GREENWAY GAZETTEM O O S E M O U N T A I N S R E G I O N A L G R E E N W A Y S

Volume 17 Issue 1 Winter 2018

Contact us:Moose Mountains

Regional Greenways PO Box 191

Union, NH 03887

(603) 473-2020

info@mmrg.info

www.mmrg.info

Visit us on Facebook

Inside this issue:

WWW Festival Permaculture Garden . . . . 2

From the Director . . . . . . . 4

Working the Plan . . . . . . . 4

MOOSE-ie Birding . . . . . . 5

MMRG Sponsors Two Eagle Scouts from Troop 165 . . 6

2017 Business Sponsors . 6

2017 Member Donors . . . 7

WidowMaker Farm . . . . . . 8

Thank You to our Dedicated Volunteers . . . 9

Woods, Water & Wildlife Festival Underwriters: . . 10

MMRG Secures Three Grants Totaling $215,500 to Conserve Leary Field and Forest in Farmington: LCHIP, Moose Plate & ALESThe Natural Resource Conservation

Service kicked-off the funding for the

Leary Fields & Forest (LF&F) project with a

$92,500 grant from the Agricultural Lands

Easement (ALES) program. The ALES grant

guarantees that the 63+ acres of land

will be conserved forever as farmland.

Subsequent grants and donations have

confirmed the merits of the project.

Generous grants were also received from

New Hampshire Land and Community

Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP)

and NH State Conservation Commission’s

Moose Plate. With the grants, early private

donations, and a commitment from the

Town of Farmington, MMRG has raised

slightly over 90% of the $277,370 that is

needed to conserve this land. To learn

more about Leary Field and Forest, please

refer to MMRG”s website at: www.mmrg.

info/category/conservation-news/.

Continued on page 3

Photo by Bob Leary Photo by Kirsten Gehl

2 Greenway Gazette

Board of DirectorsBrookfieldNicole Csiszer

(Vice Chair)

Farmingtonopen

MiddletonJack Savage (Chair)

Emily Lord

MiltonCynthia Wyatt

New DurhamLorraine Drake

Ron Gehl

WakefieldBruce Rich (Treasurer)

Nancy Spencer Smith

WolfeboroArt Slocum (Secretary)

Dan Coons

At LargeKam Damtoft

Wendy Scribner

Ian Whitmore

Staff

Executive Director

Patti

Connaughton-Burns

Administrative

Assistant

Amy Gardner

Public Relations

Coordinator

Virginia Long

Education

Coordinator

Kari Lygren

Newsletter design by JLM Graphics

MMRG’s MissionTo identify and conserve important natural

resource areas, including water resources,

farm and forest lands, wildlife habitat,

recreational areas, cultural and scenic areas.

To educate others about these efforts. To join

together protected lands to form greenways.

Serving: Brookfield, Farmington, Middleton,

Milton, New Durham, Wakefield & Wolfeboro

Map prepared by D. Sundquist, GreenFire GIS

The 15th annual Woods, Water & Wildlife Festival features a Permaculture GardenClose to 700 people joined in a multitude

of activities celebrating the great outdoors

as part of our 15th annual Woods, Water

& Wildlife Festival. Presented with Branch

Hill Farm in Milton Mills, this annual festival

provided a day of fun, exploration and

educational opportunities for families,

part of our effort to nurture the next

generation of conservationists.

Continued on page 11

Permaculture Garden from the 2017 Woods, Water & Wildlife Festival.

Greenway Gazette 3

MMRG is positioned to conserve

and ultimately become the owners

of the 63+ acres of Leary Field and

Forest, with its prime agricultural

soils and the adjacent conserved

77+ acre wetlands reserve (WRP).

