NANTUCKET TODAY PROMOTION ARTISTS ASSOCIATION OF NANTUCKET Building Nantucket's first Visual Arts Center In the coming months, AAN will open the island's first Visual Arts Center. By offering large, light-filled spaces for teaching, learning, creating and appreciating art, AAN is poised to significantly grow and develop its Arts Program. The VAC at 24 Amelia Drive has almost three times the amount of space as our former studios at Gardner Perry Lane. Over the past decade the Arts Program has grown dramatically. For years, adult and children's classes, workshops and events have had to juggle around each other's schedules thus limiting class availability and size, and thwarting artistic and educational opportunities. The move to Amelia Drive will change all that. Adult art students and professional artists will greatly benefit from this new arts center. They will find the time and space to sink into intensive, multi-day workshops with talented professional artists, be able to gather and learn from the island's art community in our shared studio spaces and will gain an additional place to exhibit their work. AAN's 230 artist members will find an inviting home to create and dream. One of the most exciting aspects of our new location is that it providesastudio apartment for our visiting artists. This will pave the way for growing our visiting artist series and help us attract many more talented artists to Nantucket. It also means that AAN will be able to start an artist-in-residence program where artists will come to the VAC for extended periods, such as a winter season, teach classes and mentor artists through our outreach programs for all ages. To oversee the expansion of our adult programming, AAN has hired Mary Emery Lacoursiere as the new Adult Arts Program Director. Lacoursiere worked since 2006 as the Curriculum Coordinator for the Nantucket Historical Association's 1800 House and has taught numerous classes in the NHA's American arts and crafts program. In her new position, Lacoursiere will work with Arts Program Director Lori Garrabrant and the AAN's education committee to launch a revitalized arts program for adults. Our Arts Program will be able to reach its full potential by providing top-quality art education classes in painting, drawing, ceramics, and much more. The island community will benefit from the wellness and contentment that a life filled with art ensures. By growing into our beautiful new building on Amelia Drive, AAN will truly take its place among the most influential organizations on Nantucket and uphold the island's reputation as one of New England's premier art colonies. Contributions of all sizes will have a lasting impact. To learn more about AAN and to participate in the campaign to build Nantucket's first Visual Arts Center please call 508 228 0722, or visit www.nantucketarts.org – Liz Hunt O'Brien COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR NANTUCKET Investing in Nantucket – Today and Tommorrow Give to inspire others Or to remember a loved one Scholarships are a way to memorialize loved ones, support a specific cause and inspire others, or just give back to a community that you care about. Most scholarship funds at CFN benefit graduates of Nantucket schools. Recipients are chosen by school counselors, financial aid offices or scholarship selection committees for the fund. Scholarship funds are used to assist students with educational expenses. You can give to a CFN scholarship fund to help a student pursue his or her educational goals. It's also easy to set up a scholarship fund to honor or inspire someone to pursue a specific field of interest. Get started today and make someone's educational dreams come true. 2014 Scholarship Recipients Geronimo's Scholarship Brooke Larrabee Jack Pignato Memorial Scholarship Eustace Walker Jeanette T. Garneau Scholarship Lydia Gullicksen June Bartlett Scholarship Fund Keegan Bartlett Anuska Bhandari Christopher Ryan Gottlieb Mya Kotalac Julia Ann Wendelken Magical Chicken Scholarship Robert Gifford Nantucket Culinary Arts Scholarship Casstassia Carter Pat Martin Scholarship Mary J. Caro William H. Brown Scholarship Olivia Funderburg Ronan Daly Dylan Perry Casey Lendway Viva Isaragumpot Maria Mitchell Association Nantucket's Science Center For more than 100 years, Nantucket's Maria Mitchell Association has been a leader in science education, in that Thousands of people have come to our campus to learn about the land, sea and skies of Nantucket. With a vibrant natural science education program, many of the students and interns who come to Maria Mitchell go on to pursue higher education and careers in science. Even those who don't pursue science as a career are affected by their learning experiences at MMA. Consider the story of Alana Zola. She started volunteering at the historic Maria Mitchell house when she was just eleven years old. She started by helping out the Curator and was soon giving tours of the house. "In many ways it was my first job and I learned about responsibility and independence. As an 11-year old docent giving tours to groups of adults, I developed public speaking skills. While at the time I remember being