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Photo courtesy Mark Wilson

Essay & T-shirt Winners

Welcome to the contest winners page of the BCTrust website. Educating the young people of our community to appreciate and protect our precious undeveloped land is a process that needs to start at an early age. It is one of our most important missions. You are fortunate to be able to enjoy many examples of land preservation in town. Growing up in a town like Boxborough will hopefully teach you that these things don't happen by themselves.

It takes vision, committment, and hard work to protect those things that nature has created for us. We at the BCTrust hope to do our part in "Protecting and Preserving Boxborough's Undeveloped Land" and we invite you to work with us in that endeavor. The BCTrust sponsors two Blanchard School events each year to bring this awareness to our youth. The annual T-shirt and essay writing contest gives you the opportunity to begin to express yourself about our natural resources. We hope you enjoy these contests.

Every year, the BCT sponsors a t-shirt design contest with fourth grade art students at the Blanchard Memorial Elementary School. Finished designs are submitted to the BCT Board of Directors who select a winner and honorable mentions. The winner gets a framed letter of congratulations from the BCT, a t-shirt with their design and a small gift. The Trust then sells the T-shirts as a fund raiser. The winner and honorable mentions are also recognized in the BCT's newsletter "Common Ground." Home

Winners of the Annual T-Shirt Contest

Support the BCT and purchase apparel for your family and friends.

It's a great way to let your community know that land conservation is important to you!

We have t-shirts, sweat shirts, and hats!

To find out what items are available and to place your order call Margot Dushin at: 978-263-4404 or e-mail her at: fadushin@fourfold.org

You can also purchase all of our items at Fifer's Day (Flerra Field), Oktoberfest (West Acton), and Winterfest (Steele Farm).

Mathew Pierce, 4th Grade


Carter Terranova, 4th Grade	Matthew Zurek, 4th Grade	Catherine Neyland, 4th Grade

Moira Harrison, 4th Grade

Lindsey Buckle, 4th Grade

Marissa Clairmont, 4th Grade


Conor Waligory, 4th Grade	Leah Grossman, 4th Grade	Danielle Forshay, 4th Grade

Tom Vickery, 5th Grade
2009 T-shirt Contest Matthew Pierce (left) won first place with his dragonfly design. Three students were named runners up: Luke Rogers, Shay Lukas, and Lisa Kidd. Honorable mentions were awarded to Emily Agle, Ali Brolin, Bella Dunning, Caroline Gotthelf, Andrew Ingham, Erin Loonie, and Caroline Parker.	2008 T-shirt Contest Carter Terranova (second from Right) took first place. Runners up included (from left) Danielle Proulx, Arielle Sabot, and Nina Prakash. Honorable mentions: Jack Barnes, Allie Kubiak, and Rachel Toups.	2007 T-shirt Contest Fourth grader Matthew Zurek (second from left) won the 10th anuual BCTrust T-shirt Design Contest with his drawing of a tree. In a June awards ceremony at Blanchard Memorial School, Matthew was recognized along with three runners-up: Somuth Klot, Julian Waugh, and Alice Kazberouk, all in the fourth grade.
2006 T-shirt Contest Boxborough fourth graders Kayla Parker (second runner up), Catherine Neyland (winner) and Richard Coffey (first runner up) model the winning design for this year’s BCTrust T-shirt.
Winners of the Annual Essay Writing Contest

