Brewster Garden Tours Tuesday July 13 and Wednesday July 14 10am to 4pm Rain or Shine Hosted by the Garden Club of Brewster
1. Halcyon Farm, 3915 Main St. Rte 6A - A model for what is possible on small acreage and a daily reminder of the value of small farms and locally grown food. Tour the farm with the owner, view the restored farmhouse, hear about the operational approach, and buy some of the organic produce. 2. 900 Satucket Road – A six-acre estate located on Mill Pond includes an English garden, a native pollinator border surrounding a large pond teeming with fish, water lilies, and aquatic and wetland plants, and a Japanese-inspired path round out a garden that begs to be explored. Hosted by the Cape Cod Hospital Auxiliary, Orleans Division 3. Chatham Bars Inn Farm—3034 Main St. Rt. 6A - Originally a garden center in Brewster, this land was purchased by Chatham Bars Inn in 2013 to enhance the menu, while creating a farm-to-table dining experience for its guests. There is a wonderful variety of vegetables and flowers to enjoy. 4. The Gardens of the Historic Candleberry Inn - 1882 Main St. Rt. 6A - The Candleberry Inn dates back to the 1700’s and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The stately gardens and expansive lawns create a dramatic setting for this graceful Georgian edifice. 5. A Spectacle of Color—207 Foster Road -entrance/ 66 Chapel Lane - An amazing array of over 100 varieties of flowers and shrubs provide spectacular color in beds and containers which you can enjoy at these neighboring locations. Cape Cod Hospital Auxiliary members have a booth with unique items for sale here. Hosted by the Brewster Ponds Coalition 6. 119 North Pond Drive – This property on Blueberry Pond combines conservation and aesthetic goals with a lush ecosystem of hydrangeas and pollinator plants, trees, and bushes; a newly installed alternative septic system protecting the pond environment; and a neighborhood rain garden/storm water filtration basin. Complete your tour with a peek at a beehive, home to approximately 40,000 Italian honey bees. Hosted by the Cape Cod Hydrangea Society and Brewster Ponds Coalition 7. 299 Landing Drive - Overlooking Long Pond, this property features 100+ hydrangeas with mixed herbaceous, perennial and annuals ringing the front yard, a terraced vegetable garden, and a shade garden. The steep bank to the pond has been stabilized with native grasses and Carolina roses. On July 13, Linda Coven of Strictly Hydrangeas will speak on choosing the right hydrangeas for your garden. Hosted by the Master Gardener Association on July 13 only 8. 2081 Main St. Rte 6A - This one-acre family farm is now home to the largest collection of holly plants on Cape Cod. Come, stroll down the grassy alley to view nearly 400 cultivars of hollies as well as hydrangeas, crape myrtles, magnolias, stewartias, and others. The Master Gardener owner will provide tips on growing hollies on the Cape and southern New England. Each tour costs $5/person. Proceeds support projects of the host organization. CapeCodHydrangeaFestival.com Kids of all ages are invited to join BCD Kickoff, Saturday, July 10, at Drummer Boy Park from 10 AM - 12 Noon. Saturday’s activities will include; “Meet the BCD Mascots”, Cape Light Compact’s, “Energy Fair”, BCT’s “Guess How Many Acres” game, “The Turtle Sisters” StoryWalk ®, and just in case anyone needs a snack break - Perry’s Last Stand Ice Cream Truck will be there from 11 am – 12 pm. Meet Shelly The Turtle - The Brewster Ponds Coalition Mascot. Kids can pick up their 2021 Passports and get started playing for a chance to win great prizes. The BCD Passport is a fun way for kids to learn about conservation – where they can complete five conservation challenges and enter online. Prizes include a Junior Explorer Backpack with hiking accessories or a free Ice Cream treat from a local Brewster shop. BCD’s Passport Challenge can be played from anywhere by downloading a Passport at: brewsterconservationtrust.org.
We are excited to announce that in the BPC is partnering with the Brewster Conservation Trust in their always fun and informative Brewster Conservation Day (WEEK) — a 2021 hybrid model built for these times. This year's events feature a BPC “All About Ponds” program. Together we will present a fun-filled, week-long celebration that will include both in-person and virtual activities, contests, walks, talks, and video presentations. Join us for KICKOFF day Saturday, July 10, at Drummer Boy Park from 10 AM – 12 PM. Kids 6-12: Get your own virtual passport to the events, learn about conservation, and win lots of prizes! See schedule of events and get your virtual passport below. Brewster Conservation Day is an annual educational fair sponsored by the Town of Brewster, Brewster Historical Society, and Brewster Conservation Trust. Click here for schedule of events. (Download a PDF.) Kids: click here to get your own virtual passport (Download and print.) Kids of all ages are invited to join BCD Kickoff, Saturday, July 10, at Drummer Boy Park from 10 AM - 12 Noon. Saturday’s activities will include; “Meet the BCD Mascots”, Cape Light Compact’s, “Energy Fair”, BCT’s “Guess How Many Acres” game, “The Turtle Sisters” StoryWalk ®, and just in case anyone needs a snack break - Perry’s Last Stand Ice Cream Truck will be there from 11 am – 12 pm. Kids can pick up their 2021 Passports and get started playing for a chance to win great prizes. The BCD Passport is a fun way for kids to learn about conservation – where they can complete five conservation challenges and enter online. Prizes include a Junior Explorer Backpack with hiking accessories or a free Ice Cream treat from a local Brewster shop. BCD’s Passport Challenge can be played from anywhere by downloading a Passport at: brewsterconservationtrust.org.
