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April events in Natick will support animals

March 20, 2022 by Admin Leave a Comment

A couple of upcoming events in Natick will support our animals friends:

Pet supply drive

Natick Sons and Daughters of Italy is hosting a contactless pet supply drive on Saturday, April 9, from 9am to 2pm. at the lodge at 37 Washington Ave.

Your donations will benefit the following local shelters:

    • Stray Pets In Need – Natick/Wellesley
    • Metrowest Humane Society – Ashland
    • BayPath Humane Society – Hopkinton

The organization will collect and deliver your donations to each shelter to support their ongoing efforts to place all pets with a family. Here is a list of necessary donation items needed.

Jr’s Paws for a Cause 5K run/walk

Canine-friendly, non-competitive 5K run/walk on April 24, 8:30-11am.

Proceeds raised will be donated to Project Samana, Kyles Legacy canine cancer aid program, and rebuilding the Natick Organic Farm.

Starting at the Natick High School football field parking lot.

Sign up


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Filed Under: Animals



Natick Community Organic Farm barn fire, one year later

March 15, 2022 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

In the early morning hours of March 17, 2021, the beloved Natick Organic Community Farm’s (NCOF) 200+ year-old barn burned down. The cause of the conflagration, which completely engulfed the timber framed structure within 20 minutes, was electrical in nature, Chief Michael Lentini of the Natick Fire Department confirmed in an email. Thankfully, there was no loss of human life, but three sows and 13 piglets perished in the 3-alarm fire, which started around 4:30am.

Natick Community Organic Farm

Everyone connected with the farm agrees that the day the historic barn was lost was one of the most terrible of their lives. But almost before the sun rose, the community was rallying to support the town treasure that is NCOF. “We were so lucky in so many ways. It wasn’t a windy day, thanks to the firefighters there was no spread to the other wooden structures,” said Trish Wesley Umbrell, Assistant Director of Internal Operations, during an interview at the farm. “But it was really dreadful to get here in the dark and see the flames going up in the sky. It was really, really awful.”

The outpouring of support over the past year has included monetary donations from piggybanks and bank accounts; words of kindness; and meals for farmers, staff, and volunteers as they worked through the almost unbearable loss.

Natick Community Organic Farm, barn

The heart of the farm

The NCOF serves Natick and 22 surrounding communities, and the people have spoken. They want the farm to rebuild the barn. It will take about $1.1 million to replace the two-story barn and attached greenhouse, making the farm whole again. Donations have poured in. Over $276K has been raised over the past year via a crowdfunding campaign launched by the farm. Another $400K+ came in through the Natick Community Organic Farm website and through private offline donations. The goal is to raise the barn in its original location, hopefully breaking ground in fall 2022.

The 27-acre NCOF is registered as a 501(c)3 nonprofit entity that is designated for agriculture and conservation purposes in perpetuity. The land is owned by the town and is under a multi-decade long-term lease to the nonprofit.

Regarding the insurance coverage that was carried by the Town of Natick on the barn and greenhouse, capital campaign director Rachel Adjemian said in an email, “The barn that burned was owned by the town. The insurance money was minimal (not near the cost to replace what was lost) and did not come back to the farm for this rebuild but went to the town. The town is giving ownership of the new barn to the nonprofit, and the nonprofit is responsible for funding the build. We will own our own insurance on the new barn.”

Barn raising

Currently an architect is working on plans that will result in a barn with an updated interior that will will serve the way NCOF farms today. “We want to build a barn that has the spirit of the old barn but with some modern aspects to it that will allow us to do our work of youth education and farming better,” Umbrell said. The new structure will look a lot like the old barn in terms of shape, and like the old barn, there will be an attached greenhouse. Changes such as a state-of-the-art irrigation system to replace the tangled tripping hazard of hoses from the past will be put in place.

Natick Community Organic Farm

Another practical wish list item is a concrete slab floor so that farmers can drive heavy equipment in and out of the barn, something that the former barn’s heavy oak floors were unable to support. In a nod to 1815, the year the old barn was built, the new structure will be timber framed to honor the essential character of the place. A surveyor’s report advised the barn be raised on its original site. From a practical standpoint, the farm grew up around the barn, and the farm’s many structures and fields were placed due to the barn’s location. From an environmentally sensitive standpoint, much of the farm abuts wetlands, so an attempt to move the barn to a different location would likely lead to obstacles that can just as easily be avoided by keeping the structure on its original footprint.

“It’s an opportunity to build something that will not only serve our current farmers, but future generations of farmers,” Umbrell said.

After the firefighters left, and the charred remains were safe to sift through, farmers saved what little they could. Although most of the wood went up in smoke, some of the beams were salvaged. In addition, Mark Oteri, a professional timber framer and craftsman, worked with the demolition crew that was brought in by the town and found seven of the eight original door hinges. Oteri has led the farm’s Teen Work Crew that timber framed many of the farm’s structures including the composting toilet building and the market stand, and will have hands-on involvement in construction of the new barn.

“We will definitely incorporate bits of the old barn into the new one. We want to honor the spirit of the old barn but still build something that’s more reflective of the times we’re in,” Umbrell said.

