NALMC Demonstrates Ecological Burn At Harmony Hill Farm

On the evening of April 5, Northwood residents smelled smoke in the area near Harvey Lake, but this time the fire was both intentional and beneficial. The Northwood Area Land Management Collaborative (NALMC) demonstrated a controlled ecological burning of a 23-acre field at Harmony Hill Farm. Fire Departments from Northwood and Epsom started and controlled the fire and used the event as a training activity for approximately 40 firefighters. This is the sixth year of the demonstration, which is also the largest grassland fire training event held in New Hampshire.

The dramatic burn demonstration lit up the evening sky with flames up to six feet high and gave local fire departments an opportunity to train their personnel in controlling open field fires. It also served as a critical land conservation and open space management practice for Harmony Hill Farm, where for 25 years, a herd of Black Angus cattle roamed the pastures. The cattle were sold in 1994 and the land since then has been managed for wildlife habitat and natural resources. The Farm is one of the founding properties of NALMC.

Stewart Yeaton, Epsom Fire Chief and training event organizer, said, “This controlled burn provides invaluable practice that you can’t get in a classroom; and it helps the landowner to keep his fields open. It is a win-win situation.”

Carl Wallman, Chairman of NALMC, said, “I wish to thank the Epsom and Northwood fire departments for their invaluable assistance in keeping this important habitat vibrant and healthy. We couldn’t do it without them!”

Landowners also attended the event to learn about using controlled burns to manage and maintain their own grasslands. Fred Ernst of Walpole looked on with interest and said, “I have a field in Acworth that I burned accidentally, so I wanted to see how to do it the right way!”

Firefighters first carefully assessed the property and weather conditions and then used drip torches to start the fire. They moved the fire in small sections, from east to west, to keep it manageable in the light westerly winds. As the blaze moved westward through the field, it left charred, blackened turf in its wake. The entire burn progressed without incident and lasted approximately two hours.

The fields of Harmony Hill Farm provide a unique habitat in the NALMC neighborhood which complement the largely forested habitats in the surrounding landscape. Grasslands in New Hampshire have steadily decreased over the last century as agricultural fields and pastures once used for dairy farms, crops and hay production have been developed or abandoned, leading to natural forest succession by shrubs and trees. Large fields that once hosted nesting meadowlarks and bobolinks have disappeared and, as a result, populations of these birds have been in sharp decline, making them species of conservation concern in the state. Additionally, aggressive non-native plants such as European barberry (Berberis vulgaris), Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) and multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora), have invaded the state’s grasslands, reducing their value to wildlife and their suitability for grazing livestock. Grassland fires help to control these and other invasive plant species as well as the natural encroachment of native woody plants. The ash left behind provides valuable nutrients for grasses, sedges and wildflowers, and fields quickly grow back, more lush than before the burn.

Information on fire ecology in New England:

 http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/01/0127_050127_fire.html.

Information on grassland stewardship:

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Wildlife/Wildlife_Plan/Habitat_stewardship/Hab_Grasslands.pdf
For more information, or to get involved, please visit the NALMC web site: www.nalmc.net.

Baby Chloe Liver
Transplant Fundraiser

Baby Chloe Chaput, a 9 month old girl is in need of a liver transplant by the age of 2. She suffers biliary atresia, a fatal disease of the liver that blocks bile from passing to the gallbladder from the liver. Chloe lives in Allenstown and has family in Northwood.

Months after major surgery to offer a temporary fix, Chloe is still in search of a liver while she and her family make several trips per month to hospitals in Concord and Boston. The trips and treatments are costly which is why the family is reaching out to the public for help.

Natalie’s Coffee of Derry, NH, joined the fund- raising effort to help defray medical and transportation costs the Chaput family has to endure. Here is how you can help: with each bag of coffee, tea, or chai purchased, Natalie’s Coffee will dontate $1 to the cause. These amounts apply for each and every order, so your support will continue to benefit Chloe and her family. To support the family through this fundraising effort, simply visit www.NataliesCoffee.com and be sure to put in code CHLOE at check out. 

Chesley Library Benefit
Humor And Harmony III

The Friends of the Northwood Library will present “Humor and Harmony III” featuring Rebecca Rule and Cordwood at the Masonic Hall on Route 4 in Northwood on Saturday, May 8, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. Suggested donation is $5.00 per person at the door. Baked goods and coffee will be available for purchase. All proceeds will benefit the Chesley Memorial Library’s children and adult programs.

Rebecca Rule, aka the Moose of Humor, is a humorist/writer who specializes in funny stories about New Hampshire. You never know what is going to happen once the lies, uh, stories start flying. Her CDs are “Better Than a Poke in the Eye” and “Perley Gets a Dump Sticker.” Her latest book is “Live Free & Eat Pie: A Storyteller’s Guide to New Hampshire.”

Cordwood is a bluegrass and folk quartet made up of instrumental, vocal, and recording artists from Northwood, Strafford, and Deerfield. This is not your local neighborhood hobby band. They are a fine group of seasoned New England musicians. Each can hold his or her own at field picking or a back stage jam, and yet, as a band, they present a highly polished on-stage performance. All four members of Cordwood are storytellers and songwriters, creating original material for instrumentalists who can sing and harmonize, sometimes taking the lead vocal, other times hanging back and lending two, three, or  even four part harmonies to a song. Cordwood provides a unique sound to both originals and the covers they perform. Their tunes remain heartfelt and down-home. The band’s material is a mixture of traditional bluegrass, folk, and swing. Cordwood is Wini Young on banjo and guitar, Walk Kutylowski on bass, Al Pratt on guitar, and Bob Young on mandolin, names you may remember from Big Chicken, The Deerfield Coffeehouse Band and Fat Hands.

