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Conservation Almanac Special Edition
Winter Walk at Featherstone
Bat Help Wanted
Giving Tuesday
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Walk & Create with VCS and Featherstone
Join
VCS and Featherstone staff for a unique and fun activity for kids (and
kids at heart). We will walk the trails through the Oak Bluffs
conservation lands surrounding the Featherstone studio and then return
to the studio for nature-inspired art.
Last year was an especially snowy edition of our Walk & Create,
featuring a short, chilly walk and a painting project led
by Featherstone's Coral Shockey. Read all about it in the MV Times.
Southern Woodlands: Oak Bluffs' Dramatic Conservation Story
The
6.5-acre property that today houses the Featherstone Center for the
Arts is adjacent to more than 200 acres of Land Bank holdings at the
Southern Woodlands. Permanently protected in 2004, it is one of the last
large undeveloped tracts of land in Oak Bluffs. T he protection of the Southern Woodlands was a protracted effort, a convoluted, and at times dramatic, success story for conservation.
Snow gear, artists' aprons, and cookies were the order of the day at the last edition of our "Walk & Create" event.
Got Bats?
Bold Biologists Seeking Basement Bats
 VCS's next-door neighbor (and favorite wildlife research and youth mentoring organization) BiodiversityWorks
is asking for help from the community in locating hibernating bats. The
Northern long-eared bat is in drastic decline throughout the northeast
due to a non-native fungal infection that spreads in hibernation sites.
The good news is that they are persisting here on Martha's Vineyard.
Instead of flying to caves on the mainland for the winter, some stay
here in damp basements or crawlspaces, gaining access through small gaps
in vents or bulkhead doors.
To
help our local bat population, as well as the species in general, we
need to learn more about the spaces they are choosing to hibernate in,
and why. If you have a basement or crawlspace, please keep an eye out
for bats! If you see them, please email BiodiversityWorks or call at
(508) 690-0993.
Giving Tuesday
Did you really think we wouldn't ask?
By
now, you've probably already seen half a dozen emails from your
favorite nonprofits noting that today is to be the antidote to Black
Friday and Cyber Monday (both dutifully capitalized), as well as all the
other general indulgences of the holiday season. With the Almanac
inbox overstuffed with appeals, we'd like to use this space to call
attention to the work of two colleague organizations doing their part to
preserve the natural environment of Martha's Vineyard: BiodiversityWorks (see above story), the Island's leader in wildlife science and monitoring, and Island Grown Initiative,
who, in addition to all their other vital work, is now taking the lead
in a collaborative effort (with local Boards of Health, VCS, and
others) to tackle the massive problem -- and potential resource -- of
food waste.
Our Appeal: Join & Support VCS!
The
Vineyard Conservation Society has been working for more than fifty
years to protect our Island’s land, water, and natural resources,
ensuring a beautiful, healthy, and sustainable environment for the
future. From protecting the Lobsterville Moors in the 1960s, through
five decades of conserving open space, farms, and crucial natural
habitats Island-wide, to today’s initiatives, VCS has left many footprints on our Island home.
As a membership organization, VCS relies on the support of the Island community. So, if you are not already a member, please join today!
And to our members, we ask that you keep us in mind for your holiday plans and year-end charitable giving. Please support VCS with a gift in whatever amount you can, and help spread the spirit of conservation to family and friends with a gift membership. Thank you!
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