Wayland Resident Gretchen Schuler Receives Conservation Award at Sudbury Valley Trustees’ Annual Meeting at Tougas Farm in Northborough, Thursday, September 15
On Thursday, September 15, Sudbury Valley Trustees (SVT) will be holding its 63rd Annual Meeting at Tougas Farm in Northborough, complete with hayride farm tours and fresh apple crisp. The public is invited to join us for refreshments and tours, beginning at 5:30 pm, and stay to learn more about SVT and regional conservation at the business meeting and awards ceremony at 6:45 pm. Capital Group Properties and Middlesex Savings Bank are generously sponsoring the meeting.
This year, SVT will honor four area residents for their significant contributions to the protection of open spaces and wildlife habitats in this region. Gretchen Schuler of Wayland will receive the Distinguished Public Service Award. Gretchen, who has chaired the Town of Wayland’s Historic District Commission since 2002 and the Community Preservation Committee since 2013, was selected for her extraordinary commitment to protecting the 200-acre Mainstone Farm in the heart of town. She played a critical role in crafting a conservation restriction (CR) agreement with the owners of the property, and she was instrumental in securing almost unanimous support for Wayland’s acquisition of the CR at its 2016 Town Meeting. Additional award recipients include Rita Gibes Grossman of Boxborough; Michael Cohen of Maynard; and Tom McGowan of Sudbury.
During the business portion of the meeting, SVT Executive Director Lisa Vernegaard will highlight the organization’s successes during the past year and will discuss other conservation efforts now underway. SVT is pleased to welcome Brian Donahue of Brandeis University as keynote speaker. Brian co-founded and directed Land’s Sake, a non-profit community farm in Weston. For three years he was Director of Education at The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas, and now sits on the board of the Thoreau Farm Trust and The Land Institute. During his address, Brian will discuss a vision for land conservation that includes an emphasis on working lands.
Sudbury Valley Trustees and nearly 3000 members protect and care for land and wildlife habitat in 36 communities surrounding the Concord, Assabet, and Sudbury Rivers. For more information on SVT’s conservation work or programs, visit www.svtweb.org.
