What’s New at Wildlands
Wildlands Learns, Reflects, Bonds at Staff Retreat
To end January, Wildlands’ full-time employees participated in a staff retreat in Portland, Maine. Over three days, we seized the rare opportunity to step away from our day-to-day tasks, reflect on the organization’s vision and values, and help guide strategy for the next several years of Wildlands’ work.
Wildlands staff at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland, Maine.
To end January, Wildlands’ full-time employees participated in a staff retreat in Portland, Maine. Over three days, we seized the rare opportunity to step away from our day-to-day tasks, reflect on the organization’s vision and values, and help guide strategy for the next several years of Wildlands’ work.
On the way north, we stopped for lunch and conversation with Greenbelt, our sister land trust on the North Shore. Wildlands staff was grateful for the chance to share successes, challenges, and lessons learned with colleagues advancing similar work at a similar scale. We thank President Chris LaPointe and the rest of the Greenbelt staff for hosting us at their gorgeous headquarters in Essex.
The next day, executive advisor Phillip Milburn met us in Portland to facilitate a collaborative discussion around Wildlands’ vision. Wildlands’ staff and board are currently developing our next strategic plan, which will be anchored by a renewed commitment to serving communities across the region. We thank Phillip for his expert guidance, which will help us advance our work with even greater purpose and clarity.
Staff members from Wildlands and Greenbelt gathered at Cox Reservation in Essex.
On our final day in Portland, we stopped by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute for a guided tour with Associate Director of Development Maeve McNell. We were impressed and inspired by the institute’s innovative work at the intersection of economic and ecological well-being. We even came away with some new contacts and ideas for future collaboration. We thank GMRI for its hospitality.
Throughout the retreat, there was also plenty of time for the staff to explore Portland and enjoy each other’s company. Shared meals and excursions built camaraderie that will pay dividends in our work.
After an invigorating few days, we are glad to be home. Now comes the hard (yet rewarding) part: translating our new ideas and connections into ever-greater impact on the remarkable people and places of Southeastern Massachusetts.
“We’re a small organization with a big responsibility in the region,” Wildlands Chief of Staff Rachel Bruce said. “It’s important for our staff to be exposed to the work of other inspiring groups and individuals in New England, and for us to grow together as colleagues so our collaborative work back home can continue with greater strength and purpose.”
Winter Resilience: Nature’s Diverse Adaptations to a Snowy Landscape
By Justin Cifello
One of the first epiphanies I recall having about the natural world was the revelation that trees don’t die in the fall. It’s an easy convenience of language to refer to the dead trees of winter, but they are, of course, very much alive. It was quite the paradigm shift to no longer think of winter as a time of death, but instead as a time of survival. The cold, seemingly inert wood bides its time, rations its water, and nurtures next year’s buds. The flowers and leaves that will raise our spirits this spring already exist, wrapped tightly in protective scales. As winter wanes, the careful eye can see their gradual transformation. A heartening sight well before the first daffodils emerge.
Goat Pasture Pond at Old Field Pond Preserve in Bourne. Photo by Justin Cifello.
By Justin Cifello
Justin is a farmer and naturalist at Bay End Farm in Bourne and a volunteer for Wildlands Trust. Get to know Justin (and all our Volunteer Hike Leaders) here.
One of the first epiphanies I recall having about the natural world was the revelation that trees don’t die in the fall. It’s an easy convenience of language to refer to the dead trees of winter, but they are, of course, very much alive. It was quite the paradigm shift to no longer think of winter as a time of death, but instead as a time of survival. The cold, seemingly inert wood bides its time, rations its water, and nurtures next year’s buds. The flowers and leaves that will raise our spirits this spring already exist, wrapped tightly in protective scales. As winter wanes, the careful eye can see their gradual transformation. A heartening sight well before the first daffodils emerge.
