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 Schedule for May/June 2008
Ground Breaking Ceremony at ARNWRSaturday, May 3rd, 2008 2:00 - 4:00 PM Join refuge staff and the Friends of the Assabet River NWR for a special afternoon as we celebrate the ground breaking for the new Eastern Massachusetts National Wildlife Refuge Complex visitor center! Our guest speaker will be Congresswoman Niki Tsongas who has been a supporter of refuge efforts and will share what having this visitor center in her district means to her. Staff from the selected contractor, Lumus Construction, Inc. will also be at the celebration to share their role in conservation Light refreshments will be provided by Lumus Construction, Inc. Immediately after the ceremony, there will be two walks on the refuge. Join Paul Boothroyd and Jan Wright for a historical walk and a look inside Bunker 303 (tentative) or join David Lange for an interpretive walk to Puffer Pond. Each walk should take approximately an hour. The event will be held rain or shine at Assabet River NWR. Enter the refuge from the Hudson Road entrance in Sudbury. Special access is permitted for this event to drive through entrance gate and follow Craven Lane on your right up to event location. VEHICLES PROHIBITED ON ANY OTHER ROADS AND TRAILS. For more information, please contact Susan J. Russo at 978-443-4661 x34 or Susan_J_Russo@fws.gov May Refuge Morning Birding WalkSunday, May 4th, 2008 7:00 AM Join the Friends of Assabet River NWR for a birding and interpretive walk on the refuge. Be prepared to walk. Meet at the main entrance to the Refuge on Hudson Road in Sudbury at 7 AM for this walk. The walk will be led by David Lange. The walk is cosponsored by the Brookline Bird Club. Refuge Fledglings Nature Hour: Watching for BirdsWednesday, May 7th, 2008 10:00 - 11:00 AM Looking for something fun to do with your toddler? Join the staff of the ARNWR for their new Refuge Fledglings Nature Hour. Learn about birds you'll see in your backyard and find out what they do all winter. Program will include crafts, stories and games. Geared towards 2 to 5 year olds. Siblings are welcome. Pre-registration not required. Program will be held RAIN or SHINE at Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters, 73 Weir Hill Road, Sudbury, MA 01776. Turtle Walk with Bryan WindmillerSaturday, May 10th, 2008 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM Join Bryan Windmiller (Wildlife Ecologist and Researcher) as we look for turtles and hatchlings and explore the exciting wildlife of Great Meadows NWR! Meet at the end of Monsen Road, Concord, MA in refuge parking area by observation tower at the Concord Impoundments. Pre-registration not required. Contact: Animals as Intermediaries at 978-369-2585 or sophie@aai-nature.org. International Migratory Bird DaySaturday, May 10th, 2008 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM Come join refuge staff for an event that truly is FOR THE BIRDS! We will have games, crafts, face painting, bird identification walks and a special mist-netting and bird banding demonstration. Pre-registration not required. Program will be held RAIN or SHINE at Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters, 73 Weir Hill Road, Sudbury, MA 01776. Annual Meeting of the Friends of the ARNWRWednesday, May 14th, 2008 7:00 PM Gordon Morrison talking on "Connecting to Nature Through Art" Join us on Wednesday, May 14 for the annual meeting of the Friends of Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge. We will feature Gordon Morrison and his program, "Connecting to Nature Through Art". Gordon Morrison is a well known naturalist, artist, and author. Through drawing and other means, he illustrates how adults as well as children can enhance their powers of observation and gain a better appreciation of the natural world. Among his many awards, Mr. Morrison was recipient of The John Burroughs Association award for his book, A Drop of Water, selected as one of the best nature books for children for 2006. His books include Oak Tree, Nature in the Neighborhood, Eagle, and Pond. He is also the illustrator for Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide, Peterson’s Field Guide to Eastern Forests, and The Concord Sudbury and Assabet Rivers: A Canoe Guide, to name a few. The talk will be preceeded by our annual business meeting at 7 PM. The meeting will be held at the Great Meadows NWR Headquarters on Weir Hill Road in Sudbury. Field Trip to the Great Falls Discovery CenterThursday, May 15th, 2008 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM Join us for a trip to the unique educational center at Great Falls Discovery Center, Silvio O. Conte NFWR, Turners Falls, MA. Explore the exhibits and become acquainted with the features and functions of a visitor center. Visit the bookstore. View migratory fish at the fish ladder viewing station. To carpool, meet