Planning ahead

Every detail about the new barn is being discussed by the Barn Reconstruction Advisory Committee (BRAC),  a brainstorming group that includes NCOF executive director Casey Townsend, former executive director Lynda Simkins, some NCOF board members, an architect, a builder, and town officials.

The BRAC group is working with the town to secure a building permit in hopes of breaking ground once the summer programs, which serve 700 kids, have wound down. Plus, the farm could use a little more time to bring an exciting offer to fruition. An anonymous donor has come forth with a challenge grant—if the NCOF can raise an additional $200k by Oct. 31, 2022, the donor will match that.

The Challenge Grant is an all-or-nothing opportunity. NCOF will only receive the full matching $200,000 if they can raise the first $200k by Oct. 31. Here’s how to donate.

“While farmers are very resilient and tough people, it’s very, very difficult to function without a practical facility,” Umbrell said.

With hard work and community help, the NCOF is getting closer to that goal of a practical facility that will keep the heart of the farm beating.

_________________________________________________________________________________

The Natick Community Organic Farm is a nonprofit, certified-organic farm. The farm provides productive open space, farm products, and hands-on education for all ages, year-round. The Natick Community Organic Farm is about farming in the public eye. Visitors to the farm learn what food looks like before it gets processed, refined, or packaged. Farmers demonstrate how to take good care of the land and the animals, teaching the next generation about stewardship, ecology, and personal responsibility.


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Filed Under: Animals, Community, Environment, Firefighters, Food, Gardens

Natick holding town-wide beaver discussion

March 4, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Beavers are really bringing people together in Natick. Three town groups—Natick’s Conservation Commission, Trails and Forest Stewardship Committee, and Open Space Advisory Committee—will unite for a town-wide beaver discussion on Wednesday, March 9 at 7pm

Update (3/11/22): Here’s the Natick Pegasus recording of the meeting:

“The impetus for the discussion is the impact beavers are having on the trails at Town Forest specifically,” says Claire Rundelli, Planner Conservation Agent, Natick Community and Economic Development. “The beaver dam within Little Jennings pond has caused such a backup of water it has flooded out a number of trail sections, including a portion of the main trail in Town Forest. It has also resulted in a bridge needing to be removed, as the high water levels had caused water to flow over the bridge which would have damaged the wood in the long-run if left in place.”

The discussion will take place in a public meeting due to the “sensitive nature of the possible solutions,” she says.

An expert in beaver management from Beaver Solutions is scheduled to present.

Solutions such as the flow devices used at Pickerel Pond and elsewhere locally, aren’t a good fit at the Town Forest. Other options would be to concede to the beavers and reroute the trails, or to trap the animals and put them down humanely (state law doesn’t allow relocating them).

“The Conservation Commission felt it was important to have the discussion in a way that the public could join in and offer opinions, as it is a big decision. We’ve included the Trails and Forest Stewardship and Open Space Advisory Committees to ensure that all relevant Town bodies are having a voice in the discussion as well,” Rundelli says.

Discussing the long-term viability of any solution is important given the number of dams in town, and due to considerations of whether some solutions would be impractical over time. Just because you get rid of today’s beavers doesn’t mean others won’t follow.

If you want to study up before zooming into the meeting, here’s a bunch of background material.

pickerel pond trail winter

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Filed Under: Animals, Environment, Government

Meerkats mob Natick Mall

February 6, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

As I entered Natick Mall on Sunday morning a little kid in front of me, seeing a sign for a new art exhibit, asked the adults she was with: “What’s a meerkat?”

An even better question might be “Why meerkats?”

natick mall meerkat art

The lower floor of the mall near the soon-to-be-departed Neiman Marcus is now dotted with dozens of colorful 4-foot-high meerkats—a mammal native to deserts in the southern tip of Africa—made from regenerated plastics by an outfit called Cracking Art.

The Mall actually would appear to have had its choice of a number of animal species from Cracking Art, so it’s a little surprising it would choose one whose groups are called “mobs” or “gangs.” But I’m sure we would have come up with something to poke fun at too if they’d gone with the snails, penguins or wolves.

natick mall meerkat art

Meerkats have gained popularity through the TV show Meerkat Manor and the character Timon in The Lion King.

The Mall’s marketing team tries to force some meaning into the art by touting the “awe-inspiring exhibition” as “sparking a community-wide conversation about caring for our environment and each other.”

Uh, no.

But it does have the effect the Mall is truly looking for. Kids and adults dart toward the meerkats when they come upon them for photos, including selfies.

So they do fit property owner Brookfield’s efforts to keep the mall relevant as a place to gather.

natick mall meerkat art

natick mall meerkat art

More: Zero Empty Spaces seeks to fill part of Natick Mall with artists


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Filed Under: Animals, Art, Business

Sign up now for fall programs at Natick Community Organic Farm

September 11, 2021 by Admin Leave a Comment

SPONSORED CONTENT:

Natick Community Organic Farm


Want to see your business as part of a Sponsored Post? Contact Natick Report at deborahcb100@gmail.com

Filed Under: Animals, Community, Education, Entertainment, Environment, Food, Gardens, Kids, Outdoors

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