Newsletter-FALL 2009 FINAL FINAL TO PRINTER - Tinicum ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

ALL WEEK The Market At Delaware Valley College www.delval.edu/themarket/faqs.htm 215-230-7170 Location: 2100 Lower State Road, Doylestown, PA 18901 Time: Monday - Saturday from 9 am to 7pm and Sunday from 9am to 5:30 pm. Closed on holidays. WEDNESDAY Springtown Farmer’s Market www.springtownfarmersmarket.org 610-346-6700 ext. 23 Location: Springtown Firehouse, 1030 Main St,- Rt. 212/412, Springtown, PA Time: Wednesdays, May 6 - Oct. 28 3pm to 6pm THURSDAY BCFA’s Lower Makefield Farmer’s Market www.buckscountyfoodshedalliance.org 215-860-7081 Location: Edgewood Road at Heacock Rd. in Lower Makefield, PA. 19067 Time: Thursdays June - Mid October 3:30pm - 6:30pm New Hope Farmer’s Market www.newhopemarket.org 763-531-5196 Location: New Hope - Solebury High School, 180 W Bridge St, New Hope, Pa Time: Thursdays, May 7 - November 19, 3:30 - 7pm FRIDAY Linden Hill Farmer’s Market www.lindenhillgardens.com/ farmers-market/ 610-847-1300 Location: 8230 Easton Road (Route 611 between Routes 113 & 412), Ottsville, PA Time: Fridays, May 29 - October 30, 3:30-7:30 pm HOME GROWN Here in Bucks County, we’re especially lucky to have a plethora of farm stands selling fresh, healthy local produce - and we’ve listed many of them in previous issues of Common Ground. We are further blessed to have a considerable number of farmer’s markets where such individual growers and producers come together at certain times and places to make shopping and selection even easier. In fact, during growing season, at least one market is open every day of the week in Bucks. With harvest season in mind, we present a number of them below. Bon appétit! (For additional information on local foods, go to: www.buylocalpa.org) Quakertown Farmers Market www.quakertownfarmersmkt.com/ 215-536-4115 Location: Station Road, Quakertown, PA Time: Open YEAR ROUND, Friday and Saturday 9 to 9, Sunday 10 to 5 SATURDAY The Doylestown Farmers Market www.doylestownfarmersmarket.com/ 215-345-5355 Location: 25 S Hamilton St, Doylestown, PA Time: Open Saturdays from the third Saturday in April until the Saturday before Thanksgiving (except the weekend of the Doylestown Arts Festival - usually the Saturday after Labor Day Weekend) from 7 am to noon. Plumsteadville Grange Farm Market www.plumsteadvillegrange.org 215-766-770 Location: Route 611 just north of Stump Road, in Plumsteadville, PA Time: Every Saturday from June 7 until the end of October, 9 to noon Easton Farmer’s Market www.eastonfarmersmarket.com/ index.html 610-330-9942 Location: Centre Square/Downtown Easton, PA Time: Saturdays, May-October 9 am -1 pm BCFA’s Wrightstown Farmer’s Market www.buckscountyfoodshedalliance.org 215-860-7081 Location: 2203 2nd Street Pike, adjacent to the Wrightstown Township municipal offices, Time: Every Saturday, rain or shine, from May 23 to November 21, 9am to 1pm Page 8 TINICUM CONSERVANCY Fall 2009
EARTH It had rained overnight – again. But day arrived clear and hot, and the morning sun was quickly drying the puddles along my front walk. The shrubs were a lush, vibrant green…and one of them was moving! On closer look, it wasn’t the bush exactly, but the tiniest, greenest frog I have ever seen, inching out to sun itself on a Hydrangea leaf. I grabbed my Peterson Guide and identified the little guy as a Pine Barrens treefrog (Hyla andersonii). It definitely wasn’t the more common green treefrog (Hyla cinerea); the lavender and white stripes were unmistakable. I Googled Pine Barrens treefrog and learned that these amphibians dine on grubs, moths and beetles. In fact, they eat many of the same pests that chew the roots and leaves of the foilage my wife and I have been trying to encourage. Sadly, I also learned that my new front-yard tenant is an endangered species. Many of the pools that previously provided a home for Hyla andersonii have been drained for development. The good news is that while this summer’s above-average rainfall ruined many of my plans, apparently it helped regenerate habitat for the tiny and green among us. Now, I check the bush each morning to see how the little anersonii is faring, and each morning he reminds me that our earth is populated by living organisms that have a role in an intricate balance we have