Combined, these 140 acres will

provide revenue and resources from

the working farm and forest; public

access on existing recreational trails

that cross historic bridges; protection

to critical watersheds; habitat and

connectivity for wildlife habitat; and

more. As an added bonus there are

panoramic views from Leary Hill that

extend to Maine and to Hampshire’s

seashore. The protection of these

conservation, recreation and cultural

values provide benefit to current and

future generations. Please consider

a donation so that we can complete

the fundraising portion of the project

before Summer 2018.

Please put my donation of $ right to work for the Leary Field and Forest Project!

Name:

Business:

Street or PO Box:

City, State, Zip:

Phone:

Email:

For information, call: Patti Connaughton-Burns at (603) 473-2020 or

email at: info@mmrg.info.

Please send donations to MMRG or make an on-line donation from the

mmrg.info home page at “Donate Now”.

Donations in excess of the target goal to conserve LF&F will be used to

jump-start the next conservation project and we will notify you! Thank

you!! MMRG is a non-profit 501 c3 organization.

“Leary” from page 1

Photo by Kirsten Gehl

4 Greenway Gazette

From the DirectorOn a cold winter’s eve a small group

gathered to sings songs of gratitude

in the rustic Middleton Community

Church that is nestled in the Moose

Mountains. Pastor Gardner then spoke

about a time, not so long ago, when

winter provided an opportunity to slow

down. The crops had been harvested,

wood cut and piled, and people looked

forward to a quiet, peaceful break. This

was a time for retrospection, renewal of

friendships, and gathering with family.

Asked to think about what we are most

thankful for, I found myself focusing on

those who support MMRG as volunteers

and donors. I am also grateful for the

land owners who choose to conserve

their land so that wildlife habitat will

be protected forever; prime soils will

grow crops for future generations;

mountain streams will continue to

flow freely to rivers and lakes; aquifers

will be protected for drinking water;

people will have places to hike; and

a New Hampshire way of life will be

preserved. These are priceless gifts to

future generations, to wildlife, and to

our planet.

Working the PlanAfter completing the Regional

Conservation Action Plan, “Our

Home Our Land Our Tomorrow”,

MMRG asked our 7 towns how

they might use the plan to

enhance their own conservation

efforts. We’ve heard enthusiastic

feedback and intent to use

the local values sections or to

incorporate the focus areas into

their natural resource inventories.

The feedback from Wolfeboro’s

town planner Matt Sullivan, truly

takes the plan in a direction that

we at MMRG imagined possible.

In a recent conversation Town of

Wolfeboro Planner Matt Sullivan,

we learned how Wolfeboro’s

Master Plan update will benefit

from the Conservation Action

Plan.

Matt explained: “During the

Town’s search process for a

consultant to lead the Mater Plan

Update, the Town of Wolfeboro

was committed to working

with a planning consultant who

could effectively incorporate the

community’s strong tradition

of natural resource protection

and land conservation efforts.

The choice to partner with

Steve Whitman of Resilience

Planning & Design and Dan

Sundquist of GIS GreenFire,

who bring their expertise and a

strong local knowledge as the

developer of MMRG’s Regional

Conservation Plan, was an

incredible opportunity for the

Town. Wolfeboro is fortunate

to have a strong Conservation

Commission, a recently updated

Natural Resource Inventory,

and several strong advocacy

groups dedicated to natural

resource protection. However,

having a partner that looks

beyond political boundaries

towards larger, more holistic

resource planning presents both

challenges and opportunities

for Wolfeboro and surrounding

communities. MMRG’s

Conservation Action Plan is an

incredible asset for our planning

process. The MMRG Plan is a

critical building block in the

Town’s foundation for its future

planning efforts and we look

forward to working with them to

protect our region’s cherished

natural resources.

You can view the entire plan on

our website at: www.mmrg.info/

conservation-planning-in-our-

region/.

Patricia Connaughton-Burns, Executive Director

Greenway Gazette 5

Four Seasons of MOOSE-ie BirdingLast spring, MMRG

launched a new program

as a member’s benefit: a

Members Only Outdoor

& Social Events (MOOSE-

ie) Birders, a monthly

birdwatching group. Since

April the group has grown

to nearly 20 birders — both

novice and experienced

and once a month we have

visited some of the region’s

birding “hot spots” mainly

on conserved lands.

