Summer Nights at White Barn Farm August 29th: Gather to meet and greet with the Metacomet Land Trust

Fresh produce, fresh flowers, and Friendly Faces at White Barn Farm

View this email in your browser Please Save the Date and Come Out to Meet Us at White Barn Farm!   Metacomet Land Trust at White Barn Farm in Wrentham Thursday August 29, 2024 Come and join the Metacomet Land Trust at "Summer Nights at White Barn Farm" on Thursday, August 29th. We will be at the farmstand from 4:30 to 8:00 and invite you to enjoy the scene at White Barn Farm, a beautiful local farm in on South Street (Route 1A) in Wrentham. This summer-long series of early evening gathering is a wonderful way to support a local farm! The farmstand will be open and there will be live music as well as pick-your-own flowers, pizza and local brews available to purchase. Please come out to say hello to MLT members and supporters as we enjoy a summer night in a beautiful setting. Feel free to bring a lawn chair and hang out in our "land trust lounge" area by the farmstand.   Summer Nights at White Barn Farm | Facebook   Membership Donations, Gifts of Land or Conservation Restrictions, or donations of items to be auctioned are now deductible on both Federal and Massachusetts tax returns! Our Federal Tax-Exempt ID is: 04-3020897.  We Love Where We Live -- And We Know You Do, Too! Copyright © 2024 Metacomet Land Trust, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Metacomet Land Trust P.O. Box 231 Franklin, MA 02038 Telephone: (508) 271-7131

Support Metacomet Land Trust with a Community Shopping Bag when shopping at the Big Y Market!

Heads up if you shop for groceries in Franklin!

During June, Metacomet Land Trust will receive a small donation if our members and friends purchase a reusable "Community Shopping Bag” at the Big Y Market, 348 East Central Street. If you're in the vicinity -- or have family or friends who shop in Franklin -- please support MLT’s mission of land conservation in this way. Each large, sturdy bag costs $2.50 with $1.00 going to the Land Trust.

Big Y has helped over 1,900 local charities since 2019 through this program. Every month, leadership at each store location chooses a local nonprofit to be the default beneficiary from the Community Bag Program. This is the first time Metacomet has been chosen by the store’s leadership. Look for MLT’s name to be posted on the reusable bag rack during June.

Also, please plan to join us for our Annual Membership Meeting, which will be Thursday, June 13th in Upton! Our speaker will be Meghan Crawford, a MassWildlife community engagement biologist, who wrote a fascinating article on coyotes in the most recent issue of the Massachusetts Wildlife. Link here: "Living With the Eastern Coyote" 

Thanks to our generous Board members who are often inspired to share creative gifts and books they've loved, we will once again have a small Silent Auction of crafted items, a gift certificate to Rushford & Son brew pub, a wildlife photograph or two, and books on environmental topics. Refreshments will also be offered.

Support Metacomet Land Trust with a Community Shopping Bag!

Conservation Needs You in 2024

Please support local land conservation with a special gift today

View this email in your browser Maple Farm Wildlife Preserve in Mendon: a project that will preserve 110 acres of fields, forest and water resources through a permanent Conservation Restriction. Thirty-five years ago a few "visionaries" from Blackstone, Franklin, and Bellingham got together and formed the Metacomet Land Trust because they saw the need for a coordinated effort to work with landowners, towns, and environmental organizations to permanently protect the region's open space and to preserve critical habitat for future generations. Today the Metacomet Land Trust is proud to have played a role in protecting over 1,000 acres across the fifteen communities we serve.   We are able to do all this and more because individuals and families like you support our organization. If you can help in '24, please join us now. Donate Now through our website Whether you send us financial contributions to continue our work, help us create a new trail or maintain an existing one, write a conservation restriction, or talk to a neighbor about how we can help conserve their property, you invest in us. Simply put: Through the Metacomet Land Trust you can take local action that achieves meaningful, tangible results. In joining MLT, you have the power to take action and make a positive and rewarding contribution to our region's resiliency! In the spirit of this time of year, please put your dollars to work with a gift for conservation close to home in 2024.   Mail a donation today or go to our website to give: metacometlandtrust.org/donations/become-a-member/ In conservation, Lisa Mosczynski President P.S. We need your help today to protect more special land in 2024 including the current projects below.   Our Current Projects Include: • Maple Farm Wildlife Preserve in Mendon (pictured above) • Castle Hill Farm Preserve in Northbridge • Protection of a historic farm in Bellingham • Concluding a conservation restriction in Mendon We Love Where We Live -- And We Know You Do, Too! Membership Donations, Gifts of Land or Conservation Restrictions, or donations of items to be auctioned are deductible on the Federal 1040. Check with a tax advisor about the restored Massachusetts tax deduction for charitable gifts. Always keep your donation receipts. Our Federal Tax-Exempt ID is: 04-3020897.  Copyright © 2023 Metacomet Land Trust, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Metacomet Land Trust P.O. Box 231 Franklin, MA 02038