nervous, the experience helped to grow my confidence," says Alana. She went on to graduate from Haverford College with a degree in English and a concentration in Gender Studies. The life lessons she learned as a volunteer at the Maria Mitchell Association helped her become a confident adult. In 1989 Katherine Rhode came to MMA to take part in a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) in astronomy, a program offered by the National Science Foundation. The experience and exposure to the night skies of Nantucket made up her mind to pursue a career in astronomy. She went on to earn a Ph.D. in Astronomy from Yale University and is an Associate Professor at Indiana University. "I recently returned to MMA to give a public lecture and to mentor one of the current REU students. I realized I had come full circle in my life. I'm passionate about the mission of the MMA and its rich legacy of public outreach and science education," says Katherine. For more information contact George Donnelly at gdonnelly@mariamitchell.org MMA By The Numbers Each year, 600 children participate in MMA's summer Discovery Camp. MMA's Loines Observatory shared the night skies of Nantucket with over 1,000 people this past year. This summer, more than 7,000 people enjoyed the Maria Mitchell Aquarium at our Washington Street campus. Nantucket teens volunteered over 1,500 hours of their time to MMA this past school year. Each year, MMA collaborates with more than 50 colleges, universities and science research organizations. One out of 20 women PhDs in Astronomy from the United States participated in MMA's internship program. Over 1,000 Nantucket students participated in MMA's educational programs last year. NANTUCKET CONSERVATION FOUNDATION From the walking trails of Sanford Farm and Tupancy Links, to the rolling hills of the Middle Moors, to the tupelo forests of Norwood Farm, Squam Swamp and the Windswept and Milestone cranberry bogs, the member-supported Nantucket Conservation Foundation protects nearly 9,000 acres of open space across the island. In addition to preserving the scenic vistas and fragile ecosystems forever, the Foundation has made all the property available to the public with varying degrees of accessibility. "There's a sense of place that's been established as a result of all the conservation efforts on Nantucket," executive director Jim Lentowski said. "People come to these places, and there's a unique feeling they get, just like walking up Main Street. The island's natural lands – along the south shore, at Smooth Hummocks and Head of the Plains – have been evolving for hundreds of years. There's a real uniqueness in experiencing Nantucket, a feeling that you are in a very different place." To protect that feeling, the Foundation, the oldest and largest conservation organization on the island (it was founded in 1963), does a lot more than simply acquire open space. Its scientists, led by Karen Beattie, work year-round studying the flora and fauna of its properties so they can best manage them in a careful way to ensure they remain exactly as they are. Past inventories of Nantucket's plant and animal populations have documented that the island has the greatest concentration of rare and endangered species of any community in the state. But it's no longer enough to simply protect a property by leaving it alone. Research has indicated that the preservation of certain rare habitats – like the island's sandplain grasslands and heathlands that once supported thousands of sheep – require active land management in order to ensure their continued existence. Today those practices include mowing, sheep-grazing and prescribed-burning programs to stop the spread of scrub oak and invasive plant species throughout the grasslands and heathlands. "We take care of an enormous outdoor laboratory, a classroom, that we take inspiration from – there's no better place for a long, solitary walk than on a Foundation property like Sanford Farm, Squam Swamp or in the Middle Moors – and we're learning a lot more about the rare resources occurring on the island from the expanded science we are doing," Lentowski said. "We've always been focused on land acquisition and conscientious property maintenance. Today it's also about habitat management. Once we understand what's on our properties, if it's rare and being threatened by doing nothing, we evaluate if what it needs is something we can accomplish, and whether or not the need is something we can afford." The Foundation also now owns the Nantucket Field Station in Quaise, where programs offered by the University of Massachusetts-Boston continue under the direction of the university's managing director, Sarah Oktay. While some collaborative work among the island's science and conservation organizations is already occurring at the field station, Lentowski said the long-term goal is to see even more being done in an expanding partnership with UMass and others. The Foundation's cranberry operation is yet another arm of the organization. Its stewardship of the island's two still-operating cranberry bogs began in 1968, when Roy Larsen, Walter Beinecke Jr. and Arthur Dean purchased the