> Features > Pg 2 Feature Stories > Laughing Brook 'ready to be loved' again
|
Laughing Brook 'ready to be loved' again
|
| |
|
Mary Shanley-Koeber is the director of the Mass Audubon's Connecticut River Valley Sanctuaries. She is seen looking over one of the streams at Laughing Brook in Hampden.
|
By Lori Szepelak
Correspondent
HAMPDEN It has been a couple of years since Laughing Brook was flooded but with a little help this spring from area residents, the sanctuary will once again "be ready to be loved," according to Mary Shanley-Koeber, director, Mass Audubon's Connecticut River Valley Sanctuaries.
With the arrival of spring comes spring-cleaning projects and Laughing Brook is no exception. Laughing Brook is in need of volunteers to lend a helping hand on April 26 from 9 a.m. to noon as part of Mass Audubon's Statewide Volunteer Day. The Massachusetts Service Alliance is co-sponsoring the event.
"Some of the work will be geared toward preparing the sanctuary for reopening, however, the work of conservation goes on beyond the requirements to reopen," said Shanley-Koeber during an interview with Reminder Publications.
Shanley-Koeber notes there are plenty of clean-up activities for all ages and abilities, whether someone is looking for kid-friendly work, or clearing brush, or erecting new sanctuary signage.
"We need leaders with skills to facilitate groups," said Shanley-Koeber, adding, "we especially need people with horticultural skills and those who have strength to dig holes for posts. Persons who can identify birds, insects, amphibians and mammals would also be helpful so that volunteers will understand what they are seeing. It makes the work so much more fun."
Clean-up projects will include the removal of noxious plants, mulching and trimming plant life, building bluebird houses and planting native wildflowers. Shanley-Koeber also noted that if someone needs to fulfill a community service requirement, she can provide a verification letter after the event.
Participants will also be encouraged to bring a picnic lunch and stay to enjoy the sanctuary after the morning session. Naturalist Patti Steinman will also provide a wildflower walk in the afternoon to interested participants. Snacks and beverages will be provided after Steinman's walk.
Shanley-Koeber explained that having a Mass Audubon sanctuary in one's town or near one's town opens up opportunities for hands-on conservation work, for recreation, for education, for community building, for aesthetic appreciation and scientific exploration.
"Our sanctuaries provide homes for more than 150 endangered species all over Massachusetts," she said. "Global climate change is much in the news today. The place to start to help preserve our planet is right in our own towns."
By getting involved through volunteer clean-up days, area residents can join other conservation-minded citizens to work together to preserve the nature of Massachusetts, she added.
"Mass Audubon is about families and fun," she said. "Children are enthusiastic observers of critters and they are great explorers. A hands-on connection to nature helps children to learn and to be creative."
Shanley-Koeber also notes that "fun time" spent in nature can be a bonding experience for families, and an interest in nature can be a lifetime pleasure.
Shanley-Koeber beams when she talks about Laughing Brook, the former home of children's author Thornton W. Burgess.
"Laughing Brook is one of the most family oriented and accessible of Mass Audubon's sanctuaries," she said. "Immediately after arriving on the trail we come upon a lovely pond. From the viewing platform on the bank of the pond one is likely to meet the resident kingfisher who hunts for his dinner every day in the same special spot."
As the brook and the pond are constantly changing, Shanley-Koeber adds that it brings new energy and vitality which attracts an abundance of wildlife including beaver and hawks.
"Laughing Brook is a gateway to spectacular uninterrupted forest habitat of very high quality," she said, adding, "so the sanctuary has something for everyone from the beginner to the serious naturalist."
Shanley-Koeber added that the Mass Audubon staff and volunteers are skillful in helping the uninitiated to learn about nature and in providing opportunities for the knowledgeable naturalist to make a difference through conservation activities.
For more details on the volunteer day and to sign up, contact the Mass Audubon's Connecticut River Valley Sanctuary Registrar, 800-710-4550, or visit www.massaudubon.org/workforwildlife. Work for Wildlife at Laughing Brook is supported this year by a grant from the Massachusetts Service Alliance.
|
|
|
|
> Features > Pg 2 Feature Stories > Laughing Brook 'ready to be loved' again
|
|