April was Woodcocks, an

evening adventure on lawn chairs

watching their dramatic mating

flights and listening to their comical

‘peent’ call above the conserved

blueberry fields on Teneriffe

Mountain (Milton). May was spring

songbirds in diverse fields, ponds,

and wooded paths of soon-to-be-

conserved WidowMaker Farm (New

Durham). June was a plethora of

Bobolinks bursting into flight and

bubbly song as they hovered over

another soon to be conserved land,

the scenic hay field of Leary Field and

Forest (Farmington). In July at Union

Meadows Wildlife Management Area

(Wakefield) we focused on breeding

birds, those species that nest, raise

their young and then may migrate

south, like the melodic thrushes

singing with enchantment. We also

saw the year-round resident hairy

woodpecker feeding its young. In

August, Pickering Ponds in Rochester

was a-buzz with warblers and other

songbirds, field-nesting species,

shore birds and ducks, swallows,

swifts, and more.

September saw us back on Teneriffe

as we searched the skies for

migrating hawks and enjoyed each

other’s tales of recent

bird sightings. For our

October outing on Piper

Mountain (Middleton), the

late-migrating warblers

and vireos overlapped with

winter regulars like the

white-throated sparrows,

just arrived back in NH from

their breeding grounds

in Canada, chickadees,

titmice, nuthatches, and

woodpeckers. November

brought us to Wolfeboro

ponds that were teaming

with bird life: hooded

mergansers, common mergansers,

American coot, mallard, Canada

goose, golden-crowned kinglet,

brown creeper, and many common

feeder birds.

To join us, contact me at virginia.

mmrg@gmail.com. I’ll explain how

you become an MMRG member and

about our next birding event. Thank

you to those who welcomed us to

their properties: Victor Piekarski and

Gloria Switalski, Bob and Debbie

Leary, and Cindy Barstow.

This article was prepared by Virginia Long.

MMRG Member Judy Russell of Wolfeboro was the

first to correctly identify the species in the Summer

Newsletter’s “What’s That Bird” Challenge as the

Bobolink. Bobolinks can be seen perched on a

grass stem or fluttering low over meadows and

hayfields, the male’s bubbly song can fill the air.

In breeding season, you cannot mistake the black

and white male with its straw-yellow head. The

female’s plumage is a subtle brown. Though they’re

still fairly common breeding birds in grasslands

of the northeast, bobolink numbers are declining

due to habitat loss. Bobolinks migrate south

before summer ends. According to the Cornell

Ornithology Labs’ website “All About Birds”, they

travel about 12,500 miles round-trip every year,

in one of the longest migrations of any songbird

in the New World. From their northern breeding

grounds they fly in groups through Florida and

across the Gulf of Mexico toward their wintering

grounds in the central interior of South America.

Su

mm

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“Wh

at’s

Th

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” an

swer

caption

6 Greenway Gazette

MMRG Sponsors Two Eagle Scouts from Troop 165Over the past year, MMRG provided

support for two Eagle Scout projects

by members of Wolfeboro’s Troop

165, Liam Morrissey and Dawson

Allwine. MMRG’s role was to facilitate

initial connections for the scouts

by introducing them to the project

needs and project players. From

there the scouts lead the projects and

interacted with others to help them

complete their projects.

Scout Liam Morrissey installed a

sign along the Cotton Valley Rail

Trail. Liam Morrisey’s Eagle Scout

project evolved from an earlier

MMRG request to put interpretive

signs about natural features on the

newest section of the Cotton Valley

Rail Trail in Wakefield. When the

original idea became unfeasible, Liam

focused instead on an interesting

historical feature: The Pike Mill Dam,

which is visible from the trail near the

Clark Road crossing. Liam obtained

permission from the landowner to

place a sign on the property and

conducted research, with help from

the Brookfield Heritage Commission,

to write a passage about the mill’s

history. With the funds he raised,

Liam was able to get the informative

sign fabricated and installed at the

site. Be sure to look for Liam’s work

when traveling on this section of the

Cotton Valley Rail Trail!

