YOU Can Name MPF to Telegram Outreach for Charities Program

You can help Manchaug Pond through a new program of the Telegram & Gazette.  Subscribers can name the Manchaug Pond Foundation to benefit from the new TOUCH (Telegram Outreach for Charities) program.

When you receive your TOUCH letter and voucher, just fill in Manchaug Pond Foundation,  P.O. Box 154, Manchaug, 01526, and return in the provided pre-paid envelope.

There is no cost to you,  and the benefits to Manchaug Pond will grow with each Telegram subscriber participating.  Boston Globe Media's Linda Pizzuti Henry tells us that Manchaug Pond Foundation will receive free advertising space to help "raise awareness around their mission, recruit more volunteers, advertise events, and create a better Worcester County community for all of us."

Go Manchaug Pond Foundation!

Today's Millbury-Sutton Chronicle Article on MPF

Manchaug Pond Foundation announces water improvement plans

 

MPF Photo/R. L. Charpentier

The Manchaug Pond Foundation (MPF) is going “full speed ahead with their next major initiative”, according to a press release from the organization which will be to complete a “s.319 Nonpoint Source Pollution Grant recently awarded to the nonprofit group by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.”

MPF completed a similar grant in 2011, which is designed to help improve the quality of water entering the pond. The MPF said they will work with Comprehensive Environmental Inc. (CEI), a Massachusetts based environmental engineering firm who will design the stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs), and the Town of Sutton “who will construct it with their generous in-kind commitment” according to the press release.

A real estate acquisition to preserve the 100-acre Beaton Farm Property was completed after they were given a right of first refusal after a group from the College of the Holy Cross last year presented plans to purchase the parcel and build a retreat center on the property.

The MPF release also said they would be working with Whittier Farms on “a number of agricultural related improvements. With over 500 acres of farmland within the Manchaug Pond watershed, the Whittier Family has committed many hours of volunteer labor to help make some unique watershed improvements for educational outreach including modifications to several areas which will include the addition of a dedicated rain garden area at the Milk Store and restoration of vegetated areas around ponds feeding into Manchaug Pond.”

The MPF will “simultaneously be working on a major education effort. Coordinating with local educators and stakeholders, the MPF will work to develop a comprehensive resource of materials for teachers, parents and children that may include web resources, study kits, and portable literature displays.”

MPF said it is also looking for people who may be interested in helping with this grant. Those who are can contact Marty Jo Henry at ManchaugPond319@gmail.com.

Worcester Telegram article tells of grant secured by MPF

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Manchaug Pond Foundation in Sutton receives EPA grant to protect watershed

By Susan Spencer TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
susan.spencer@telegram.com

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SUTTON — Residents around the 380-acre Manchaug Pond bordering Sutton and Douglas are moving forward with plans to restore the lake's water quality with the help of a water protection grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state Department of Environmental Protection.

The nonprofit Manchaug Pond Foundation announced recently it had received a "Section 319" nonpoint source pollution grant totaling $208,525, according to Vice President Marty Jo Henry. The grant includes nearly $120,000 from federal funds, and the remaining roughly $89,000 reflects volunteer time contributed by the foundation.

Ms. Henry said the grant will fund projects to filter the nitrogen, phosphorus and "total suspended solids," a term for the microscopic flotsam and jetsam from the roads, including bits of tire rubber, that muck up the water.

"All of that, especially after a big rainfall, ends up getting flushed right into the lake," Ms. Henry said. "This will end up capturing and filtering it."

Specifically, the money will go to planting rain gardens and restoring vegetation on public and private property at five sites around the pond to better filter and absorb runoff, and improving storm drains so stormwater will flow from roads to appropriate collection and outflow sites.

In addition, the group is working with Whittier Farms, which sits along tributaries to Manchaug Pond, to plant blueberry bushes and revegetate a buffer zone to catch runoff. The Whittier family will create a rain garden to catch runoff from the roof of its milk store. Ms. Henry said the Whittier rain garden will serve to educate the public about water protection.

The Manchaug Pond Foundation will also conduct public outreach and distribute educational materials about restricting fertilizer use. Phosphorus from fertilizer and animal waste contributes to excessive plant and algae growth in freshwater ponds, which reduces oxygen for other aquatic life and can lead to murky "dead zones." Nitrogen from fertilizer, septic systems and other sources does the same as it flows into saltwater.

Ms. Henry said that the foundation plans to develop a watershed protection toolkit with educational resources for all ages. The group intends to post the material on its website so it will be available after the three-year grant expires.

Engineering plans for the work have been largely completed, and the foundation is obtaining Conservation Commission permits to begin the ground projects in spring.

Anyone interested in helping the Manchaug Pond Foundation with the grant is encouraged to contact Ms. Henry at ManchaugPond319@gmail.com">ManchaugPond319@gmail.com.

Contact Susan Spencer at susan.spencer@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanSpencerTG.

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Press Release on Water Quality Improvement Efforts by MPF

For: Manchaug Pond Foundation
Contact: Marty Jo Henry, Vice President, 508-667-4349

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Manchaug Pond Foundation Continues Water Quality Improvement Efforts

Sutton/Douglas, MA – With a landmark real estate acquisition to preserve the 100-acre Beaton Farm Property now complete, the Manchaug Pond Foundation (MPF) is going full speed ahead with their next major initiative, completing a s.319 Nonpoint Source Pollution Grant recently awarded to the nonprofit group by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

    Having successfully completed a similar grant in 2011, the MPF will continue their efforts to improve the quality of water entering the pond. The MPF will once again work with Comprehensive Environmental Inc. (CEI), a Massachusetts based environmental engineering firm who will design the stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs), and the Town of Sutton who will construct it with their generous in-kind commitment.

    The MPF is particularly excited to be working with Whittier Farms on a number of agricultural related improvements. With over 500 acres of farmland within the Manchaug Pond watershed, the Whittier Family has committed many hours of volunteer labor to help make some unique watershed improvements for educational outreach including modifications to several areas which will include the addition of a dedicated rain garden area at the Milk Store and restoration of vegetated areas around ponds feeding into Manchaug Pond.

    While structural improvements are being made within the watershed, the MPF will simultaneously be working on a major education effort. Coordinating with local educators and stakeholders, the MPF will work to develop a comprehensive resource of materials for teachers, parents and children that may include web resources, study kits, and portable literature displays.

    Anyone interested in joining the Manchaug Pond Foundation in helping with this grant is encouraged to contact Marty Jo Henry at ManchaugPond319@gmail.com

    The Manchaug Pond Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity dedicated to the preservation and correct use of this 380-acre great pond and its 4,288 acre watershed. For over 45 years, the members of the Manchaug Pond Foundation and its predecessor, Manchaug Pond Association, have served a leadership role as stewards of the lake and advocates and educators for its proper use and preservation.

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Weekend Fun

Cold weather brought beautiful sunny skies and the opportunity to get outdoors and enjoy the lake.  There were a couple of future Bruins team members practicing on the ice and plenty of snowmobilers out and about now that we have plenty of fluffy snow.

Happy New Year!

Area two had their own Polar Plunge New Year's day with one hearty soul leaping into the frigid water to start off 2014 with a splash.  You snow birds down south don't know what you are missing!