Northwood School Honor Roll for 3rd Quarter

5TH Grade
High Honors
Alexander Gray, Phaleap Taing, Sarah Turmel.

Honors
Miranda Adcock, Emily Barnes, Cassandra Barnhart, Elizabeth Bisson, Jesse Cormier, Abigail Devaney, Joseph Guptill, Nykola Isaia, McKenzie Moehlmann, Cassidy O’Dwyer, Noah Olewine, Jordain Pierce, Aidan Plumpton, Samantha Roche, Thomas Sheehan.

Honorable Mention
Dylan Andrews, Trinity Knight, Emily Marie, Andrew Pease, Caitlyn Pitre.

6th Grade
High Honors
Nicole Beaupre, Chloe Bettencourt, Erin Docko, Nathaniel Hartmann, Ryu Kondrup, Grace Mele, Billie Pingree, Kayleigh Sherman, Julie Souryavong.

Honors
Nathaniel Chagnon, Michaela Cirillo, Dalton Colman, Julia Cormier, Seanna DeMeritt, Austin DeTrude, Bailey Docko, Cheyenne Gardner, Robert Hill III, Caleb Locke, Elisabeth Long, Hanna Marie, Bianca Nardi, William Ohrenberger, Julie Renner, Carter Rollins, Bryce Twombly.

Honorable Mention
Alexis Arsenault, Samantha Bruce, Michael Conrad, Jessica Cooper, Matthew Guckert, Shayne Henry, Wyatt Jozokos, Daniell LaFlamme, Jared Neal, Cullen Pitman, Jordan Sargent, Kayci Serino, Mariah Valerio, Paul Volinsky, Dylan Wood.7th Grade

High Honors
Ronald Berry, Joshua Conrad, Ashley LeBlanc, Nicole Torosian.

Honors
Alexa Barnes, Claire Decker, Jeremy Fenerty, Audrey Getman, Molly Gibson, Hannah Herter, Francisca Jeffrey, Anthony Jones, Mark Leoncyk, Elizabeth MacEachern, Jelasa Nelson, Jessica Ohrenberger, Haley Ruth, Alec Schleich, Veronica Swindell.

Honorable Mention
Kyle Bousquet, Brenda Burgess, Katelynn Emmett, Catherine Farrar, Jacob Jackman, Austin Leith, Gaelyn O’Dwyer, Corey Oles, Ashley Perron, Hunter Ranfos, Dalton Reynolds, Anthony Russo, Kassandra Southwick, Ashley St. Pierre.

8th Grade
High Honors
Jacob Mele, Tiffany Summerford, Alexander Wimsatt.

Honors
Rebecca Ames, Joseph Anatone, Devon Berry, Danielle Bourgeois, Regan Butler, Ashley Calef, Courtney Corson, Thomas Esdale, Tyler Haroutunian, Hannah Hughes, Hailey Mann, Hailey Serino, Tiffany Sherman, Kristopher West.

Honorable Mention
Grace Axelrod, Connor Bell, Emily Blad, Alexandria Buiel, Julia Helton, Kaitlyn Hudson, Joshua James, Brittany Lachance, Nicholas Locke, Scott McGibbon, Sabrina Nasta, Taylor Pitre, Asha Plumpton, Samantha Shada, Elanie Trainor.

CBNA Students Participate in Congressional Art Competition

The following CBNA students are participating in the 29th annual Congressional Art Competition: An Artistic Discovery sponsored by Carol Shea-Porter’s Second Congressional District: Erika Magner, Jacanna Sourisak, Moria Geary, Sarah Fenerty, Justin Loy and Jenna Moore-Kulp. The exhibition, reception, and awards ceremony took place on Sunday, April 18  at the New Hampshire Institute of Art’s newest building in Manchester.

Erika Magner’s Self-Portrait took top honors and will have her work exhibited for a year in the tunnel at the Capital in Washington, DC. Erika will be flown to DC to attend a special reception later this summer. This is the 4th Best of Show awarded to a CBNA student over the past 6 years.   Heather Baker, (2005); Kaitlin Cecchetti, (2007); and Alyssa Pittera, (2009). In addition, Jenna Moore-Kulp received a certificate to attend a course at the Currier Art Center in Manchester and Jacanna Sourisak received a certificate to attend a course at the New Hampshire Institute of Art. Congratulations to all of these talented students!

CBNA Student Selected To NH Art All State Festival 

The Art Department is pleased to announce that John Jarvis has been selected to participate in the NH Art All State Festival 2010 at the New Hampshire Institute of Art. John was nominated by his art teacher, Mr. Chatfield. John completed an application packet that included an essay, examples of his artworks, recommendations, and an on-site interview.  Students were instructed to develop an artwork that reflects Henri Matisse’s (1869-1954) quote.  “Exactitude is not truth.” 

The New Hampshire Art All State Festival now in its 12th year is an education program for talented high school juniors that have been held for the past 11 years at the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester.  This year the New Hampshire Institute of Art will be hosting the program on Thursday and Friday, May 13th and 14th.  Art educators from around our state nominated juniors and 60 were selected. The festival provides an opportunity for students to expand their creativity and critical thinking by working with professional artists and peers in a collaborative fine art studio setting. Family and friends are invited to a special awards program, reception and exhibition of work created, on Friday afternoon, (2-4 PM) on May 14,  2010, in the Institute’s French Building, 148 Concord Street, Manchester.