2009 Writing Contest: The Amazing Honeybee Blanchard fourth grader Courtney Adema writes winning essay “The Amazing Honeybee” was the topic of the 2009 writing contest sponsored by the BCTrust this spring at Blanchard Memorial School . This year’s theme encouraged students to learn about the role bees play in pollinating our food supply and about the threat to bee populations from “colony collapse disorder.” Students were invited to conduct their own research and write a poem or essay. The BCTrust congratulates all 85 students (a record!) in Grades 3, 4, 5 and 6 who participated. Courtney Adema won first prize for her essay. Jack Amaral and Ceallagh Hanlon, also fourth graders, took second and third place. Honorable mentions: Devon Lukas (Grade 4), Caroline Gotthelf (Grade 4), Haley Grieco-Page (Grade 3) and Michael Ngai (Grade 3). Honeybees By Courtney Adema, Grade 4 Buzzzzzz. That’s the sound of honeybees pollinating flowers. Honeybees are very important. They are black or brown with stripes of yellow on their abdomen. Honeybees have five eyes, two pairs of wings and, like most insects, six legs. They’re very small: about 5/8 of an inch. A beehive can hold up to 50 thousand bees, which are mostly females called worker bees, except for the queen. The males are called drones. Honeybees pollinate about one-third of the food we eat, such as tasty strawberries, raspberries, oranges, blueberries, almonds and pears! They also produce honey: that’s why they are called honeybees! The average bee only makes 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime. They have to collect nectar from 20 million flowers to make one pound of honey. The honeybee’s life cycle starts as an egg, then progresses to a larva, into a pupa, and then an adult. But these important little insects are disappearing very quickly: about 30% of the bees worldwide were lost last winter, and we don’t know why. Some think it is because of the lack of plant diversity in their habitat. Others blame pesticides or diseases. Perhaps all three are why. 2009 Writing Contest Courtney Adema (right) won first prize in the 2009 writing contest. Jack Amaral (left) took second prize, and Ceallagh Hanlon, third prize.	Thank the Bees By Jack Amaral Grade 4 Slurp, a bee is eating. Pollinating as she goes. One by one she pollinates flowers On the trail she flies for hours. The flower petals die, Where fruit begins to grow. The fruit is ripe, And ready to eat. If it’s good, thank the bees. The Life of a Honeybee By Ceallagh Hanlon Grade 4 When some people hear the word, BEE, they think, “Ow! Ow! Sting, sting, sting!” Well, there’s a lot more to bees than just stinging. They work in three different teams and use amazing teamwork. In fact, they could teach people a thing or two! Let’s go meet them. Here are the worker bees! They are the female bees that find food. They are off to find flowers to pollinate. They use a series of “dances” to communicate. Back at the hive, the young workers are feeding the larvae, eggs laid by the queen. The queen only has about 2 to 5 years to live, so some of the other workers are choosing a new queen. Others are ready to feed the most healthy larva royal jelly. (The jelly grows on young workers’ heads.) Next, we have the drones! They are the male bees that have eyes twice the size of those of the other bees. They are completely stingless. Their main purpose is to fertilize the queen’s eggs. They might not do much, but they are very important. Finally, we have the queen! She lays all the eggs in the hive. The queen mates in flight with about 13 to 18 drones and receives several million sperm cells that last her entire life. The queen has no control over the hive – she is the reproducer. Thank you for joining me on my tour of the hive!
Three Blanchard students win the 2008 BCTrust Writing Contest Forty-eight students from grades 3, 4, and 5 at Blanchard Memorial Elementary School submitted essays and poems this past spring to the 7th annual BCTrust Writing Contest. In recognition of Boxborough’s quasquibicentennial birthday, students were asked to write an essay or poem describing the natural landscape in Boxborough—how it may have been 225 years ago, how it is today, or what they think it will be like 225 years from now. The BCTrust congratulates all the students who submitted entries this year. As usual, the three BCTrust judges, Hugh Fortmiller, Lynn Stahlberg and Tara Zantow, had a challenging time selecting the finalists. This year’s winners are: Emma Walligory, Grade 5, Our Town Boxborough Jacob Witt, Grade 5, Boxborough in 2233: An Amazing Place To Be Nell Scherfling, Grade 4, Patch Hill Honorable mention goes to the following students: Jack Barnes, Isabel Bohling, Alex Garde, Isabel Terranova, and Cole Winsor, all from Grade 4. Our Town Boxborough By Emma Waligory Grade 5 In the Beginning, With Farms and rolling plains, Landmarks and wetlands, All were the same. Now in the present Our proud little town, Still standing tall Rooted to the ground. Always be beautiful, Always be small. Wetlands, marshes, ponds, and forests too, All need to be preserved and, It's all up to you. Look to the future, Save what we hold, Protect our open space and, Our undeveloped land. Keep it for the future, You know that we can, Help save Boxborough, And our common land.	