Free event for the family!
This year we are having our Great Pumpkin Hunt at the Mary Herrick Forest on Herrick Rd.
Crafts, cider, donuts and of course a pumpkin hunt all at our new property which has lovely trails, a pond, and lots of young Christmas Trees growing for the holidays.
Historic Walk with BTA/BOLT and the Boxford Historical Documents Center.
Host: BTA/BOLT and Robin Siegel, Boxford Historic Documents Center
Saturday, September 14 | 10:00-12:00
Location: The Barn, 665 Main Street, Boxford, MA 01921
Chadwick Mill, Nason's Conservation Land and the Hovey's Pond area share interesting rural histories and Archivist Robin Siegel will lead a descriptive walk through the town of Boxford’s and BTA/BOLT’s preserved lands.
Email info@btabolt.org to register and be sure to state date and event.
Come help us do some trail clean up and maintenance at Hemlock Junction!
We’ll be there from 9-Noon. Corner of Kelsey Rd and Hemlock Rd
Bring drinks, clippers, weed whackers, gloves, bug spray…calling all volunteers to help with our small but important property which provides a great stopping point as well as connection for the BCT, RailTrail and Kelsey Arboretum.
Hope to see you there!
July 4th parade volunteer needed!
We need some volunteers to help carry the BTA/BOLT banner in the Boxford 4th of July parade.
The banner is on a pole and not very heavy. Volunteering would involve going to the meet up place (traditionally at Dana Road/Boy Scout park) at 9:30 AM to get in line. The parade begins at 10 AM when you walk down Topsfield Rd, through Elm St., and a short way down Middleton Rd.
If in addition, if we could have some people dressed like hikers, one to carry a trail guide and one to carry the plasticized map that would be great. If you have a BTA/BOLT T-shirt to wear, that’s even better.
Any help with this would be very much appreciated and we would of course coordinate getting the banner and anything else needed to whomever wants to volunteer. Thank you!
Date: Saturday, June 8th
Time: 10:00 AM Registration begins and classes start at 11:00.
Location: The Pony Field next to the Center at Ten Elm
Cost is $5 per class : Puppy (up to 2 yrs old), Rescue Dog, Old dog (10+ yrs), Small Dog, Medium Dog, Large Dog, Costume, Junior Exhibitor (12 yrs and under), Pair, Best Trick, Best in Show
Proceeds benefit all volunteer run BTA/BOLT, but it's really about having fun with our wonderful furry family members!
Please join us for a walk in our newly acquired Mary Herrick Forest.
We would like to invite you to this lovely area, so come join us on a walk by the Christmas Tree Farm, and through the meandering trails bordering wetlands and a vibrant pond.
Our annual Members Meeting will be May 9th.
We have a wonderful speaker joining us, Astrophysicist Kirsten Hall from The Center for Astrophysics, Harvard and Smithsonian.
Social hour at 6pm, food, drink, and our meeting. Hope for a clear night sky!
Stop by and see us at Town Hall. There will be ice cream, informative tables representing town organizations and local groups who care about the environment. Pick up the litter around your roadside and receive a free ice cream!
Hope to see you there!
Join us for a Full Moon Walk on the Haynes Field and into Boxford Common!
Hot chocolate and cookies afterwards
Dress warmly and bring a flashlight.- we’ll provide red cellophane to reduce light pollution.
Parking is easy at Cole School right across from the Field.
Rain date is the 25th
Join us for drinks and socializing and a hybrid talk with Chalis Bird, a Northeast District Wildlife Biologist from the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife.
We should have an entertaining and informative evening as we learn about these wonderful creatures and how to adjust to their more frequent visits to suburban and urban settings.
Drinks begin at 6:30pm, talk at 7:00pm with time for questions afterwards.
Get in the spirit of Halloween and join us for a fun-filled, family day at
BTA/BOLT’s Great Pumpkin Hunt!
Festivities start at 10:45 a.m., pumpkin hunting at 11:00 a.m.
Cider, doughnuts, crafts and of course a pumpkin hunt, all FREE!
Located at Cargill Field, at the corner of Main Street and Middleton Road.
Homestead Hike! Come join BTA/BOLT for a guided hike to explore the Boxford State Forest and learn about the history of some Boxford homesteads. This event is being co-hosted by Robin Siegel from the Boxford Historic Document Center who will be giving a talk about the area of Bald Hill in the Boxford State Forest.
Special Instructions
Wear comfortable walking shoes, bring bug spray and if you’d like, water. The hike is approximately 3.5mi round trip and bugs are ATROCIOUS at the moment, bug spray and cover are a MUST!!
Weather Restrictions
If the weather is very inclement we will cancel and will post on our website www.btabolt.org and on the Recreation Committee website
It’s time for our annual Dog show!
Calling dogs of all ages, shapes, sizes, abilities and talents.
Registration will be at 10 AM and the Classes will begin at 11 AM
Classes are $5 per class : Puppy (up to 2 yrs old), Rescue Dog, Old dog (10+ yrs), Small Dog, Medium Dog, Large Dog, Costume, Junior Exhibitor (12 yrs and under), Pair, Best Trick, Best in Show
Same location as always, the field behind East Boxford’s Fire Station off of Middleton Rd.
