Open Space Committee
Open Space Committee meeting minutes for July 12, 2023
Present: Deb Cary, Susan Downing, Laura Reynolds, Karen Rossow
Excused: Rick Gardner, Annie Charrette
The meeting began at 7:13 p.m.
Minutes from the June meeting unanimously approved.
Valuable Parcels analysis continued. We each selected between 4 and 10 as our top choices. As previously, some had more votes than others. Laura updated the spreadsheet for us in real time during the discussion.
Goodnow Park update: Rick sent Susan a mock-up of the kiosk map for the trail system there. Susan has a plan for naming the different trails which we approved at last month’s meeting and reiterated support for tonight. Laura will fix Route 62 on the kiosk map and put in the names for each trail based on a paper map Susan created during our meeting, so what is on it now is accurate. As an example, we have changed Goodnow Loop to different, smaller trails, including the original trail to be named the 1898 Trail.
Nature walk series: We support having a fall nature walk series this year as well as a future spring series in 2024. Karen thought including the Environmental Action Committee (EAC) and Princeton Land Trust (PLT) as endorsers rather than co-sponsors made sense as they don’t have to actively participate in organizing the walk series, but it’s a matter of semantics and other team members prefer co-sponsors. Their role is to assist in the promotion of the walks. We may want to add the Conservation Commission as a co-sponsor as well.
Detail of the fall series: A series of three walks held in October. Since we’re limiting the number offered we will contact specific naturalists with this idea rather than an entire list of naturalists. We thought that fall bird migration led by Andrew Vick at a Princeton location determined by him, wetlands at Cobb Brook trail system by Brian Keevan (who has expressed interest in leading future nature walks), and geology at Goodnow Park by Laura. Alternate ideas if these can’t be done include botany by Matt, tree identification on the trail that starts from Prospect Street by Brian Keevan, or mammals at another trail system. Susan and Karen will be the contacts again and will manage the registrations, if Rick can set up a registration form again. It was helpful to have the naturalists’ explanations of the walks on our website so Karen copied that information in her emails to the participants to keep the language the same. Next steps to be initiated during our upcoming meeting in August.
Our next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 8th, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. in the large conference room of the town hall annex.
Meeting adjourned at 8:17.
Tasks: Susan will have a conversation with Rick regarding changes to Goodnow Park kiosk. Deb will reach out to Andrew Vick to see if he’s interested in leading a nature walk for us.
Respectfully submitted,
Karen Rossow