Despite all the difficulties that snow and ice present, nature is pretty good at finding utility in an obstacle. Under the snow, in the subnivean zone, small animals can forage, safely hidden from visual predators. Snow insulates the earth, keeping it around 32 degrees—still cold, but much warmer than exposed ground. Look for the tunnels made by mice, voles, and other creatures as the snow melts. [1]
River otter tracks. Photo by Justin Cifello.
Similarly, sheets of ice help ponds retain their heat and protect fish from eagles and herons. It is even possible to see turtles swimming below the ice. Reptiles and amphibians have a more flexible form of hibernation called brumation, allowing them to wake, drink water, and bask occasionally in the winter. Unable to reach the surface for air, they extract oxygen from the water via cloacal breathing—that is, through their butts. This only works when water is rich in oxygen, far from guaranteed when ice seals off the water below from the atmosphere above. To circumvent this issue, some turtles forgo the need for fresh oxygen entirely by using the calcium from their shells to safely tap stored energy in their muscles. [2]
Under a foot of snow, the landscape becomes a whole new arena for predators and prey. Who survives depends on who adapts. Creatures of habit find themselves vulnerable to more flexible, opportunistic hunters. Foxes walking on top of the snow can reach bushes once out of reach. When branches are weighed down by snow, windows open in the canopy, giving small hawks better access in dense brush. Deer sink in deep snow and instead prefer to hunker down in sheltered places, making them vulnerable to the lighter coyotes who, with their wide paws, can walk on top of the snow. [3]
Snow facilitates movement for a typically sedentary group: plants. Some trees, like birches and pines, release their seeds in winter. Birch seeds look a bit like birds; look for these “flocks” scattered on the snow. The smooth surface grants windblown seeds easy travel, skimming across now buried obstacles. Protected from a watery grave by the ice, seeds that land on ponds are safely blown to the shore, a phenomenon observed by Thoreau in his “Faith in a Seed.” [4][5]
A “flock” of birch seeds on the snow. Photo by Justin Cifello.
Most substances condense when they freeze, but water expands. Just as this means trouble for the pipes in your home, it also puts trees at risk of damage during dramatic temperature swings in winter. Trees have various strategies to account for this expansion and contraction of water in their limbs. Dark-colored trees heat up faster, so they tend to have craggy bark that can safely shrink and swell without splitting. Lighter-colored trees, meanwhile, can afford thinner bark, as seen on beeches and maples. The high sugar content in sap lowers its freezing point, acting as a natural antifreeze. [6]
Winter is a time of paradoxes. Undoubtedly still a hardship for us and for wildlife, it is not without its benefits. With no mosquitoes and fewer ticks, we can access places out of reach in the summer, even if slowed by snow. Without foliage, we can see farther and better observe the glacial topography. As much as the snow conceals, it reveals the busyness of animals, their stealth betrayed by their roving tracks. Life quietly reveals its dazzling resilience, offering inspiration as we await the melting of ice.
Works Cited
1. The Subnivean Zone: dnr.illinois.gov/education/atoz/winterinillinois/subniveanzone.html
2. Turtles: www.oriannesociety.org/faces-of-the-forest/winterwoodturtles/?v=f69b47f43ce4
3. Deer and Coyotes: www.forestsociety.org/blog-post/something-wild-fragile-balance-deer-and-coyotes-late-winter
4. Thoreau, “Faith in a Seed”: archive.org/stream/FaithInASeed-English-Thoreau/thoreau_djvu.txt
5. Thoreau, “The Succession of Forest Trees”: monadnock.net/thoreau/trees.html
6. Trees: extension.psu.edu/silent-survivors-the-winter-life-of-tree
Year in Review: What We Protected in 2025
Plus: What You Read in 2025 — Top Stories from Wildlands E-News
Wildlands’ 2025 land protection projects. Click the map to view a full PDF.