Scout Dawson Allwine created and

installed signs and blazed trails

along the WidowMaker Farm (WFM)

property in New Durham. MMRG

raised the funds to conserve WMF

and the conservation easement

is scheduled for completion this

spring. The easement will be held by

MMRG. Last year, Dawson responded

to MMRG’s newsletter outreach in

search of a volunteer to make trail

signs on this tract that is open for

low-impact, non-vehicular public

use, such as hiking and snowshoeing.

Dawson worked closely with the land

owners, Victor Piekarski and Gloria

Switalski. Victor wrote the following:

“When Gloria and I were approached

by MMRG with the idea of having

Dawson Allwine perform his Eagle

Scout project at WidowMaker Farm

we were on board. After working with

Dawson and the rest of Troop 165, it

became a great experience that we

will always treasure. We look forward

to our future interaction with the

troop.”

A Big Thank You to the 2017 Business Sponsors Ilex Wetlands Consultants — 3rd Annual Snowshoe Race and

5th Annual Conservation Commission Mixer

Norm Vetter Foundations — Annual Meeting

Access Sports Medicine — Branch River Paddle

Land Bank of Wolfeboro-Tuftenboro — Branch River Paddle

M&M Boat Storage — Branch River Paddle

Parker’s Accounting — Conservation Action Plan Roll out

Wentworth Watershed Association — Conservation Action Plan Roll out

Wolfeboro Oil — 3rd Annual Snowshoe Race

The WWW Festival Sponsors are separately listed on page 10.

Scouts Liam Morrissey & Dawson AllwinePhoto by Elissa Paquette

Scout Dawson Allwine

Greenway Gazette 7

Moose DonorsBill BassettBarbara & Paul BerryAnonymousJonathan & Anne NuteNorman Vetter Inc. Poured

FoundationsCynthia WyattCarl Siemon Family Charitable

Trust

Black Bear DonorsMerrymeeting Lake AssociationGay BradfordCatherine FernaldFrank FrazierEOS Research Ltd.Ron & Paula GehlIlex Wetlands ConsultantsLauren NelsonBruce & Jennifer RichBeverly SiemonKathy SiemonDwight WyattWentworth Watershed AssociationWolfeboro Oil Company, Inc.

Coyote DonorsEllen & Shaun BerrySharon & Dave ButtrickJoyce El KouartiMark Fagan & Patricia WentworthBen FaganChristopher SherrillBuzz & Robyn ShielyDana Zulager

Red Fox DonorsPhil & Carolyn AugerKatherine BarnardDottie BeanDan & Jan BellMarjorie BergCharles & Barbara BridgesSherry BryantPatti & Steven ChappellElizabeth ConnerThomas & Andrea CostelloCharles Crespi & Dorothy SteimelWentworth Hunt ClubRichard DesRochesPeter DingerSusan & Joel DucharmeBarry ElliottKirt & Maureen Gillum

Gary GouldJack HealeyHersom LoggingWilliam & Cynthia HohenbergerChris & Paige HolmanJanice & Gregg HunterNancy & James InsleyPriscilla & Sheldon JonesTheodore & Nicholas KowalchynJoanne & Paul KrajeskiDavid & Sheila LarsonJohn LawJoan & John LygrenDouble M Bookkeepping & Bldg

