Last Updated:March, 2009

Patricia Elwell, Chair
The Conservation Commission meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month at 7:00 pm in the Municipal Center.

Earth Hour
It's as simple as a flick of the switch
In 2009, at 8:30 p.m. on March 28, people around the world will turn their lights off for one hour: Earth Hour. We're aiming to reach one billion people, more than 1,000 cities, all joining together in a global effort to show that it's possible to take action on global warming.

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney Australia with 2.2 million homes and businesses turning their lights off for one hour. Only a year later, this event had up to 50 million people across 35 countries participating. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome's Colosseum and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness.

Over 64 countries and territories are participating in Earth Hour 2009. This number grows every day. Turn off your lights at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, March 28 and sign up at http://www.earthhour.org to be counted.

Annual Clean-Up Day
Saturday, April 18, 9 am - Noon
The Stratham Conservation Commission will be hosting the town’s 5th Clean-up Day on Saturday, April 18th. This event focuses on cleaning up roadways and public areas in Stratham. The event will kick-off at 9 am at the Stratham Hill Park Pavilion. All participants will be treated to a barbeque at noon following the clean-up.
Volunteers can either be assigned a specific location that needs attention or request a specific location to clean. Anyone interested in volunteering for this community event may ether contact Pat Elwell at 778-1659 or just show up at the park at 9 am on Saturday, April 18. Anyone who is interested in picking up their own street but is unable to participate on that day is also welcome to call and request a clean-up bag.  The Commission would welcome help from local individuals and groups for this event.

Links of Interest
Water Resources Primer: newly published by the NH Dept of Environmental Services. The Water Resources Primer was developed to inform policy makers and citizens about the state’s water resources and the challenges faced in sustainably managing them. It was developed as part of an initiative to develop a statewide, comprehensive water resources plan, spearheaded by the Legislature’s Statutory Water Resources Committee. The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services is the lead author, although the document was significantly influenced and improved by the contributions of many volunteer stakeholders and experts.

2002 Open Space Bond

Fueled by the knowledge that other NH towns had funded major land conservation initiatives, the Conservation Commission decided in 2001 to embark on a major campaign to permanently protect 750 acres, roughly 1/3 of our remaining buildable land. We named the campaign Stratham, Our Town and decided to ask the voters at Town Meeting to approve a $5 million bond to be paid back over 15 years. Below are links to the 5 newsletters sent to residents to prepare them for the vote in March of 2002 as well as the Case Study. The bill passed with an 88% YES.

Conservation Commission Case Study, 2002

Newsletters regarding the 2002 $5 million Open Space Bond
*Note: You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer in order to view the newsletter. Adobe Acrobat Reader is available for free download here: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

• Why? Where? How? And When?, December 14 2001
  
• What Have Other NH Towns Done to Conserve Open Space?, January 9 2002
  
• The Arithmetic of Growth, Part 1, January 23 2002
  
• The Arithmetic of Growth, Part 2, February 5 2002
  
• The Water Issue, February 20 2002