About the Stewards

The Bedford conservation land stewards are a group of volunteers who care for the conservation areas of Bedford, Massachusetts. Established in 1995, we work closely with the Bedford Conservation Commission and Trails Committee but are an independent organization.

Stewards get to know our conservation areas over time and serve as a voice advocating for them in our town.We present field reports twice a year at our Spring and Fall meetings. Input from land stewards gives the Conservation Commission the information they need to best serve the town and preserve our natural spaces.

We need you! Become a land steward. Contact us at bedfordlandstewards@gmail.com. Come to one of our meetings. Send us an enrollment form.


Sunday, December 5, 2010

Christmas Bird Count

Volunteers from Bedford will be participating in the National Audubon Society's Christmas bird count on January 2, 2011. The Christmas bird count is an annual event that takes a census of the numbers of species and individual birds in circles of 15 miles in diameter throughout North and South America.

Several of Bedford's conservation areas are within the circle that has been registered with the National Audubon Society for Concord, MA. These conservation areas are:
  • Clark
  • Dellovo
  • Little Meadow
  • Vanderhoof
  • Webber
All areas within a registered 15-mile diameter circle are eligible for bird counting. The circle registered in Concord includes many back yards in Bedford as well as some land in the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge.

Participants may go out into the field to count birds on January 2nd or they may stay at home and watch their bird feeders. There is a five dollar charge for field participants (over 19 years old) and there is no charge for feeder watchers.

From the National Audubon Society's web page about the usefulness of the Christmas bird count:
The data collected by observers over the past century allow researchers, conservation biologists, and interested individuals to study the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America. In the 1980’s CBC data were used to document the decline of wintering populations of the American Black Duck, after which conservation measures were put into effect to reduce hunting pressure on this species.
Contact the Christmas bird count leader for Bedford to join a field team or to participate as a feeder watcher. Frank Gardner is a long-time Bedford conservation land steward and is leading the Bedford participants in the count this year. Send Frank email if you would like to join the count.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Bedford Conservation Areas in the SUASCO Watershed

Many of the conservation areas in Bedford are part of the Concord River watershed. The Concord River, along with the Sudbury and Assabet, have an active stewardship organization that invites participation from local individuals and organizations such as the Bedford conservation land stewards. The River Stewardship Council supports projects that "protect and enhance river resources." See information about the River Stewardship Council at their web site.

http://www.sudbury-assabet-concord.org/theOrganization/WorkingTogether.html

Bedford conservation areas that are within the Concord River watershed are:
  • Altmann
  • Anthony
  • Brown-Page
  • Buehler Ponds
  • Carlson
  • Cerasuolo
  • Clark
  • Coffin
  • Comley/Brennan
  • Lane Farm
  • Langone
  • Letizi
  • Lillian Carlson
  • Lindau Farmland
  • Little Meadow
  • Minnie Reid
  • Peppergrass Brook
  • Pickman Meadow
  • Pine Grove Farm
  • Redmond/Anderson
  • Wellington
  • White Cedar Swamp
  • Winthrop/Hayden

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Fall 2010 Meeting

The Fall 2010 meeting of the Bedford Land Stewards will be on Thursday, October 28th at 7:00 P.M. We're meeting at the town hall in the second floor conference room.

Please complete your steward's report before the meeting. The form is available here: field report form. Send the forms to both Elizabeth elizabethb@bedfordma.gov and Yan schoolmastery@comcast.net. Thank you!

AGENDA

  • Announcements: welcome to new steward, Dan Hurwitz
  • New Conservation Areas Maps by DPW (Yan)
  • 2010 Summer Crew Report (Elizabeth)
  • New Town Open Spaces update (Elizabeth)
  • Introduction of Steward Web site (steward Peter Desjardins)
  • Update on Trail Committee activities, current & planned: bridges & posts (Yan & Art,+)
  • Fall Field Reports (stewards)

See you there!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Head Steward's Statement

The essence of being a land steward is a personal feeling of identity with an area, its different characteristics, its condition, and its future. As a land steward you become a member of a group that shares your commitment to open space. Take a look at a map of Bedford’s conservation areas and restrictions and see what might interest you. Maybe there’s an area you already would like to oversee. You will be the eyes for that area. You will be able to contact the Head Steward and the Conservation Commission Administrator with on site observations and concerns as well as your thoughts regarding maintenance, improvements, and any special activities you might want to undertake. Officially, you will be responsible for filling out a simple field report form that asks you to describe management issues and items of interest. Stewards send reports twice a year at the time of the spring and fall meetings. You can be assured of the rewards of knowing that you are instrumental in preserving the welfare of a piece of Bedford’s open space.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

New Site, Please Send Photos

The Bedford Conservation Land Stewards organization has a new web site. We hope to keep our fellow stewards and those considering becoming stewards informed and also to show off the wonderful spaces we take care of in Bedford.

If you have photos of Bedford conservation land or the wildlife that lives in it, please share them with us. Send pictures to bedfordlandstewards@gmail.com and tell us a little about where you took them.

See you around town!