What’s New at Wildlands
Colby-Phillips Boardwalk in Hanover Repaired
By Stewardship Manager Erik Boyer
Last month, in late November, Wildlands Trust partnered with the open space committee for the town of Hanover to restore a 300-foot boardwalk at Colby-Phillips Preserve. The original boardwalk at the town-owned preserve had been constructed almost 20 years ago and much of the old decking had begun to show its age, structurally.
With the help of 20 volunteers, many of whom are neighbors of the property, the workload was split up into four sessions over the course of two days. Throughout those days, 600 original boards were removed, and new decking boards were installed to ensure safe access for all visitors of the property. A special thanks goes out to the volunteers who helped in completing this project. We’ll be back at Colby-Phillips this month (December) to start more rehabilitation work on an overlook platform on Cushing Brook Marsh.
New Compost Units Built for Community Garden
In October 2020, Plymouth Eagle Scout candidate Zach Lyons constructed two, new compost holding units for Wildlands’ community garden at Davis-Douglas Farm. Prior to Zach’s help, there was a single-cylinder compost bin at the garden that was only accessible from above, making it difficult to turn. The new containers, built using lumber and wire mesh, are able to be accessed from the top and side of the unit, making it easier to work the compost. Each unit is also made up of two bays, allowing for the compost to be divided by how far along in composition it is.
We look forward to putting these structures to good use during the 2021 gardening season, and having a more productive composting system in place for our community gardeners. Thank you to Lowes in Wareham for donating the lumber used, and to Zach for his hard work!
New Trail Configuration at Pudding Hill
Volunteers help create 0.4-mile connector trail at Pudding Hill Reservation in Marshfield.
By Stewardship Manager Erik Boyer
Mike Arsenault assists stewardship staff with raking debris from the trail.
This past September, with the help of nine Adopt-a-Preserve (AAP) volunteers, a new .4-mile trail was created at Pudding Hill Reservation in Marshfield. This project was the vision of AAP volunteer Dodie Frank who has been a steward at Pudding Hill for the past two years.
I met Dodie out at the preserve on a muggy, July morning to bushwhack and flag a new trail from the neighborhood trail entrance off Old Ocean Street to a dead-end trail on the west side of the property. We chose a route that consisted of rolling hills, old stone walls and thick stands of white pine saplings. This new connector turns the .5-mile cross-shaped trail into a 1.1-mile loop with varied topography. Over the course of three days in September, we cut through thick brush, established a rough trail tread, and then regraded sections of the trail to make for easier hiking. We then blazed the path and ensured it was ready for the first guided hike held at the property in mid-October.
Now, thanks to the hard work of many, a visit to Pudding Hill provides for a challenging, wooded, 30-minute hike on the north side of the property and a leisurely, short stroll through a meadow to an overlook spot on Chandlers Pond. I would like to give a special shout out to Dodie for her efforts and to Mike Arsenault, Stephen Connolly, Rob MacDonald, Janine Anderson, Bill Vickstrom, Roger Janson, Marilynn Atterbury and Kevin Walsh for helping out.
New Garden in the Old Foundation
By Outreach and Education Manager Rachel Calderara
If you have ever visited Wildlands’ headquarters at Davis-Douglas Farm (DDF) in Plymouth, you have likely wondered about the old granite foundation in the middle of the field. These blocks of granite are what remains of the 1890s barn that stood for about 100 years before collapsing. Since Wildlands acquired Davis-Douglas Farm in 2011, we have made a number of transformations to turn this land into our new headquarters, including restoring the old farm house to make a unique office building and erecting the Community Conservation Barn for community gatherings, which is complete with a three bay garage and woodshop for our stewardship needs. The foundation remained a relic of interest for staff and visitors alike, a beautiful granite structure in the middle of our headquarters that was unused and unsafe to enter.
For years we brainstormed ways to use this foundation, which would complete phase four of the Davis-Douglas Farm transformation. Finally, we found the answer when landscape designer Love Albrecht Howard came to us with the idea to build a demonstration garden with plants native to New England. We worked once more with Jerry Richmond, who has been a great partner throughout the DDF transformation. To prepare for its transition to a garden, Jerry and his team filled the foundation, removed a section of granite to create additional handicap parking, and repurposed this granite to build a beautiful staircase entrance from the lower field. The upper entrance was modified so a wheelchair can enter without difficulty and traverse the pathway that leads to a wide semi-circle seating area with granite benches.
On November 2 and 3, volunteers gathered to bring the garden to life under Love’s direction. We want to thank volunteers Caroline Chapin, Sarah Geer, Nina Pollock, Marilynn Atterbury, Charlotte Russel, Margi Delafield, Elaine Lackey, Lois Post, Lucy Hutchinson and Susan Wolfe for their help with planting, and to those who helped water the garden regularly in the following weeks. And of course, we want to thank Love Albrecht Howard, whose vision, hard work, and dedication to wild spaces was the driving force behind this project.
We encourage you to check out this new demonstration garden on your next visit to Davis-Douglas Farm. The garden is designed for there to be new plants of interest in bloom throughout the year. The plants did well establishing their new home this fall and we are looking forward to watching the garden blossom next year!
The Great American Outdoors Act Passed!
By Membership and Communications Manager Roxey Lay
Last month, on August 4, 2020, the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) was signed into law. If you’re unfamiliar with the Act, it has two main parts:
It establishes the National Park and Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund, which provides $1.9 billion annually for the next five years ($9.5 billion total) for “priority projects that address the maintenance backlog at National Parks Service facilities, including campgrounds, picnic areas, roads, trails, and other critical infrastructure.” [1]
It permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) with $900 million annually “to invest in conservation and recreation opportunities across the country.” [1]
Ja Mar Farm in Middleborough was acquired, in part, with a LWCF grant.
Established in 1965, the Land and Water Conservation Fund was created “to protect national parks, areas around rivers and lakes, national forests and national wildlife refuges from development, and to provide matching grants for state and local parks and recreation projects.” [2] Authorized with a budget cap of $900 million when it was established, funding for the LWCF required annual congressional approval; however, this budgetary cap was only met twice due to large portions of its funding having been redirected to non-conservation projects year after year. Now, thanks to the passing of the GAOA, no approval is required and the LWCF will automatically receive its full funding annually.
The Shifting Lots Preserve trail map shows its proximity to Ellisville Harbor State Park. (click to enlarge)
The passage of this Act is a huge win for the conservation community. The permanent funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund directly affects the work of state and regional land trusts to preserve and protect natural resources and landscapes across the country.
Over the last 50 years, Massachusetts has received $236.4 million through the LWCF. [3] Its grants have funded countless projects and initiatives, including the acquisition of Ja Mar Farm in Middleborough, a project Wildlands assisted on, and Ellisville Harbor State Park, which sits adjacent to Wildlands’ Shifting Lots Preserve; together, they protect a salt marsh estuary that provides habitat for numerous fish species.
Massachusetts contains just under 5 million acres of land, however, only 25% has been protected. [4] Having access to grants like those offered through the LWCF helps ensure organizations like Wildlands Trust can continue to protect critical habitat and natural resources throughout our region and state, and keep our communities connected to the natural world for years to come.