Town of Franklin: Franklin land owners are encouraged to attend our Converse and Conserve workshop - Mar 29

"Franklin land owners are encouraged to attend our Converse and Conserve workshop on 3/29/23 from 4 PM - 6 PM at Town Hall. Come learn more about applicable tax incentive programs for your land, resource management and endowment!

Learn more and RSVP here: https://t.co/jz4DeI9egH"

Shared from Twitter -> https://t.co/tkVsFuFKLu

Town of Franklin: Franklin land owners are encouraged to attend our Converse and Conserve workshop - Mar 29

Converse and Conserve Workshop - Come Learn About Programs That Allow Your Property to Work for You and Create a Family Legacy

Converse and Conserve Workshop - Come Learn About Programs That Allow Your Property to Work for You and Create a Family Legacy

Tax Incentives | Resource Management | Land Endowment

Your land is a part of your legacy. Deciding what will happen to your land after you are gone is the next critical step of being a good land steward and furthering that legacy. Who will own your land and how will it be used? What will your legacy continue to be? These are questions that the "Converse and Conserve" workshop on Wednesday, March 29 from 4p-6p at Town Hall, Room 326A can answer for you.

Join the Franklin Conservation Department, Franklin Assessor's Office, Franklin Agricultural Commission, Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Metacomet Land Trust, and DDCRW Law in learning about your options. Come learn about applicable tax incentive programs for forestland, agricultural land, and open space; learn about resource management for your natural environment; and even learn how to endow your land to ensure its lifelong protection. Estate planning, whether for now or for the future, is not just for the wealthy or for those who own "estates" – if you own land, then estate planning is a necessary and valuable step to ensure that the legacy of your land is a positive one!

Food and beverages will be provided by Birchwood Bakery & Kitchen.

RSVP for a free gift. 

For more information or to RSVP contact bgoodlander@franklinma.gov/(508) 520-4847.

Shared from ->  https://www.franklinma.gov/conservation/news/converse-and-conserve-workshop-come-learn-about-programs-allow-your-property-work

Come Learn About Programs That Allow Your Property to Work for You and Create a Family Legacy

Converse and Conserve Workshop - Come Learn About Programs That Allow Your Property to Work for You and Create a Family Legacy

Converse and Conserve Workshop - Come Learn About Programs That Allow Your Property to Work for You and Create a Family Legacy

Tax Incentives | Resource Management | Land Endowment

Your land is a part of your legacy. Deciding what will happen to your land after you are gone is the next critical step of being a good land steward and furthering that legacy. Who will own your land and how will it be used? What will your legacy continue to be? 

These are questions that the "Converse and Conserve" workshop on Wednesday, March 29 from 4 PM - 6 PM at Town Hall, Council Chambers can answer for you.

Join the Franklin Conservation Department, Franklin Assessor's Office, Franklin Agricultural Commission, Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Metacomet Land Trust, and DDCRW Law in learning about your options. Come learn about applicable tax incentive programs for forestland, agricultural land, and open space; learn about resource management for your natural environment; and even learn how to endow your land to ensure its lifelong protection. Estate planning, whether for now or for the future, is not just for the wealthy or for those who own "estates" – if you own land, then estate planning is a necessary and valuable step to ensure that the legacy of your land is a positive one!

Food and beverages will be provided by Birchwood Bakery & Kitchen.

RSVP for a free gift. 

For more information or to RSVP contact bgoodlander@franklinma.gov/(508) 520-4847.