ServicesCarolyn & Gordon PageThe Music MillJill & George PaulVictor Piekarski & Gloria SwitalskiCurtis & Stephanie RichardPeter & Susan RogersBill & Terry SammisLinda & John SchierNancy Spencer SmithMark & Carolyn SullivanJones Brook LLPNorway Plains AssociatesStephanie & Glenn ThorntonCynthia Towle & Geraldine MooreRachel & John TowneNorm & Doris TurgeonJohn WallaceGerald & Maria WentworthMariko Yamasaki & Gary GetchellTown of BrookfieldTown of FarmingtonTown of MiltonTown of WolfeboroTown of MiddletonTown of New DurhamTown of Wakefield

Red-tailed Hawk DonorsJeanne C. AchilleLinda BatesRaymond & Ruth BoydMargaret CampbellGary ChagMatt ChagnonMichael ChaputLeslie & Constance ChaseRoger ComeauPatricia Connaughton-BurnsTom Daniels

Michael & Patricia DeSantisDawn & Lane EvansSusann Foster Brown & Larry

BrownTom & Amy GardnerJames & Donna-Belle GarvinJoe Gauci Landscaping, LLCRuth GutmanBetty John & Rob PareChristine Kirby & Ronald DolanSandra KreissRichard & Gail KushnerJerome Lang, MDMelody LaRocheBob & Debbie LearyMartin LeeEmily Lord & Darin RadatzBill MaloneyJennifer & Bob McKownMoreno ForestryRoger & Linda MurrayBob Naeger & Ellen PrangJohn NolanCarol & James NuppDavid OwenCyndi & Mark PaulinMason B. PeckRichard & Diana PeckhamChris & Michele PentaMartha PikeBarbara PomroyGregg & Mary PostonMarilyn RaymondJohn & Judy RussellMichael & Deborah SchneiderKaren & Robert ServacekKelley & Jim ShimanskySandra SimonsenBernard SinkonisMallory StephensSteve & Janice SundellCarolyn & Ron SundquistPat & Jim TheisenPam WigginPeter & Jean Wons

Chickadee DonorsLaurie Adamson & Dennis CrouseJosh Arnold & Molly MessengerRichard BallouMary & Robert BarnumIngrid & Thomas BarryElizabeth BohnErnest & Susan Brown

William J. Callahan, Jr.John & Janet ChapinNicole Csiszer & Jim CowlesColleen & Francisco DasilvaCarl Davis & Ellen TarboxEric DecoteauWendy DeCroteauResta DetwilerFrankie DinneenGary & Sherry DugasRichard EganJames & Faith FenskeGeorge GaillardetzBeverly & Clarence GarnettBob GarnettAdele GarvinTom & Cheryl GiguerePersis HildebrandtNichole HunterPeg HurdGerald & Linda KirouacDuff & Jeannie LewisSusan LohseBill & Jean MalayJim & Carol MatthewNoreen McDonaldMcEneaney Survey AssociatesKim McStayJonathan & Deborah MillerCatherine & Don MillsEdward Hamlin MorrisonThomas & Sandra MynczyworWilliam & Marcia NorrisLee & Doris PrescottLaurel & Stephen ReadingGordon & Irene RhynerEdward & Martha RoundyJon & Joanie SamuelsonKarla SanbornKaren Santoro-NasonFrank ScarpaRegina & William ShermanDana & Carol SimpsonStephen SnowMark & Susan StengelJeff TarboxEric & Patti ThomasBetsy TinkhamChip TothillBob & Tracy WagnerRick WehrhanJane WilsonJane WingateHerbert, Kathy, & Corey Wood

A Big Thank Youto all our 2017 Member DonorsMMRG Relies on Your Support!

Thank you to all who donated to the 2017

Membership drive that started in November

2016 and ended in October 2017. Your

membership contribution enables us to carry

on the land conservation and educational

outreach work that you value so much!

Donations to our current appeal can be made

through the mail.

