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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Big ideas often start with a small step, but that step is often clouded in uncertainty.

In 1973, Mary Emery took a chance. “She gathered us together and asked me and my brothers if we would agree to donate the property for conservation,” said Mary’s daughter and Wildlands Trustee Emeritus, Charlotte Emery Russell. With the concept of a regional land trust barely off the ground, Mary Emery and her children made a bold decision that would turn out to have enormous implications. They donated the family’s beautiful 126-acre wooded parcel in South Plymouth to the fledgling Plymouth County Wildlands Trust. Emery Preserve became Wildlands’ first property and the eventual centerpiece of the Davis-Douglas Conservation Area. This small step paved the way for others to follow, with each new parcel of protected land building momentum toward the big idea: a strong regional land trust to protect the unique lands and natural resources of Southeastern Massachusetts.

The Emery family is considered the “First Family” of Wildlands Trust. Charlotte Emery Russell, a stalwart conservationist, carries on the family’s commitment to Wildlands Trust through her many years of board leadership, including her role in raising the funds for Davis-Douglas Farm, Wildlands’ current headquarters.

Thank you to the Emery family for taking a chance on Wildlands Trust, a big idea that today protects over 350 properties in 55 towns across the region. And it all started with a small step.

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