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Natick Community Organic Farm looks to break ground on barn in spring, shares annual update

January 19, 2023 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Natick Community Organic Farm this week held its annual meeting online and shared a summary of the past year and a look ahead, which if all goes well will include a barn raising. The farm had planned to break ground in the fall, but you know how construction projects go these days…now plans are to prep the site this month and raise the timber this spring.

Other goals for this year include boosting organic produce production to satisfy Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) demand. More fresh meat (chicken) offerings is also in the works.

Education programs account for the farm’s biggest chunk of income, so look for more adult education workshops in 2023, plus a pilot of weekend family programs.

Farm employees and volunteers are especially enthusiastic about bringing back a full slate of in-person events this year. Maple Magic, which includes a pancake breakfast and maple sugaring tours, is slated for March 4.

 

 

Filed Under: Animals, Community, Food, Gardens



Natick business buzz: Pet World—& Kitty City—moving to Sherwood Plaza; Metroworks opening across from Common

January 12, 2023 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The latest Natick, Mass., business news:

Pet World—& Kitty City—moving to Sherwood Plaza

Pet World—including its Kitty City adoption space—will be making the move from its longtime location at 1262 Worcester St. (Rte. 9 east) just outside Sherwood Plaza…into the plaza itself. The business will increase its space by 50% from 8,000 sq. ft. to 12,000 sq. ft., situated between David’s Bridal and the Minado restaurant.

The move will start next month and Pet World says it hopes to be operational at the new space by March.

pet world

Lots of changes at Sherwood Plaza these days, with Christmas Tree Shops rebranding to CTS and Barnes & Noble making its move there this year from Shopper’s World.

Metroworks coworking office opening across from Natick Common

Metroworks, which offers coworking office space and meeting rooms, is opening a location this month at 31 South Main St. across from Natick Common. Metroworks already operates at 1 South St., across from the Natick Center train station.

The business offers modern workspaces, plus networking opportunities, for entrepreneurs as well as others who need remote office space, including those working from home who need a break from that.

Natick Select Board Chair Paul Joseph and Economic Development Chair Scott Laughlin are listed on the company website as partner and managing partner at Metroworks, respectively.

metroworks


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Filed Under: Animals, Business



A winter walk around the Natick Community Organic Farm

December 29, 2022 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

After a sedentary holiday season marked by multiple multi-course meals, we needed to get outside and spend some time in the bracing cold. During a contemplative walk at the Natick Community Organic Farm, we counted up the number of cookies we ate over the past few weeks and multiplied that by the number of Hallmark movies we’d watched. That equation added up to a wake-up call. Time to get back on the righteous path of healthy living. We’re now ready to step away from the wassail.

Here are some pics of our visit.

Natick Community Organic Farm, Natick

 

Natick Community Organic Farm, Natick

Natick Community Organic Farm, Natick

Natick Community Organic Farm, Natick

Natick Community Organic Farm, Natick

 

Natick Community Organic Farm, Natick

 

Natick Community Organic Farm, Natick

Natick Community Organic Farm, Natick

An update on the barn rebuild

Early in the morning of March 17, 2021 the Natick Community Organic Farm’s 200+ year-old barn burned to the ground. (You can see our story on the fire here.)

Since the event, the farm has been working to raise $1.1 million for a new barn with a state-of-the-art attached greenhouse.

According the the NCOF website, “Our architects have submitted designs, and as of September 2022, we have the permits in hand to begin building.”

Filed Under: Animals, Construction, Food, Outdoors

Natick’s beaver problem: One-size solution won’t fit all

December 21, 2022 by Bob Brown 4 Comments

The Natick Conservation Commission held a public meeting this week regarding how to handle increased issues with beaver dams and activity, and came away with a to-do list that includes getting some hard numbers on what it would cost for a contractor to come in and regularly breach dams as well as how much it would cost to trap and remove beavers (how much per pelt).

Commission Chair Matthew Gardner summed up thoughts shared at the meeting by town officials, commission members, and members of the public by stating that the consensus “is that beaver eradication is a thing of last resort.” After all, we’re talking about “a population of beavers doing what beavers do,” he said.

One possible solution raised on the beaver trapping front, though, is enlisting our Nipmuc neighbors. Claire Rundelli, Natick’s planner and conservation agent, said there has been some interest from that community in being the town’s trappers if needed.

Gardner said the data collection he cited could be done with an eye toward regularly removing the dam along Hunnewell Town Forest that has flooded the main trail, significantly affected water levels in Jennings Pond and Little Jennings Pond, and threatened Rte. 9. Neighbors from the Jennings Pond area have banded together and tag-teamed their comments during the Conservation Commission meeting to emphasize the downstream damage caused by the dam. Beavers are squeezing out frogs, birds, and other regular inhabitants of this wetlands area, the neighbors said.

beaver dam town forest

 

That area is just 1 of many affected by beavers in town. Others include Pickerel Pond, Lake Cochituate, and around Cottage Street, Course Brook in West Natick, and Broadmoor in South Natick. Some property is owned by the town, other land is under the Commonwealth’s Department of Conservation and Recreation’s control. The combination of beaver-related issues and climate change (this year’s severe drought) has only increased and complicated the impact.

The commission is looking to develop a multilayered approach to beaver management, and Gardner proposed coming up with a decision tree-based set of policies that would help Natick handle different situations, from a Rte. 9 flooding to rising backyard water levels to significant water level drops in public water bodies. In some cases the town would take action, in others it might not. Gardner said it’s possible some decisions could be in place as soon as next spring depending on what the data shows.

One option the town has used at Pickerel Pond is a water flow device, or beaver deceiver, that eliminates the need to breach dams. But this only works in areas that meet certain conditions, including deep enough water to install the device. Dredging could be used to pave the way for device use, but dredging is expensive and involves a complicated approval process that includes permission from the federal government (we’ll surely be learning lots more about dredging when the human-made South Natick Dam is removed). Still, the topic was raised at the meeting, with discussion about whether it would be worth the cost in the long term vs. constant dam removal that could add up.

In the meantime, as temperatures drop and we head toward likely freezing waters, beaver activity will slow in the months ahead as the critters rest up for more action in the spring.


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Filed Under: Animals

Beavers back on Natick Conservation Commission agenda

December 18, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The Natick Conservation Commission will dedicate its meeting on Monday, Dec. 19 from 6-8pm on what to do about beavers in town. Public comment at the meeting is welcomed.

beaver dam natick town forest

 

Beavers have made their mark around town, including at the Hunnewell Town Forest, where beavers have reassembled their dams as quickly as the town or others have breached them in the past.

When the Commission tackled the topic in March it came away thinking the town would just live with the beavers and reroute trails as needed. But that thinking appears to have changed with the threat of flooding caused by some dams. Flow devices used to address beaver issues in some parts of Natick’s complex and large watershed were deemed unlikely to work in the relatively shallow water along the Town Forest trail.

The Commission did briefly discuss beaver dams at its Dec. 9 meeting, with concerns raised about flooding reported on the north side of Rte. 9 along the Town Forest. The Department of Public Works was heading out to breach the dam on Monday as a temporary fix, but is also going to explore whether there might be a clogged culvert.


Got a beaver story to share with Natick Report readers? Let us know: natickreport@gmail.com


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Filed Under: Animals, Government

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