Environmental News
Upcoming and Recent Events:
Weekly Guided Nature Tours, Weekend Mornings Throughout the Month – Each month, the Mashpee Conservation Department sponsors guided walking tours, which are free of charge and weather dependent. For directions and information about these walks, click on the “Guided Nature Tours” link along the left-hand margin at the department’s main website, www.mashpeema.gov/conservation. Walks have included Childs River, Lowell Holly Reservation, Mashpee River Woodlands, Pickerel Cove, Santuit Pond Preserve and many more. This is a great way to explore Mashpee’s wonderful array of conservation lands.
Save the Dates (additional details will follow):
Saturday, April 18, 2026, Honor the Earth Fair, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Center
Saturday, April 25, 2026, Earth Day Textile Recycling, Composting, and Secure Shredding Event – co-sponsored by Mashpee DPW and MEC, location to be arranged
Check back soon for details!
Information Items:
Proposed New Sewer Phase Map – Mashpee Wastewater Management Project: A map of proposed Sewer Phases was presented to the Mashpee Sewer Commission on December 18, 2025. Sometime within the next few months, a joint meeting with the Mashpee Select Board may be scheduled for discussion and approval of this proposal. A copy of the map is available here. To watch the discussion, click here and start at hour 1, minute 45.
APCC Releases its State of the Waters: Cape Cod 2025 Report: In early December 2025, the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) released its latest data regarding Cape Cod’s State of the Waters in our estuaries, ponds, and municipal water supplies. Details may be found at: https://capecodwaters.org/.
Cape Cod Freshwater Strategy Report – Ponds and Lakes: The Cape Cod Commission released its final Cape Cod Freshwater Strategy Report this past summer. This guide outlines a data-driven approach to evaluating, protecting, and restoring Cape Cod’s ponds and lakes, and a framework for improving their overall health. Additional information and the report itself may be found here.
Reminders:
MEC’s Chemical-Free Cape Cod Yard Sign Campaign: In April 2025, MEC launched its new “Chemical-Free Cape Cod Yard” sign campaign – aimed at promoting Chemical-Free Yards that are safe for our Children, Pets, Waters – and Nature as a whole. Already, our signs are proudly being displayed in yards across Cape Cod, including Dennis, Falmouth, Mashpee, Pocasset, and Sandwich. For a donation of just $10, Cape Cod residents who care about the environment can show their support by displaying one of our signs in their yard, setting an example for family, friends, and neighbors. Additional information is available here. Thanks to all who are helping to save our environment – one yard at a time!
Cape-Wide “Perpetual” Conservation Calendar: The Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts and its nonprofit members currently maintain a Regional Calendar of Events, that is updated on a continual basis. This Conservation Calendar includes programs from villages and towns across Cape Cod, encouraging both visitors and residents to take part in nature and environmental events. The wide list of current programs may be accessed at: www.blt.org/capeconservationcalendar.
Textile Recycling is Now the Law! As of November 2022, in Massachusetts it is now illegal to discard any clothing or other textile items in the trash, even if stained, ripped, threadbare, or filled with holes. The full list of items that must now be recycled may be accessed at the link provided, courtesy of Bay State Textiles. MEC is currently holding textile drives twice each year — in April as an Earth Day event, and in August alongside the Hazardous Waste Dropoff. Exact dates and times each year will be posted above under “Upcoming Events”. More information may be found at: List of Clothing and Textiles that must now be Recycled.
Like Ospreys? Thanks to the Friends of the Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge and Comcast, you can now watch – and listen to – the osprey nest of Rachel and Carson and their two new babies located at the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. To access this live feed, click on the link below, then “Osprey Cam” at: https://www.friendsofmashpeenationalwildliferefuge.org/
Important Fertilizer Reminder: Mashpee regulates the application of fertilizer as follows:
1. No application of nitrogen is permitted between October 30 and April 14 — or at any time within 100′ of specified waterways
2. No application of phosphorus is permitted between December 1 and March 1 — or at any time within 20′ of specified waterways
Even during acceptable dates, no application is permitted before or during a heavy rainfall or when the ground is saturated. These regulations are detailed in the Nitrogen Control Bylaw, amended 2017, available at www.mashpeema.gov, under Town Clerk. However, please note that Mashpee Town Manager, Rodney C. Collins, issued a Special Water Quality Alert to all property owners asking them to discontinue the use of fertilizers on lawns and landscaped areas. This alert is available at https://www.mashpeema.gov/home/news/special-water-quality-alert-july-2021. Thank you for helping to keep Mashpee’s waterways clean!