New Year’s Reflections from the Land Protection Office
By Scott MacFaden, Director of Land Protection
Helping CPA Towns Turn Investment into Impact
We completed five new Community Preservation Act (CPA) Conservation Restrictions (CRs) in 2025: the Hanson Farm CR in Bridgewater, the Cotton Brook Preserve CR in Plymouth, the Thrush Hollow CR in Middleborough, the Pink CR in Duxbury, and the Sprague Road CR in Rehoboth. Although these CRs are in different communities and protect different types of habitats, the connecting thread between them is that they all represent locally driven land conservation projects enabled in large part by CPA funds. A quarter-century after it became law, the CPA remains an invaluable asset to community-driven land preservation.
Hanson Farm in Bridgewater.
Saving Farmland
The Hanson Farm CPA CR in Bridgewater was the highlight of the year for farmland protection projects. We now co-hold a CR with the Town of Bridgewater on the 72-acre Hanson Farm, the last working farm of scale in Bridgewater and regionally beloved for its ice cream stand and farm store. The CR will forever ensure the protection of this last bastion of Bridgewater’s agricultural heritage.
Conserving Land in New Towns
We continued to expand our geographic footprint by adding two new communities to our portfolio through the acceptance of two CPA CRs previously held by the Maxwell Conservation Trust in Scituate and Cohasset. Collectively protecting 96 acres in the West End neighborhood, primarily in Scituate but including a small portion in Cohasset, these CRs encompass a variety of landscapes and habitat features, including scenic woodlands and vernal pools.
Founded in 1997, the all-volunteer and locally based Maxwell Conservation Trust prioritized protecting land in the West End neighborhood and worked closely with the Town of Scituate to successfully complete multiple projects in that area, including the two properties protected by these CRs. Similar to several all-volunteer land trusts Wildlands has worked with, the Maxwell Conservation Trust eventually determined it could no longer continue as an active organization and sought a qualified successor to accept an assignment of its CRs before shutting down its operations. Learn more here.
Looking Ahead to 2026
We’re excited about several new farmland projects that are either underway or in the early stages of preparation. In the former category, we’re working with the Friends of Holly Hill Farm and the Town of Cohasset toward completing a CR on a currently unprotected portion of that farm. If all goes as anticipated, the CR will be completed by early summer. In the latter category, a project that would achieve a permanent preservation outcome for Hornstra Farms in Whitman is in the planning stages.
Best of E-News: What Inspired You in 2025
When people are informed, connected, and inspired to protect the nature around them, the entire region benefits. That is what Wildlands E-News is all about. Below are five of the most-read E-News articles from 2025.
Curious about a particular aspect of our work or our region’s natural resources? Tell us in the comments below, and we might explore your question in a future newsletter!
Taunton River at Wyman North Fork Conservation Area in Bridgewater.
1. Human History of Wildlands: The Taunton River Watershed
Key Volunteer Skip Stuck continued his popular series in 2025, spotlighting the human history hidden beneath the foliage of Wildlands’ most beloved preserves. In this most-viewed article of 2025, Skip broadens his focus to an entire region—the Taunton River watershed, where Wildlands has prioritized land protection for decades due to its unique ecological and cultural heritage.
2. Land Protection Update: Duxbury, Scituate, Cohasset
Scott MacFaden recounted Wildlands’ recent land protection victories, including a Conservation Restriction (CR) next to O’Neil Farm in Duxbury and two CRs in Scituate and Cohasset, Wildlands’ first-ever acquisitions in those towns.
Wildlands members receive exclusive updates from our land protection office through their complimentary subscription to our biannual print newsletter, Wildlands News. Become a member today at wildlandstrust.org/membership.
3. White Pine: A Common Tree’s Uncommon History
In his Wildlands E-News debut, local farmer, naturalist, and volunteer hike leader Justin Cifello shines a light on a somehow overlooked giant of our forests—the white pine. From their symbolism in Indigenous and colonial cultures to the surprising reason behind their occasional deformity, Justin traces a history that places the white pine at the center of our region’s social and ecological identity.
