Previous Programs
2024 Workshops
Winter Sowing Workshop
Join us for a winter sowing workshop. Winter sowing is an easy and fun way to propagate native plants, as well as garden plants. The technique requires minimal equipment-no greenhouses or artificial lights-just some plastic milk jugs and duct tape!
We will have all necessary supplies: native wildflower seeds, for soil, milk jugs, duct tape, and marking pens. Feel free to bring any additional seeds you would like to try, and also please bring any rinsed out gallon size milk jugs you can. Everyone will leave with at least 2-3 mini-greenhouses to care for at home. (And by “care for,” we mean just set it outside and wait.)
Some of the species we will be planting:
- Yellow Coneflower. Ratibida pinnata – Native to large parts of the eastern and midwestern US.
- Ohio or Smooth Spiderwort. Tradescantia ohiensis – Native to Massachusetts.
- Hairy or Northeastern Beardtongue. Penstemon hirsutus – Native to MA
- Spotted Beebalm. Monarda punctata – Native to parts of Massachusetts and other New England states.
- Golden Alexanders. Zizia aurea – Native to MA
- New England Aster. Symphotrichum novae-angliae – Native to MA
FOOD PRESERVATION
Freezing and Dehydrating
Presented by Nicole Richard, Research Associate/Food Safety Specialist, University of Rhode Island, Cooperative Extension Food Safety Education Program.
Watch On Demand
Pressure and Hot Water Bath Canning
Presented by Nicole Richard, Research Associate/Food Safety Specialist, University of Rhode Island, Cooperative Extension Food Safety Education Program
Watch On Demand
2022 Webinar Series
Winter Forest Walk: Forestry for the Birds
March TBD
Location: Maniha Property, Petersham MA.
Speakers: Mike Barry, Professional Forester
Andrew Rawcliffe, Service Forester, MA Department of Conservation and Recreation, Bureau of Forest Fire Control and Forestry
Mike Barry and Andrew Rawcliffe will lead the walk and describe how to assess foresters for bird habitat. We will see different stands in which forestry was used to improve habitat for birds at risk.
Link to the Foresters for the Birds Information
Winter Forest Walk: Indicators of Forest Health
March 5, Saturday form 10:00 am to 12:00 noon
Location: Cedar Hill at Crane Swamp in Marlborough/Northboro.
Speakers: Laura Mattei, Director of Stewardship, Sudbury Valley Trustees
Laura Mattei will lead the walk and describe indicators of forest health. We will see these indicators as we visit two forest stands where we can compare their differences in forest health.
Cedar Hill, Marlborough/Northborough
For the north entrance, take Route 495 to exit 62 (Simarano Drive exit). Continue to the lights at the end of the exit ramp. Take a left at the lights onto Simarano Drive. Continue to another set of lights and take a right onto Cedar Hill Street. Parking for the reservation is at 360 Cedar Hill Street. The entrance will be on your left across from Forest Street. There is ample parking, labeled with SVT signs, immediately on your right. A trail easement, marked by posts and SVT markers leads around the wetlands and to a kiosk behind the buildings.
Click here to visit Google Maps for specific directions from your home.
Link to Cedar Hill trail map and info:
https://www.svtweb.org/properties/page/cedar-hill-and-sawink-farm-northborough-and-westborough
Link to the Forest Health booklet.
Lunch Time Webinar: How Can a Forester Help You?
Watch on Demand
Friday February 25, 2022 at 12:00 noon
Speaker: Joe Smith, owner of Woodsman, Inc., Professional Forester
Winter Forest Walk: Long and Short Term Views
Wednesday, February 16, at 12:00-2:00pm
Location: West Street & Poduck Road, East Brookfield, MA
Lunch Time Webinar: New England’s Changing Forests
Friday, February 11, 2022 at 12:00 noon.
Speaker: Jonathan Thompson, Senior Ecologist at Harvard Forest, Petersham, MA
Jonathan Thompson will discuss three centuries of change in New England’s forests. After a brief discussion of the landscape’s history, he will focus on the impacts from climate change and modern land use, including forest loss, harvesting, and conservation.
Forestry Walk Flat Rock Wildlife Sanctuary – Pitch Pine Heathland Restoration Project
Saturday January 22, 2022. 10 am – 12:00 pm
Location Crocker Conservation Area
215 Flat Rock Road
Fitchburg, MA
Join a free public site walk hosted by Mass Audubon, North County Land Trust, and the Worcester County Conservation District, on Saturday, January 22 at 10 am.
Mass Audubon’s Senior Conservation Ecologist Tom Lautzenheiser will lead the walk and describe the project to support the sanctuary’s distinctive ridge top pitch pine heathland.
Also, the walk will pass through NCLT’s Crocker Conservation Area, where a timber harvest was completed in 2012. NCLT will talk about the goals around the cut and the benefits that they’ve seen from careful forestry.
Farm Finance for Beginning and Part Time Farmers
Watch On Demand
2021 Composting Webinar Series
Home Composting
Watch On Demand
Speakers: Amy Donovan, Franklin County Solid Waste District; Joel Betts, Worcester County Conservation District
Looking forward to the gardening season? If you buy bags of soil, would you want to make your own compost instead? Learn how to reduce household trash and improve garden soil health by composting food and yard waste. Tune in to this FREE, fun webinar that will provide tips, how-to’s, and local resources to start or improve your own composting system in Central and Western Mass, followed by a question and answer session with local composting experts.