Boxborough in 2233: An Amazing Place To Be By Jacob Witt Grade 5 With Air-Pods Ô buzzing around, Boxborough is an amazing place to be. With new tools and the ability to un-develop land, scientists have become heroes of the 23 rd century. Global warming was eliminated 100 years ago due to the creation of solar panels that encompass the earth. With this gift of longevity and life, Boxborough is thriving. What was once the town hall is now a solar Plexiglas voting and community center. Education has changed drastically as well, due to the creation and implementation of the advanced knowledge microchip. Blanchard has morphed into an underwater farm experiment. Children, adults and animals work together to make Boxborough a successful self-sustained community. Animals inhabit all of the ground because floating pieces of compressed solar dust make up 97% of real estate, called HoverHomes Ô . The past has not been forgotten, however. A heavy granite statue of Boxborough's founders was erected and placed next to the cracked bell where Middle Road and Hill Street once intersected. More importantly, the No. 2 schoolhouse is now an interactive museum, equipped with real paper notebooks and wood & graphite pencils dating back to 2025! This, my friend, is Boxborough in the year 2233. Patch Hill By Nell Scherfling Grade 4 I dipped my hand into the icy stream. Water flowed over it, and leaves drifted on. Vines entwined my jeans and shirt. I carefully plucked off the greenery. Soon I was padding off in the forest. The stream wound around me and seemed to swallow my body. Trees enclosed me all around. Birds' songs sang out through the land. A stonewall was on my left, I followed it. Twisting and turning, the wall went. Carefully I balanced along the rickety rocks and fixed my eyes ahead. A squirrel scampered by with an acorn clutched in its jaws. I kept walking and soon I reached a hill. It was bald with no trees or bushes. Light sparkled and danced in my hair. A smile spread across my face and I raised my arms. Some children 225 years from now might be able to experience this, but maybe not. Land is disappearing in many towns, thankfully not in Boxborough. I hope kids will be able see this wonderful forest too. Please help us continue to stop destroying these gorgeous forests for further generations. We need your help. Let's start here. 2008 Writing Contest Nell Scherfling, Emma Walligory and Jacob Witt (left to right) were the winners of the 2008 Writing Contest. Honorable mentions went to the following students: Jack Barnes, Isabel Bohling, Alex Garde, Isabel Terranova and Cole Winsor, all from Grade 4.
2007 Annual BCTrust Writing Contest Odes to our wetlands! Forty-seven students who attend Blanchard Memorial School in Grades 3, 4, and 5 participated in the fifth annual BCTrust Writing Contest. This year, they were asked to write an essay or poem about the beauty of Boxborough’s wetlands and the importance of preserving this diverse habitat. The BCTrust congratulates all the students who submitted entries this year. Three members of the BCTrust board served as judges: Hugh Fortmiller, Rita Grossman, and Diane Torres. This year’s winners are all fourth graders: Linnea Millen, The Song of the Wetlands Joshua Xiong, Wetlands: A Valuable Resource Margaret Follett, Wetlands: A Home Honorable mention goes to the following students: Kate Flaherty, Emma Waligory, and Brook Blackshaw from Grade 4, and Gabrielle Diorio from Grade 3. The Song of the Wetlands By Linnea Millen Grade 4 Marshes, swamps and bogs -- The perfect home for fish, bugs, and even frogs. RIBBIT!! Wetlands too, are, A plant, moss and valuable soil zoo. DIG, DIG!! Depressions in the ground -- That's where wetlands are found Between dry land and the edges of water in streams, rivers, lakes and coastline -- Oh, that water is mighty divine. WHOOSH!! Slowly and slowly Day by day, These noises decrease ever so lowly, Why are they going away? It's because Mosquitoes, flies and unpleasant smells Make many people want to yell. For they think the wetlands are all gross Because of the bacteria, organisms and odors they host. But they are wrong. They forget, The very song The wetlands sing, still yet. RIBBIT!! DIG, DIG!! WHOOSH!! Save the wetlands, and you will save these sounds! There is still time for the wetlands to be around! HOORAY!	Wetlands: A Valuable Resource By Joshua Xiong Grade 4 Wetlands are a valuable natural resource. They act like giant filters to protect the earth's ecosystem. When it rains, the rainwater runs through many places and picks up sediment, toxic pollutants and other wastes. If that rainwater flows through a wetland before it enters a river or stream, some of these pollutants are trapped by the roots of the plants or buried in the soil. The tiny microorganisms decompose the toxic materials and change them into less harmful materials. In that way, wetlands protect the ecosystems downstream. Some of our wetlands refill the water underground. In our town, most people get their drinking water from underground water in wells. Wetlands help to make our drinking water cleaner. Wetlands reduce the amount of harmful substances that enter a stream, pond or lake. It makes our drinking water cleaner. They are truly amazing natural resources. It is important to protect our wetlands so they can have their maximum capacity to absorb harmful sediments and pollutants, and we can enjoy the beautiful ponds, clean streams, and most of all, clean drinking water. Wetlands: A Home By Margaret Follett Grade 4 Dragonflies with colored wings, The beavers swimming 'round, Blue herons sit atop the rocks Patiently gazing down. Rain drops splashing on the pond Make ringlets on the wave. Expanding ripples softly glide Till quietly they fade. With them fade the animals, They now are safe at home. Curled up tight in warm dry dens, The beavers in their dome. 2007 Writing Contest Fourth grader Linnea Millen (center) won first place in the 5th annual BCTrust Writing Contest, with Joshua Xiong and Margaret Follett taking second and third place honors. In a June awards ceremony, contest coordinator Tara Zantow and Trust president Rita Grossman presented the students with framed awards of their winning entries.