8 Greenway Gazette

Anonymous Family Foundation

Anonymous Donor

Mary & Robert Barnum

Ingrid & Thomas Barry

James and Louise Barwell

Dottie Bean

Dan & Jan Bell

Barbara & Paul Berry

Ellen & Shaun Berry

Anthony & Debra Bonanno

Gary Chag

Deborah and Michael Charness

Timothy Collins

Elizabeth Conner

Nicole Csiszer & Jim Cowles

Richard & Pauline Davenport

Vivian & Raymond Dion

Norman Dudziak & Damaris Rohsenow

Norma & Bud Dyer

Barry Elliott

Susan Fuller

Adele Garvin

Carolyn & Ronald Hanson

Ken and Susan Harvey

Adele & Roger Haskell

Ann & Maurice Hatch

William & Cynthia Hohenberger

Don & Gail Holm

Bruce Hoogesteger

Hope Jahn

Jody & Bill Johansen

William Kaspriski

Theodore & Nicholas Kowalchyn

Jim & Carol Matthew

Douglas & Susan Molin

Edward Hamlin Morrison

Robert Newcombe

Carol & James Nupp

Thomas & Denise O’Grady

Steve Panish & Virginia Long

Cyndi & Mark Paulin

Gregg & Mary Poston

Paul & Susan Raslavicius

Darayl Remick & Mary Ulinski

Bruce & Jennifer Rich

Curtis & Stephanie Richard

Damon & Constance Russell

Jack Savage

Regina & William Sherman

Bernard Sinkonis

Laurence & Judith Skog

Art & Lynne Slocum

Nancy Stock / Meredith Village Savings Bank

Mark & Carolyn Sullivan

Barbara Sweet

Leslie Takao & David Ripianzi

Peg Trout

Donna Vello

Gerald & Maria Wentworth

Margaret & Richard Wessell

Ruth Whipple

Cynthia Wyatt

Janet Wyatt

Philip Zaeder & Sylvia Thayer

Scouts at WidowMaker Pond after a day of trailblazing. Photo by Victor Piekarski

Photo by Emily Lord

Photo by Emily Lord

WidowMaker Farm is scheduled to be conserved forever in March 2018MMRG is grateful to the Town of New Durham who

committed a $10,000 to this effort and to LCHIP for the

$15,000 grant that was the catalyst to this conservation

project.

Seventy members of the MMRG community donated

to the campaign to conserve WidowMaker Farm. Your

donations were used to match the LCHIP grant for

transaction and stewardship fees that are necessary to

place a conservation easement on a property. For many

months MMRG has been sharing the conservation values

of this parcel. We could not have done this without you!

Greenway Gazette 9

Join MMRG for a Winter Hike at Leary Field and ForestJoin us in Farmington on March 4 to celebrate

conservation at Leary Field & Forest. We planned a fun

snowshoe hike along the farm trails and through the

sugar bush, to the top of Leary Hill; and along trails of the

Wetlands Reserve Area that cross historic stone bridges.

This walk features guide Wendy Scribner, UNH Extension

Foreter and MMRG Board Member. See the Calendar of

Events on page 11 for more info.

A Heartfelt Thank-You to Dedicated Volunteers You bring skills, strengths and sense of humor that benefit MMRG’s events, programs, and projects.

2017 VolunteersPhil AugerJon BatsonCindy BarstowDottie BeanMichelle BeauchampBonnie BonneauJean BowlerCharlie BridgesLarry BrownDave ButtrickSharon ButtrickDan CoonsCassie CoonsJim CowlesNicole CsiszerHenry CundillKatharine CundillKam DamtoftDave DathChuck DoughtyLorraine DrakeWendy DeCroteauNancy DrewRichard EganTripp EganDawn Evans

Darrell FordTom GardnerAlex GehlRon GehlCheryl GiguereEmily GiguereTom GiguereSwee GlennJohn GrayRuth GutmanBrad HelferDon HolmGail HolmPeg HurdTheodore KowalchynJohn LawDeb LawrenceDebbie LearyMary LenzenJanice LongTim LongEmily LordSheehan LygrenGeorge MainBill MalayJean MalayJim Matthew

