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Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Vernal Pools - An Important Part of the Franklin Landscape
Vernal Pools - An Important Part of the Franklin Landscape
Vernal pools play an integral part in the function of our Franklin ecosystem and are commonly found throughout the entirety of the landscape. In fact, it is quite hard to travel around Town without being at most one mile away from a vernal pool. Many vernal pools are found in wooden areas near our homes, schools, and businesses; and can be found during the spring months by following the calls of spring peepers (Pseudacris crucifer) and wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus). Keep reading for more vernal pool information and remember - due to the delicate nature of the vernal pool egg masses and wildlife, please do not contain, pick up, carry, or remove them. It is unlawful and causes undue harm and stress to the egg masses and animals.
What are Vernal Pools?
(excerpted from www.mass.gov)
Vernal pools are temporary bodies of fresh water that provide important habitat for many vertebrate and invertebrate species. "Vernal", meaning spring, are filled by spring rains and snowmelt, after which they dry during the summer months. Spring aside, many vernal pools are also filled by autumn rains (i.e, "autumnal pools") and persist throughout the winter. These autumnal pools are semi-permanent and do not dry every year.
Vernal pools are often very small and shallow; in fact, many vernal pools that support rich communities of vertebrate and invertebrate animals may measure only a few yards across! However, vernal pools of several acres also occur throughout Massachusetts.
Where are Vernal Pools found?
(excerpted from www.mass.gov)
Vernal pools are common throughout Massachusetts and occur in almost every town in the state. Vernal pools are found across the landscape where small woodland depressions, swales, or "kettle holes" collect spring runoff or intercept seasonally high groundwater tables. Although it's common to associate vernal pools with dry woodland areas, vernal pools also occur in meadows, river floodplains, interdunal swales, and large vegetated wetland complexes. Vernal pool habitat can occur where water is contained more than two months in the spring and summer of most years, and where no reproducing fish populations are present. Can you guess why this is?
Why Are Vernal Pools Valuable?
(excerpted from www.mass.gov)
Vernal pools constitute a unique and increasingly vulnerable type of wetland. Vernal pools are inhabited by many species of wildlife, some of which are totally dependent on vernal pools for their survival. Vernal pools do not support fish because they dry out annually or at least periodically. Some may contain water year round, but are free of fish as a result of significant drawdowns that result in extremely low dissolved oxygen levels. The wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) and the four local species of mole salamander (Ambystoma spp.) have evolved breeding strategies intolerant of fish predation on their eggs and larvae; the lack of established reproducing fish populations is essential to the breeding success of these species. Other amphibian species, including the American toad (Anaxyrus americanus), spring peeper (P. crucifer), and gray treefrog (Hyla versicolor), often exploit the fish-free waters of vernal pools but use a variety of different wetland types. Vernal pools also support rich and diverse invertebrate faunas. Some invertebrates, such as the fairy shrimp (Eubranchipus spp.), are also dependent upon vernal pools. Invertebrates are both important predators and prey in vernal pool ecosystems. Vernal pools are an important habitat resource for many birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, including many species listed under the MA Endangered Species Act (M.G.L c.131A).
The Vernal Pool Boundary
(excerpted from www.mass.gov)
The shallow edges of vernal pool habitat represent one of the most ecologically valuable portions of these habitats. These areas are generally the first to thaw in the spring and provide access to the pool for the earliest breeding species. These shallow water zones also tend to be significantly warmer than the deeper portions of a vernal pool throughout the spring. Egg masses of early breeding amphibians benefit from the warmer water temperatures at the pool edges that promote rapid egg development.
For more information on Vernal Pools, please see here: https://www.mass.gov/doc/guidelines-for-the-certification-of-vernal-pool-habitat/download
To report a Vernal Pool near you, please contact the Conservation Agent via email at bgoodlander@franklinma.gov or via phone at (508) 520-4847.