BCD’s 2021 week long celebration continues from July 12 through July 16 with plenty of fun and educational activities for kids and adults including, Explore and Create sessions and Pond Field Trips for kids 5+, Nature Hikes, an Oyster Farm Tour with Town of Brewster Senior Shellfish Officer, Ryan Burch, StoryWalks at Windmill Meadow and No Bottom Ponds, and a very unique garden tour that includes a peek at a working beehive, an alternative septic system, and a pond-safe storm drainage system. In addition to in-person events the Brewster Ponds Coalition has put together an incredible virtual Pond Education program at brewsterpondscoatlition.org. See a full schedule of BCD 2021 events at: brewsterconservationtrust.org/BCD2021/ Take a look at these beautiful images by professional photographer Bill Pomeroy from the June 6th Eco-Paddle Fun-Raiser sponsored by BPC business partner SupFari Adventures. Read more about this event in the summer newsletter - coming July 1st!
With the help of our Community Partners Lower Cape Television, The Brewster Conservation Trust and The Association To Preserve Cape Cod, the Brewster Ponds Coalition has launched a new Virtual Children's Pond Education Program. The program consists of a series of seven originally produced videos that Brewster science teachers use for classroom and in-home learning, which were created during this Covid era, when field trips were not possible. The videos are now available for parents and children to view on the Brewster Ponds Coalition website by clicking here. There is also a robust list of additional instructional resource links and videos. “Pond Education for school children in Brewster public schools is one of the BPC’s signature programs,” said Susan Bridges, President of the Brewster Ponds Coalition. The curriculum teaches the children about the importance of protecting the environment and pond health. In prior years, the program ended with a pond field trip filled with hands-on learning activities and a puppet show. “Covid prevented an in-person field trip this year, but our dedicated Pond Education team worked hard all winter and spring to create a wonderful virtual program that was presented in classrooms earlier this month and is now ready to share with anyone who visits our website,” she said. “We are very grateful to JM O’Reilly and Associates for sponsoring our Pond Education program and to our partners at Lower Cape Television, The Brewster Conservation Trust and APCC (The Association To Preserve Cape Cod) for joining us in communicating the launch of this important effort.”
Marcia Kielb, Chairperson of the Ponds Education Committee, explains the process the committee used during COVID to continue the program. “Many techniques were used to record the videos including iphones, laptops, ZOOM, Google, cameras, green screens, etc. with the assistance of high school intern, Bennett Hartley. We all learned to do many new things during this trying time,” she said. Cape Cod authors helped record some of their writings and illustrations. The Brewster Bookstore, another business partner of BPC, also assisted. Kielb added, “As a remembrance for completing the BPC Ponds Education program, the 5th graders and their teachers were given take-away bags provided by BPC filled with many water-related items including water bottles from the Brewster Water Department, Susan Baur’s book A Guide to the Best Ponds on Cape Cod, and other printed materials about how to care for ponds.” The Brewster Ponds Coalition embarked on the planning, development and execution of the Children’s Pond Education Program in 2017. The program provides teachers with grade appropriate Pond Kits which include detailed Pond Curriculum Guides, lesson plans, classroom activities, games, crafts and reference materials, and culminates in an end of school year field trip to a Brewster Pond. BPC volunteers coordinate with the schools’ science teachers in aligning the curriculum according to grade level and scheduling the pond trips. Once at the pond, students are treated to a puppet show performed by BPC docent volunteers, and then collect, observe, investigate and identify pond creatures at hula hoop research stations. Students also learn which macroinvertebrates indicate a “healthy pond.” Since the program’s inception, more than 600 students have experienced this unique and wonderful program in person, and no fewer than 33 BPC volunteers have welcomed school buses and students to the pond. This year alone, 198 Brewster 2nd, 3rd and 5th grade students and 14 teachers utilized the program. Now with these new videos and the reach of the internet, thousands more will enjoy this program! BPC volunteers create the Pond Kits, which are donated to local schools and “refreshed” annually. BPC volunteers are also involved in a wide range of other activities from helping to prepare materials, setting up at the pond, cleaning, storing and transporting equipment, performing in the puppet show, and working with students pond-side! Brewster has more pond acreage than any town on Cape Cod. The Brewster Ponds Coalition formed in 2014 with the mission of “protecting the health, beauty and enjoyment” of the town's 83 ponds. The Brewster Ponds Coalition is an all-volunteer 501(C) 3 charitable nonprofit organization with more than 70 volunteers actively involved in protecting pond health and improving water quality. Meet Susan Baur, author of several children's books about swimming with turtles in Cape Cod ponds. Susan Baur's inspirational works are used by The Brewster Ponds Coalition in their newly launched virtual Children's Pond Education Program. This beautiful video, produced and narrated by Cape Cod filmmaker Monte Ladner, describes how Susan came to Cape Cod and became enthralled by its freshwater pond inhabitants. A lovely video for adults and children alike. See Monte Ladner's other videos at https://www.youtube.com/user/monteladner
Join us this summer for four (4) FREE Cycling Tours as we explore the backroads and kettle ponds of Brewster and beyond.
Ride the Cape Cod Rail Trail past four kettle ponds and into Harwich. Perhaps a rest stop in Harwich center for a drink and a stop at one of Brewster's kettle ponds on the return and perhaps a dip in the pond? Meet-up instructions will be provided prior to the event. Read the BPC Cycling group |
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