Month: March 2017

Rise Up and Sing Out!

~ Rose

Fourth Annual Pete Seeger Legacy Sing-a-long will be held Sunday, March 12 from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM at the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church.

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The Cape Ann Interfaith Clergy Association in cooperation with Folk Life Studio and the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church present the Fourth Annual Pete Seeger Legacy Sing in an open community sing-a-long entitled “Rise Up and Sing Out!”.

This family friendly event will be held on Sunday, March 12 from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM at the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, located at the corner of Middle and Church Streets in Gloucester, MA. Song sheets will be provided and those with acoustic instruments are welcome to come and play along.

The first sing, organized in 2014, was a memorial celebration held shortly after the passing of the iconic folk singer/activist.

Since then, a local social justice organization has been selected each year to be the 16298564_1325248124187531_5226880042050576172_nrecipient of freely given donations from the sing-a-long attendees. Those beneficiaries were the Grace Center in 2015 and the Backyard Growers in 2016.  This year donations will go to ECCO: the Essex County Community Organization. ECCO is a diverse network of congregations and organizations across the North Shore building relationships and power to put human dignity at the center of public life.

The two hour event will begin promptly at 3:00 PM with a break planned at the half-way point. People are welcome to come and go throughout the afternoon.

 

 

 

 

Gloucester Area Astronomy Club annual Astrophotography Night

~ Michael Deneen

On Friday night March 10, at 8:00 pm, the Gloucester Area Astronomy Club will bring you our annual Astrophotographers on Parade!

In this annual festival of GAAC astrophotography some of our best photographers will each show off a few of their favorite pictures they’ve taken of galaxies, nebulae and other objects. They will explain what each one is, how big and far away it is, and any issues they had getting the shot.

This is always a colorful, fun and exciting evening, one that will leave you with a new appreciation of what these folks do, as well as a lot of new knowledge about the strange, distant and enormous objects they photograph. Come early to see friends old and new, grab a good seat and some great goodies, and share some terrific conversation. See you on the 10th!

 

The Gloucester Area Astronomy Club meets from 8:00 to 9:30 pm on the second Friday of every month except August at the Lanesville Community Center, 8 Vulcan Street in Lanesville. There is no cost. There are no dues or fees, all are welcome, and you don’t need any special knowledge or equipment to have a great time. Lots of free off-street parking.

PIPING PLOVERS NESTING AT GOOD HARBOR BEACH

~ Chris Sicuranza

PIPING PLOVERS NESTING AT GOOD HARBOR BEACH

The City of Gloucester and Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken will be working closely during the 2017 beach season at Good Harbor Beach with the Essex County Greenbelt Association and the MA Division of Fisheries and Wildlife to manage Piping Plovers if they return again to nest on the beach.
 
“For generations, Gloucester’s citizens have existed in a delicate balance with our coastal ecosystem, from the open ocean, to the rocky shorelines and of course to our beaches,” Mayor Romeo Theken said. “We are committed to making every effort possible to protect nesting Piping Plovers at our beaches but we will do so while maintaining public access to these amazing areas. Please help me and the City by cooperating with any short-term restrictions imposed at our beaches in 2017.”
 
In 2016, Piping Plovers, a small shorebird, were observed nesting for the first time at GHB, and the City acted quickly and responsibly along with Greenbelt and MADFW to protect the birds and their nesting areas. The City is preparing more proactively now for the 2017 beach season.

BACKGROUND:

Piping Plovers are a small shorebird that was placed on the US Endangered Species List in 1986 as a threatened species. Piping Plovers nest directly on the sand at beaches throughout MA, typically on the upper beach just below the outer dune edge. Statewide the Piping Plover population has been increasing over the past 20 years and the population reached about 650 pairs in MA in 2016.
 
In Gloucester in 2016, 4 pairs of Piping Plovers nested at Coffins Beach and fledged 10 young. A single pair of Piping Plovers nested at GHB, hatching 3 chicks but none survived to fledge. The Piping Plovers at GHB nested later than normal in the season which may have contributed to the lack of chick survival. Better early season protections could help eliminate this problem in 2017.
The US Endangered Species Act requires public and private landowners to take necessary measures to protect listed species like Piping Plovers. MA also has guidelines and laws for beach nesting bird management. The city is making every effort to be compliant with all regulatory guidelines.
 
Piping Plovers typically arrive from their southern wintering areas to our local beaches in late March or early April. Males and females quickly form breeding pairs that begin the process of courtship and nest site select throughout April and May. During April and May, it is important to limit disturbance to the birds and their habitats. Chicks can hatch from nests in late May and are immediately mobile and move out of the nest in search of food. As chicks grow older and larger, they will roam from the dunes to the water’s edge in search of food. Chicks are very vulnerable to human disturbance and are susceptible to predators like gulls and foxes.

PLAN OF ACTION FOR 2017:

Gloucester officials have directed City staff to collaborate with Greenbelt and MADFW to development management strategies to protect Piping Plovers found nesting on any Gloucester beaches.
 
