Gov. Maura Healey tries to determine if Ms. G. has seen her shadow.
Gov. Maura Healey (Ms. H to her friends, perhaps) elicited cheers from an enthusiastic all-ages crowd in Lincoln on February 2 by predicting an early spring after consulting with Drumlin Farm’s famous Ms. G.
Healey headlined a delegation including State Sen. Michael Barrett and Reps. Carmine Gentile and Alice Peisch for the first Groundhog Day celebration in Lincoln since before the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Lincoln’s Ms. G became the official groundhog of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 2014 thanks to a bill shepherded through the legislature by Peisch.
The theme of the day was education about weather and climate change. A number of children including the Chickadee class from the Drumlin Farm Community Preschool got front-row seats, eager to watch Ms. G emerge from hibernation and explore her special outdoor enclosure where she would make her annual prognostication. Barrett — who co-wrote the state’s major climate bill that was signed into law last summer — lauded “young people getting together and saying we can effect change and raise awareness” around those issue while also praising Healey’s commitment to climate action.
In her remarks, Healey noted she had grown up on a farm and that caring for farm animals helped forge her own early connections with nature. She credited Mass Audubon as among those “doing all they can to help young people know and learn and carry on stewardship of land and the environment.
“I’ve always been a huge fan of Mass Audubon, a huge fan of Drumlin Farm, and a huge fan of all those working to preserve our natural habitat and to address the real issues around climate, and those who are looking out for and looking after creatures great and small across this great state,” she said.
Then came the moment of truth — “one of my most important duties as governor,” Healey said. After crouching down to get acquainted with Ms. G, she intoned, “As the governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on February 2 in the year 2023, we observed the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Official Groundhog, Ms. G. And I declare Ms. G does not appear to have observed her shadow, and therefore, Commonwealth, spring is on its way!”
The cheering attendees were also invited enjoy other related programs, such as making groundhog crafts and meeting live animal ambassadors and learning how they adapt to winter as the climate changes.
Click on images below to see larger versions, and scroll down for a short video of Healey at Drumlin Farm.
Thank you for covering this, Alice!