John McCallisterTyler McFarlinAnnie McKenzieJock McKenzieBob McKownJennifer McKownJonathan MillerCharlie MorenoCindy MuellerRay MullettJane NielsenRobert NielsenJon NuteCyndi PaulinEmily PaulinMatt PaulinSteve PanishVictor PiekarskiDoris PrescottLee PrescottGreg PostonMary PostonBruce RichAnnie RobbinsDebbie RomaniacAshleigh RoseMelanie Rothbaum

Wendy ScribnerKaren ServacekArt SlocumNancy Spencer SmithStephen SnowDan StepanaukusGloria SwitalskiScott TaatjesJeff TarboxSteve ThompsonKevin TiltonRachel TowneAnnarie Van CoesantKate WilcoxCynthia WyattBrian WyattJanet Wyatt

Photo by Kate Wilcox

10 Greenway Gazette

thank you!to the 15th Annual Woods, Water & Wildlife

Festival Underwriters: Branch Hill Farm / Carl Siemon Family Charitable Trust

And the Festival Sponsors, Co-sponsors, Supporters and In-kind Donors:

$1,000 Sponsors:

DF Richard Energy

The Hays-Dombrower Family

Norman Vetter Inc. Poured Foundations

Bruce & Jennifer Rich

S&S Plumbing and Heating, LLC

Carl & Beth Ann Siemon

The Wyatt Family

The Wyatt Family

$500-$999 Co-sponsors:

Dottie Bean

Charlie Moreno Consulting Forester

Devonshire Realty

Eastern Boats, Inc.

EOS Research , Ltd.

The Frank Massin Agency, Inc.

Great East Lake Improvement Association

Gene Hays

Liberty Mutual Insurance

MapleStone Farm

Milton Veterinary Clinic

New England Furniture

Profile Bank

Proulx Oil and Propane

Beverly Siemon

Wentworth Hunt Club

$250-$499 Co-sponsors:B&B Auto & RV Service Center

Sharon & Dave Buttrick

Dave Hutchins Builders

Donald F. Whittum Law Office PLLC

Evergreen Valley Snowmobile Club

Index Packaging, Inc.

Jay Fortune Custom Carpentry

Land Bank of Wolfeboro-Tuftonboro, Inc.

Law Office of L. Bradley Helfer

David Levin & Marty Conant

Longmeadow Construction

Susan Marique

McKenzie’s Farm

Norway Plains Associates, Inc.

Mikel Ann O’Brien

Patrick Stevens Contracting

Poor People’s Pub

ReVision Energy

Sebastian Septic Service LLC

Art & Lynne Slocum

Stop Drops & Roll

Sylvia Thayer & Philip Zaeder

The Music Mill

Three Ponds Protective Association

Trager Massage, Inc.

Wakefield Inn and Restaurant

Janet Wyatt

Mariko Yamasaki & Gary Getchell

$100-$249 Supporters:Farmington Fish and Game Club, Inc.

Holy Rosary Credit Union

Jobin Electrical

Lilac Printing & Design

Meredith Village Savings Bank

Milton Hardware LLC

The Orlando and Prussen Families

RE/MAX Realty Group

CK & Jen Siemon

John & Pamela Siemon

Winning Landscapes

In-kind Donors:Butternut Farm

Sharon Buttrick

C&R Blueberries

Colleen’s Hair Salon

Kam Damtoft

Freedom Way Farm LLC

Peg Hurd

David Levin & Marty Conant

Virginia Long & Steve Panish

McKenzie’s Farm

Meadow View Sugar House

Milton Free Library

Milton Hardware

John Nolan

Pat’s Prims

The Pink House

Rochester Toyota

Sheehan Gardens & Homestead

Squam Lakes Natural Science Center

Susann Foster-Brown Studio

Usborne Books & More

Cynthia Wyatt

Greenway Gazette 11

Calendar of EventsDates / Times Event and Location

Saturday, February 24, 10–11:30am Little Trackers — A MOOSE-ies for Families Event in Milton

Sunday, March 4, 12:30—3:30pm Snowshoe & Sugaring Walk. Leary Field and Forest featuring Wendy

Scribner, UNH Extension Forester and MMRG Board Member.

