Community
Flerra Summer Playground Wraps Up Its 53rd Season
(25-JUL-24) On July 26, the Boxborough Recreation Commission’s Flerra Summer Playground (FSP) wrapped up the final week of its 53rd season. FSP is a half-day summer program at Flerra Meadows in Boxborough, open to children that are entering kindergarten through seventh grade.
This year, roughly 400 campers attended FSP across four, week-long sessions throughout July, with a record number of 313 campers in the fourth and final week.
Campers enjoyed annual traditions like “Tie-dye Tuesdays” and “Water Wednesdays” with inflatable water slides, as well as sports tournaments out in the field and other activities under the tent. Cornhole and “world cup soccer” tournaments were a hit, as were slime-making and ice-cream making projects. The weeks also included lots of legos, board games, and bracelet making, and nature walks to the pond.
Community visitors this year included local author and illustrator Jarrett Lerner, the Boxborough Police and Fire Departments, and Blanchard teachers and staff.
The FSP program is run by three directors: Brian Picca, an ABRHS special education assistant in his tenth year as FSP director; Laura Spurling, a Blanchard Elementary School special education assistant in her seventh year as FSP director; and Anastasia Koulopoulos, an RJ Grey Junior High School science teacher in her fourth year as FSP director.
“We say it every year but our success is truly a huge community effort,” said Director Brian Picca. “Big thank you to parents and guardians for their patience in our drop-off and pick-up lines, as well as members of the community who have donated games, crafts, sports equipment and other materials. Thanks also to the Boxborough Department of Public Works and Ami, Naomi, Rajon and everyone else at Town Hall who has been working tirelessly with us since January to make this program successful. And thank you to the Boxborough Recreation Commission for putting this wonderful community program together for the 53rd year…Can’t wait to have everyone back again next summer!”
All About the Boxborough Recreation Commission
(25-JUL-24) The Town of Boxborough’s Recreation Commission consists of six volunteers who run a variety of recreational programs for children and adults in Boxborough, including the popular Flerra Summer Playground program, as well as community events like Winterfest at Steele Farm and the new RunBXB road race in the spring.
The Commission “strives to strengthen and to maintain a healthy community through various programs,” says member Megan Connor. “By providing the community with ways to get involved with and stay invested in its green spaces, effective park programming brings many benefits to health and wellbeing for residents. We strive to keep things very low cost and accessible for all. After all, you can’t beat a summer week long program for $100! We also offer scholarship support to anyone who would like to participate.”
This year, the Flerra Summer Playground program had more than 340 students participating and 100 counselors helping out – many who used to be “campers” themselves.
The Commission also uses Community Preservation Act funding to improve the green spaces around town and create opportunities for outdoor activities. These include improvements to Flerra Meadows, including a new backstop for the baseball field, new playground pieces, and park benches, as well as the Commission’s largest project to date, the implementation of Liberty Field renovations.
The Liberty Field project took more than eight years to come to fruition, but the same team of volunteers stuck with the challenging process.
“We are so proud to see so many people using the courts, playground, and fields,” says Connor. “It is a free resource that is vital to appreciating nature and providing a gathering place for families and social groups, as well as for individuals of all ages and economic status, regardless of their ability to pay for access.”
She added, “the members of the Recreation Commission are a group of moms and dads, so we are especially grateful to have this resource as a place to get our children outdoors with their friends, in a safe environment and off their phones!”
Other Recreation Commision programs include Tae Kwon Do for all ages; a running club for elementary-aged children before school where volunteers hand out charms for each mile that participants walk, run, or skip around the field at Blanchard Memorial School; a flag football program for children in grades 5 and 6; boot camp classes for adults with various local fitness businesses; pickleball and tennis lessons with Marcus Lewis Tennis Center; nature and foraging walks with local experts, and much more.
