes you to places that you may have never been! Kayak Sengekontacket Pond at your own pace while following rhyming clues that lead you to a hidden Quest Box. Along the way, you can check out the birds, explore the shore, or just enjoy the serenity. Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary offers the Sengekontacket Kayak Quest on Tuesdsays, Thursdays, and Fridays anytime between 10:30 and 2:30. Kayaks, paddles, lifejackets and Quest materilas are all included. Cost is $30 per boat for members of Mass Audubon and $40 per boat for nonmembers. Reservations are suggested, 508 627-4850. Questing is an activity that connects people with the place they live: its details, stories, and history. Questing builds community by bringing people together, newcomers and old timers, partnering organizations, and community groups in a unique, fun, and meaningful way. These treasure hunts reveals our true treasures, our natural and cultural heritage and special places, and cultivate a local sense of place. Suzan Bellincampi Sanctuary Director Mass Audubon at Felix Neck PO Box 494 Vineyard Haven, MA 02568 508 627-4850 ext. 102 508 627 6052 FAX sbellincampi@massaudubon.org Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road, Edgartown, MA |
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| Polly Hill Arboretum offers guided tours | |||||||||||
 Mon, July 23, 2007 Daily at 2 p.m. Suggested donation of $5 at 809 State Road in West Tisbury. |
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| "Protecting M.V. Waters," ponds, beaches, climate changes | |||||||||||
 Tues, July 24, 2007Lecture 7 pm, Featherstone Center for the Arts, Barnes Rd., Oak Bluffs. Bob Woodruff. Free. 508-693-1850. |
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| Polly’s Historic Landscape is a history of the Polly Hill Arboretum | |||||||||||
| Tues, July 24, 2007 State Road in West Tisbury at 10 a.m. Karin Stanley guides particpants from pre-contact Wampanoag woodlands, to an 18th century roadside inn, to its days as a sheep farm in the 1850s, telling stories of the buildings and open fields. Cost is $5, free to members. For details, call 508-693-9426. |
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| Mytoi Volunteer Day | |||||||||||
 Wed, July 25, 2007TTOR,9 a.m. - 12 p.m. A great way to spend the morning! Volunteers needed to prune, weed, and help maintain Chappaquiddick’s Japanese-style garden. Join us at Mytoi on Chappaquiddick anytime throughout the morning. Every extra set of hands is greatly appreciated. Please let us know if you plan to attend; call (508) 627-3599. |
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| Paddle into the Night - Cape Poge Wildlife Refuge | |||||||||||
| Wed, July 25, 2007 TTOR, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Discover the beauty of this special place as the light of day turns to night on the water. Weather permitting. Pre-registration required. Meet at Dike Bridge.$47 for adults, ($38 for members of The Trustees) (508) 693-7662 |
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| The Island Plan Water Forum | |||||||||||
 Wed, July 25, 2007Will be held at the Old Whaling Church, on Main Street in Edgartown, starting at 7:30 p.m. The agenda calls for a discussion of the directions and initiatives identified by the Core Group to achieve sustainable drinking water and coastal water resources. For details or a copy of a discussion paper, visit online islandplan.org or call 508-693-3453. All welcome. |
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| Island Landscape Series | |||||||||||
 Thurs, July 26, 20075-6 pm, Aquinnah library, 1 Church St. Matt Pelikan of Nature Conservancy's Mass. Island Program; landscape history. Also Sept. 6, 20, 27. 508-645-2314. |
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| (Not-So-Creepy) Creatures of the Night | |||||||||||
| Fri, July 27 & Sat, July 28, 2007 TTOR, 7 p.m. - 8:15 p.m - Moonlight Family Hike Long Point Wildlife Refuge, Winter Entrance (Deep Bottom Road), West Tisbury. Family night hikes give proof that our island is home to animals that fly, hoot, and sometimes screech under the cover of darkness! (Best suited for families with children ages 4-8). Pre-registration required; please call (508) 693-7662. Member Child $5. Nonmember Child $10. |
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| Alpaca Farm Days | |||||||||||
 Fri, July 27, 200711 am - 5 pm, Island Alpaca Company, 1 Head of the Pond Rd., Oak Bluffs. Visit and learn about alpaca. Hay rides. Also Sat.-Sun. 508-693-5554. |
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| Traditional Luncheon | |||||||||||
 Fri, July 27, 20071-3 pm, Aquinnah Cultural Center, Vanderhoop Homestead. Kristina Hook on wild edibles, clam chowder, Wampanoag foods. $15. 508-645-7900. |
