2011 Board of Directors

Officers

• President - Nancy Bagdasarian
• Vice President - Fred Fortmiller
• Treasurer - TBA
• Clerk - Christine Larsen

Directors

• Ingrid Carls- term ends 2010
• Ellen Underhill - term ends 2010
• Arthur Falvey - term ends 2011
• Peter Covo - term ends 2012
• Kent Fox - term ends 2012
• Lauren Miklavic - term ends 2014
• Felicia Nadel - term ends 2014

Advisory Member

• Susan Loveland

Welcome to the New Board Members

Lauren Miklavic

Raised in Wellesley with three older brothers, went through the public school system, with parents (Frank and Jacquelin) still residing in Wellesley. She worked at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts in Marketing Communications. After 22 years in this field,  she switched careers to Garden Design. She graduated from Garden Design School USA (based in Wellesley and Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston), trained by top British Garden Designers, and is now the school's USA Program Administrator, and has own business, La Vita Bella Garden Design & Care. She lives in Wellesley and Brewster with her partner of 23 years, Marybeth Sacramone, and their two Golden Retrievers!

Felicia Nadel

Has lived in Wellesley for 20 years.  She has two children, a daughter who graduated from WHS in 2010 and a son currently in eighth grade at Wellesley Middle School.  Felicia has, over the years, volunteered for numerous positions in Wellesley schools.  She currently serves as administrator for the Eliot Church of South Natick.

Seeking New Board Members

The Wellesley Conservation Council is looking for new board members.  We are particularly looking for a person skilled in marketing and fund raising.  As we are a non- profit organization which we rely heavily on gifting as our source of income which we need to maintain our properties.  We own several properties in Wellesley which total approximately 40 acres of open land in town which is used by the public.  We are an eleven person board which meets monthly from September to June at the main library (Wellesley Free Library).

If interested, please contact the Council at 781-237-2009.

NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT

The Board of the Wellesley Conservation Council met in mid September and reviewed its priorities for the coming year.  One of the main topics of discussion was our shrinking membership list.  Of course, we feel the effects of the struggling economy just like everyone else.  However, our financial demands from our membership are relatively minimal and the return is very significant for the residents who live in the town.  We own and maintain over forty acres of open land in the town which contribute to the popularity and character of Wellesley.

We will be working on plans to publicize our organization better in the future which hopefully will encourage more people to become members.  If you receive this newsletter it means you are already a member and we thank you for your support.  It would be very helpful if each member spoke with a few friends or neighbors about the Council and encourage them to join.  For $25. per year which is our current membership fee, members are not only protecting invaluable open space and their environment but hopefully enjoying our annual events:  two open meetings per year with excellent speakers and refreshments, fairy house building for children at Pickle Point overlooking Morses Pond in the spring, our commitment to the public schools through conservation education, and our various publications, the most popular of which is "Walks in Wellesley" which was revised and updated last year.  We thank you for your assistance.

I feel like I just wrote my last letter in the spring and in it spoke about the harsh winter season.  Here it is six months later and the weather becomes a topic again.  Hurricane Irene dealt some of our properties a fierce blow.  We are now in the process of removing trees which came down during that storm.  We have large trees down in several of our properties which must be removed for safety reasons.  We replaced the fence at Cronk's Sanctuary this summer.  We have hopes of improving Coveside Bank which has been encroached upon for many years.  As you can see our maintenance never ends.

We will have a table at this year's Wellesley Marketplace which is run by the Wellesley Hills Junior Woman's Club on November 19 at the Middle School.  Please note this on your calendar and come by and see us.  We will be selling our publications which make excellent holiday gifts.

Nancy L. Bagdasarian, President

“WALKS IN WELLESLEY ” - A New Revised Edition

Almost 40 years ago, the Wellesley Conservation Council published its first edition of  Walks in Wellesley. Since then, four new editions and one extra printing have been published.  Several years ago, more than ten years since the last printing, the Council decided to undertake a new, revised edition entitled  Walks In Wellesley: Exploring Open Space and Trails.

The first task was to walk the trails and actually explore Wellesley’s preserved open space with fresh eyes to revise the text of the old book.  Members of the Council undertook this task.  Then, last fall, a Book Committee was appointed to bring the new material together and publish a new revised edition.  

Publishing a new edition requires funds for professional assistance and printing. Quotes were obtained and a budget was established.  We quickly realized that this venture would not have been possible without generous contributions that were provided by The Bailey Family Foundation, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and members of the Wellesley Conservation Council.  For this thoughtful support, the Council is indeed grateful.

Walks in Wellesley – Not Just a Walk in the Woods
By Zachary Lamothe of the Wellesley Town News

Almost forty years has passed since the Wellesley Conservation Council published the inaugural edition of what would become its most lauded publication, “Walks in Wellesley: Exploring Open Space and Trails.”  This last September, the Council put out the newest edition of this book.
The Wellesley Conservation Council was formed in 1958 by a group of concerned citizens in response to the post-war population boom of Wellesley. The intent in forming the group was to ensure that public green space be enjoyed not only for the present generation, but for generations to follow. The stated goal of the Council was “to protect and preserve natural areas in Wellesley, to educate the public about the need for conservation, to encourage appreciation of natural history and to acquire and hold land for the benefit of the public."