Shared from ->  https://www.franklinma.gov/conservation/news/converse-and-conserve-workshop-come-learn-about-programs-allow-your-property-work

Converse and Conserve Workshop - Come Learn About Programs That Allow Your Property to Work for You and Create a Family Legacy

Franklin Open Space & Rec Planning Underway - The survey welcomes your input!

Opportunities for Your Input!

View this email in your browser Franklin Residents! Work is well underway on Franklin's next Open Space & Recreation Plan and public hearings are scheduled for Feb 21, April 25 and June 20. A survey of residents is also now open on the Town's website and we encourage everyone to let your voices be heard. You'll find QR codes in various places around town including online: https://forms.gle/a8YoZpXbg5jbGYVD7 For more info on the process and hearing dates and times, see: https://www.franklinma.gov/conservation/pages/2023-open-space-and-recreation-plan-update The OSRP sets the stage for many improvements over several years so your voice is important! Thank you and please contact MLT if you would like more information about our open space areas in Franklin.  Susan Speers, Board of Directors Franklin Resident   Membership Donations, Gifts of Land or Conservation Restrictions, or donations of items to be auctioned are deductible to the extent permitted by current IRS rules. Our Federal Tax-Exempt ID is: 04-3020897.  We Love Where We Live -- And We Know You Do, Too! Copyright © 2023 Metacomet Land Trust, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Metacomet Land Trust P.O. Box 231 Franklin, MA 02038 Telephone: (508) 271-7131

Newcomers & Friends: Bringing Earth Day Home - Apr 20

We are pleased to announce that Lisa Mosczynski and Susan Speers, volunteers with Metacomet Land Trust, will be joining us with a program on “Bringing Earth Day Home.”  The program will introduce the conservation group, with a focus on its work to preserve open space in Franklin since 1988. Metacomet is a member-supported nonprofit which serves 15 towns and is based in Franklin. 

To mark the 52nd anniversary of Earth Day on April 22nd, Mosczynski and Speers will share a slide presentation on the group’s conservation work, education programs, and behind the scenes assistance to landowners and towns wishing to permanently preserve natural habitat. Metacomet’s local efforts include helping Franklin to connect town open space and Metacomet’s land. Metacomet is a 501-(c)-3 charity. More information can be found at www.MetacometLandTrust.org.

Bringing Earth Day Home

We welcome you to come join your friends and neighbors.  Meet us upstairs at "3" Restaurant on Wednesday, April 20 at 7:30.  Hot and cold appetizers and beverages are provided.  No need to be a newcomer to the area . . . and no need to RSVP. Come make connections in your community.  We are a multi-generational club offering a wide range of activities for all ages with an emphasis on fun and camaraderie. We are a member driven organization and are always excited to welcome new faces and new ideas.  

Newcomers and Friends Club

Residents of Franklin, or any surrounding town that doesn't have a Newcomers Club, are welcome to join us. We run our meetings September through May, typically meeting the 3rd Wednesday of the month. We also hold many fun and varied events throughout the year to stay connected.

Look for us on our Meetup and Facebook pages for more information.

https://www.meetup.com/Franklin-Newcomers-Friends https://facebook.com/FranklinNewcomersFriendsClub

Celebrate the Earth with Metacomet Land Trust

Please help us do more to preserve natural lands!

View this email in your browser This Earth Day, We Look to the Future! Spring is the season of hope and renewal and this Earth Day's theme asks us to make an investment in our planet. I'm asking you to help the Metacomet Land Trust do precisely that by replenishing our special Land Preservation Fund so we can continue our land preservation work and surpass the milestone of preserving 1,000 acres! This fund was created with a bequest from Allan Shaw of Norfolk. Allan was a Metacomet Board member, a long time member of Norfolk's Conservation Commission and an ardent environmentalist. Our Land Preservation Fund is specifically designated to cover the due diligence costs needed to complete land preservation transactions. Out-of-pocket costs include attorney's fees (that we are fortunate to have deeply discounted), surveys, title searches, environmental contamination assessments and recording fees. "We love where we live" and now we need to replenish and grow Allan's special fund. Our goal is to raise $15K this year. We are fortunate to start this campaign with a generous challenge donation that lets us match your gift up to $5,000 so we can reach and surpass our goals in acres and dollars in 2022. Please join others and #InvestInOurPlanet by giving a special donation to our Land Preservation Fund this Earth Day!  In conservation, Lisa Mosczynski, President P.S. Your donation today can help us save more special properties for tomorrow! If you can help, please mail a check to Metacomet at PO Box 231, Franklin MA 02038 or donate securely online at our giving page  Copyright © 2022 Metacomet Land Trust, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to our e-newsletter. Our mailing address is: Metacomet Land Trust P.O. Box 231 Franklin, MA 02038