Dog treats and water provided for the competitors!
PUSHED UP THE MOUNTAIN is a poetic and emotionally intimate film about plants and the people who care for them. Through the tale of the migrating rhododendron, now endangered in its native China, the film reveals how high the stakes are for all living organisms in this time of unprecedented destruction of the natural world.
http://ecg.convio.net/site/Calendar/1403395931?view=RSVP&id=100721
Pumpkin Hunt at Cargill Field!
The Kelsey Arboretum - FALL PRUNING WORKSHOP
The public is invited to an initial Fall Pruning Workshop.
When: Sat. Oct. 29, from 1pm - 3pm
Where: Kelsey Arboretum, 18 Kelsey Rd., Boxford MA
Presenter: Jacob St. John (of SavATree.com), Certified Arborist, MA Arborists Assoc., International Society of Arboriculture.
Topics:
· Introduction to Pruning trees & shrubs with emphasis on Rhododendrons
· Best and worst times to prune
· Recognizing specimen stress
· Reasons to prune, “No tree should be pruned without a clearly defined objective”
· Proper pruning cuts, identifying dead wood, 1/3 ratio
· Hands-on practice
· Q & A.
Tools: Bring your own handheld bypass garden clippers, loppers, hand saw (optional).
Donations accepted.
Sponsor: Horticulture Society of Boxford (501-3c) non-profit organization for maintaining the Kelsey Arboretum Conservation Restriction.
Classes are $5 per class : Puppy (up to 2 yrs old), Rescue Dog, Old dog (10+ yrs), Small Dog, Medium Dog, Large Dog, Costume, Junior Exhibitor (12 yrs and under), Pair, Best Trick, Best in Show
Location: The field behind the East Boxford Fire Station
Please Join us for our Annual Member Meeting May 19th.
6:30 - Light refreshments
7:00 - Business, awards and Climate Activist Rob Bonney. Rob works on solutions to the climate crisis with Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s Northshore, 350 Mass Northshore and Salem Alliance for the Environment. He is a trained facilitator for the EN-ROADS Climate Solutions Simulator. Rob is currently writing his second novel. He lives in Salem, Massachusetts.
Lincoln Hall - West Boxford at Rte 133 and Main Street, parking behind the Hall.
(Masks are not required but are encouraged)
Lynn Christenson is an ecosystem ecologist, studying how plant and animal interactions affect nutrient cycling in northern temperate forests. Much of her research focuses on how winter climate change, through less snowfall, will change the relationships between plants and animals and ultimately affect forest health. This complex web of interactions has Christenson observe the smallest animals in her study systems using microscopes to identify and count soil invertebrates to the largest animals, moose, using motion detecting cameras. She is a professor at Vassar College.
The Zoom link will be sent out ahead of the meeting and posted on the website.
The Masconomet Environmental Club is hosting a tree planting event in partnership with the nonprofit organization, Tree-Plenish, to offset the school's paper usage in a normal school year.
Please help them reach their goal of 330 saplings by going to tpevents.org/school/1039 to request tree saplings.
On April 9th, a small group of volunteers will plant the saplings in your yard, or you can come pick them up at Masco. If you have any questions, please go to mascoenviclub@gmail.com.
Thank you in advance for your support!
They’re back! Please check the website for all dates and locations and happy hiking.
Please be aware of hunters on town trails and in the woods. There is no hunting allowed on BTA/BOLT land.
Please let us know of illegal blinds and hunting on our lands.
We advise wearing orange and making sure you make noise to alert hunters of your and your pets presence.
We are going to do another virtual or email blast Annual Meeting this May.
Check back for details and keep eyes open for an email with ballot.
Fish Brook flows from North Andover down to meet the Ipswich River at the Topsfield and Boxford boundary. This tributary once acted as a route from the Ipswich to the Merrimack, though now is largely untraversable. But subwatershed restoration could reopen access to migratory fish. Join us on a guided walk with music and dance performances by Fort Point Theatre along the route. If you are interested in the trail, but not up for the walk, please join us for the live-cast of the walk by RSVPing to the Virtual Walk of Lockwood Forest.
This walk is part of the Ocean of Rivers event series funded by Mass Cultural Council grants. The events explore the annual dance of migratory fish in our rivers, oceans and ponds. Attendees are invited to attend a live performance produced by Fort Point Theatre Channel at the Town of Ipswich’s May 22nd Ipswich Local Color event. This audience-interactive dance is held at the Ipswich Mills dam, the first barrier to migratory fish on the main stem of the river.
Please join us, on Wednesday, January 27th at 4 PM for our Annual Winter Speaker event via Zoom. The presentation will educate us on the restoration of Boxford’s streams and ponds to once again support populations of river herring and increase the town’s resiliency.
Guests Ross Povenmire and Wayne Castonguay will illuminate the ever important issues of water health and connectivity and the Ocean’s of Rivers project will highlight the collaboration between towns, experts and artists.
Zoom link will be sent soon!
