Photo by Ian Maclellan

For those of you who came to the Fall Harvest Feast over Columbus Day weekend, we can’t thank you enough for joining us for such a memorable evening! As the sun dipped beneath the horizon on that mild night, everyone came inside to the Nature Center to enjoy a hearty pizza feast, complete with a crackling fire to keep us all warm.

And whether or not you came, we just wanted to show you our appreciation by sharing with you some of the recipes we used for that night! Feel free to print these on an index card and add to your recipe box.

We could write a short story on all of the amazing things that happened during this year’s Moon Over Drumlin. There was Sally and her students from the Lowell Leaders in Stewardship program. There was Flavio showing our guests the ever-popular Ms. G. There was Urmi, mother of one LEAF participant, sharing the story of how Drumlin Farm has changed her son’s life. And throughout the entire evening, there were gourmet dishes from chefs who donated their time to the cause.

Thank you to everyone who made this year’s event possible!

And now, let’s allow these photos to tell the story of the night.

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All photos by Bonnie Baker Photography: www.bakerphoto.com

Drumlin Farm Turns 60 This Year!

Sixty years ago, Louise Hatheway donated her farm to Mass Audubon so that families could continue to visit a working farm and learn about where food comes from and how farms contribute to the larger Massachusetts ecosystem. Since then Drumlin Farm has carried on Mrs. Hatheway’s vision, connecting thousands of visitors to farm and nature every year.

To celebrate 60 years of Drumlin Farm memories, we are asking our visitors to help us with the Pennant Project! We want to decorate the sanctuary with memories that are important to you. Whether you treasure the first time you saw an owl up-close during a school program, or you look forward to coming back time after time to watch the lambs grow up every spring, we want to showcase all the reasons you love Drumlin Farm.

The Pennant Project

Help us paint the sanctuary with Drumlin memories! At special events throughout the year, we will have a pennant station set up. You can decorate your pennant anyway you’d like—with words, pictures, or any other way you can think of to show us what you love about coming to Drumlin Farm. Here are some examples to get your creative juices flowing:

Once you’ve completed your pennant, we will add it to our collection, attach it to a cord with other pennants, and string it up somewhere on the sanctuary! Be sure to visit us again to find your pennant in the barns, in classroom spaces, or at the Farmstand.

Your next opportunities to participate in The Pennant Project are Woolapalooza on March 28 and Dairy Day on June 13. We hope you will share your love of Drumlin Farm with us and with other visitors to help us celebrate 60 years of nature, education, and community.

Energy conservation and sustainable living are critically important to Mass Audubon and Drumlin Farm, whether it is something large scale like the 100% sustainable electricity that we use to power our buildings or something as simple as the rocks in our welcome area, which were “recycled” into seating areas during the creation of the Nature Center. Understanding and minimizing our impact on the environment is part of every decision we make. Here are some examples of how Drumlin has incorporated these ideals.

Solar

• The photovoltaic panels on the roof of our Nature Center generate electricity equivalent to 22% of the building’s needs. There are 48 photovoltaic modules with an output of approximately 9,750 kWh of power per year. The energy savings of the Nature Center panels is equivalent to planting 1058 trees or avoiding 247,884 miles of driving, which will prevent 226,615 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere over 25 years!
• The Pig Barn has a Solar Wall, which helps to keep the barn warm in the winter. The sun warms the metal surface of this solar wall, creating a thin layer of air that is 5 to 30˚F warmer than the outside temperature. A fan pulls the warmed air into the building, reducing heating costs and providing ventilation.
• The photovoltaic array at the Farm Life Center generates electricity to accommodate the complete needs of the building – heating, cooling, lighting, and utility power. On sunny days, unneeded power is directed into the regional electricity grid. On cloudy days, we draw from the grid. Over the course of a year, the system is about net zero.