This newsletter was shortened for publication here. To view the full contents, please visit ->  https://mailchi.mp/4c6dce1d22f8/thank-you-for-your-gift-to-conservation-13617884?e=935e913775

MA topics recap - pilot payments, infrastructure funding, land preservation, and remote meeting access

“It’s about fairness. It’s about how do you want to participate in this city that you get city services from: police, fire, public works. I think you should share in those costs.”

So spoke Boston’s late former mayor, Thomas Menino, back in 2010, when talking about nonprofit universities and hospitals—”eds and meds” in popular parlance—and their community responsibilities.

House Bill 3080 (Senate Bill 1874) authored by Erika Uyterhoeven of Somerville and cosponsored by 19 fellow state legislators, would finally realize Menino’s vision and empower cities to set common rates. Under the legislation, cities could require  payments of up to 25 percent of commercial property tax rates for nonprofits with over $15 million in property and could include provisions for in-kind community benefit contributions in lieu of cash."

Continue reading the article online ->

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/opinion/pilot-payments-should-be-standardized-statewide/

"EFFORTS TO REPLACE  the MBTA’s entire Green Line trolley fleet, a statewide move toward electric vehicle adoption, and projects to make infrastructure more resilient in the face of climate change impacts would all get a boost under a $9.7 billion bond bill Gov. Charlie Baker outlined on Thursday.

Nearly two months after he first hinted at plans to file a new transportation bond bill, Baker offered an initial glimpse at a proposal the head of the MBTA expects will play a “catalytic role” to maximize money headed to Massachusetts under a new federal infrastructure law.

Once filed, the legislation will kick off debate over years of investments in the state’s pothole-dotted roads and bridges, aging public transit, and infrastructure ill-equipped to withstand the brunt of climate change."

Continue reading the article online ->

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/transportation/baker-proposes-9-7b-infrastructure-bond-bill/

"WE OFTEN THINK  of floods, hurricanes, snowstorms and the like as threats to our normal way of life, but the COVID pandemic has shown us a unique threat that affects everyone in a very different way — isolation and inability to gather together.  What brought many of us through the last few years was the availability of nearby open spaces for outdoor passive recreation.  As much as we need to plan for 100-year floods, we also need to plan for 100-year pandemics.  Enter the Public Lands Preservation Act.

Massachusetts has a wonderful collection of State Parks with a huge variety of sites and activities along with Mass Audubon, The Trustees, The Trust for Public Land, and many local and regional private land trusts.  Most of the publicly owned open spaces are nominally protected in perpetuity under Article 97 of the Commonwealth Constitution.  However, the protection can be removed by a two-thirds vote of each branch of the Legislature.  Forty to fifty laws are enacted every legislative session removing protection from parcels protected “in perpetuity.”  How can we prevent this erosion of public land?  Enter the Public Lands Preservation Act."

Continue reading the article online ->

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/opinion/protecting-the-states-protected-lands/

"THE DARKNESS OF the pandemic brought a surprise element of transparency to government, and a range of groups, including those representing individuals with disabilities, this week are calling on the Governor’s Council to resume online streaming of meetings where elected officials vet judicial candidates.

“In the case of government entities based in Boston, like the Governor’s Council, live streaming enables people to tune in from every corner of the state; discontinuing remote access is devastating for regional equity,” eight groups wrote in a letter Thursday that was sent to the eight-member council and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, who chairs council meetings where Gov. Charlie Baker’s judicial nominees are considered. “Remote access is the latest instance of universal design — alongside curb cuts, elevators, closed captioning, audiobooks, and other features — that began as accommodations and expanded to universal popularity. Like these innovations and others emerging during the pandemic, remote access to public meetings should become a permanent feature.”

Continue reading the article online ->

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/state-government/groups-call-for-making-online-meeting-access-permanent/

 

MA issues recap - pilot payments, infrastructure funding, land preservation, and remote meeting access