This past May, the Recreation Commission hosted a second annual “Boxborough takes on Fenway!” event by offering discounted tickets to Boxborough residents for a Red Sox game with friends and neighbors. They are presently working on an after-school outdoor program for elementary-aged kids to learn about hiking, map skills, compass navigation, wilderness skills, whittling skills, and foraging with a nonprofit called “ J.U.M.P.”
The Recreation Commission also serves as a sponsor to many Eagle Scouts for their required projects. Eagle Scouts have made many improvements to Flerra Meadows in recent years, including the Gaga Ball Pit, a new storage shed behind the baseball backstop, and refurbished picnic tables. Another Eagle Scout project was to place birdhouses for American Kestrels in several areas around Boxborough.
“We can’t wait to continue working together on building a strong community for Boxborough,” says Connor. “The Recreation Commission is always open to new ideas from residents about how to create a strong community and have some fun!” There is also an opening on the Commission for a new member. Residents can email Commission member Megan Connor at MConnor@boxborough-ma.gov if interested.
Open Garden Day at the Colonial Herb Garden
(23-JUL-24) On Sunday, July 14, the Boxborough Garden Club held an Open Garden Day at the Colonial Herb Garden located at the top of Middle Rd. In spite of very hot and sunny weather, there was a good turnout of people from Boxborough and surrounding towns who were interested in seeing the herb garden, which has been maintained by the club since 1976. Visitors included garden club members from Harvard and Littleton. In addition to a tour of the herb garden, visitors were treated to tea and cookies made with herbs. Thanks to the local church, there was a canopy that provided shade and a place to gather to enjoy the refreshments made by garden club members.
One special guest was Nancy Warren. Her mother, Shirley Warren, was the designer of the herb garden, which was planted by the Boxborough Garden Club on the occasion of the 1975 centennial of Boxborough. Nancy was pleased to reminisce about the work her mother had put into designing the herb garden, and she wanted to be there to honor her mother’s contribution.
Due to the herb garden’s out-of-the-way location, many of the people from out of town said that they were impressed to find such a hidden gem and to have a peek at Boxborough. One gentleman from Harvard said he had no idea how beautiful Boxborough was.
During the summer, the Garden Club will have a picnic at the Herb Garden. Please contact Flo Hanover for more information at fhanover10@gmail.com.
Pam’s Gardening Tips: Garden “Editing”
(18-JUL-24) Yes, I “edit” the garden.
All the rain and heat have definitely made my gardens (and weeds) grow with abandon. Plants get overgrown and can look like they are in the wrong place.
If you are interested in making your gardens look better, here are a few easy ways to do it. First, you can add new annuals to fill empty spots – either in the ground or in pots. You can also trim perennials a bit to improve view into other areas. Or, add mulch and edge. And yes, even weeding will make your gardens look nicer. When you are done, you should sit down and admire the view.
I am sorry to say that if you have bulb foliage still hanging around as I do, you should not cut it off until it has turned brown. I know it looks crummy, but this will ensure that the bulbs will bloom next year.
Another way to keep things looking good is to remove faded flowers from annuals and perennials. And, don’t forget to deadhead the day lilies.
Hope that your garden is behaving!
FreeBee Market Updates: Abundant Produce and a Community Market on July 27
(18-JUL-24) FreeBee Market, Boxborough’s volunteer-driven free food network and market, organizes two types of events, “community market” days and “food rescue” days, on Saturdays throughout the summer and fall.
“Food rescue” days, held every Saturday, are focused only on sharing extra food collected from local supermarkets and farms. The “community markets” have rescued food plus community booths and kids’ activities.
FreeBee’s Saturday July 13 “food rescue” day was the largest one yet this year. The hard-working volunteer teams rescued a record 76 banana boxes of produce, frozen meat, eggs, breads, prepared foods, and so much more. Local farm fields are brimming with produce, and extras are coming to FreeBee.
The next FreeBee “community market” will be held on July 27. In addition to the rescued food, there will be free cut flowers and free books, a free bouncy house, and local community organizations sharing information and free items at their own tables. The Boxborough Minutemen will be there with t-shirts to give away, and the UCCB church has Legos to build with and give away, too.
