Newsletter

The Nature Museum at Grafton has a quarterly newsletter that updates our museum members and community members about what is happening at The Museum.

It includes:

• a public program calendar
• articles about natural history
• advice about local places to visit
• information about the Museum’s work with teachers and students

In order to receive the regularly mailed newsletters you must be a member, but you are welcome to call The Museum if you would like us to send you one.

Announcements

Executive Director Position Opening Up

The Nature Museum at Grafton is an educational organization that provides students of all ages with diverse opportunities to connect with the natural world. The Museum, founded in 1988 in Grafton, Vermont, houses a permanent collection at our location on Townshend Road and currently delivers about 350 programs annually to the public and area schools and libraries.

The Executive Director will be coming aboard during an exciting time in the organization’s history. The Museum is looking for a dynamic leader with experience, enthusiasm and energy who, working with the board, will play an instrumental role in leading the Museum into the future as we expand our mission and set sights on a new vision.

General Responsibilities

Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director has responsibility for the overall management of the Museum. The candidate must be a creative thinker who is capable of developing and leading initiatives that will result in broad community interest, support and participation. The Executive Director plans, directs, and oversees the work of the Museum, staff and volunteers. In addition to overseeing the broader Museum operations, the Executive Director will be leading fundraising efforts, membership, and publicity for the Museum.

Qualifications

A dynamic communicator both internally and externally, the successful candidate must demonstrate a keen ability to articulate our mission to diverse audiences and a track record of influencing others to action. Prior success in fundraising for capital campaigns, major gifts, corporate sponsors and grants is sought. An understanding of business principles applied to a non-profit organization and budget management is necessary. S/he must show evidence of effective fundraising, staff management, communication, computer literacy, and exceptional organizational skills. The new Executive Director will be expected to work with diverse individuals and partner organizations, leading The Nature Museum to a new level of operation and performance.

Salary

Salary is commensurate with experience; between $30 - $40,000 per year (with health insurance).

How to Apply

Send a resume, cover letter, and three references to: Laurie Danforth, Board President The Nature Museum at Grafton PO Box 38, Grafton, VT 05146 Or email: margo@nature-museum.org

Application Deadline: August 24, 2008; Date Posted: July 25, 2008

Inspired by Bach: The Music Garden

We are excited about our Second Night Out for Nature, which is scheduled for September 20th at Vermont Academy’s new performing arts center Horowitz Hall. Landscape designer Julie Moir Messervy and cellist Judith Serkin will explore the relationship between music and garden design. Messervy, designer of the award-winning Toronto Music Garden based on the “First Suite for Unaccompanied Cello” by J.S. Bach, will explain how the aesthetic and structural elements in the music influenced her design choices. Judith Serkin will illustrate the musical passages that gave rise to Messervy’s garden vision, and will perform the Suite in its entirety at the conclusion of the program.

Tickets ($12.00) for this creative event will be available at many local locations and at the Museum. Enjoy an inspiring evening and support the work of the Nature Museum at the same time. Call ahead for tickets since they might sell out. 802-843-2111 or send a check, made out to The Nature Museum to PO Box 38, Grafton, VT 05146.

Nature News Through Your Radio

The Nature Museum would like to announce that Wool.fm will be playing a short natural history episode called “Beyond Your Backyard” every Sunday at 5:00 PM. We have created a new 3 minute, mini radio show every month, so tune in the learn about local plants and animals in this months episode of “Beyond Your Backyard.”

The Wool.fm signal reaches people from Ascutney to Brattleboro, from Charlestown to Keene, from Grafton to the Connecticut River, and from the Connecticut River all the way to Marlow, NH. To find out more about Wool.fm you can turn your radio dial to 100.1 fm, or you can check their website at http://www.wool.fm.

The Fish Ladder and Watershed Visitor Center Opens Again for the Season

The Nature Museum staffs the Fish Ladder and Watershed Visitor Center in Bellows Falls, VT. The facility is owned and operated by TransCanada which also owns the hydroelectric facility. The Nature Museum has added displays and exhibits to the Fish Ladder Center that focus on the plants and animals of the Connecticut River watershed. This year the displays focus on Muskrats, waterfowl, beavers, food chains, fish crafts, and animal bones as well as the permanent displays pertaining to shad and salmon.

While the visitor center is open all summer, the water does not run through the fish ladder throughout the open season. TransCanada is instructed to open the ladder by the Fish and Wildlife Service when the Atlantic Salmon has been spotted passing through the Vernon facility. The ladder is most likely to be open between Memorial Day and the 4th of July.