4. Welcoming New Staff
We said hello to four new staff members in 2025. Rebecca Cushing joined us in January as one of two new Land Stewards. Callahan Coughlin joined us in February as the second. Already, Rebecca and Callahan have earned new titles to reflect their increasing responsibility: Rebecca is now our Stewardship & Volunteer Coordinator, while Callahan is our Stewardship & Training Coordinator.
In May, we welcomed Rob Kluin as our new Donor Relations Manager. Rob succeeds Sue Chamberlain, who retired after 12 years at Wildlands. In August, Jason Risberg came aboard as our first-ever GIS Manager, giving a major boost to our mapping and analysis capabilities.
Town of Avon Select Board Member Shannon Coffey cuts the ceremonial ribbon to open Fieldstone Preserve.
5. Fieldstone Preserve Gives Avon & Brockton Residents New Place to Enjoy Nature
In November, Fieldstone Preserve opened to the public, providing Avon, Brockton, and surrounding communities with new access to nature in the region’s densest urban landscape. The 30-acre woodland features 0.7 miles of trails that connect to D.W. Field Park. The Town of Avon acquired the property in 2024 with funds from a state grant and a private foundation, secured by Wildlands Trust. The grand opening ceremony brought together public officials and nonprofit leaders working collaboratively to improve the area via the D.W. Field Park Initiative.
Human History of Wildlands: Pudding Hill Reservation
Chandler’s Pond at Pudding Hill Reservation in Marshfield.
By Skip Stuck, Key Volunteer
Pudding Hill Reservation in Marshfield was donated to Wildlands Trust in 1991 by Elizabeth Bradford. Though relatively small at 37 acres, the preserve has a varied terrain, including an upland ridge, frontage on Chandler’s Pond (from which a bubbling brook becomes the South River), and the 128-foot Pudding Hill itself. A mowed 0.4-mile trail provides easy access to the preserve from the parking area on Pudding Hill Lane. Today, Pudding Hill Reservation offers visitors a relaxing sanctuary just minutes from Marshfield Center.
As with many of the properties featured in this “Human History of Wildlands” series, the present-day tranquility of the area belies the long human impact on the land in and around Pudding Hill Reservation. Like Hoyt-Hall Preserve and Phillips Farm Preserve, other Wildlands properties in Marshfield, this land has been in constant use for generations, including Native Americans for thousands of years and European settlers over the last four centuries. With human habitation comes change.
The North and South Rivers have always been heavily utilized by Native people, including the Massachusett Tribe, for hunting, fishing, and shell fishing, and as water highways for transport and trade throughout Southeastern Massachusetts.
Marshfield’s first gristmill, founded in 1654 by William Ford and Josiah Winslow. Photo circa 1940. The site is now Veterans Memorial Park, directly adjacent to Pudding Hill Reservation. Via North and South Rivers Watershed Association.
After 1620, Pilgrims from the Plymouth Colony were quick to see these benefits. Settlers began to arrive in Marshfield before 1640. As you will remember from other installments of this series, one of the first orders of business in areas with flowing water was the building of mills—especially gristmills. With this goal in mind, Samuel Baker, John Adams, and James Pitney purchased the Pudding Hill property along the South River. By 1659, Samuel Baker's gristmill was up and running, made possible by the damming of the South River to create Chandler’s Pond. Other dams and mills followed in 1706 and 1771.
But bigger things were on the horizon. In 1810, as the Industrial Revolution was beginning, waterpower was once again instrumental in the establishment of the Marshfield Cotton and Woolen Manufacturing Company. A network of support enterprises helped the company thrive through the first half of the 19th century. Leavitt Delano's blacksmith shop and Elijah Ames' carpentry shop, among others, produced barrels, tools, and other necessities. Other factories produced textile dyes. Farming was largely replaced by factory work, which necessitated housing, boarding houses, a store, and a school.