2006 Annual BCTrust Writing Contest Blanchard Students Get Creative About Recycling More than 90 students from grades 3, 4, 5, and 6 at Blanchard Memorial Elementary School submitted essays and poems this spring to the fourth annual BCTrust Writing Contest. For their topic this year, students were asked to explain why we all should recycle and how it benefits the environment. This topic was selected to kick-off a paper recycling project at Blanchard that will begin in September. Under the direction of IT specialist Liz Sheldon, and assisted by Janet LaVigne and Pam Eisenberg, the entire school will participate in a yearlong project-based learning experience. Math, history, science and other subjects will be integrated to engage kids in researching and solving real-world problems. Working in small teams, the sixth graders will begin by researching various aspects of recycling: alternatives, costs and benefits— most notably, reduction of energy consumption, and preservation of plant and animal habitats. They will use their research to share the importance of recycling with the younger grades. Throughout the school year, students will measure and weigh the paper collected each week from each grade, and track usage on spreadsheets and graphs. They also will document their project through digital photos and video. Finally, at the end of the school year, the results of this yearlong project will be presented to the entire school. The BCTrust congratulates all the students who submitted entries to this year’s writing contest and is pleased to announce these four winners: Madhavi Muralidharan, Grade 6, Dear Human Race Jennifer Duffy, Grade 4, Recycling Rohan Kadambi, Grade 4, Recycling in the Life of a Water Bottle Emma Waligory, Grade 3, Recycle Honorable mention goes to the following students: Angela Zhao, Neil Sharma, and Will Farmer from Grade 4, and Julie Cotillo from Grade 3. Emma Waligory, Grade 3, Rohan Kadambi, Grade 4, Madhavi Muralidharan, Grade 6, and Jennifer Duffy, Grade 4, earned recognition from the BCTrust for their entries in the 2006 writing contest.	Dear Human Race by Madhavi Muralidharan Grade 6 Dear Human race This is a letter of utmost appeal, for the paper clan is in dire distress! We are pleased that your kind still finds us useful. However, you seem to be forgetting our source, and that it’s limited. I still remember my days of youth when young Alice bought me. My cover was shiny and my pages crisp and clean. Alice had such fun with me, and when it came time to part with me, I was mortified, for instead of disposing me properly, she simply tossed me in the trash! This was my first life, and I still feel that it was an inconsiderate disposal. Now, I can never serve another human, and this makes me depressed! Further, the efforts of those who nurtured and brought me up (the trees) are wasted. Please! Have consideration and remember to recycle us, so we can continue to serve you! With deepest gratitude, Paper Kind Recycling By Jennifer Duffy Grade 4 There was once an old woman who always recycled. She saved every piece of scrap paper she had. Her recycling room was full of cans and bottles she had recycled over the years. She saved her money by reusing her stuff, and she gained five cents for every can or bottle she brought back to the store. A small boy who lived across the street never recycled. The old woman told the young boy to recycle or he would be in trouble. The boy did as the old woman said. The more the boy recycled, the more he saved his environment. That is why we should recycle. “It saves our environment and animal habitats,” said the little boy when he was telling his friend to recycle. And his friend did recycle. He told someone else, who told another person and the trail still goes on today Recycling in the Life of a Water Bottle by Rohan Kadambi Grade 4 Once an empty water bottle was thrown into a dump. He wanted to restart and be recycled. Soon he rolled into a different pile and saw an old newspaper. The newspaper also wondered why he was there. The water bottle found many items that wondered why they were here. So they made piles of things to be recycled. Soon people started to notice the piles. So they started recycling. All the pieces of trash the water bottle saw were recycled. His first friend, the newspaper, was transformed into a dictionary. Some good wires from a TV went into a Dell hard drive. Some ink cartridges were refilled. Even the water bottle himself was recycled. He was turned into a milk jug. The water bottle was glad to have been recycled. He didn't even mind the cold refridgerator. Recycle by Emma Waligory Grade 3 Recycling helps you and me in every single way. It makes the world strong and clean so you can go out and play. Recycling paper, glass and plastic helps our earth, and that’s fantastic. Recycling saves the trees, water, grass and air. Do your part and show you care. Please help the world in every place: recycle, reuse and don’t just waste. Make the world big and strong. Do your part to move recycling along.