  • Beach Scraping – Limiting beach cleaning activities like beach scraping with a tractor and mechanical rake is very important once Piping Plovers arrive at GHB. This could start in April and last though June in certain areas at GHB.
  • Fencing – It is also important to strategically select areas for temporary closure with single strand fencing and signs. These fenced areas allow a refuge for Piping Plovers to begin their nesting season normally in May, before the busy beach season. fences could be installed in April and be in place through June in certain areas at GHB.
  • Monitoring – Regular monitors from Greenbelt, MADFW and theCity will visit GHB in March/April to determine if PipingPlovers are present and to ensure that any nesting Piping Plovers are well protected. Monitoring will continue as long as Piping Plovers are present at the site.
  • Public Access – GHB will remain open to the public during the beach season. Only selected small areas may be closed to the public to protect Piping Plovers. Mayor Theken encourages all beachgoers to respect the closed areas and to consider Piping Plovers as an important part of Gloucester’s rich and healthy coastal ecosystem.
  • Dogs – Unleashed dogs can pose a very real threat to Piping Plover adults and chicks. Dogs owners are responsible for controlling their dogs and may be legally responsible for any adverse impacts to Piping Plovers and their habitats.

For more information, please contact Greenbelt Essex County Trust at dwr@ecga.org or (978) 768-7241 x14

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Cape Ann’s Economic Outlook Breakfast

~ Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce

Please plan to join us for the Cape Ann Chamber’s annual Economic Outlook Breakfast, which will take place next Thursday, March 9, from 7:30 to 9 AM at the Gloucester House Restaurant.Economic-Outlook-DynamicBox-2017.jpg

Thursday, March 9, 2017  |  7:30  – 9:00 AM
Gloucester House Restaurant | 63 Rogers Street  | Gloucester, MA
Tickets are $30 and may be purchased online at capeannchamber.com or by calling the Chamber office 978-283-1601.

REGISTER HERE.

 MA Secretary of Transportation, Stephanie Pollack will speak on the following programs and topics.
  • MBTA  and Commuter Rail
    •    Updates on Beverly and Annisquam River bridges on the Rockport line
  • Road and Bridge  Local Aid Programs
    •    Municipal Small Bridge Program
      • $50 million state aid program to assist communities with the repair of smaller bridges (with spans between 10 and 20 feet) that are not eligible for federal funding assistance
    •   Complete Streets Program (Gloucester and Manchester-by-the-Sea currently participating)
      • “A Complete Street is one that provides safe and accessible options for all travel modes – walking, biking, transit and vehicles – for people of all ages and abilities.”
      • “Designing streets with these principles contributes toward the safety, health, economic viability and quality of life in a community by improving the pedestrian and vehicular environments. Providing safer, more accessible and comfortable means of travel between home, school, work, recreation and retail destinations helps promote more livable communities.”
      • Sources MassDOT website: http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/DoingBusinessWithUs/LocalAidPrograms/CompleteStreets.aspx
  • Secretary Stephanie Pollack will be addressing these and other topics, including the role of Transportation in the Baker/Polito administration’s overall economic development agenda for the Commonwealth, at the Chamber’s economic outlook breakfast on Thursday, March 9
  • All Cape Ann business owners and local officials, including public works, community development and planning officials, are encouraged to attend this timely and informative breakfast meeting.

Save the Date: Cape Ann Sustainability Fair

~ trixy546

tg2025-baglogoTownGreen 2025, a program of the Gloucester Meeting House Foundation, presents its second Cape Ann Sustainability Fair on Saturday, April 29, 2017 at O’Maley Innovation Middle School, located at 32 Cherry Street in Gloucester, MA, from 10 AM to 4 PM. The Cape Ann Farmer’s Market will be on site from 10 AM to 2 PM. Bring your broken bicycles to be repaired by volunteers from the Cape Ann Timebank and your unwanted bikes to be donated for refurbishing by Bikes not Bombs. Enjoy live music, speakers addressing clean energy technology, carbon neutrality, locally relevant impacts of climate change, and personal carbon footprint reduction and have enlightening conversations with our expert youth ambassadors about climate change concerns on Cape Ann. You can even test drive an Electric Vehicle! Admission is free. For more information, visit our website at www.towngreen2025.org.

Cyclones take home the GOLD!!!

~ coliecatherine

On Sunday March 5, 2017 the Cape Ann Cyclones, our local Special Olympics Junior Basketball Team traveled to the Fay School in Southboro to compete in their first Unified Team State Tournament. The Cyclones beat the Franklin Challengers(18-12) and the North Attleboro Rockets to earn the gold medal.The Cyclones showed great teamwork, outstanding sportsmanship throughout the day. Special Olympics Unified Sports®brings together ATHLETES with intellectual disabilities and athletes without intellectual disabilities (UNIFIED PARTNERS) to train and compete on the same team. Participants improve their physical fitness, sharpen their skills and learn acceptance and inclusion while participating in Unified Sports. ​

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Competing for the Gold 3/5/17

~ coliecatherine

On Sunday the Cape Ann Cyclones, a Special Olympics Unified basketball Team will compete in their first Team State Tournament. Special Olympics Unified Sports®brings together ATHLETES with intellectual disabilities and athletes without intellectual disabilities (UNIFIED PARTNERS) to train and compete on the same team. Participants improve their physical fitness, sharpen their skills and learn acceptance and inclusion while participating in Unified Sports. The games will be held at the Fay School in Southboro. The Cape Ann Cyclones have worked very hard to get to states; they are striving for the Gold. All competition will take place in Harlow gymnasium. Come down and support your favorite basketball team, the Cyclones first game is at 11am.