Weekly Bulletin - September 3, 2015 Meeting

Posted by Richard Garcia 
on Sep 09, 2015
 
Nanci Bishop Presents President Jim Stone with Check for $20,500 from Proceeds of Spirit of Hudson Food & Brewfest
 
 
 
Guests:
  • Gino Frattiloni, visiting Rotarian
  • Michael Zelenov, speaker
 
Announcements:
  • Spirit of Hudson Food & Brewfest; Nanci Bishop presented President Jim with a check for $20,500 as our share of the proceeds. Nanci announced that next year, instead of four people planning the event, committees will be established. Next January, there will be a meeting with the Hudson club to scope out the role of each committee.
  • PR Forum: September 9; Registration is still open, and is an excellent way to learn more about Rotary branding. 
  • Next week’s meeting will be in the evening. It will be District Governor Jim Fusco’s official visit.
  • September 17 will also be an evening meeting, held jointly with the Acton-Boxborough club, at the Healing Garden.
  • Tickets for this year’s UN Day are all sold out; only waiting list is available.
  • Bandy-Heffler: Rotarians from England will be visiting our District at the end of September; backup hosts are needed, who can provide dinner, lodging, and entertainment in this annual fellowship exchange. Hosts are eligible to go to England next year for two weeks.
  • Purple Pinkie Day: The official day is October 29, a Saturday. Our program in the Bolton, Lancaster and Stow schools, and NRHS will be Thursday, October 27.
  • Birthdays: None this month; please be sure your information in Clubrunner is up to date.
  • Stow Repair Café will be held September 15; the date in Bolton is October 17.
  • Habitat for Humanity is sponsoring a golf tournament at Shaker Hills Golf Club in Harvard on September 15.
  • The Healing Garden is looking for sponsors, donors, and riders for their bike ride to be held September 13.
  • Bolton 5K is donating its proceeds this year to the Bolton Conservation Trust for the Bolton Common project.
 
Happy/sad fines:
  • Ray: happy about the spin-off Stow repair cafe.
  • Chris: happy that the Stow bike ride, although cancelled, nonetheless netted $1,300.
  • Catherine: happy that all her kids are in a good place.
  • Laura: happy that Wings and Wheels is over; her son has gone back to California for school; and she saw AC/DC in concert for her birthday.
  • Ron: had a nice trip to California, and recommends Brian’s dog-sitting service.
  • Gino: happy that Carol is back and healthy.
  • Carol: happy for all the love and good wishes that she received after her accident.
  • Richard: happy to be spending Labor Day weekend with his brother.
  • Jackie: happy that school has begun.
  • Jim: happy that his son, Sergei, turned 21, and went with a friend to Foxboro to see Gillette Stadium. It was a country music concert (not a fan), but there was plenty of beer.
 
Program:
Our speaker was Michael Zelenov of the Bolton Conservation Trust, which was established in 1974 by a group of citizens concerned with conservation and the impacts that rapid growth and development would have on the town’s rural landscape. As a private, non-profit organization, not to be confused with the Conservation Commission, the Trust’s mission is to assist in, and to promote, the preservation of the rural character of Bolton; to preserve and to maintain conservation areas; and to educate the public concerning the use of natural resources.
 
Bolton has, through most of its history, been a rural farming community. The founders of the Trust wanted to maintain its historic and natural environment, which meant that the push for greater development would have to slow down. People can put their land in trust for conservation or agricultural purposes, while still owning it. There are currently about 200 acres under this program.
 
One of the Trust’s first projects was the Lime Kiln and Rattlesnake Hill. They also arranged for hiking trails in the Century Mill area, originally intended to accommodate 40 houses. The hope is to have hiking trails extend across the whole town. In the 1990s, an old apple orchard was considered for development; with the help of the Conservation Trust, it’s now the Nashoba Valley Winery.
 
The Trust can own property, but not as a tax haven. It must be for the good of the community. To satisfy the tax authorities, it must be for ecological, scenic, conservation, archeological, recreational, or geological purposes.
 
Other programs that the Trust operates are the Tom Denney Nature Camp for 250 children, offering kayaking, rock climbing, etc. and, in cooperation with the Four Winds nature program in Vermont, an educational program for grades K-5 at the Sawyer school. The latest project is the proposed Bolton Common. Once the location of a gas station and garage, it was a toxic site; it’s now slated to become a park, with wifi access, an amphitheater for concerts, a trellised area, and parking.
 
The Trust, as an independent, nonprofit organization, gets its funding from the community; but in return, it contributes to the community’s spirit.