JUNE 11TH IS NATIONAL GET OUTDOORS DAY

Did you know that this Saturday, June 11, is National Get Outdoors Day (GO Day)?

National Get Outdoors Day was launched on June 14, 2008. Building on the success of More Kids in the Woods and other important efforts to connect Americans – and especially children – with nature and active lifestyles, various groups agreed to lead an inclusive, nationwide effort focusing on a single day when people would be inspired and motivated to get outdoors. GO Day partnered with federal, state and local agencies, key enthusiast organizations and recreation businesses to promote a healthy, fun day of outdoor adventure aimed at reaching first-time visitors to open spaces and connecting children to the outdoors.

GO Day is an outgrowth of the Get Outdoors USA! campaign, which encourages Americans, especially our youth, to seek out healthy, active outdoor lives and embrace our parks, forests, refuges and other public lands and waters.

What better way to celebrate this day than by taking a hike on one of our great trails on our preserves through out southeastern Massachusetts.  Click on the button below to find one of our trails near you.  Happy Hiking!!!

An Easy Way To Contribute

Did you know . . .  that if you buy things on Amazon that you can contribute to Wildlands Trust through their AmazonSmile program?

What is AmazonSmile you ask??

AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon that lets customers enjoy the same wide selection of products, low prices, and convenient shopping features as on Amazon.com. The difference is that when customers shop on AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com), the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to the charitable organizations selected by customers.

How does AmazonSmile work?

When first visiting AmazonSmile, customers are prompted to select a charitable organization from almost one million eligible organizations. In order to browse or shop at AmazonSmile, customers must first select a charitable organization (and that would be Wildlands Trust!). For eligible purchases at AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to the customer’s selected charitable organization.

And that is it!!  It is so easy to donate to us just by buying things that you already want.  Check it out by clicking on the button below.

and THANK YOU for supporting Wildlands Trust!!

Summer Intern Position's Available at Wildlands Trust

The Wildlands Trust has 2 summer internship opportunities available for the summer of 2016.  Preference will be given to qualified candidates who are college students majoring in an environmental concentration. 

Position #1-  Natural Resource Monitor
Location:  Plymouth, MA

Hours:     10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  12 weekend days between June 25th and August 21st    
                   (some flexibility for you to pick days)

Duties:    Intern will monitor the public usage of the Halfway Pond Conservation Area in
                   Plymouth collecting data that will become the foundation of a management plan.
                   Training provided.

Skills:      Great attitude! Data collection and observation skills, strong interpersonal skills,
                   good judgement, ability to ride a mountain bike, interest in being outside.

Stipend:  $500 upon completion of project.

Position #2 - Trail Intern
Location: Plymouth, MA

Hours:      16 hours per week, through August

Duties:     Work to ground truth the accuracy of maps of existing trails so we can prepare a
                   new publication on hikes in Plymouth. Training provided.

Skills:       Great attitude! Comfortable hiking in the woods alone, valid driver’s license,
                   self-starter, experience with hand tools, strong computer skills. Ability to use GPS
                   unit desirable.

Stipend:   $500 upon completion of project.

If interested in either of these positions, please send a cover letter along with your resume to admin@wildlandstrust.org. No phone calls please.

Wildlands Property Manager Becomes a Keystone Cooperator

Erik Boyer, Property Manager at Wildlands Trust, successfully completed the 3-day Training Workshop for the Keystone Project, held at the Harvard Forest in Petersham, NH this spring.   

In ecology, a keystone species is one whose impacts on its environment are larger and greater than would be expected from one species. The Keystone Project invests education and reference materials in important, keystone people making a large impact at their local level. The training covers subjects such as forest ecology and management, wildlife management, land protection, and community outreach. In exchange for the training and take-home resources, graduates of the program, called Cooperators, agree to return to their communities and volunteer at least 30-hours of their time towards projects that promote forest and wildlife conservation.

The Keystone Project is designed to stimulate forest landowners and community opinion leaders to be advocates of sound forest conservation, and to help inform the land management and conservation decisions of their friends, neighbors, organizations, and communities.  Keystone Cooperators can be very effective in doing this, since they are well-connected community leaders.  Other past Cooperator projects have included permanently conserving their own land, initiating a forest landowner cooperative, promoting management on municipal and conservation lands, writing newspaper articles, hosting educational events, and improving their own properties for wildlife, recreation, and timber.

Keystone Cooperators, Class of 2016, were drawn from all over the state - from Pittsfield to Plymouth, and 23 towns in between.

More than three-fourths of all woodland in Massachusetts is owned by thousands of private families and individuals. Much of this land is at risk of conversion to developed uses. It is important to reach woodland owners as well as communities and land trusts with information on the care of their land. Keystone training is designed to provide Cooperators with skills and information to better engage in this important activity at the local level.

The Keystone Project is organized by the University of Massachusetts Department of Environmental Conservation and UMass Extension, with support from the Harvard Forest, MA Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, the MA DCR Service Forestry Program, and the Leo S. Walsh Foundation.

For more information on forest conservation or Keystone, contact:
Erik Boyer at 774-343-5121 x106 or eboyer@wildlandstrust.org

One of the Region’s Most Rural Communities Protects its First Pieces of Public Open Space

Wildlands Trust was honored to be part of the ceremony held recently to celebrate the opening of Plympton’s first conservation lands, Cato’s Ridge and Churchill Park.  Karen Grey, Executive Director of Wildlands Trust, was a featured speaker at the event held to honor the many partners who helped bring this project to fruition.  Grey’s comments addressed the importance of the Community Preservation Act in local land protection. In this case, a $22,000 contribution from Plympton CPA funds leveraged the permanent protection of over 100 acres of open space.

Rain and mud did not deter the crowd of almost 100 people from coming out to celebrate this momentous occasion.  We congratulate all involved with impressive accomplishment.