In Case You Missed It:
Source to Sea Restoration Projects – The Town of Mashpee is currently working with the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC), Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (WBNERR), and the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe on the restoration of the Mashpee River, Quashnet River, and Red Brook. This project is funded in part by a grant from NOAA. Community Partners for all three projects are still being sought. For additional information about these projects and/or to become a community partner, go to: https://waquoitbayreserve.org/coastal-training-programs/source-to-sea.
Session Videos and Resources from the 2024 Cape Cod Coastal Conference – The June 18, 2024, full-day WBNERR conference entitled “Collaborating for Solutions: Practical Sessions to Achieve Watershed Plans” focused on ways that our Cape Cod communities can take action to restore water quality, reduce nutrients in our watersheds, and apply for funds to assist in implementing Watershed Plans. The full Conference Agenda, Session Videos, and a link to Grant Opportunities and Deadlines are available at: https://waquoitbayreserve.org/2024-cape-coastal-conference/.
Pond Oxygenation Workshop – A Special “Shout Out” to the Waquoit Bay Reserve for their informative, full-day workshop in November 2023 on how to manage healthy ponds by using oxygenation – and no chemicals. This technique has proven successful in lakes and ponds across the US, as well as right here on Cape Cod with Sarah’s Pond in Orleans – thanks to an initiative undertaken by the Orleans Pond Coalition. The full-day program, including agenda, presenter information, and PowerPoints may be found at the link below. For anyone interested in learning more about a fully natural way to help manage our freshwater ponds, this approach is well worth exploring: https://waquoitbayreserve.org/pond-oxygenation-workshop-learning-through-case-studies/
Monthly Board of Directors Meeting Schedule
Board meetings of the Mashpee Environmental Coalition (MEC) are held via Zoom the second Thursday of each month (January to November) starting at 4:00pm unless otherwise noted. There is no meeting in December. Please note that our Annual Meeting takes place the second Thursday in September at 4:00pm followed by the September board meeting.
All are welcome to attend. If you wish to attend one of our meetings, please contact [email protected] by 12:00 noon the day before the meeting so the Zoom link can be emailed to you.
Earth Day 2025 Event a Great Success
By all accounts, MEC’s 2nd Annual Earth Day Event, co-sponsored by the Mashpee Department of Public Works, was a great success. On April 19th within a four-hour time period, over 250 residents and their families dropped off the following items at the Mashpee Senior Center – thus keeping them all out of our landfill:
- 6,500 lbs. of textiles for recycling
- 4,056 lbs. of documents for shredding
- 463 lbs. of media storage items for recycling
That same day, a number of residents also picked up literature about composting along with a food waste container for their kitchen counter or yard. While we are appreciative of the Mashpee Enterprise for their great coverage, and our business partners, Bay State Textiles, Great White Shred, and TerraCycle, we are most grateful to all the residents of Mashpee who participated that day and made this Earth Day event so very successful.
Press Release – Environmental Scholarship to be Awarded
The Mashpee Environmental Coalition is pleased to announce that their scholarship will again be offered to one or more qualified Mashpee High School seniors. This scholarship aims to assist students who are dedicated to helping the environment and who plan to continue their education beyond high school. Past scholarship recipients have pursued degrees at Amherst College, Colby-Sawyer College, Northern Arizona University, Tufts University, and UMass-Amherst in programs such as environmental science and forestry.
Scholarship qualifications, applications, and deadlines are available through the Mashpee Middle High School scholarship website and the MMHS Guidance Department. All qualified seniors are encouraged to apply.
Successful Textile Recycling Drive
The August 17, 2024 Textile Recycling Drive sponsored by the Mashpee Environmental Coalition (MEC) was a great success, with 3,000 lbs. of textiles dropped off in a 4-hour period. As an added plus, the combined Household Hazardous Waste, Textile Recycling, and Shredding Event received front page coverage in the Mashpee Enterprise.
Since August 2023, MEC has held three textile drives – keeping 8,750 lbs. in total out of our landfills – with up to 95% reused or repurposed. Since it is now illegal in Massachusetts for textiles to be discarded in the trash, MEC plans to sponsor textile drives twice each year — in April for Earth Day, and in August combined with the county’s Household Hazardous Waste collection. Once the April 2025 date is confirmed, it will be widely advertised to members, throughout the Internet, and across town.