However, the second half of the 19th century was the time of "Manifest Destiny," and throughout New England, the opening of the American West drove a significant emigration of local farmers to the Great Plains and beyond. In addition, larger manufacturing cities such as Brockton, Lowell, and Lawrence drew workers away from the smaller towns. The Cotton and Woolen Company closed in 1860, but later Gilbert West purchased the water rights to the property and ran a saw and gristmill until the 1920s.
Camp Milbrook campers swimming in Chandler’s Pond in 1967. Via UMass Boston, Joseph P. Healey Library.
Marshfield was gradually becoming the seaside vacation and bedroom community of today. In the 1920s, Pudding Hill and Chandler’s Pond became the summer home of the Bradford family. In the 1950s, the Bradfords moved in full-time. In an interview, Elizabeth Bradford, a direct descendant of Plymouth Colony governor William Bradford, relates the history of Pudding Hill as a quiet, peaceful refuge—not just for her family, but for many others. From about 1938 to 1985, Pudding Hill was the location of Camp Milbrook, a summer camp that served hundreds of children over its lifetime. It also gained local fame as a training camp and teaching clinic for the Boston Celtics, where coach Red Auerbach and stars like Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish taught basketball fundamentals to summer campers.
After the camp closed, the Bradfords started thinking about what would happen to the property they loved. Housing and other development was erasing much of the historic farmlands and woodlands in town, and Elizabeth Bradford was committed to saving Pudding Hill and preserving its beauty. In 1991, she donated it to Wildlands Trust. Today, it is a popular destination for hikers, bird watchers, and nature lovers who use its trails and open space for all the outdoor activities that Ms. Bradford intended. It will remain as such forever under Wildlands’ stewardship.
Kevin McHale and Larry Bird at Camp Milbrook. Video: Red Auerbach instructs kids at Camp Milbrook in Marshfield in 1974. Source: GBH Archives.
We hope you will take advantage of what Wildlands Trust offers in Marshfield and throughout Southeastern Massachusetts. Please come and visit. To learn more, look over the following resources used in researching this article:
The Power of Water: Milling and Manufacturing in the North River Valley by Kezia Bacon, NSRWA, April 2008.
An excellent piece that delves more deeply into the history and stories of the entire North and South River watershed, including several other areas that Wildlands preserves, such as Hoyt-Hall Preserve, Cushman, Preserve, Willow Brook Farm, Tucker Preserve/Indian Head River Trail, Phillips Farm Preserve, and Cow Tent Hill Preserve. I thank Ms. Bacon for writing it and hope you will enjoy reading it.
Marshfield: A Town of Villages 1640 - 1990, by Cynthia Hagar Krussel and Betty Magoun Bates, Historical Research Asociates,1990.
Interview of Elizabeth Bradford, by Kezia Baker, WaterWatch (the newsletter of the North and South Rivers Watershed Association), Sep. 1993.
North and South Rivers Watershed Association website: www.nsrwa.org.
Pudding Hill Reservation, Wildlands Trust: wildlandstrust.org/pudding-hill-reservation.
As always, a special thanks to Thomas Patti for editing this piece.
Doing vs. Being: Q&A with Yoga & Dance Teacher Grace Junek
Grace Junek.
By Thomas Patti, Communications Coordinator
Grace Junek is a yoga and dance teacher with 15 years of experience. Through group, one-on-one, and online programs, Grace aspires “to help make the world a better place by inspiring joy, supporting healing, and empowering self-awareness.” Learn more about Grace and her business, Be Inspired with Grace, at beinspiredwithgrace.com.
Grace led popular yoga classes at Wildlands Trust before the COVID-19 pandemic brought our programs to a halt in 2020. Now, she is back, offering two programs in our Community Conservation Barn at Davis-Douglas Farm: Yoga for WellBeing every Wednesday in February and March and Sole to Soul Movement across three Sundays in March. Learn more and register for Grace’s upcoming programs here.
