by Sally Speich
FARMINGTON – Fifty years ago on Sept. 7, 1971, the Farmington Conservation Commission was officially established.
Yes, our town has had a conservation group since 1971.
Long before global climate change became a keyword in the news, citizens of our town realized the importance of protecting and preserving the environment. The Conservation Commission was primarily responsible for planting trees around town (including at the cemeteries, the hospital, Edgewood Manor, at several schools, and downtown). They recognized the role trees played in cleaning our air, controlling water runoff, helping keep our streets and buildings cool and beautifying our landscape.
The Commission also helped in setting up town recycling, ran educational sessions on protecting groundwater, and more recently have been involved with bringing salmon back to the local waterways and dealing with the issue of invasive species.
The Conservation Commission has established Farmington as a “Tree City” for over 43 years, marking it one of the two oldest Tree City towns in Maine. This has involved meeting the requirements of the Maine Forest Service in conjunction with the National Arbor Day Foundation each year. Some of the requirements are performing work as volunteers to catalog trees in town, keeping track of tree planting, maintenance and the removal of trees if necessary. Having an Arbor Day celebration each year, a town proclamation, and educational events that are designed to keep the public aware of the importance of trees.
Conservation is one way to help address the threat of climate change on our environment. Composting, recycling, planting trees, land use issues, protecting water quality in our lakes and streams, dealing with invasive species to protect local flora and fauna, reopening water ways for fish, and keeping integrated forests for animal movement are as important as looking for new energy resources that reduce our carbon footprint. The history of our town shows the commitment of our community to doing our part.
There are many ways to get involved for those interested. Being a member of the Commission is one way, you can also just join an activity that is of interest to you. There will be tree planting on Saturday, May 29 downtown at 8 a.m. Planters will meet at the gazebo park. The trees downtown also need to be weeded, so any help is welcome. Also on June 10, members of the commission will be on Tom Saviello’s show to talk about invasive species.
In future articles, Sally Speich will be highlighting the work that the Commission is involved with but also hopes to address other conservation issues that are of interest to readers. Questions can be sent to thedailybulldog@gmail.com which Sally will then answer.
