Field Notes

SUNNY SKIES, DIRTY AIR On Monday and Tuesday of this week, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) forecasted unhealthful air for all of eastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod due to increases in ground-level ozone levels.

Despite the clear blue skies and blazing sunshine that prevailed for the last four days, ozone levels near the ground typically spike during the summer and happen as a result of chemical reaction produced by heat and the light of the sun reacting with gasoline, solvents and nitrogen oxides - all pollutants generated when fuels are burnt. This air pollution, although it occurs in Massachusetts as well, comes from heavily populated areas in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, blown east during high-pressure cycles by southwest winds

These high ozone levels affect children under 12 and the elderly the most, causing coughing, nose and throat irritation, chest pains, aggravation of asthma, shortness of breath, increased vulnerability to respiratory infection and decreased lung function. DEP advised those at risk to avoid strenuous activity and to keep small children indoors, and in general, promoted carpooling, taking the bus and refueling vehicles in the evening to cut down on gasoline vapors escaping into the air.

Because the air varies like the weather, DEP expects to be issuing more unhealthful alerts throughout the summer.

PLOVERS PUSH NEED FOR ALTERNATIVE POPS VENUE Darned birds. As if it has not been enough of a project for the town to block off major sections of Jetties Beach for the July Fourth fireworks and shoot displays from an off-shore barge because of nesting Piping Plovers, the favored feathered friends nearly caused next month's 10th annual Boston Pops to relocate.

Chuck Gifford, the Community Relations director for Nantucket Cottage Hospital, which relies heavily on the Pops to raise funds, learned not long ago that a nest of plovers was securely nestled on the performance side of Jetties Beach, meaning the popular Pops, which now draws up to 8,000 people, would have to put down stakes elsewhere.

Gifford created Plan B; to relocate the concert to the Tom Nevers Navy Base where the carnival has been for the last two weeks. At the last minute, after already scheduling meetings with Parks and Recreation and the selectmen for approval to change the venue, he was told the plovers have fled the nest and the Pops can go on at Jetties as usual. Gifford is relieved, but said it does not hurt to have a Plan B in place in case a similar situation arises in the future.

MINOR MCDS In the shadow of the larger major commercial developments in the works around the island, including the renovations of the Point Breeze Hotel, Harbor House and Dreamland Theater, two relatively smaller MCDs are currently before the Planning Board.

The Cliffside Beach Club plans to add a 20-seat bistro for its members within the club itself so those coming off the beach can get a sandwich and drink while relaxing in the afternoon. Club owner John Curry said the bistro would be open from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. and that it would not become a late-night bar scene open to the public.

Neighbors of the project are concerned about members bringing guests to the bistro, parking issues and the noise and odors related to restaurant garbage and trash.

Back in town, the Manor House at 31 Centre St. wants to add a 14-room guesthouse in its parking area at 4 Chestnut St. and is asking for parking waiver for the spots the new building will displace. Both MCD applications will be reviewed by the Planning Board at its July 24 meeting at its new 2 Fairgrounds Road offices.

PLANT INVADERS If you want to learn about the destructiveness of invasive plant species, how to identify them in your backyard, why there is a movement on the island to get rid of them and how to eradicate these plants yourself, the Maria Mitchell Association can help.

On July 24 at 2 p.m. at Maria Mitchell's Natural Science Museum, budding horticulturists can see for themselves why island plants such as Purple loosetrife, Japanese knotweed, Scrub oak, phagmites, bush honeysuckles and Black swallowwort can run rampant over native vegetation if left to grow without human intervention.

The museum is at the corner of Milk and Vestal streets. Admission is $5 for adults and $4 for children. For details, contact Education Coordinator Christine Fletcher at 228-9198 or at cfletche@bates.edu.

VALUE OF PLACE Go to the Nantucket Preservation Trust's ninth annual meeting and you'll get a lesson in historic preservation.

You'll get to hear Architect George E. Hartman, whose firm, Hartman Cox Architects of Washington, D.C., which he founded with Walter Cox in 1965, discuss the restorations of the Jefferson and Lincoln monuments. Espousing the value of place and historic context, Hartman and his firm were recently honored with the Arthur Ross Award for Community Design from the Institute of Classical Architecture-Classical America and in 1988, picked up the American Institute of Architects' Architectural Firm Award.

Hartman's lecture, entitled "Fifty Years of Preservation Nantucket" will denote the 50-year anniversary of the Historic District Commission and will be a retrospective on the formation of the HDC, first in the country, touch on Walter Beinecke's preservation contributions and examine current preservation challenges facing Nantucket.

NPT's annual meeting, at the Unitarian Church on Orange Street at 11 a.m. on July 28, is open to the public. For more details, call 228-1387.

PADDLE SAFE You may think you know how to safely handle your kayak - sit-on-top or sea - but Flotilla 11-7 of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary on Nantucket is sure that kayakers of all levels could stand a refresher course of on-the-water safety skills. For this reason, it and USCG Station Brant Point, the First Coast Guard District Boston and Nantucket Community Sailing are sponsoring the Nantucket Kayak Symposium

The symposium is at Nantucket High School on July 24 at 6 p.m. It is a free event open to all, which includes an interactive workshop on safety issues, survival equipment and rescue techniques geared toward the dangers encountered by kayakers and canoeists. Participants will first muster in the high school auditorium and later move to the pool for self-rescue, assisted rescue and wet exit demonstrations.

Reserve your spot by calling Egan Institute for Maritime Studies at 228-2505.

I