assets of what was then known as Nantucket Cranberries and incorporated the Milestone Road bog's nearly 1,000 acres into the Foundation's holdings. The Windswept Bog, a man-made bog built at the turn of the century, was purchased by the Foundation in 1980. Including the cranberry operation, the Foundation has a full-time staff of about 22 people, and adds others in the summer, including interns for the science department. "That's been an expanding area of the organization's program. When people find out about the Foundation's scientific inquiries, and the seriousness of efforts being undertaken to protect Nantucket's rare resources, they get excited about how much they would learn here. They're students with high levels of interest and great credentials. They learn from us, and we learn from them," Lentowski said. Like any other nonprofit, the Foundation faces its fair share of hurdles. "One of the big challenges is maintaining people's support and attracting new donors. People may think that our work is done. But paying for the recently purchased Norwood Farm – a $15.3M undertaking – and taking care of land and rare resources is an expensive proposition. We need the community behind us, not just the seasonal residents, but the island's year-round residents. The Foundation's programs are for everybody's benefit, for every person who goes out there and enjoys sitting on a remote beach in the middle of summer and realizes that it's well taken care of, and that nobody is standing at the gate expecting you to pay for the use of the property," Lentowski said. THIS IS MY HOSPITAL "Without our hospital, life on Nantucket - the way we know it - would not be possible. And yet as we fulfill our mission to deliver year-round, quality care, there's one factor that continues to limit Nantucket Cottage Hospital: our outdated building. We need a new hospital to serve the island today and into the future. Please keep this critically important endeavor in your mind, and join us in the conversation about the future of health care on our beloved island." Margot Hartmann, MD, PhD President & CEO, Nantucket Cottage Hospital NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION As keeper of Nantucket's heritage, the Nantucket Historical Association is steadfast in its mission to preserve and present the history that is the spirit and soul of the island. The NHA is the island's primary storyteller and treasure house, an essential institution working to connect the past to the present in ways that both enlighten and inspire. The NHA tells the stories of Nantucket's rich history at its flagship Whaling Museum and multitude of historic sites, such as the Fire Hose Cart House, Greater Light, the Old Mill, the Oldest House, the Old Gaol, the Quaker Meeting House, and more. Our historic properties serve as touchstones to four centuries of continuity and change. The Old Gaol recently underwent a year-long restoration project and reopened to the public in June 2014, and quickly became one of the NHA's most popular historic sites. Our vast collections of artifacts and documents provide this narrative with detail and nuance. Our engaging programs link the past to the future – of the island, the country, and the world. This treasure the NHA holds in trust for the island, its people, and the future. This past year, the NHA celebrated its major 2014 exhibition Nantucket Cottage Style: Drawing Inspiration from the Oates-Euler Collection in collaboration with the Artists Association of Nantucket, which takes a close look at the seminal influx of artists and artisans that rejuvenated the art colony born on the island fifty years earlier. The NHA also introduced Architectural Legacies, The NHA's Historic Sites, highlighting Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) drawings of key island historic sites, including the Oldest House, Old Mill, Old Gaol, Hadwen House, and more. Throughout 2014, all NHA visitors enjoyed unparalleled access to the museum and historic sites with the All-Access Pass, providing one convenient, all-inclusive ticket to the museum and sites. Open year-round, our flagship Whaling Museum is a gathering place for family and friends, "a community living room" for remarkable lectures, plays, concerts, and special events. As a year-round source for engaging programs and activities for the Nantucket community, the NHA aims to appeal to a broad range of audiences. The ever-popular free weekly Food For Thought Lecture Series presents knowledgeable speakers in a casual lunchtime setting from October through April. Every March, the NHA's History Quiz Bowl brings islanders together for an entertaining evening of trivia and good-natured competition based on Nantucket history. As the days get longer and summer arrives, we expand our offerings to include walking tours of downtown Nantucket and key historic properties that tell the tale of four centuries of Nantucket history through the eyes of their inhabitants. Our popular 1800 House historic decorative arts and crafts courses offer learners of all ages the opportunity to discover creative techniques taught by nationally renowned instructors. The Carriage House, a