Many residents are familiar with the Wellesley Trail System, which is kept up by a volunteer committee and run by the Town. The land protected by the Conservation Council is different. The Wellesley Conservation Council is a non-profit group run by membership funds ($25 for a yearlong family membership) as well as from generous donations. Today the Council is run by a Board of Directors, which is currently headed by its President, Ingrid Carls.

Even though the original “Walks in Wellesley” was written in 1972 by Margaret Klein Wilson, the author's intention remains the same: to get people outdoors to enjoy Wellesley’s numerous public spaces, as well as to educate visitors about the town's diverse ecological systems. The latest edition of the book was supervised by Carls, Nancy Bagdasarian, and Fred Fortmiller.

Carls says that this is a “sweet book” which is extremely readable, has lovely illustrations to assist the reader in describing the walks, and is equipped with a detailed trail map of the locations of Wellesley's walks. The book reads at a much deeper level than a typical guidebook. The reader gets a vivid visual image of the land and meandering trails even before taking a step outside. In its “Nature Notes” sections, the book also provides descriptions of the flora and fauna that walkers may encounter. The folksy writing style of the book appeals to the inner-New Englander, with aphorisms like “leaves of three, let it be” when describing poison ivy.

 “Walks in Wellesley” is arranged geographically, starting in the western end of town with “Bogle Brook and Reed’s Pond Trail” and moving eastward. When asked what some of their favorite walks were, Carls and Bagdasarian mentioned three: the “Guernsey Sanctuary,” “Cronk’s Rocky Woodland,” and “Pickle Point.”

This book takes hikers to places they could have easily missed; without its advice, even a longtime Wellesley resident might not be familiar with the colorfully named natural gem, Cronk’s Rocky Woodland. Off the beaten path in a residential neighborhood, this half acre sanctuary is full of lady’s slippers, lowbush blueberry bushes, and American hollies. Like the majority of walks featured in the book, Cronk's is on land owned by the Conservation Council. Also included are properties managed by the Town of Wellesley, as well as by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).

Overall "Walks" is a must have for any Wellesley resident who wants to enjoy the vast array of protected land that the Council has worked so diligently to preserve. It is also a recommended read for residents who want to educate themselves in what is figuratively, and in some cases literally, their own backyard. This would also serve as an excellent introduction for the out-of-towner who wants to explore Wellesley’s wealth of conservation land. “Walks in Wellesley” takes the reader on an adventure from ponds to wildflower gardens, from drumlins to the Charles River; the book highlights the plethora of options that the day hiker can enjoy in Wellesley.

“Walks in Wellesley” is available for $15 at Wellesley Books (formerly Wellesley Booksmith), the Natural Resources Commission at town hall, or at the Wellesley Public Library. For more information on the book, becoming a member of the Council, or about any of their other publications, please contact the Wellesley Conservation Council at 781-237-6125 or email Conserve02481@hotmail.com.

MINI-GRANT TO MIDDLE SCHOOL

In support of our mission to promote the enjoyment of the natural environment through preservation, scientific study and education; the Wellesley Conservation Council is proud to provide the Wellesley Middle School Science Department with a grant of $250. The grant is being used to purchase jeweler's loupes (eye lenses with a 5x magnification) to be used by the seventh grade science classes for a new unit of study on ecology.

Thank You

Thank you to the Bailey Family Foundation which has been very generous in its grants to the council – the current one to be used for the revising and republishing of “Walks in Wellesley ”.

Thank you also to Harvard Pilgrim Health Care (Community Spirit 9/11 Mini-Grants program) for its wonderful gift will also help us in the reprinting of the new revised edition of “Walks in Wellesley ”.

Wellesley Garden Study Group Makes Donation

The Wellesley Garden Study Group made a generous donation of $300 to the Council in May of 2008. Each year, this local club donates the proceeds of its annual fundraising auction to organizations that pursue gardening-related activities. The Conservation Council was delighted to receive this gift and it has been earmarked to purchase plant material for Cronk's Rocky Woodland Sanctuary. Cronk's is one of our pocket parks and neighbors from all over Wellesley enjoy walking its pathways through woods dotted with wildflowers and shrubs. To date, we have used these funds to purchase rhododendron bushes and witch hazel for Cronk's. This spring we hope to add a few native flowering trees to the sanctuary.

We have just learned that the Wellesley Garden Study Group will be one of the sponsors of our spring meeting, featuring Maria Stella who will talk on sustainable landscape design. This donation will help defray the cost of speaker's fee. We are fortunate to have the support of this local garden club. Thanks so much to the Wellesley Garden Study Group for its generosity

Bailey Family Bench at Pickle Point

Wellesley Conservation Council dedicates a bench in memory of Nancy and Hamilton Bailey

On a beautiful Sunday morning, October 14, 2007, a multigenerational Bailey Family gathered at Pickle Point along the shores of Morses Pond for the dedication of a bench in memory of Hamilton and Nancy Bailey. The Baileys were avid walkers throughout Wellesley 's reservations and sanctuaries. In later years one could meet Mr. Bailey often accompanied by his daughter, Ann Melanson, bringing a chair along for a well needed rest, making his way to Pickle Point, a peninsula along Morses Pond. Pickle Point was formed when the glacier retreated and this point we call Pickle Point remained. Maples, oaks, wild cherry, alder, dogwood, azalea and witch hazel are abundant and very different from other areas along Cochituate Aqueduct

The Wellesley Conservation Council hopes that many weary walkers will find rest and renewal along the banks of Morses Pond, especially at Pickle Point. Click here to see a map of Pickle Point.

top