Shared from Town of Franklin page -> https://www.franklinma.gov/conservation/news/vernal-pools-important-part-franklin-landscape
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| Vernal Pools - An Important Part of the Franklin Landscape |
Webinar: "Executive Function Strategies for Creating Successful Students" - April 26, 2023
Executive function skills have become increasingly important for students of all ages over the past several years. Join Engaging Minds to learn more about executive function and the skills it encompasses and gain actionable strategies to use at home to help strengthen these important skills. In an ever-changing world where more is being asked of our students, this webinar will help parents and caregivers keep their students on a successful path for this school year and beyond.
Register for this virtual webinar -> https://engagingmindsonline.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MFzacLveSoCjQ1dBIwb4Ng
For more about Franklin SEPAC -> http://www.franklinsepac.org/
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| Webinar: "Executive Function Strategies for Creating Successful Students" - April 26, 2023 |
School Committee hold budget hearing and then conducts regular meeting agenda March 28, 2023 (video)
The Franklin School Committee held their budget hearing and then followed with their normal meeting agenda on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. The Franklin TV video of the full session is available via YouTube.
YouTube link -> https://www.youtube.com/live/Kkg86utrlnw?feature=share
The agenda doc contains remote participation info -> https://www.franklinps.net/sites/g/files/vyhlif4431/f/agendas/scagenda_3-28-23docx.pdf
The meeting packet folder contains all the docs released for this meeting (note- some will be posted after the meeting) https://www.franklinps.net/district/meeting-packets/pages/march-28-2023-school-committee-meeting-packet
The FY 2024 budget documents arranged in sections ->
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| Franklin School Committee - Meeting Agenda for March 28, 2023 - FY 2024 Budget Hearing scheduled |
Citizens Comment: Gretchen Donohue
Gretchen Donohue submitted this via email after the Tuesday meeting:
"Teachers, by their very nature, will not allow things to fall through the cracks. I work in another district, but I don’t need to work in Franklin to know - the Franklin teachers cover that extra duty, attend that unexpected meeting, work with students through their lunch and after school, make that extra phone call to a family, and somehow get the supplies they need. That’s just what teachers do.
The dark side of our inherent desire to do what is best for students is that our efforts often hide serious deficits; teachers’ inability to let students’ needs fall through the cracks often masks just how close to the edge they are operating.
In this case, appearances are deceiving; as they are often praised for doing, the FPS teachers are doing so much, with so little. I personally don’t consider this a point of praise; I consider this an indictment of our inability to fully support our schools.
I believe we need to reconsider our town tax structure to fully fund our schools. A budget is a moral document, and we fund what we value. I ask everyone to consider- what do we value?
Thank you for your time. "
Gretchen Donohue
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My comments delivered later during citizens comments:
I am here to ask for a Facilities Master Plan and to urge caution in redistricting, especially of former DT families.
To start, we needed a Facilities Master Plan when we closed DT two years ago, and we still need one now. How can we be operating in a fiscally responsible way when every decision is made to get the district two or three years down the road? If option 2 moves forward, and about 20% of our students are redistricted, then what happens a few years down the road when the current facilities are either too small or too old to continue to operate? All three options mention a Master Facilities Plan, and, up until yesterday’s Space Needs meeting, we had been led to believe that this was part of the Town’s Master Plan and thus an 18-24 month process. At yesterday’s meeting we heard that a Master Facilities Plan is a 6+ year process. It is unclear to me not only WHERE this time frame came from, but also, more concerning is WHEN this time frame is being shared. If a Master Facilities Plan would not be available until 2030, then why was this detail not included in the language of all of the survey options?
Beyond the need for a Master Plan, we have the immediate issue of Keller overcrowding. As a public school educator and a Keller mom, if teachers say a school is “bursting at the seams,” then I take them at their word. Keller is at 109% utilization, and I know the teachers and staff have been dealing with the innumerable issues that are created when a building is over capacity. We must do something, and we must do it now.
Hence Option 3- in the absence of a much needed Masters Plan, option 3 offers an immediate short-term solution by using Sullivan space, while concurrently honoring the social emotional health of the DT students AND is in keeping with the words of Dr. Ahern about avoiding re-redistricting DT students.