repurposed structure on the 1800 House property that serves as additional learning space and workshop area, was added this summer as a result of the generosity of an anonymous donor. The NHA Research Library serves as a beacon to scholars researching Nantucket's fabled past via historic archives, photographs, and special collections. One of the most popular programs this summer was the return of the Moby-Dick Rehearsed at the Whaling Museum, in collaboration with Theatre Workshop of Nantucket and starring John Shea as Captain Ahab, which smashed records by selling out eight performances in July and August. With the cooling of the air and the changing of the leaves, we usher in autumn with the annual Harvest Fair at the Old Mill. Throughout the academic year, we welcome students from Nantucket and the mainland who immerse themselves in the educational opportunities afforded by our school programs. As winter approaches, the annual Festival of Wreaths, Festival of Trees, and A Night of Holiday Magic serve to put islanders in the holiday spirit and show Nantucket's special sense of giving and community. To accomplish all of this and fulfill our mission of serving the Nantucket community year-round, the NHA relies on the generous support of our members, friends, and the Nantucket community. We thank you for your continued support of our mission, and hope you will continue to enable us to preserve and interpret the history that makes Nantucket what it is today. NANTUCKET LAND COUNCIL "Celebrating Our 40th Anniversary" THE NANTUCKET LAND COUNCIL, Inc. was organized in 1974 by concerned Nantucket citizens who cherished the island's pristine natural setting and who were troubled by increasing environmental degradation and loss of Nantucket's rural character. This year, as the Land Council celebrates its 40th anniversary, the nonprofit organization's leadership and membership remain committed to the original purpose of defending the island's natural resources by "planning, protecting and preserving." PLANNING "One of the Land Council's primary roles is to educate Nantucket residents, students, and visitors about environmental issues affecting us all," said Executive Director Cormac Collier. "We believe the best community decisions about protecting the environment are those based on knowledge and not personal agendas. Environmental protection is at the root of everything we do as our guiding principle." The Land Council encourages informed decision making through close monitoring of local growth and development being considered by the Board of Selectmen, the Conservation Commission and the Planning Board. At Annual Town Meeting, the Land Council directly participates in local planning and policy setting by advocating positions on articles affecting the island's natural resources. For the past two years the Land Council has been financially supporting the legal defense of the Boy Scout Camp Richard Association's efforts to maintain ownership, and permanent and appropriate environmental stewardship of their property on the island. A legal defense and conservation acquisition fund has been created with the Land Council accepting tax deductible donations for this critical Nantucket project. Since the fund was established, there has been an outpouring of financial support by both yearround and seasonal residents. The Land Council's year-round public programs foster awareness and appreciation of nature and conservation among both children and adults. These programs include workshops and scholarships for land care professionals and research field trips to monitor endangered species, habitat restoration such as dune grass planting or removal of invasive species, shellfish lab tours and downtown tree walks. The Land Council is a leader in the Nantucket Biodiversity Initiative and also awards annual grants to Nantucket schools to support hands-on science experiences. "Our goal in this grants program for close to 25 years has been to encourage Nantucket students' understanding of their local environment through direct involvement in projects with the island as a classroom," said Resource Ecologist Emily MacKinnon, who directs the Land Council's educational programs. PROTECTING An important role of the Nantucket Land Council is to commission and support scientific research to protect natural resources such as water quality, native species of plants and wildlife habitat. Water quality has long been a major focus of the Land Council's research, but never more so than the present day. "By better understanding how what we do in our everyday lives affects the quality and quantity of our water, we can take steps to insure that future generations will have drinking water and clean, healthy ponds and harbors," said Collier. "Our aquifer must be protected from unnecessary risks and we are steadfast in our efforts to do so." Since 2009, the Land Council has been conducting water quality research and has also provided financial support for the formation of a Shellfish Management Plan, a water quality monitoring program investigating the health of all the major ponds and harbors and funding for equipment and operation of the Brant