Fall colors have come on strongly at the Nan & Allen King Bird Sanctuary at Hayes Farm Park in Etna! Visit the new wildlife plantings to see the vibrant fall foliage of highbush blueberries, the curious yellow flowers of witch hazel, and the broadening view over the Mink Brook Valley from the stone memorial bench. The farm crabapples are especially splendid in fruit. More
Invasives Treatment at Mink Brook – Wed. 10/5
Treatment of invasive Japanese knotweed will take place at the Mink Brook Nature Preserve on Wednesday, October 5. Trails will remain open. More
HUNTING SEASON UNDERWAY – Conservancy properties are Wildlife Safety Zones, but it’s always a good idea to wear a bit of brightly colored clothing (and avoid white) in the woods at this time of year.
CURRENT INFO ON CONSERVANCY TRIPS
Watch this space for up-to-the-minute information on Hanover Conservancy trips. For more, click here.
Hawk Watch Postponed to Oct. 2
The Hawk Watch on Balch Hill scheduled for today at 11 am has been postponed to tomorrow due to weather.
Please check back Sunday morning by 9 am tomorrow to see if the event is still on.
Hurricane Irene Visits Conservancy Lands
Conservancy volunteers fanned out across town the morning after Irene left the area, to check on trail, bridge, and forest conditions. Here’s the latest information, for your safety. [Read more…]
Celebration at the King Bird Sanctuary
The Nan & Allen King Bird Sanctuary at Hayes Farm Park
The Hanover Conservation Council is pleased to announce our newest project, honoring the memory of two prominent Hanover conservationists and Council members, Nan and Allen King. Located on the beautiful Upper Meadow of the town’s newly acquired Hayes Farm Park, the King Sanctuary includes an extensive demonstration planting of native trees and shrubs.
A trail from the Etna Library leads to the Upper Meadow and will eventually allow visitors to explore the entire property and the town’s adjacent Trescott Ridge Wetlands. The Council and the town’s Conservation Commission have partnered to create this sanctuary to benefit Etna Village.
Preparing the Upper Meadow for planting required removal of a major infestation of invasive plants, including barberry, honeysuckle, and glossy buckthorn. Council volunteers worked with the crew of E. C. Brown’s Nursery to remove the brush before the plantings were installed.
Dominating the crest of the knoll is a stone bench, created from a glacial boulder by sculptor Chance Anderson of Canterbury, NH. Two smaller seats nearby, formed of a single stone cut in half, carry inset illustrations of a kingbird and a chickadee.
Over 60 people joined the Council at the Etna Library for a celebration of the Kings’ life and the opening of the sanctuary on June 30. The Council thanks the many volunteers who have helped with this project, especially neighbors Ken and Norma Pelton and Jay and Susan Pierson.
The Council will soon publish a guide to the plantings to help visitors learn more about the wildlife benefits and year-round ornamental values of these native plants.
Trails Day at Mink Brook
For Trails Day this year, the Hanover Conservation Commission Trails Committee and the Hanover Conservation Council joined together to cut a new trail section in Mink Brook. This trail connects the trail head at the gate at Brook Road to the town trails closer to the Connecticut River. With the new connecting link, it will be possible to walk along Mink Brook, without going on Brook Road.
Eleven volunteers helped work on the new trail, which took about 2 hours to clear. One of the interesting challenges were the numerous hanging vines, some of which were strong enough to swing on. There was also a lot of underlying brush that had to be dragged out.
We hope that the new trail proves popular and useful.
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