Note that the blood drive originally scheduled for the July 27 market will take place in Acton instead, and the planned clothing drive has been scaled down, only giving away what has already been collected.
Both types of FreeBee events (food rescue days and community market days) are held from 10:30 until noon on the side lawn of the UCC Boxborough church at 30 Middle Road. The remaining community markets are July 27, August 17, September 7, and October 19.
FreeBee is looking for volunteers to help with Friday pickups and Saturday banana box returns to Acton. To sign up as a volunteer of any sort, contact freebeecommunity@gmail.com.
Do you have information or a free fun activity you’d like to share with your neighbors? Are you leading a community group that would like to make itself known? Community groups or individuals who would like to set up their own table can contact Mary Pavlik at mary.j.pavlik@gmail.com.
“Repair & Renew” Workshop Collaborates with Adult Craft Time at Sargent Memorial Library
(11-JUL-24) In 2022, Sargent Memorial Library created a strategic plan and identified a set of goals for FY23 through FY27. One of the goals is to provide programs that foster human connection and enrich people’s lives. Another is to strengthen community partnerships.
A direct outcome of these goals is the Repair & Renew Workshop, a collaboration between Sargent Memorial Library, Acton Memorial Library, and local seamstress and founder of PatternReview.com, Deepika Prakash.
The workshop marks the first partnership between the Acton and Boxborough libraries, sharing promotional and planning responsibilities, and taking turns hosting Deepika as she teaches participants how to mend, renew, or repurpose textile materials every month.
In June, the library’s Information Services Librarian, Meghan Bouffard, took the collaboration with Deepika one step further, combining the workshop with June’s Adult Craft. In the adult craft time, Meghan taught attendees how to create cyanotypes on fabric, using light exposure to create patterns on fabric. Participants were then able to use the fabric to make a zippered pouch at the month’s Repair & Renew Sewing Workshop.
The next adult craft is another collaboration where Meghan and Deepika will lead participants to create block prints on flour sack dish cloths using beautifully engraved wooden blocks from India. The craft is on Tuesday, July 30 at 4 p.m. and registration is required through the library's event calendar at boxlib.org.
July’s Repair & Renew workshop is a T-shirt refashion class that will be held at Acton Memorial Library on Monday, July 22 at 4 p.m. Registration is required at https://www.actonmemoriallibrary.org/.
In August, Repair & Renew will be at Sargent Memorial Library on Tuesday, August 13 at 4 p.m. Registration opens on Wednesday, July 17, and details can be found on the library's event calendar at boxlib.org.
Well-Being Committee Collaborates with FreeBee Market
(10-JUL-24) The Boxborough Well-Being Committee is working with the FreeBee Market to help bring more local organizations to FreeBee’s four remaining “community markets” this year.
FreeBee Market, Boxborough’s volunteer-driven free food network and market, organizes two types of events, “community market” days and “food rescue” days, on Saturdays throughout the summer and fall.
“Food rescue” days, held every Saturday, are focused only on sharing extra food collected from local supermarkets and farms. The “community markets” have rescued food plus craft and art supplies, books, community booths, and kids’ activities.
Both types of events are held from 10:30 until noon on the side lawn of the UCC Boxborough church at 30 Middle Road. The remaining community markets are July 27, August 17, September 7, and October 19.
The Well-Being Committee, a town committee made up of volunteers, is helping to build out the “community” aspect of the larger markets this season by encouraging local organizations to set up an information table at one or more markets.
For local organizations, FreeBee markets can serve as an opportunity to engage with local residents as well as connect with other groups. There is no fee to host a booth, but FreeBee organizers ask that nothing is sold and no money is collected.
“We recognize the tremendous value that FreeBee brings to our community and wanted to support them by helping coordinate the community groups at the larger markets,” said Well-Being Committee Chair Mary Pavlik.