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| Holly Bellebuono of Vineyard Herbs leads weekly herb walks | |||||||||||
 Sat, July 28, 2007Every Saturday at 2:00. Learn edible and medicinal plants of meadow, woods and/or garden. $20 per person, must pre-register at (508) 645-2956. |
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| Memorial Celebration | |||||||||||
| Sat, July 28, 2007 9:30 am, Polly Hill Arboretum, State Rd., West Tisbury. In memory of Polly Hill. Park at Ag Hall, free shuttle. 508-693-9426. |
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| Alpaca Farm Days | |||||||||||
| Sat, July 28, 2007 11 am-5 pm, Island Alpaca Company, 1 Head of the Pond Rd., Oak Bluffs. See July 27. |
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| Bird Walk with Robert Culbert | |||||||||||
 Sat, July 28, 2007Every Saturday from 8 to 11 a.m. meets at the high school parking lot. Cost is $25 per person to enjoy bird identification, ecology and behavior. For details, call 508-693-4908. |
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| Alpaca Farm Days | |||||||||||
| Sun, July 29, 2007 11 am-5 pm, Island Alpaca Company, 1 Head of the Pond Rd., Oak Bluffs. See July 27. |
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| Gardening Class | |||||||||||
 Sun, July 29, 20071-3 pm, Native Earth Teaching Farm, 94 North Rd., Chilmark. Rebecca Gilbert, planting for fall and winter salads. $15 per class. 508-645-3304. |
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| Art inspired by the Polly Hill Arboretum | |||||||||||
| Sun, July 29, 2007 Opening Reception 4-6 pm, Featherstone Center for the Arts, Barnes Rd., Oak Bluffs. Free. Show runs through August 8. 508-693-9426; 508-693-1850. |
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| Energy Update | |||||||||||
| The House’s Duty on Energy |
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| Recycle Update | |||||||||||
| Importing Sand, Glass May Help Restore Beaches |
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| Water Update | |||||||||||
| Closed to Shellfishing: Sengekontacket Pond Discussion Begins in Earnest |
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The Vineyard waters are threatened by excessive nitrogen loading into the groundwater. One of the main culprits is onsite septic systems. The island is in the middle of ongoing water testing studies that happen locally and also through the State’s Massachusetts Estuaries Project (MEP). We will be hearing from the State hopefully by the end of this month on their first findings from the Edgartown Great Pond. That pond will be a model for the other Great Ponds that are also in the study. The MV Water Alliance and the MV Commission Island Plan Water Resources group have been working together to consider a possible future Wastewater Management Program for the whole island. On July 11, the Martha’s Vineyard Water Alliance was very fortunate to have Lorraine Joubert, Director of the University of Rhode Island Coop Extension and the Non-Point Education for Municipal Offices, Bill Healy, Chairman (Block Island) EPA Demonstration Grant Steering Committee, and George Loomis, Director of the Onsite Training Center at URI, attend their meeting and share their expertise about the many aspects involved in starting up and coordinating a wastewater management program.
Nantucket waters among first for tidal energy 
The centerpiece of a generally constructive energy bill passed by the Senate last month was the first meaningful increase in fuel-efficiency standards for cars and light trucks in 30 years. The House version does not include such a provision, a serious shortcoming that Representative Ed Markey of Massachusetts will try to remedy with an amendment when debate begins. His amendment is vital. It is also a no-brainer. Without it the bill will fall embarrassingly short of what it could and should do to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil as well as its contribution to global warming.
Morning Edition, July 17, 2007 · Coastal engineers in Florida rebuild the beaches after hurricanes but their job is getting harder. Options to restore sand range from sand bypassing, which involves scooping up sand and carrying it past obstacles like ports, to grinding glass from bottles to the same size as a grain of sand.
The pond bottom and shoreline rocks below Rick Karney and Dave Grunden as they sit, discussing the reasons for this week's closure of Sengekontacket Pond to shellfishing, are green with weedy marine growth. Nearby a duck, which has been feeding on the weed, raises its tail and drops another little contribution of fecal matter into the water. Right on cue, as if to underline the point that Mr. Grunden, the Oak Bluffs shellfish constable, has just made.