By Karen Pierson and Jan Brink Two days before the British-American alliance of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in May, fourteen Cape-Cod-based gardeners, mostly master gardeners, arrived in London for an experts’ tour of iconic English gardens. Head gardeners, estate managers, Kew botanical researchers, Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) associates and passionate landowners revealed ecological lessons more pertinent to our fragile peninsula than classic garden design. Scorning chemicals (including fertilizer), minimizing resource use by … [Read more...]
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📌 Orleans is Moving Ahead on Wastewater
Orleans is Moving Ahead On Wastewater This past Tuesday, voters in Orleans approved the wastewater funding by a two to one majority. By all accounts, Orleans is committed to ramp up its efforts and finally take action to address our wastewater challenges. On Wednesday, it was clear the town had already begun to act. The Orleans Water Quality Advisory Panel heard from Mike Domenica and AECOM about their goals and plans for the next seven months. Our engineering teams are continuing with the financial projections, completing a 25% design … [Read more...]
📌 Special Bulletin: Moving Ahead on Wastewater
This special edition of the Orleans Pond Coalition's Bulletin is brought to you on behalf of the Orleans Water Quality Advisory Panel. It summarizes the panel's recent meeting on January 20, where AECOM presented quite a bit of material on their effort. It also lists several meetings scheduled for this month, including two this week on the downtown planning effort. Water Quality & Wastewater Planning Program Status Update On January 20th, the Orleans Water Quality Advisory Panel (OWQAP) met with AECOM, … [Read more...]
📌 January 2016 Bulletin
Winter's finally arrived and those of us wintering on the Cape are in the unusual position of watching our southern friends and family struggle with two feet of snow while we escaped the wrath of Jonas. Hopefully, they'll dig themselves out, their roads will clear, and everyone will be safe. No doubt, we'll have our chance sooner than we know it. Stepping in as president, working with OPC's board, and writing my first Bulletin has given me a chance to look back at OPC's legacy. I'm proud of the organization and I thank all of you for making … [Read more...]
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Water, Water, Everywhere: The Day the Whales Came In
By William D. Romey The first ones swam up onto the beaches near Eastham at about eleven in the morning, sleek, shiny black pilot whales ten to twelve feet long and weighing half a ton or more. A few newborn calves in the pod swam along beside their mothers. A storm blew ferociously and the new-moon tide rose higher and higher. More than fifty whales lay stranded on the beaches from Sandwich to Eastham. The tide ebbed out from under them. The stranding of pilot whales happens every couple of years in Cape Cod Bay. No one … [Read more...]
Water Water Everywhere: Growing up on Mill Pond
By Holly Johnson I grew up spending summers on Mill Pond in East Orleans with my brother, parents and grandparents. Days were spent chasing crabs, picking up snails, and making sand castles. I practiced my swimming off our beach with my grandpa; he’d tell me to swim to him, slowly backing up as I made forward progress, laughing when I’d raise my head wondering how I was still so far away from him. I fell for it every single time. Other times my brother and I would catch flounder the size of dinner plates off our float. Getting … [Read more...]
Water, Water, Everywhere: The Wonder of Our Waterways
By Anne Hanyen Every morning as I gaze out our windows and look down at Arey’s Pond, I think how incredibly lucky I am to live in Orleans. Orleans is uniquely situated between Cape Cod Bay and the Atlantic Ocean with miles of coast line and salt water estuaries. Our bays, ponds, lakes, marshes, creeks and beaches are the soul of Orleans. For the third year in a row, the Orleans Pond Coalition is recognizing the wonder of Orleans waterways. Over a fun-filled weekend, visitors to Orleans will be able to find out why those of … [Read more...]
Water Water Everywhere: ‘State of the Birds’ is Mostly Encouraging
By Mark Faherty The results are in and the state of our birds is…not too bad. That’s right – Mass Audubon’s landmark State of the Birds report is not all gloom and doom! And I guarantee you will be surprised by some of the findings. To produce the report, my colleagues here at Mass Audubon have scoured three important citizen science data sets – National Audubon’s 110 year-old Christmas Bird Count, the federal Breeding Bird Census dating back to the 1960s, and Mass Audubon’s two Breeding Bird Atlases, completed in five-year … [Read more...]
Water, Water, Everywhere: The Columbia is A Member of the Family
By Marc Costa “Columbia, gem of the ocean!” Built in 1964 in Provincetown for my dad, Elmer M. Costa, Columbia has been in the “family” since new. Elmer equally loved the sea, boats and fishing. He left high school after eighth grade to fish with his dad on Liberty, a 36-foot-long liner and then, for 37 years, commercially on many of his own vessels. He owned lots of boats, but loved Columbia. Columbia literally came from ashes. In 1963 while my grandfather, John, was towing the “first” Columbia from Rock Harbor to … [Read more...]