Recently Daisy Scout Troop #64042 did some trail work at SOLF’s little “Clark Grove” property on Highland St. They even cleaned our sign! We love that we’ve been able to create a small trail for a neighborhood to enjoy. Thank you troop #64042 and leader Phaea Crede !
Join Whitney Beals and the Southborough Open Land Foundation (SOLF) for a history walk at the Elaine and Philip Beals Preserve on Sunday, October 16 at 10 am. President Whitney Beals will walk and talk about the history of the property. Meet at the kiosk on the south side of the aqueduct. Sign up at the SOLF booth at Heritage Day or send email to info@solf.org to let SOLF know that you are planning to attend. Note there is now a parking lot on Route 30 Main Street. To get directions, more parking information, and a map for Beals Preserve, go to on https://solf.org/beals-preserve/.
The Southborough Scholarship Committee created a new scholarship to honor the memory of Linda Hubley, a woman who championed both state and local environmental causes. During her career, Linda worked for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management, Division at both Hopkinton State Park and Walden Pond State Reservation in Concord. Later she worked with the USDA in Worcester on the Asian Longhorned Beetle Eradication, Plant Protection and Quarantine program and retired in November of 2019 as a supervisor. Locally she helped form SWAMP, a group that studied the Sudbury River and which would be absorbed by the SUASCO Watershed Council. She was also involved locally as a volunteer in the schools and served as an election worker. Somehow Linda found time to start the first on-line newspaper for Southborough. The state legislature honored her extraordinary contributions with an Unsung Hero award. SOLF chose her as the recipient of the Elaine Beals Conservation Award in 2010.
Recognizing how appropriate it is to honor Linda’s memory with a scholarship that will help keep her legacy alive by helping a student who pursues environmental education, the SOLF Board issued a challenge to match up to $1000 in donations to the fund. We are thrilled to say that our challenge was met and exceeded. We raised $1600 in donations. That means that with SOLF’s $1000 portion of the challenge we are able to present the Southborough Scholarship Committee with $2600 toward the Linda Hubley Scholarship Fund.
At our Annual Meeting on May 18, SOLF VP Debbie Costine presented Skip Hubley, Linda’s husband, with a $1000 check for the Linda Hubley Memorial Scholarship. Looking on were two members of the Southborough Scholarship Committee, Kathleen Kuklewicz and Alexandra Mills.
You can read about the scholarship and Linda at https://www.mysouthborough.com/2022/03/04/town-announces-linda-hubley-memorial-scholarship/.
Mark your calendars for the Southborough Open Land Foundation’s Annual Meeting on Wednesday, May 18 at the Community House in Southborough, with a reception and light refreshments at 6 pm, followed by a presentation at 7 pm by Peter Alden — Concord native, ornithologist, naturalist, author — on changes over time to Concord’s bird and mammal inhabitants. Read more about Peter here. Meet the SOLF Trustees and help congratulate Jim Gorss, the winner of the Elaine Beals Conservation Award. See the flyer here.
As part of the town-wide Planet Palooza Earth Celebration, SOLF sponsored “A Walk Back in Time” on April 22 at 11am at Beals Preserve – a review of the history of the Beals Preserve use since 1900. Participants met at the Pollinator Preservation Garden in the Main Street Field at Beals Preserve for a brief overview of the new pollinator garden before heading out for the history & nature walk. Kathryn Korostoff and Freddie Gillespie gave the garden presentation, and Whitney Beals gave a engrossing talk about the agricultural use and acquisition of the fields that became Beals Preserve.
The Southborough Open Land Foundation, in collaboration with Southborough Artist Catherine Weber, is pleased to present the 2022 Art On the Trails, with the theme: EXPOSURE. The exhibition will be installed from June 13 to September 11, 2022 at Beals Preserve. With the generous support again this year from Southborough Community Fund and the Southborough Cultural Arts Council, all accepted artists will again receive $100 stipends. Link to a map of the installations.
The Southborough Open Land Foundation, in collaboration with Southborough Artist Catherine Weber, is pleased to present Art On the Trails 2021: Mending from June 13 to September 26, 2021 at the Elaine and Philip Beals Preserve, Southborough, Massachusetts. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, there will be no opening reception this year. Instead, there will be live streaming of the installation process on June 12 & June 13. For more information on scheduled events, click here 2021 Art on the Trails: Mending.
SOLF supports the new Lighting By-Law to be voted on at SOUTHBOROUGH TOWN MEETING. There are two changes to the existing by By Law:
1. To adjust the color “temperature” of any new LED lighting in town to limit light pollution and protect human health and the environment.
2. To modernize the way that lighting plans can be put together to offer more flexibility and customization.
You can read a list of Frequently Asked Questions About the Proposed By Law Here
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be no opening reception this year. Instead, there will be live streaming of the installation process on June 17 & June 8.
The Southborough Open Land Foundation (SOLF) invites you to a presentation by Rebecca Watters about a 350 mile cross country ski trek through the Altai Mountains of Mongolia in search of evidence of wolverines and other wildlife. Rebecca will also talk about wolverine/wildlife research in the United States. Rebecca is a graduate of Algonquin Regional High School, St. Lawrence University, and Yale University. She is Executive Director of the Wolverine Foundation and works with Round River Conservation Studies directing a student study abroad program in Mongolia where she works closely with the National Parks administration.
7:00 PM, Thursday, January 9, 2020
Southborough Library, 25 Main Street, Southborough, MA
The program is free and open to all. No registration is required.
Expedition Members with Rangers
