Minding Your Business - Chatham Conservation Foundation

“This will be the third annual Earth Week in Chatham,” said Chatham Conservation Foundation Executive Director Lauren Arcomano. She and Ellen McKey, the Foundation’s office manager, are very excited with all their planning coming to fruition.

“Along with guided walks, lectures, a documentary film viewing and giveaways on Earth Week, we will once again host a Keynote Forum and a townwide cleanup,” she said.

“This is a collaboration with local organizations such as the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, Friends of Chatham Waterways, Friends of Trees, the Chatham Departments of Natural Resources and Public Works, the Climate Action Network, and others,” said McKey.

On April 22, Executive Director of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod Andrew Gottlieb will speak at a forum, the location to be announced. There are activities planned for the entire week of April 21 to 27, one activity after another, and you won’t want to miss any of them. They include a tree and shrub ID walk along Frost Fish Creek sponsored by the Chatham Conservation Foundation (CCF), walks with Friends of Trees in Chase Park and the Old Village, a film presentation at the Orpheum with the Friends of Chatham Waterways, children’s programming and a town-wide cleanup led by CCF.

“Last year, nearly 30 miles of beaches and more were included in the cleanup,” said McKey. “And so many groups participated: the Scouts, Masons and more. Local businesses such as Chatham Hardware and Dunkin’ Donuts contributed bags and refreshments.” Agway donated saplings and seeds for giveaways, too.

 “Part of our mission is community outreach and education. Water quality in Chatham is a major issue,” said Arcomano. 

“So we work closely with the Friends of Chatham Waterways (FCW) on that,” said McKey. “And the FCW is actively involved in Earth Week and has been spearheading an initiative addressing that issue.” 

Along with their annual Earth week events, the CCF offers webinars and guided walks all year long. 

 “This winter during February and March you can sign up for our free webinars,” said McKey. Plus they monitor 224 properties through volunteers and maintain four trails: Strong Island, Frost Fish Creek, Barclay Pond and Mill Pond Overlook. The public is invited to walk these trails anytime, or check and see when you can sign up for a guided tour when the weather is better (the guided tours are ticketed events). There’s a detailed map on the website showing where you can access the trails. 

To increase awareness and engage people more by increasing their membership, the CCF is planning a fundraiser this summer. “We are putting together a gala on Strong Island in August,” said Arcomano. “This is a not-to-be-missed event!”