Pre-register in advance.

Monday, March 26, 5:30–8:30pm (Snow

date: March 27 same time/place)

Annual Meeting and Silent Auction @ The Barn, Inn on Main in

Wolfeboro. Purchase tickets in advance.

Saturday, April 14 (Time To Be Announced) Grafting Workship with Jared Kane, Apple Orchardist

Sunday, May 20, 1:30–3:30pm, New Durham Ponding for Pollywogs & More with Sally Cornwell — A MOOSE-ies

for Families Event in New Durham

Saturday, May 27 @ 10am – 2pm Annual Branch River Paddle

MMRG announces its events by email, our website, in newspapers, and Facebook. Announcements

provide details about registration and directions. For additional information contact Education

Coordinator Kari Lygren at (603) 978-7125 or email info@mmrg.info. Please, no pets!

While handing out Conservation

Quest awards at the MMRG display

booth, I listened to children sharing

about the events. The overwhelming

favorite was Nature’s Playground. In

that outdoor ‘green gym’ set among

tall trees and ferns, kids discovered

a myriad of ways to play: swing on

a rope, jump between log stumps,

climb on a treehouse, walk along a

fallen log, or pass through a giant

twine spider web. Fishing in the

pond was another popular activity,

especially when there was a catch to

report.

A new Festival Permaculture Garden

Maze was part of MMRG’s 2017

focus on permaculture. It featured

winding paths among raised beds

of organically-grown vegetables,

herbs and edible flowers, created

by Sheehan Gardens, an heirloom

vegetable and catering business in

Milton Mills, with help from MMRG

volunteers. During the Festival,

owners Sheehan Lygren and Gracie

Allen answered questions while

busily trellising tomatoes. Reflecting

back on the day, Sheehan noted

that “People were really interested

in all the different varieties, like husk

cherries [also known as ground

cherries, a small light orange

fruit enclosed in a papery husk

and reminiscent of a tiny sweet

tomato], which most people had

never seen before. Kids enjoyed the

permaculture garden too. They liked

walking underneath the hoop trellis

of hanging gourds and volunteers

helped them plant sunflower seeds

into compostable pots to grow at

home.

The dedicated Festival sponsors are

thanked on page 10. At MMRG we

know that the WWW Festival success

is the end result of a loyal and reliable

crew of volunteers, some whom even

showed up in early spring to help

install the permaculture garden!

This article was prepared by Virginia Long, MMRG PR Coordinator

“Permaculture” from page 2

Challenge: What’s that bird?

Can you identify the bird in the

picture?. Be the first to send your

response to info@mmrg.info. In

the next newsletter we’ll reveal the

name of the bird, the first person

to submit the correct ID, and tell

you a bit about the species and its

habitat!

(Photo courtesy of Virginia Long)

PO Box 191 • Union, NH 03887

Working to conserve the special places of the Moose Mountains region.

The 4th Annual Moose Mountains Runaround, a fundraiser to benefit MMRG,

was held at Abenaki Ski Area on January 20 and it was followed by a family-

friendly Snowshoe Shuffle. We thank Event

Sponsor: Wolfeboro Oil; Food Donors:

Huck’s Hoagies and The Works Bakery Cafe;

Prizes: Nordic Ski and Made on Earth. A big

thanks to loyal and energetic Volunteers

who made soup and chili, set up the course,

registered participants, and made this event

a success. Also, tons of appreciation to

Abenaki Ski Area for a terrific venue and so

much more!

Moose Mountains Runaround Snowshoe Race

Photos by Emily Lord