What’s New at Wildlands
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.
Another Important Milestone for the Sylvester Field Project
Thank you to the citizens of Hanover!
On the evening of Tuesday, May 4, 2021, Hanover Town Meeting unanimously approved a request for $250,000 in Community Preservation Act funds for the Historic Sylvester Field preservation project. The town will use the funds to purchase a permanent Conservation Restriction on the field.
Wildlands will use the town’s contribution to help fund its purchase of the property from the Estate of Clayton Robinson. We are working toward a closing in July.
Kudos to Open Space Committee Co-chair Hal Thomas for his outstanding presentation of the project to Town Meeting. Thanks also to Hanover Historical Commission Chair Peter Johnson for his informative presentation evoking the Field’s rich history.
Situated in Four Corners, one of Hanover’s oldest villages, Sylvester Field is one of Hanover’s most cherished scenic, agricultural and historic resources, and a true community touchstone. The Estate of Clayton Robinson has generously afforded Wildlands and the town the opportunity to preserve the field, and our ongoing preservation effort is an example of how public and private partners can collaborate to achieve substantial conservation outcomes.
We also want to thank all of the private donors who have supported the project thus far. There’s still an opportunity for new donors to support the project, as we are working to raise the last $60,000 we need to meet our private fundraising target. You can donate to the project at: https://wildlandstrust.networkforgood.com/projects/124001-save-sylvester-field
Thank you!