Of course it’s not just about emotions, geography, using space creatively and honoring the words of former superintendents, bottom line- the schools need to be concerned with costs. Even though one of the guiding principles of the story maps was fiscal responsibility, the summary for each of the options does not mention any cost savings. This is deja vu for me vis-a-vis the promised by never realized cost savings from closing DT.
In closing, I hate to be such a downer, but in a world where so much trauma is unexpected, unwelcomed and inflicted upon our children, why would we choose to inflict potential distress on the former DT students? Any impact on a group of students has the potential to impact any classroom, regardless of location. I am asking that you please reconsider Option 3, or at least consider making some exceptions for DT families under Option 2.
And for the district as a whole, please do not make the mistake of choosing another short-term solution that does not have data to support its efficacy or its cost savings.
Gretchen Donohue
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| Citizens Comment: Gretchen Donohue |
Update on the swatting incident at FHS Tuesday morning (3/28/23)
FPS Community - Letter regarding swatting incident this morning. Everyone is safe, this is unfortunately why we have drills. Thank you to @franklinpolice and @FranklinHS for their swift action
Shared from Twitter -> https://twitter.com/DSpencerFSC/status/1640711822184685569
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| Update on the swatting incident at FHS Tuesday morning (3/28/23) |
This Saturday the "SheGrooves" concert is free at the at Circle of Friends Coffeehouse - April 1
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350 Mass Greater Franklin Node, Special Meeting: Drop the Dirty Banks. Thursday, March 30, 7 PM
Dear friends:
Drop the Dirty Banks!
Banks are using our money and credit cards to bankroll the climate crisis, investing in oil drilling, pipelines, and fracking wells that cause global warming. The large banks—Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and CitiBank— are the worst violators. What about smaller banks? What can we do?
Ingrid Geis, from the 350 Mass Stop & Steer the Money Working Group which studies this issue, will share her suggestions in a 20-minute presentation and then answer your questions. Ingrid will discuss how to identify which banks are "dirty" and which are not, and tell us what we can do as individual consumers and as organized groups of citizens.
Join us online. The Zoom Meeting will be open on Thursday March 30 at 7:00 pm, for greetings and comments about 350 Mass and the Greater Franklin Node. The presentation about banks will start at 7:30 PM.
Meeting ID: 835 6847 9671 Passcode: 350ma
To learn more, in addition to the meeting, we recommend information from the national organization, Third Act. Their lists of tools include links to materials from 350 Mass' Stop & Steer the Money Working Group.
Please see and share the attached flyer. This meeting is open to the entire community.
You can also view the flyer online here.
To learn more, in addition to the meeting, we recommend information from the national organization, Third Act. Their lists of tools include links to materials from 350 Mass' Stop & Steer the Money Working Group.
We hope to see you on the 30th.
Hockomock Area YMCA - Spier Family Kindness for Kids 5k scheduled for Jun 3 - Register Now
"Registration is now open for The Spier Family Kindness for Kids 5k on June 3rd at our Invensys Foxboro Branch!
Visit https://t.co/BKCCq1s4vS to register today!"
Shared from Twitter -> https://t.co/1Ilh7sJfyj or https://twitter.com/HockomockYMCA/status/1640504120040730624
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| Hockomock Area YMCA - Spier Family Kindness for Kids 5k scheduled for Jun 3 - Register Now |
Frank Presents: 050 - Chris Woolf (audio)
In this episode, Frank Falvey sits down with author and BBC reporter Chris Woolf to talk about his background, his work reporting for the BBC, his book "Bumbling Through the Hindu Kush" and much more.
Frank Falvey - WFPR & Franklin TV
Frank Falvey dives into current events, hot button topics and invites guests give their insightsFrank Falvey examines everything from Franklin to U.S. politics; from current events to the local community, giving his personal thoughts and considerations. Frank is also joined by local guests to talk the Franklin community and dissect current events
Subscribe via your favorite podcast app or find all episodes in one place -> https://frank-falvey.captivate.fm/episodes
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| Frank Presents: 050 - Chris Woolf (audio) |
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