Point Shellfish Propagation Facility. Over the past three years the Land Council has been a driving force in informing Nantucketers about Town fertilizer regulations that took effect on January 1, 2013. By abiding by Best Management Practices, property owners and landscape professionals alike can prevent leaching of excess nitrogen and phosphorus into harbor waters. The Land Council also plays a major role in the newly formed Nantucket Pond Coalition. PRESERVING Preservation and conservation are at the heart of the Nantucket Land Council's mission. One of the primary land preservation tools used by the Land Council in cooperation with conservation-minded Nantucket landowners to protect the island's rural character is the Conservation Restriction, which places a perpetual easement on the property protecting certain conservation values from impact and development. Thanks to the efforts of dedicated members and supporters, the Land Council holds 85 Conservation Restrictions on over 1,300 acres of land throughout Nantucket, Tuckernuck and Muskeget islands. Among the Land Council's most notable Conservation Restrictions to date are those held on Linda Loring Foundation property on Eel Point Road and Bartlett's Farm agricultural fields. NANTUCKET PRESERVATION TRUST In 1997, nine individuals who were dedicated to a common cause – a passion for Nantucket and its historic architecture – established the Nantucket Preservation Trust (NPT). Today, the organization has grown to include more than fifty dedicated past and present board members. It is the only Nantucket nonprofit that is committed to preserving the island's architectural heritage for future and present generations to enjoy. Educating, raising awareness, and encouraging preservation efforts are the driving goals behind the NPT programs: The Mary Helen and Michael Fabacher Scholarship, preservation awards, house histories and neighborhood books, house markers, preservation easements, and special events including tours and lectures. This past year the NPT had one of its most successful seasons: celebrating the tenth anniversary of its Summer Kitchen Tour; hosting a sold-out annual August Fête; welcoming a member of the Architectural Digest 100, architect Peter Pennoyer, and architectural historian Anne Walker, as the Summer Lecture and Luncheon speakers; and presenting four NPT Preservation Awards for outstanding community work. Among our most rewarding achievements has been the award of a full scholarship to the program in preservation carpentry at the North Bennet Street School in Boston through the Mary Helen and Michael Fabacher Scholarship. This NPT activity was established to encourage and promote the use of traditional building methods, which are essential for the preservation of Nantucket's historic architecture, and to provide educational opportunities to increase knowledge of those important crafts. The scholarship was designed to assist Nantucket High School graduates who planned to enter the construction field, with the intention of returning to the island to practice their acquired traditional building skills, and to encourage islanders already in the building trades who are interested in perfecting old skills or in learning new ones. The first full-time recipient of the scholarship, Chris O'Reilly, grew up on the island and has worked alongside master plasterer Pen Austin, master carpenters Nathan Killeen, and Sanford Kendall and most recently restoration carpenter Michael Burrey. This past spring, O'Reilly, under Burrey's direction, spent time in London, England, where he worked hewing timbers for the Tower of London restoration. "It was an extremely rewarding experience, and I'm so happy to be able to say that I helped out in the rebuilding of a stairwell at the Tower of London. These stairs should last anywhere from seventy to a hundred years. I can't wait to see them up next time I get over there," said Chris. His passion for the island and his experience of working with renowned preservationists made him the ideal candidate. The NPT looks forward to O'Reilly's return to the island to put his new skills to work. To ensure continued preservation of that heritage, it is vital to have educated preservationists. The NPT believes that the North Bennet Street School scholarship program will encourage Nantucket craftsmen to perfect their techniques and return to the island to utilize their newfound knowledge of traditional building skills. The streetscape of Nantucket is what maintains the island's charm; it cannot be maintained without the engagement of competent practitioners in the building trades. Whether you are interested in applying for a scholarship or are willing to contribute to the scholarship program, the NPT welcomes your participation. The Nantucket Preservation Trust relies on the support of its members, volunteers, business supporters, and the Nantucket community to raise awareness about Nantucket's historic architectural heritage and to provide the preservation resources to promote historic preservation activity by showing what is possible. To learn how you can help us, please visit our Web Site: www.nantucketpreservtion.org.