Items of interest – Sharon Friends of Conservation

Picnic Table locations in Sharon

Deborah Sampson Park, East Foxboro Street, near intersection with South Main Street, parking near tennis courts; new tables located on edge of field; pond and dog park nearby Memorial Park Beach, Beach Street, picnic area on left side after entering, also grills; anyone can use except during the swimming season (Memorial Day weekend to mid August) when you must have a beach tag to enter […]

Sharon Friends of Conservation on SharonTV

NEED BLUEBIRD HELP!

Sharon Friends of Conservation welcomes anyone who wishes to become a monitor. We currently have thirty bluebird houses located in various areas of Sharon. Monitors check these weekly to report new nests, eggs, nestlings and successful fledging. If you wish to become a monitor, the time required is about 1 hour per week going from March till the end of July. If you can’t make […]

Water Scenes from Sharon, MA

See a video about land preservation in Sharon including a trip to our Rattlesnake Hill

Click here for video

The otters of Trowel Shop Pond

by Kurt Buermann Some years ago on a whim we purchased a small peach tree (Prunus persica) from Ward’s Berry Farm in Sharon. Peach trees are venerable. Despite the name persica, or Persian, indications are they were cultivated six thousand years ago in China. Peaches were a smash hit. They spread along the Silk Road trade route into Europe and thence to the Americas. […]

The Town Meeting article seeking to permanently protect the Gavins Pond Land as conservation land passed by more than a two-thirds vote last May. Thank you to all who helped and supported! After Town Meetings rejected three attempts to place additional soccer fields on the land surrounding Gavins Pond, the conservation community in a warrant article for May 2017 Town Meeting asked the Selectmen to […]

Our family purchased a Chevy Volt LT, a plug-in hybrid car with a gasoline generator that greatly extends its range. A plug-in hybrid car differs from an ordinary hybrid car in that its battery, in addition to being charged by gasoline, can be charged by plugging it into an electrical outlet. Most plug-in hybrids can go only about 25 miles on a charge before switching to gasoline. The […]

Preserving the Gavins Pond land

Preserving the Gavins Pond Land As you may know, there have been repeated attempts in the past few years to place additional soccer fields on the land surrounding Gavins Pond. Town Meeting voters rejected all of them. It surely is time for the Selectmen to take these opinions into account. A warrant article for May 2017 Town Meeting asks the Selectmen to formalize the permanent […]

Renewable Electricity with Wind

As 2016 becomes a year marked by record-breaking temperatures, droughts, floods, and wildfires, you may be wondering what you can do to personally combat climate change. Many people in Sharon have contributed to the expansion of solar energy in Massachusetts with home energy audits, roof solar panels, or signing up for participation in a solar farm. An additional option is wind. Choose local renewable energy […]

Be a Trail Steward

INTRODUCTION to TRAIL STEWARDSHIP in SHARON As of 2016, Sharon’s four major trails are pretty much laid out and traversable. This is thanks to the Sharon Conservation Commission, Sharon Boy Scout Troop 95, and the Sharon Friends of Conservation. At this point we encounter the need for ongoing maintenance of those trails and others in the Town. If the trails are tended to regularly, lots […]

Save Money & the Planet

SFOC is taking part in a local effort called Sharon Saves, whose objective is to reduce Sharon’s carbon footprint by conserving energy, and replacing fossil fuel energy with clean, renewable solar energy. Sharon Saves is supporting two carbon-saving projects that are stated to save subscribers money. 1) Conserving energy with home energy assessments Homeworks Energy arranges for people to get a free home energy assessment. […]

PICNIC TABLE LOCATIONS IN SHARON

Sometimes trail hikers would like to take a break and find a place to picnic. We’ve posted a list of picnic table locations in Sharon on our Trails page. Please take a look.

by Mike Sherman In August 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the Clean Power Plan as a final regulation under the Clean Air Act. The EPA’s authority to make this regulation was established under two cases argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, Massachusetts v the EPA and American Electric Power v CT. Two New England states, Massachusetts and Connecticut, led the charge. The aim […]

Why Water Rates Matter As we contemplate the annual adjustment to our water rates, we should remember the critical role that water plays in Sharon. Driving into town, a billboard touts Sharon as “A better place to live because it’s naturally beautiful.” Sharon’s natural beauty is not possible without water. It is key to our quality of life, and supports $3 billion in property […]

One can create a beautiful “rain-only” lawn without using herbicides, pesticides, high-test fertilizer, and massive amounts of irrigation water. Simply apply weak organic fertilizer and lime in early spring and fall, cut the grass tall with a sharp blade, leave the clippings to decompose on the lawn, and rely on earthworms to aerate and enrich the soil. I use this approach, which saves me a […]

New Membership Cards and Discounts

Sharon’s Water Problem

View a presentation by Paul Lauenstein. (6MB PDF)

Massapoag Trail Restored

Since 2003, Sharon Friends of Conservation has been working with the Sharon Conservation Commission to improve one of the Town’s premier assets, the Massapoag Trail. As of this writing, I am pleased to announce that two major projects have been completed. With these, the entire trail from Pond St. to Belcher St. has been restored. There remain to do only a short boardwalk and few […]

Sharon Community Gardens

by Jan Adler In a corner of the Deborah Sampson recreation area are the Sharon community garden plots, where some eighty families grow flowers and vegetables for their tables, as they’ve been doing for the past four decades. As soon as the Town purchased the 59-acre Sacred Heart property in 1974, requests came to the Selectmen from residents to use the buildings and grounds for […]

Should We Let Them In?

by Kurt Buermann It’s been especially cold this winter. As I look out the window, I empathize with the wild creatures who visit our yard. Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn’t let them all into the house for a while to warm up. I can’t see that it would be much trouble. The raccoons, who have surprising manual dexterity, could open the cupboards and refrigerator, […]

Climate Change Resolution Adopted at Town Meeting

On May 5, 2014, Sharon Town Meeting passed a resolution encouraging town officials to promote measures that conserve vital water and energy resources, and minimize carbon emissions in Sharon. SFOC Board Member Paul Lauenstein sponsored the resolution and presented a slideshow in favor of it that evening. Among other things, it encourages “actions at every level of society” including water- and energy-efficient homes and buildings […]

The Cost of Water

Sharon’s conservation-oriented water rate structure rewards residents who use water wisely. As a result, water usage in Sharon has dropped by approximately 20%, saving over 100 million gallons per year. This illustrated presentation, entitled “The Cost of Water,” provides insights into why water conservation matters to our town and to future generations. Download the cost of water PDF…

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Category: Items of interest