With 38 nesting boxes here at Drumlin Farm, it’s been a busy summer of monitoring eastern bluebirds, tree swallows, house wrens and black-capped chickadees. One of the most abundant visitors is the eastern bluebird, which volunteers Steve Webster and his wife Elizabeth had been monitoring all summer. Luckily for us, Steve often brings his camera gear and managed to snag this beautiful photo during one of his recent sightings:

Photo by Steve Webster

Since 2007, we’ve seen a total of 778 fledged chicks, and the results from this year are in: 82 fledglings! Best of all, we broke a record with 34 tree swallow fledglings. Here’s the complete breakdown of yet another successful year:

Eastern Bluebird: 41 fledglings
Tree swallows: 34 fledglings
House wrens: 3 fledglings
Black-capped chickadees: 4 fledglings (this is our first chickadee nest since 2010!)

Thank you to the 22 volunteers who kept an eye on all of our nests this summer!

When Erin Pitkin was a member of the competitive UMass cycling team, she always pushed herself to do her best. Little did she know that her experience in athletics would strongly influence her role as the special education coordinator at Drumlin Farm.

“I use my sports background to encourage participants who have intellectual and physical disabilities to believe they are like athletes – strong and powerful,” says Erin. Similar to an athlete’s training, Erin encourages her participants try new tasks and adapt until success is achieved.

As a child growing up in Concord, Erin learned early on what it was like to care for people with physical disabilities. Her uncle, battling multiple sclerosis, lived with her family, and it wasn’t long before she saw the need for adaptation of physical space in her own home. More importantly, she saw the social isolation that chronic illness or conditions can bring.

After college, Erin worked with AccessSportsAmerica. Wanting to develop a biking program, they tapped into Erin’s expertise as a cyclist. Following recommendations by a physical therapist, she worked on equipment and technique modifications creating individualized accessible cycling programs.

Now, as the special education coordinator at Drumlin Farm, Erin wants to expand more of the sanctuary’s programs to be accessible and inclusive. As a result of her experience with AccessSportsAmerica and groundbreaking work at the farm, she now leads the LEAF program (Leaders in Environmental Access for All) offering quality, accessible, curriculum-based programs for those with a broad range of abilities.

“Working at Drumlin Farm is such a unique opportunity for me,” says Erin. “I hope to stay and continue to expand accessible programs for years to come!”

Over the last couple of weeks, our team has been able to finish a number of big projects thanks to volunteer groups. For the recent visit from Shire Pharmaceuticals, their local offices wanted to spend their first Global Day of Service at Drumlin Farm.

Tasked with clearing invasive plant life around the Deer Pen, a huge group of enthusiastic and helpful volunteers practically leveled half a football field’s worth of overgrown brush in a matter of minutes. Pretty impressive work!

As with the Biogen volunteers who came a week previously, many Shire employees have sent their children to camp at Drumlin Farm and have participated in numerous programs. For many, volunteering for the company’s first Global Day of Service was simply one way to give back. Not surprisingly, many volunteers admitted that their kids were rather jealous they were spending the day at Drumlin Farm while they had to go to school!

We’re just happy that another area has been cleaned up, thanks again to people who donated their time and energy to keeping our farm running strong.

And with that, a few photos to show you all of the wonderful work they did:

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Our vernal pool is looking wonderful these days, thanks to a group of volunteers from Biogen. Nearly 40 people from different departments and offices came together to get their hands dirty on a – thankfully – cool, overcast day.

Their tasks included digging out some weeds, planting new trees and shrubs, and digging up a new path that leads directly to our tranquil vernal pool!

For some volunteers, this wasn’t their first habitat-cleanup rodeo. And many of them have brought their families to Drumlin Farm in the past, so they were more than happy to pitch in their time to help our staff.

We want to thank everyone from Biogen who donated hours to restoring a patch of land that now looks so lovely! Here are a few photos to give you an idea of how hard everyone worked:

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As a podiatrist for 20 years, Pamela Sowizral never envisioned a career as the volunteer coordinator and bird-related project manager at Drumlin Farm.

A Childhood Spent Outside

Growing up, Pam and her family were avid nature-lovers, enjoying camping and bird watching. As a high school student she excelled in biology, continued her studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and went on to work in viral research.

Science for Good: Pam’s Career in Podiatry

As with many outdoors people with a knack for science, Pam found research stimulating, but lacking in connection to both people and the natural world. A “social person,” Pam went on to graduate school earning her doctorate in podiatric medicine. She enjoyed treating patients but after a time felt she had accomplished what she had wanted in the field and decided to move on to something new.

New Paths at Drumlin Farm

It was years of volunteering in her home town, combined with a head for details and knowledge of plants and birds, that made Pam a perfect candidate for the position of volunteer coordinator at Drumlin Farm. She now organizes individuals and volunteer groups to work on projects like invasive plant control, farm field chores, special events and care of the sanctuary’s livestock and captive wildlife.

Since her start at Drumlin Farm, Pam has dramatically expanded the volunteer program. This past year (2014) she oversaw 1,500 volunteers who contributed 19,800 hours of service! Her next focus is to develop a more complex and integrated volunteer contingent.

A Love for Birds

In addition to her role as volunteer coordinator, Pam manages bird-related projects at the sanctuary. She oversees the nest box monitors, leads bird walks, performs bird surveys and is editor of the Birder’s Connection e-newsletter. And much to her approval, Pam enjoys the same views that Henry David Thoreau appreciated when he hiked this drumlin.

I have fallen in love with the sanctuary itself. It really is a beautiful place. I feel a connection to this land and am privileged to work here.

Are you thinking about volunteering at Drumlin Farm? Check out opportunities coming up this fall, or contact Pam!

The first tomatoes of summer are something that CSA participants, gardeners, and even grocery shoppers look forward to every year. Nothing really compares to a truly in-season tomato. They’re sweeter, plumper, and simply more delicious!

Everyone here at Drumlin Farm gets just as excited as you, and we also get just as frantic as you when our fridges all of a sudden have 25 tomatoes and we simply can’t keep on making tomato sandwiches and sauces! To help remedy the situation, our recipe-testers have worked on a really easy tomato spice cake that may just free up some space in your
fridge (for next week’s batch of more tomatoes, that is).

Give it a try and tell us what you think!

Drumlin Farm Tomato Spice Cake

2-3 medium heirloom (or slicing) tomatoes. Green ones add a nice color to the cake.
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon fresh minced ginger (a microplane works great!)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Grease two bread loaf pans with coconut oil. Use a paper towel to spread evenly.

Wash the tomatoes and slice off the core and any other blemishes. Place in a food processor and blend until totally smooth. Measure out 1 1/3 cup and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, maple syrup and sugar until smooth. You don’t need a hand mixer for this step. Add the coconut oil and mix until fully incorporated. Using a sifter or fine colander, sift the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, and spices) into the wet. Fold in the dry ingredients, adding about 1/3 of the tomato puree at a time until fully incorporated. Don’t over mix!

Pour 1/2 of the batter into each of the prepared loaf pans. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a fork/toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Makes one loaf for you, and one for a friend!

A strange silence has fallen over the farm as we said our goodbyes to the last batch of campers last week. No more echoes of counselors chanting “Alligator, alligator!” as they walk from the Nature Center to the Learning Gardens. And gone are the laughs, squeals, and excited voices that filled Drumlin Farm with exuberant energy.

Alas, camp is done. But as we prepare for the summer harvest and upcoming fall, we want to hold on to every memory as best we can. So, below is a gallery of some of this summer’s greatest memories.

Thanks for a great summer, everyone!

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