Commonwealth Conversations: The Great Outdoors

Weekend Outdoor Events - March 8-10: Celebrate Maple Month!

Reginald Zimmerman

Assistant Press Secretary, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA)

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March is Massachusetts Maple Month and all this month we’re having events throughout the state to celebrate!

This weekend celebrate Maple Sugar Festival at the Blue Hills Reservation in Milton! Join us Saturday and Sunday, March 9-10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. as we make maple syrup in the traditional way at beautiful DCR Brookwood Farm in Milton. There are activities for all ages. Ride the free shuttle ride aboard the Maple Express Trolley. Smell the wood smoke as you watch clouds of steam rise from the bubbling sap. Savor the taste of real maple syrup. Events include Kids games, warming fire and a snack bar too! It’s $6.00 for adults and children over the ages of 2.

The Maple Sugar Festival is run jointly by Department of Conservation and Recreation and Mass. Audubon Trailside Museum. Proceeds benefit the Trailside Museum. For more information, please call (617) 333-0690

Also on Sunday, March 10, 1:30-3:30 p.m., the Fitzpatrick Skating Rink in Holyoke is hosting Adaptive Skating – Games on Ice! Use your wheelchair, an ice sled, or conventional skates on the ice! Spin, slide, race, sla-lom, socialize and play gently competitive games with others! Ice sleds and conventional skate are available. For more info and to sign up, call 413-545-5758 email Marcy.Marchello@state.ma.us, or talk to Mike Mastrototaro, the rink manager.

And don’t forget to check out the Great Outdoors interactive Google calendar for a full calendar of Massachusetts outdoor events.

Ice skating this winter

Kate Samp

Multimedia intern, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA)

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With February school vacation coming up, ice skating is a perfect winter sport to get the kids outdoors. DCR has plenty of sites that offer public skating hours and skate rentals to facilitate the whole experience. Some locations, such as the Kelly Outdoor Rink in Jamaica Plain, offer lessons on Saturdays. Check out DCR’s list of rinks.

Always err on the side of caution, even at a designated skating area. The Department of Fish and Game has a handy guide on ice safety. You can impress your friends with your newfound knowledge on the dangers of white vs. blue ice.

DCR has plenty of sites that offer public skating hours and skate rentals to facilitate the whole experience. Many rinks also offer extended public skating hours during school vacation week.

The photos are from DCR’s Kelly Rink in Jamaica Plain.

Accessible winter activities

Marcy Marchello

Universal Access Program Coordinator, Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR)

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DCR’s Universal Access Program (UAP) has put together a Winter 2011 schedule with many wonderful adaptive recreation opportunities for people with disabilities and their families and friends to enjoy indoors and out this season.

The activities are held on weekends and some week days in January, February, and March. They include accessible cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, kick sledding, snowmobiling, and ice skating at DCR parks and facilities. For persons with disabilities, free use of accessible equipment such as sit skis and kick sleds, as well as staff assistance, is available. In spring and summer, UAP offers cycling, kayaking, canoeing, rowing, sailing, hiking, horseback riding, letterboxing, bird watching, interpretive programs and more. Skilled instructors and volunteers provide equipment, instruction, and support.

Indoor skating programs will take place at four primary rinks: Cronin Rink in Revere, Asiaf Rink in Brockton, Buffone Rink in Worcester, and the Fitzpatrick Rink in Holyoke. There will also be a special outdoor skating program at the Kelly Rink in Jamaica Plain on Tuesday, February 15, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. In addition, many rinks statewide have seated ice skating sleds for independent use during public skating.

For accessible outdoor winter recreation, visit the Weston Ski Track for adaptive cross-country skiing on most Sundays in February. In western Massachusetts, Wendell State Forest and Mt. Tom State Reservation will host adaptive programs on alternating Saturdays, with activities including ice skating, kicksledding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobile rides. Catch it all at the Winter Festival at Dunn Park in Gardner on Saturday, February 5, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.!

For more information on any of these programs and more, contact Gigi at 617-626-1294 or Marcy at 413-545-5758 or 413-577-2200 (TTY) or visit DCR’s Universal Access Program website for more informaiton. Also, ask about volunteer opportunities. Preregistration is required.

See you other there on the snow and ice!

School vacation week skating schedule

Wendy Fox

Press Secretary, Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR)

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For some family fun over the holidays, lace up your skates and check out DCR's school vacation week skating rink schedule. Between Dec. 24 and Jan. 2, DCR parks in the North End, Jamaica Plain, Charlestown, South Boston, Dorchester, Weymouth, Brighton and Hyde Park will offer expanded hours. Happy holidays!

PHOTO POST: Skating for all

Lindsey Palatino

Multimedia intern, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs

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I took these photographs while attending a Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) universal access event at Mt. Tom in Holyoke on Feb. 6, 2010. Click here for more information about upcoming events that feature adaptive technologies designed for people with physical disabilities.

The photo above is of Sue Tracy of Ashfield (left) and Greenfield resident Ella Thorne-Thompson (right) playing ice hockey using a sled. Click here to check out the complete gallery form the Universal Access Event!

