Read below for an essay excerpted from 50 Remarkable Years, 50 Remarkable People, Wildlands’ 50th anniversary book honoring the partners and volunteers who have made remarkable contributions to land conservation in Southeastern Massachusetts.

Read “The Next Remarkable Chapter,” our series introduction by President Karen Grey.

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For many years, Wildlands Trust coveted a handful of private parcels abutting our Halfway Pond Conservation Area. Methodically, we worked with landowners and funders to protect three of them, while a fourth parcel, a 36-acre gem featuring a 12,000-square-foot hillside estate, seemed out of reach.  

Bob Bird spent his childhood summers in that big house on the hill. It was built in the 1920s by his grandfather Lebaron Russell Barker, an early leader in the cranberry industry. After living in Los Angeles for much of his adult life, Bob retired to Plymouth with his wife Marjorie and built a home on Halfway Pond, across from his grandfather’s former estate. With a strong interest in the natural heritage of the area, he got involved with Wildlands Trust and soon became a valued member of the board and finance committee. 

As a principal architect of the Stewardship Training Center, Bob was inspired to establish a dedicated site to train and engage more people in the care of conservation land. It was an added benefit that the project could lead to the protection of his grandfather’s estate. Bob worked side-by-side with Wildlands staff to develop the concept, the business model, and the funding plan for this newly launched initiative, which sits on 18,000 acres of public open space, the largest such expanse in Eastern Massachusetts. 

Purchase 50 Remarkable Years, 50 Remarkable People today: wildlandstrust.org/shop50