Water

• Earthen beams behind the Poultry House prevent manure-laden runoff water from reaching the Poultry Pond, and filtering plants absorb extra nutrients as the water flows by to prevent water pollution.
• We never irrigate our crops. We avoid energy-intensive irrigation systems by cultivating healthy soils through our growing methods, such as rotating crops and letting fields lie fallow.
• Our bathrooms use a dual flush system to minimize the amount of water used per flush.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

• Our beds in the Learning Garden are made from 100% recycled HDPE plastic (#2 milk bottles). These garden beds are used for camps and other programs to grow many of the same vegetables we grow on Boyce field.
• Composting is a big part of our farming operation. Beneficial bacteria break down plant and vegetable scraps into a natural fertilizer called compost. Spreading compost on our garden beds and fields also reduces water usage by holding moisture in the soil. Boyce Field has a large compost pile that recycles all of the farm animal waste, contributing to the incredible richness of the soil.
• The roof shingles on the Poultry House are made from recycled rubber tires. Rubber shingles are more durable than traditional asphalt and make good use of discarded material.

Advocacy

Drumlin Farm supports passing Question 2 on November 4 to update the Bottle Bill! Currently, 80% of bottles with a 5 cent deposit are recycled, while only 23% of non-deposit bottles, such as water, iced tea and sports drinks, are recycled. Those bottles end up as litter in our parks and trash in our landfills. The updated Bottle Bill will add the deposit to those bottles to encourage recycling and make a cleaner, greener Massachusetts. Find the facts and spread the word—Yes on 2!

This is only a small sampling of our sustainable initiatives, but hopefully it gives you some ideas on things you can do at home or your own workplace to help preserve the nature of Massachusetts.

Want to know more about Drumlin Farm’s green features? Come to Green Fest on October 13! We will have games, crafts, and fun activities around sustainable living. You’ll see—it’s easy being green!

September is right around the corner, which means it’s back-to-school time! We’re excited to welcome a new crop of students to our Drumlin Farm Community Preschool, but they aren’t the only ones who can enjoy our outdoor classroom—there are plenty of opportunities for everyone to learn at Drumlin Farm.

Check out our program catalog and find the fall and winter programs that satisfy your nature craving. Here’s a sampling of this season’s offerings:

Farm and Nature 101 (for your youngsters)

• Chickadee Birders: Bird Banding– students in grades 2-5 will head out to our banding station in Uxbridge to band songbirds as they migrate south for the winter
• Tales & Trails– listen to animal stories, then go searching for the animals along our trails
• Trucks, Tractors, & Tools– get a behind-the-scenes look at the tools and machines that help us finish our farm chores
• Little Red Hen– read the story of The Little Red Hen, then make some bread of your own and visit our hens, too

Find more great children and family programs in our online program catalog!

Extracurricular Activities (for your teens and tweens)

• Farm Apprentices– discover the connection between healthy livestock, rich soil, and nutritious vegetables as you lend a hand around the farm for 6 weeks
• Teen Adventure Trek: Canoe Expedition– keep an eye out for wildlife as you paddle down the river with friends
• Wildlife Biologists Club– get hands-on experience taking care of wild animals at our Wildlife Care Facility once a month
• Peregrine Birders:Hawk Watch Birding Weekend– join other young birders in grades 6-12 for hiking, canoeing, birding, and an overnight at Wildwood camp in Rindge, NH. S’mores included!

Find more great teen programs in our online program catalog!

Lifelong Learning (for the grown-ups)

• Shorebirds Simplified– learn to recognize common shorebirds with confidence using flock patterns, size, shape, habitat, and behavior
• Saw-whet Owl Banding– join us at Lookout Rock in Northbridge to help capture and band saw-whet owls while learning about the national network of banding stations and the data they collect
• Wild Color: Natural Dyes & More– explore the origins of natural dyes, mordants (for setting dyes), and modfiers, collect materials to start dye pots, and create samples to take home in this two-part class
• Jams, Jellies, & Compotes– learn to turn fresh fruit into jams and jellies that you can enjoy year-round

Find more adult programs in our online program catalog!

Registration

You can register for our programs online, or call our program registrar at 781-259-2206. Prefer good old postal service? Pick up a program brochure during your next visit to the farm to find the mail-in form.