The Boxborough Well-Being Committee was established by the Select Board in 2013. Its mission is to look at ways to improve the health and welfare of town residents. The Committee identifies factors that impact residents’ well-being and determines ways and resources to support improvements.
For more information, or to sign up for a booth at a community market, email Well-Being Committee Chair Mary Pavlik at mary.j.pavlik@gmail.com or call at 978-621-7512.
Come see Boxborough’s Treasures: July 14
(9-JUL-24) The Boxborough Museum at 575 Middle Road will be open from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday July 14. Come see Boxborough’s historic treasures including the 1850’s scale which is sensitive enough to weigh a penny and strong enough to calibrate a 50 pound weight, the “new” hearse built in 1881, and the “old” hearse (come and see how old is old). Admission is free, and all are welcome. For more information, or if anyone wishes to arrange a private tour for a small group at a different time, please call John Fallon at 978-264-0069.
Boxborough Birders Walk at Fruitlands and Offer a Bird-Tracking Webinar
(9-JUL-24) Boxborough Birders invite birders to a morning walk at Fruitlands Museum on July 13 and to an evening webinar program to track bird observations on July 17.
Steering Committee members Sandy Oxley and Rita Grossman invite birders to meet at 7 a.m., Saturday, July 13, at the top parking lot at Fruitlands Museum, 102 Prospect Hill Rd., Harvard. The leaders ask participants to wear hiking boots or hiking shoes and to bring bug repellent and binoculars.
Oxley and Grossman hope to see Indigo Bunting, Savannah Sparrow, Hermit Thrush, Scarlet Tanager, Veery, Blue-headed Vireo, Wild Turkey, American Kestrel, and a variety of warblers.
Grossman adds that they are apt to see fledglings, “the young birds that have left the nest.” The two-mile walk should end at about 10 a.m.
On Wednesday, July 17, from 7 to 8 p.m., Scott Dresser of Boxborough Birders and Mike Perrin of the Sudbury Valley Trustees are “hosting a free webinar on how to use eBird, a program that enables people to track their birding observations.” To register for the webinar, designed primarily for new eBird users, go to svtprograms.funraise.org and scroll down the page to find the program.
Dresser and Perrin say they will get birders started on eBird basics “so you can learn how to use it to record the birds you observe, help you understand where different birds are being seen, and find places to go birding.”
The webinar hosts add that “in the process, you’ll be contributing data to one of the largest citizen science programs in the world that helps researchers understand birds and bird habits.”
Community Castle Under Construction at Sargent Library
(9-JUL-24) For the first half of July, the meeting room at Sargent Memorial Library has been transformed into a castle construction area.
As part of the library’s “Re-new, Re-read, Re-turn” Summer Reading program, the library is hosting a “community cardboard castle construction” project to build a fort-sized castle out of recycled boxes.
All are welcome to contribute to the castle using materials supplied by the library, including multicolored masking tape and a stockpile of empty cereal and cracker boxes ready to be made into box “bricks” for building.
The project began on July 2 with a nine feet by seven feet masking tape rectangle on the floor, marking the designated building area. As of July 3, the second day of the project, the castle had a complete foundation, a working door, and even a mailbox. As of July 8, the highest wall was about three feet tall.
“The specific idea to make a cereal box castle came from my mom,” says Youth Services Librarian Heather Waddell. “She was a first grade teacher and did a similar project with her class for many years. When I was planning things that fit the recycling theme, it just seemed to fit perfectly as something everyone could work on, no matter what age they are or how much time they have in the library. I love community projects like this because people who might miss other library programs can participate when it's convenient for them, and building something together is always an uplifting experience.”
The project will run from July 2 to July 16. After the 16th, the castle will be deconstructed, and the cardboard boxes will be recycled and reused for other craft projects.
The library is accepting donations of more cardboard boxes. Cereal and cracker-type boxes only, please – no Amazon boxes or other corrugated cardboard boxes.