Link to Home Composting presentation slides: 5-3_21_Final_Compost Webinar Slides GQFA
Worm Composting Webinar
Watch On Demand
Speaker: Amy Donovan, Franklin County Solid Waste District
Learn how to compost indoors year-round with Red Wiggler worms!
Amy Donovan of Franklin County Solid Waste District will show how to make a simple, low cost vermicomposting bin, where to get worms, which food wastes are appropriate, and how to harvest and use the finished compost. Learn how to reduce trash from a household, classroom, or office. Amy will share tried and true techniques to get the best results, with no odors. The finished worm castings are a nutrient rich soil additive, some of the best compost on earth!
Food Waste Solutions for Businesses:
Watch On Demand
Speakers: Khrysti Smith Barry, Center for EcoTechnology; Rick Innes, Clearview Composting; Joel Betts, Worcester County Conservation District
Did you know? According to the NRDC, 40% of food produced in the US goes uneaten!
Come learn what you can do at your business to make a difference.
Businesses, restaurants, and event planners all over the country are discovering that recycling and composting can be easier than they thought, and can cost the same – if not LESS – than throwing it all in the trash! Learn how to potentially save operational costs and impress your customers by minimizing your food waste and lowering your carbon footprint.
This event is ideal for your business, restaurant, community agency, faith-based organization, food processing facility, or residential facility.
Local solid waste experts will share free resources, local success stories, achievable ideas, and tips and tricks for getting started or taking the next steps in your composting and recycling efforts. We will cover topics relevant to reducing waste from your regular business operations or events – for everything from food service businesses, distributors, and retail operations, to office lunchrooms, catered meetings, and larger events or event venues.
Link to Food Waste Solutions Presentation Slides: 5.18.21 GQFA Biz Food Waste Solutions FINAL
Envirothon Webinar
Soil Conservation, Best Management Practices to Build Resilience and Protect Water Quality
Speaker: Joel Betts, Worcester County Conservation District
Cover crops, no-till agriculture, rotational grazing, streamside buffers and many other practices capture carbon to build the soil, reduce pollution to our waters, and build resilience to intense weather from climate change. Project Drawdown says Conservation Agriculture could sequester over 9 gigatons of carbon dioxide in the next 30 years!
Link to Soil Conservation BMP Presentation Slides: Soil Conservation best management practices to build resilience
2021 Spring Seedling Sale Webinar Series
This series was supported by a Neighborhood Outreach Grant from the MA DCR Service Forestry Program through the Working Forests Initiative, awarded to us in partnership with the North County Land Trust. It also supported direct assistance with landowners about conservation and land protection.
North County Land Trust, Inc. (NCLT) is a non-profit 501 (c) 3 regional land conservation organization founded in 1992.
Our Mission is to conserve the farms, forests and landscapes that define the character of our region.
Tree-soil interactions 101, how to make a soil map, and considerations for successful tree planting.
Watch On Demand
Speaker: Joel Betts, Worcester County Conservation District
People too often forget about the unseen half of trees underground, yet the inherent and dynamic properties of the soil in which a tree is growing can make the difference between if it succeeds or fails. This webinar will take a deep dive into the intersection of soil science and forest ecology with practical implications for forest management and tree planting. Attendees will learn how to; use free mapping tools to create a soil map for their property and take a soil test to determine what might grow best on that location.
Soil and Trees_2021 presentation slides
Funding for this webinar was provided by the MA DCR Service Forestry Program through the Working Forests Initiative.
Native Plants and Birds: What’s the Connection?
View Presentation Slides Here
Speaker: Martha Gach of Mass. Audubon. How does growing native plants help birds? We will connect the dots between native plants, gardening practices, insects, and birds, and show you how to create a landscape ‘that’s for the birds’.
Funding for this webinar was provided by the MA DCR Service Forestry Program through the Working Forests Initiative.
Lawns and Lawn Alternatives
Watch On Demand
Lawns and Lawn Alternatives presentation slides
Speaker: Gretel Anspach of Massachusetts Master Gardeners Association.
Lawns are imported garden fixtures from places with cool, wet summers. Here a “perfect” lawn is a major drain on water supplies, a source of pollution, and a lot of work. Look at options for tailoring your lawn and your lawn care to fit your needs, potentially eliminating hundreds of hours of labor and expensive treatments every year. The talk will include some discussion of alternatives to the traditional grass lawn.
Funding for this webinar was provided by the MA DCR Service Forestry Program through the Working Forests Initiative.
Installing Raingardens with Native plants for Healthy Waters
Watch On Demand
View Presentation Slides Here
Speakers: Edward Himlan, Massachusetts Watershed Coalition, and Joel Betts, Worcester County Conservation District. Nearly every property contributes polluted stormwater runoff to its local waterway. Learn about potential sources of pollution from your property and how installing a rain garden could address these while providing many additional benefits. Then get into the details of how to successfully plan, install, and maintain a rain garden and the benefits and requirements of specific native plants that can do the job.
For additional resources see: Calvin University webpage
IMAGES FROM PREVIOUS WORKSHOPS