only just begun to understand. - Tom Casola FIRE Over the summer, we heard daily about the devastating wildfires in California, with the grim news that they were arson-related. Arson is one of the most horrific crimes perpetrated on public or private land. Not only is it expensive and challenging to bring under control, but the cost to individuals, businesses, and public and personal property, and the loss of natural resources are beyond measure. The death of two California firefighters reminds us of the risk and danger our public servants face on their jobs. We are aware that after a large wildfire, ecological recovery and regeneration can occur, but when property and lives are risked, the devastation cannot be measured in cost and recovery. The crime of arson often does not generate the public outrage that other criminal acts do – yet arson affects everyone. We pay more in taxes, insurance premiums, and construction costs. It is also one of the most difficult crimes to solve. Even with skilled investigators and a competent criminal justice system, it is a crime that often goes unpunished. Good stewardship of our land means that unusual activities that could result in unmanaged fires should be reported to the proper authorities. Let’s protect what is important, whether it be far off in California or right here in Tinicum. - Stana Lennox WIND Wind resource is expressed in terms of wind power classes, ranging from class 1 (the lowest) to class 7 (the highest). Each class represents an average of wind power at specified heights above the ground. Areas designated class 3 or greater are suitable for most wind energy applications, whereas class 2 areas are marginal and class 1 areas are generally not suitable. Local terrain features may interact with the windfield to cause the wind power to vary 50 to 100 percent from the assessment value. Thus, there may be local areas of high wind power in regions estimated to have low wind power; these would be areas such as plains, hilltops, ridge crests and mountain summits. Conversely, some local areas may have lower wind power than that shown by this assessment; these would be heavily wooded or urban areas. Much of the northeastern United States, including Bucks County (wind class 2), has relatively low onshore wind power, making it less desirable for wind turbines or windmill fields. (To see a wind resource map of Pennsylvania, go to www.rredc.nrel.gov/wind/pubs/atlas/ maps.html.) The middle of the country, with its vast open plains, is the most desirable area to produce power for homes and businesses from wind. - Betsi Campbell WATER We often hear about threats to our groundwater supplies. With the steady migration of people and industry from the cities to more rural areas, our groundwater supplies are indeed threatened. When it comes to groundwater protection, the initiative and responsibility in Pennsylvania lie with local communities. If we as a community are to protect our groundwater supply, we must first understand exactly what groundwater is. All water moves through a “hydrologic cycle”; groundwater is simply one stage of that cycle. Rain and snow fall and infiltrate the soil or run off into streams, lakes, and oceans. Evaporation and transpiration return the water to the atmosphere, where it condenses and again falls to earth. The water that filters through the soil and is not taken in by plants becomes groundwater, but it does not remain in the ground. Over time it will surface at an area of discharge – a spring, stream, lake, or wetland – and eventually evaporate. In Tinicum, most of us depend on groundwater for all our water usage. With the discovery in the 1970s of human-made chemicals in groundwater, we began to realize how extensively our activities could affect our water source. Your local government and local land trust are working hard to protect this important resource. - Karen Budd Fall 2009 TINICUM CONSERVANCY Page 9
Page 1 and 2: FALL 2009 New Recognition, New Goal
Page 3 and 4: Your Conservancy could not function
Page 5 and 6: 2ND ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP CELEBRATION 1
Page 7: HE FUTURE - OUR LAND MEMBERS mmitme
Page 11 and 12: 2009 CONSERVATION PROGRAMS Roaring

Newsletter-FALL 2009 FINAL FINAL TO PRINTER - Tinicum ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?