HomeMy Public PortalAboutAg Adv Council 2021-04-12EuflS
CLi =a:
AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY COUNCIL
NE
MINUTES OF THE APRIL 12, 2021, VIRTUAL MEETING ON ZOOM
The meeting was called to order at 3:35pm.
Present were Chairman David Light, Steve Ellis, Heather Bailey, Gretel Norgeot, and, at 3:40pm, Judy
Scanlon. Also present were Conservation Administrator John Jannell, OCT Executive Director Stephen
O'Grady, and agroecology advocates Rick Francolini and Rand Burkert.
The minutes of the March 8, 2021 were accepted by consensus.
PUTNAM FARM READINESS. Conservation Administrator Jannell announced that at the Putnam Farm
Conservation Area (PFCA) the five Phase I farming plots and the new Phase 11 area are now ready for the
2021 growing season. The Soil Amendment Storage Area has been cleaned up, and mulching materials
for use by plot holders have been replenished. Jannell stated that no materials may be dumped at the
Storage Area unless first approved at the Conservation Office. At present, horse manure has been so
approved. Individual water meters have been installed at all five plots and also at the Phase 11 area. Rick
Francolini, whose volunteer group will be sowing cover crops at the Phase II area, will be overseeing
water usage at the Phase II area. The mandatory annual growers' meeting is scheduled to be at the farm
on April 22, time not yet determined.
THANK YOU, JOHN. Judy Scanlon thanked Jannell for his extensive and attentive support for the Putnam
Farm project, which has been key to the success we are now witnessing. Her warm "thank you" was
echoed by ail.
NEW DISPLAY CASE. The display case at the PFCA is now in place. Suggestions for appropriate content
included Putnam Farm history, Orleans farming history, a site map, rules and regulations for visitors, and
information about the growers. Francolini, who was active in setting up the display case at the
community gardens, put up on the screen the sketch of a possible layout for the PFCA, with appropriate
boxes for different kinds of information. Francolini will be working with the Conservation Dept. on this
matter.
SUSTAINABILITY PROJECTS. Rand Burkert, who established the gardening program at Nauset Regional
HS, and Steve O'Grady, who oversees hundreds of acres of conservation land, both spoke to the Council
about the need to protect pollinators, to provide habitat for them, to stop poisoning them. They spoke
of pollinator paths and gardens, of native species, of meadows vs. lawns, of educating the public, of local
groups that might be interested in taking part in sustainability projects at Putnam Farm. Council
members were highly interested in these matters, which will again be on the agenda at the Council's
May meeting.
The meeting was adjourned informally at 4:30pm when the Chairman's Zoom gadget stopped zooming.
Respectfully submitted, David Light