3/10/2014 BOARD OF SELECTMEN Minutes

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• ' .....---- - 5N Orleans Green Week By Meg Quirk On April 22 2013,AmeriCorps Cape Cod(ACC) in partnership with the Orleans Conservation Trust(OCT) and the Orleans Tree Department(OTD) kicked off a week of environmental service to celebrate National Volunteer Week and two environmental holidays, Earth Day and Arbor Day. The week started with a celebration of Earth Day on an OCT property, "White's Lane," in South Orleans. Students from the Riverview School aided ACC members in the plantings of over 50 native shrubs and trees. Volunteers from the Wellfleet Bay Audubon were also on site to turn over"turtle gardens"to encourage terrapin turtles to nest on the property. The rest of the week was multi-faceted. ACC members built wooden boardwalks and cut back invasive vegetation along two OCT trail systems. Students from the Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Harwich planted native shrubs on a second OCT conservation area. ACC members presented to the entire 6th grade from Nauset Regional Middle School(NRMS) on the importance of native ecology. The 4th grade classes from Orleans Elementary.School weeded their schools' garden beds. Volunteers from Bartlett Tree Company helped prepare plot beds for the signature planting on the front grounds of NRMS. The signature planting at NRMS was finalized on Arbor Day as ACC members,NRMS students, OTD, and the Orleans Highway Department worked together to plant the remaining shrubs and trees as well as mulch,water, and weed the grounds of the school. Throughout the week,a total of 300 students were engaged in environmental and educational activities, 723 native shrubs and trees were planted on local conservation and town lands, and 300 white spruce seedlings were distributed to students and volunteers. Grants from the Massachusetts Service Alliance,NSTAR, and matching funds from the Barnstable County Resource Development Office funded the week's activities. The week also benefitted from the generous contributions of materials and food from over a dozen local businesses including Daniel's Recycling, Orleans Whole Food Store, Zia Pizzeria, the Local Scoop,Nauset Disposal, the Hot Chocolate Sparrow, and Friend's Marketplace. This project would not have been possible without the support and collaboration between the Orleans Tree Warden, Dan Connolly, the Orleans Conservation Trust Administrator,Kris Ramsay, and the NRMS Head of Maintenance, . Paul Richard, as well as the indispensable Barnstable County Resource Development Office staff, the Orleans Highway Department,Betsy Furtney of Landline Design,Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Orleans Community Partnership, Barnstable County's Co-operative Extension, and the student volunteers who impressed us with their positive energy and environmental awareness. 20