Get outside for school vacation week

Wendy Fox

Press Secretary, Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR)

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February school vacation week is almost upon us (where did the time go?!), and once again, DCR has scheduled a lot of great activities in parks across the state for kids and their parents to enjoy.

Click here for a complete list of the activities for the week, February 13-21 on our website. Here are just a few of the possibilities to consider: a Valentine’s Day hike February 14 in Wrentham State Forest in Wrentham, an outdoor exploration February 16 at Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Reserve in Falmouth to learn how wild critters survive the winter, and an evening campfire February 19 on Revere Beach.

This year, on February 20, DCR has planned something new that promises to be enormous fun. We’re calling it Snow Day on Spectacle. It’s a day of cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or just hiking and walking and enjoying the views on Spectacle Island in Boston Harbor.

Normally, Spectacle is not open to the public in winter. But on this one day, Boston’s Best Cruises will take passengers out to the island from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The cost is $14 round trip, and you’re encouraged to bring your own snow shoes, cross-country skis, or just sturdy shoes or hiking boots. Call 617-770-0040 or click here for boat tickets. For more information on the events on Spectacle Island and to register for them, call 781-740-1605, ext. 202. 

In addition to all the above, DCR is also extending public skating hours at many ice rinks. Call 617-626-1450 or click here for more details about extended skating hours.

And have a great vacation!

The photos are of Spectacle Island at sunset and from above.

Ice fishing for beginners

Bob Greco

Chief of Staff, Department of Fish & Game (DFG)

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Two weekends ago, I got out for a successful day of ice fishing with my wife and kids at Baldpate Pond in Boxford. Ice fishing is one of my favorite outdoor winter hobbies because it’s a simple and fun family activity and a great way to enjoy nature in winter.

This trip is particularly memorable because my six year-old son landed a five pound-plus largemouth bass. My ten year-old daughter caught several yellow perch and she was able to dig one of the holes through the eight inch thick ice by herself.

The kids enjoyed skating while we waited for a tip-up flag to go up, signaling that a fish has taken the bait. My kids raced to the flag each time it popped up. The photos are from a fishing trip in Georgetown last winter with my family.

If you have never been ice fishing, go with someone who knows the basics, attend an ice fishing derby or click here for more information about MassWildlife’s fishing clinics.

You can get everything you’ll need, including bait such as shiners and meal worms, at your local tackle shop. Here’s a list of things you should have to get started:

*a few tip ups (a spool on crossed sticks that suspends line, hook and bait into the water)

*ice auger

*ice scoop to remove ice shavings

*bait bucket

*small net

*depth finder (large sinker)

*basic tackle that you would use for regular fishing

*short rod and reel for jigging small lures

*basket that can be worn like a backpack

*five gallon bucket to transport gear and bait

Ideal conditions – especially if you are taking children – are a day with temperatures in the teens to thirties and little or no wind. Dress in layers with waterproof or water resistant jacket and pants, heavily insulated waterproof boots and winter socks.

I fish mostly on small ponds where ice conditions are more uniform than on large lakes. As a rule, I avoid getting close to streams feeding or leaving the pond. I also check ice thickness with the auger. For information about ice safety, click here to read Marion’s post about ice safety recommendations.

Ponds that have pickerel, perch, sunfish, and other pan fish will greatly increase your chances for success, as will using tip ups and jigging small lures. In my opinion, freshwater fish also taste best when caught in the winter. Click here to check out MassWildlife’s pond maps that give good information about pond access and the fish you can catch.

If you and your family like warm weather fishing or winter outdoor activities, one ice fishing outing will hook you on hard water fishing!

From February 12-14, 2010, MassWildlife staff will be selling fishing licenses and offering fishing information at the Eastern Fishing and Outdoor Exposition at the DCU Center in Worcester. Click here for more information about the exposition.

No gym membership needed

Wendy Fox

Press Secretary, Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR)

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Face it. We’re all going to have to work off the extra holiday food we’ve been eating these days. Before you head to the gym, though, or just sit there feeling guilty, what about heading out to a state park for a First Day Hike? Or going ice skating?

On New Year’s Day, DCR will sponsor 16 hikes in state parks across the Commonwealth. Lasting about two hours, the hikes are for families and folks of all ages and hiking abilities (think “walking” abilities), and will be led by DCR Rangers or park staff members. Try one in the Blue Hills in Milton, or maybe on Mt. Greylock in the Berkshires, or one of 14 others at points in between.

If you join us, remember to dress warmly and wear comfortable shoes. Click here for a full list of First Day Hikes.

Also on New Year’s Day, DCR’s Murphy Rink in South Boston and the newly renovated and refurbished Kelly Outdoor Rink in Jamaica Plain will both offer free public ice skating from 10 a.m. to 4:50 p.m. Skate rentals are available. In addition, many rinks will have extended public skating hours during the holiday week. Click here for details about ice skating facilities across the state. 

So, lace up your boots (or sneakers) and join us. And leave the cookies - and guilt- at home!