at 8 AM at Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters, 73 Weir Hill Road, Sudbury, MA, OR meet group at the Discovery Center at 10 AM. Visit will wrap-up by 1 PM, so carpoolers can return to Sudbury by 3 PM. Pre-registration is required. To register or if you have any questions, contact Susan J. Russo at 978-443-4661 x34 or Susan_J_Russo@fws.gov. Indicate whether or not you will to carpool. Please register by May 8. For more information about this partnership refuge located in the Connecticut River Watershed, click here. For directions, click here. A Sense of Place: Native Plant Walk at Great Meadows NWRSaturday, May 17th, 2008 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM First in a series of free walks exploring the seasonal unfolding of plants and environments at Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge located in Concord, MA. All ages welcome. Led by Cherrie Corey, Naturalist. Cherrie has been a student of native plants, plant medicine, and indigenous and artistic uses of wild plants and a neighbor to Great Meadows for more than 30 years. She was the New England Wild Flower Society’s first Education Director in the late 1970’s, a board member for the Massachusetts Environmental Education Society, and former Executive Director of the Harvard U. Museums of Cultural and Natural History. Bring binoculars if you have them and come prepared to walk some distance. No pre-registration required. We will meet in the parking lot by the observation tower on Monsen Rd. in Concord (off Rte 62). For questions, call Susan Russo (USFWS) 978- 443-4661 x34 or email at Susan_J_Russo@fws.gov Annual Fishing EventSaturday, May 31st, 2008 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM Join refuge staff and MassWildlife Angler Expert - Jim Lagacy for a day filled with fishy fun! Learn how to fly-cast, spin-cast, and even tie your own fly. Equipment will be provided. We will have games, crafts and face painting as well. Although we'll be practicing "catch and release", we hope to demonstrate how to filet a fish too! Boy Scouts – you can earn your Fly-fishing merit badge on this day. Pre-registration not required. Program will be held RAIN or SHINE at Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters, 73 Weir Hill Road, Sudbury, MA 01776. Contact Susan Russo at Susan_J_Russo@fws.gov or 978-443-4661 x34 for more information or to volunteer. June Monthly Friends MeetingWednesday, June 25th, 2008 7:00 PM Cynthia Menard talking on "Wolves in New England?" Are there wolves in New England and if not, will there ever be? Can wolves and people live together harmoniously? Have you ever heard the howl of a wolf in the wild? Cynthia Menard, an educator with the MetroWest YMCA will present a s lide show and discussion about the history, ecology and future of this amazing animal. Come join us to hear wolves howling, touch real wolf fur, and find out first-hand how large a wolf's canine tooth really is! Cynthia Menard has her Masters degree in Conservation Biology from Antioch New England Graduate School. She spent two years tracking and mapping predators in northern Massachusetts for her Master's Thesis, and co-led a trip of her graduate peers to Yellowstone National Park to study wolf ecology with park biologists. She currently teaches animal tracking throughout Massachusetts, and works as a Naturalist and Assistant Camp Director for the MetroWest YMCA in Hopkinton, MA. A short business meeting at 7 PM will be followed by our guest speaker. The meeting will be held at the Great Meadows NWR Headquarters on Weir Hill Road in Sudbury. Naturalist ReaderThursday, June 26th, 2008 6:30 - 8:00 PM If you've been looking for a chance to blend an evening of nature and stimulating adult conversation into your busy schedule, look no further! Join us for a new nature and education themed reading group. The April Book Selection is Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. For more information about Rachel Carson and the centennial of her birth, click here. The group meets at the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters at 73 Weir Hill Road in Sudbury, MA. It will meet the last Thursday of each even-numbered month.
Please pre-register by June 15th by calling 978-443-4661 x34. For more information, please feel free to contact Susan Russo at 978-443-4661 x34 or email at Susan_J_Russo@fws.gov. DirectionsWeir Hill Road is off Lincoln Road in Sudbury, which can be reached via route 126 and Sherman's Bridge Road (Wayland), or via routes 117 or 27 and Concord Road (Concord or Sudbury). Link to Google Map for directions. Meeting ScheduleBusiness meetings are held monthly at Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters, 73 Weir Hill Road in Sudbury, MA at 7:00pm on the last Wednesday of each month, followed by presentations. For information, call Refuge headquarters at 978 443-4661. |
