conservation

By Maureen Belt

Lincoln’s new Conservation Director, Michele Grzenda, is an outdoor enthusiast who, by her own account, “pretty much eats, sleeps, and breathes nature.”

If she’s not kayaking, identifying bird calls for tourists, or hiking trails, Grzenda is backpacking through the great outdoors on snowshoes. Last March, she chose Lincoln’s vast green spaces as the ambiance for an important life event: her wedding day.  

Just as Covid-19 restrictions were beginning, Grzenda married her “forever soulmate,” Josh, a like-minded nature lover she met through her work with the Appalachian Mountain Club. Weston Town Clerk Deborah Davenport, her then-colleague, officiated the March 20, 2020 nuptials. The rocking horses of Lincoln’s Ponyhenge, some donning wedding finery, bore witness. 

“It was a spontaneous wedding,” Grzenda said via a Zoom call with the Lincoln Squirrel last week. “It was absolutely perfect.”

Grzenda was speaking from inside (a rare setting indeed) in her new Lincoln office. Plaques touting her many academic and professional achievements leaned against the wall behind her, waiting to be hung. Anyway, office beautification is not Grzenda’s top priority — instead, it’s protecting Lincoln’s wetlands, open spaces, and native species.

Grzenda (pronounced Gris-END-a), started on February 1 and succeeded Tom Gumbart, who held the position for nearly 21 years. Her background includes lots of experience in wetlands protection, both as the state and local levels, outreach and education programs, bird surveys, plant and wildlife protection, and even the evolution of New England landscapes since colonization. 

Lincoln’s conservation concerns (much like those in Weston, where Grzenda served as the Conservation Administrator for 12 years, and Framingham, where she served for five), have their own unique features and challenges, so she wants to know the lay of the land before taking action. “I still need to do a lot of learning,”  she said.

Lincoln is not foreign to Grzenda. Before moving to Newton last year, she lived here for 13 years and could cross-country ski to work in Weston. She also served nine years on Lincoln’s Open Space & Recreation Plan Committee. 

Grzenda is excited to meet and work alongside the members of the many partnerships and the residents who voluntarily share their passions and expertise with the department. She wants to set up educational programs to teach residents about the trails, woodlands, open spaces, farmlands, and the importance of land stewardship — not just for public land, but for their own properties.

Ideally, she said, more residents would become “pollinators,” meaning they would learn how to replace the invasive plants species on their own properties with indigenous flora that attract native insects, birds and animals. “Pollinating benefits the nature of Lincoln as a whole,” she said.

Educational programs also include teaching about the benefits of the natural world and Grzenda looks forward to continuing Gumbart’s spring and fall nature walks for all ages and accessibilities.

Her position in Weston allowed her to work with the public schools, something she hopes to do in Lincoln as well. And just like iconic naturalist Henry David Thoreau, Grzenda wants learning to take place beyond the brick and mortar (and Zoom and Google Classroom.)

“I want to utilize the open spaces as nature’s classroom,” she said. 

She especially wants to reach adults who have never experienced the joy of hiking trials, identifying birds, or just sitting by a river. “If they didn’t have an awareness of nature as kids, they may have received conflicting messages as adults,” she said. For example, instead of seeing a pond as a picturesque habitat, some may only see the threat of drowning. They may not understand how certain animals and insects — particularly the less cuddly ones — are invaluable to the ecosystem. Grzenda wants to ensure everyone has a healthy perspective. 

Being out and about in the natural world has always been Grzenda’s passion, but it was an elective course in environmental science during her junior year in high school in Wrentham that steered her toward her professional path. 

“It really opened my eyes to pursuing a career in environmental sciences,” she said. “I always loved nature as a kid. The woods were my sanctuary. That was the place I always wanted to be, and I just wanted to learn more.”

Grzenda earned degrees in environmental science and wildlife management at the University of New Hampshire. She then interned with the Massachusetts Audubon Society, and held positions with the society and the Sudbury Valley Trustees before working for municipalities. She has published papers and teaches community education courses, and she’s led more than 200 hikes for the Appalachian Mountain Club. 

“Lincoln is a community with strong wetland protection bylaws and organizations that promote green spaces, and that understands how important it is to have the resources to maintain these things,” Grzenda said. “It’s a wonderful example of a community that clearly values open space and provides an opportunity for residents to get outside and find a patchwork of nature within walking distance, so they can feel connected to the plants and animals among us.” 

(Editor’s note: This story was originally published on or about Jan. 18, 2021 but was lost after a website outage and later recovered.)

By Lynne Smith

I have been working for years to reduce the carbon footprint at our house. We have reduced our consumption by simple measures — LED lights, temperature control, turning off electronics, etc. — and we have had home energy assessments that helped us improve energy efficiency.  Still, we need electricity, most of which is powered by nonrenewable fuel sources.

Now, with the new Lincoln Green Energy Choice program, I am pleased to choose 100% renewable electricity delivered by Eversource. Thanks to the bulk purchasing power contracted by the Town, we can increase the renewable fuels used to provide our electricity supply with minimal or no increase in cost relative to the Eversource winter 2021 price.

While many companies have been offering contracts for renewable electricity, most of these do not enhance the development of local projects. Instead, they are based on already-developed sources such as Texas wind power. In addition, these contracts often have escalating prices over time. Lincoln Green Energy Choice supports local projects and offers a stable price for 22 months. 

Lincoln Green Energy Choice will take effect this spring and will allow everyone in town to reduce their carbon emissions by adding more renewables to their electricity supply. You can learn more about the program by going to the website www.LincolnGreenEnergyChoice.com or by attending one of the many Zoom sessions offered by the Lincoln Green Energy Committee.

Lynne Smith is a resident of Tabor Hill Road and can be reached at Lynne@Smith.net.

---

”My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

By Susan Hall Mygatt

After 21 years as the director of the Lincoln Conservation Department, Tom Gumbart will be leaving his position this December. Tom has guided the Lincoln Conservation Commission’s work to protect Lincoln’s wetlands and manage our conservation trails, forests, and farmland, with the important help of his land stewardship crew. Tom’s understanding and knowledge of the natural world and his hands on and technical skills combined to make him an invaluable resource to all Lincoln’s citizens. Tom has been an important leader in the conservation community, and his informed leadership has helped make our town’s land stewardship a model for other communities nationwide. He will be greatly missed.

The town is accepting applications for a new Conservation Department Director until Friday, Nov. 13. The job description is posted on the town website at www.lincolntown.org/jobs.

---

”My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.