Earlier this month, I spoke with Grace about her inspiration behind these programs, the benefits of yoga and dance, and the connection between mindful movement and nature.
TP: You have two programs coming up at Wildlands, Yoga for WellBeing and Sole to Soul Movement. Can you tell me a bit about those?
GJ: For Yoga for WellBeing, I wanted to create a class that feels comprehensive—one that addresses the body, mind, and spirit. The mind piece might begin with a short reflection. The physical aspect focuses on keeping the body strong, flexible, and balanced. And spiritually, it can be as simple as connecting with the breath and allowing that to become a doorway to connecting more deeply with yourself.
Sole to Soul Movement is really an extension of what I’ve been doing for the past 15 years. I’ve been teaching Latin dance, which is a high-energy style that draws from many genres within the Latin music world. It’s super fun. At the same time, there has always been a therapeutic element to the work. Somatic movement is incredibly beneficial for the body in so many ways. Sole to Soul is a pilot class focused on turning emotion into motion—processing feelings without words or thoughts. I’m really excited about it.
Who is the ideal audience for these programs?
Anyone who is truly serious about self-care. I’ve been doing this work for a long time and have taught everyone from teens to people in their 80s. While most participants have been female, there have also been many males over the years. Ultimately, it’s about self-care.
One of my favorite quotes is, “Self-care is about giving the world the best of you instead of what’s left of you.” That really captures what I’m trying to offer through this work.
What are the benefits of yoga and dance?
I consider both yoga and dance to be meditative practices. When you’re practicing them, they naturally bring you into the present moment. There’s no tomorrow, no timeline, no yesterday—just right now. They help you connect with yourself in the moment.
There’s an important balance between doing and being. So much of life is constant, relentless doing, and these practices invite presence and awareness. My hope is always that the mindfulness cultivated in class extends into other areas of your life. And it does.
Sunrise Yoga with Grace Junek.
Why are you partnering with Wildlands? How does your work connect to nature?
Nature is truly the cornerstone of human wellbeing. I deeply admire the work that Wildlands Trust does. Being able to get out into nature allows us to reset, disconnect, and gain perspective—to remember that we are part of something much bigger than ourselves. That awareness plays a central role in wellbeing.
There is also a powerful synergy between nature and meditative practices. It’s not just about understanding that connection intellectually, but feeling it and living it through experience.
There’s also a healing aspect to nature. When I use the word “healing,” I’m not just referring to recovery from illness. I’m also talking about healing from the stresses of everyday life. That’s the kind of healing nature so beautifully supports.
Who are you? How did you arrive at this work?
My heritage is Brazilian Portuguese, so music and dance have been part of my life since I was born. I came to yoga in my 30s. For me, dance saved my life, and yoga healed it.
I was a clothing designer for more than 25 years while raising three children. In my 40s, I reached a point where that career became too demanding, and I made the decision to walk away. I naturally returned to dance and yoga—not professionally at first, but for my own healing, balance, and well-being. From there, I realized I could take two of my greatest passions and turn them into my life’s work. When I saw how deeply these practices impacted others, the work began to expand organically.
This is not a hobby—it’s my life’s work. I truly believe this is how I can help make the world a better place. When individuals become healthier from the inside out, that wellbeing naturally ripples outward to others.
What can people expect from you when they attend their first class?
Over the years, the feedback I receive most often is that my work is inspirational.
There are three core values at the heart of everything I do. The first is quality. When people come to my classes, there is a level of quality that is never compromised. I deeply respect that people are carving time out of their busy lives, and I want them to leave feeling glad that they came.
The second is compassion. I’ve always believed that yoga and dance meet you exactly where you are. There is no competition—not even with yourself. I emphasize acceptance and non-judgment, whether you’re a seasoned practitioner or a complete beginner. In my dance classes, I always say there’s no such thing as a mistake—only unexpected solos. If you’re having fun, you’re doing it right.
The third core value is service. That’s what I’m here to do—to serve others as fully and authentically as I can.