South Mountain Conservancy e-Bulletin - December 2022

DO NOT USE LEAF BLOWERS

IN THE RESERVATION!

The South Mountain Conservancy has recently been made aware of leaf blowing on the trails in the Reservation.

Using leaf blowers, gas or electric, is not good for trail maintenance and is an ecologically unsound practice.

It is not acceptable to create a "better" track for running, biking, or hiking, despite the best intentions.

Negative impacts of using a leaf blower:

Noise pollution
Exhaust. Blowing just one hour's worth of leaves with a gas-powered machine produces as many smog-forming chemicals as driving 1,100 miles in a Toyota Camry
Blowing away leaves impacts the ability to develop soil to produce a better trail bed
Eliminating a natural layer that absorbs water, reduces runoff, and limits trail damage

The South Mountain Reservation is meant to be a wild place and not a perfectly groomed backyard. If you are in doubt as to trail maintenance practices, please contact the Trailkeepers of the South Mountain Conservancy at trailkeepers@somocon.org

2022 Program Accomplishments

Volunteers Make All The Difference!

In 2022, over 1,300 volunteers gave the Reservation more than 3,200 volunteer hours! This generous donation of time, expertise and community support is essential to the work we do together as an organization. Volunteers and members are the backbone of South Mountain Conservancy and we'd like to take this month to celebrate all we have accomplished together!

Trail Work Crew

Expanded and blazed Swampy Trail Extension (red blazes) by adding landscape fabric and gravel/dust mix
Completed bog bridges and swale improvements on Zoo Loop
Re-blazed Zoo Loop
Work done on swales and culverts on River Trail

Trailkeepers

Assessing trails and any maintenance issues year-round
Reblazed multiple trails
Swale maintenance

Chainsaw Gang

156 trees removed from South Mountian Reservation trails with 220+ volunteer hours donated

Trash Tacklers

~750 volunteer hours donated by over 20 different groups with over 200 bags of trash removed
Recruited new Program Co-coordinator

Forest Regeneration

Removed invasives in the wildflower preserve and planted native plants
Overssaw workdays and interns who kept up trails in over 560 volunteer hours
Worked on the tree identification project for the Preserve
Facilitated Girl Scouts programming about invasives

Citizen Science

40 volunteers trained and ready to kick off Frog Watch and Nest Watch in the new season
112 volunteer hours

Guided Hikes

Our volunteer hike leaders led 78 hikes in South Mountain Reservation, through every season, and guided over 471 hikers!
Recruited new hiking Program Coordinator to take over from Lou Nocito who helped start the hiking program and has overseen it for many years.

Wildflower Sculpture Park

Installed three new works to the permanent collection in 2022: Polypore by Oki Fukunaga (above, left); Fantastical Garden by Dan Fenelon (above, right); and Speaking of Birds by Natalya Khorover (not pictured).
Hosted artist workshops for the public and community groups

The Fairy Trail

Recruited two new progarm co-ordinators who took the reins from Therese Ojibway, who started the Fairy Trail and oversaw it for a decade
Hosted a fairy house-making workshop in October at the Annual Family Campout
Repaired 10 damaged houses on the trail
Added 13 new houses to the trail ~ 40 volunteer hours

SMC Events
Thank you to all the volunteers that helped make the annual South Mountain Reservation Family Campout and the Mayapple Trail Runs a success!

All of these efforts would not be possible without support of our generous community.

This holiday season, please consider becoming a 12-month member to help us protect, restore and improve the South Mountain Reservation.

12-Month Membership

Double Your Gift
Many companies offer matching gift programs to encourage employees to contribute to charitable organizations. Most match contributions dollar for dollar, and some will even triple the amount of your gift! To find out if your company has a matching gift program check with your Human Resources Department.

Donate and Save IRA Taxes!
People who are age 70 ½ or older can contribute from their IRA directly to the Conservancy and avoid paying income taxes on that distribution. This is known as a qualified charitable distribution. As the Conservancy is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit, these distributions can satisfy all or part of your required minimum distribution (RMD) from your IRA. For more information, speak to your financial advisor and contact chair@somocon.org .

Donate

SHOP
THE
STORE

Would you like to get involved, schedule a program
or have an idea to share?

We'd love to hear from you!

Citizen Science: Lori LaBorde, citizenscience@somocon.org
Chainsaw Gang: David Berry, chainsawgang@somocon.org
Forest Regeneration: Christy Zolty, forestregen@somocon.org
Hikes: Bobbette Clarke, hikes@somocon.org
Trailkeepers: Richard Inserro, trailkeepers@somocon.org
Trail Work Crew: Dennis Percher & John Verzani, trailwork@somocon.org
Trash Tacklers and Plogging: David Berry & Amber Benezra, trashtacklers@somocon.org
Wildflower Sculpture Park Curator: Lisa Sanders, wspcurator@somocon.org
Operations Director: Penni Malakates, opsdirector@somocon.org