*The trainees and their gear and the Stewardship Training Center on March 5, 2023.*

Over the weekend of March 4 – 5, Wildlands Trust hosted our first pilot program at the new Stewardship Training Center on Halfway Pond in Plymouth. This training, offered to our land conservation colleagues in Massachusetts, included basic chainsaw safety, use, and equipment maintenance. Bill Girard of Girard Custom Cut Hardwood is one of very few chainsaw safety trainers in the country, and we were lucky to have his leadership and expertise. The 7 attendees included our own Stewardship Coordinator Zoë Smiarowski and Conservation Restriction Coordinator Tess Goldmann, as well as staff from the New England Forestry Foundation, Buzzards Bay Coalition, Manomet, and Wareham Land Trust.

*Conservation Restriction Coordinator Tess Goldmann puts her chainsaw training to use on a downed White Oak obstructing the trail at our Brockton Audubon Preserve on March 6, 2023.*

Beginning with an emphasis on safety, day one focused on proper use and maintenance of personal protective equipment like helmets, chaps, goggles, boots, and first aid kits, as well as chainsaw mechanics and troubleshooting. Day two started with saw checks and project planning before trainees got to practice using their chainsaws on downed trees. By Monday, Tess Goldmann was putting her skills to the test on a large white pine that had fallen at our Brockton Audubon Preserve during this winter’s strong winds.

Wildlands’ team of stewardship staff often uses chainsaws for removing downed trees that block trails or pose a safety threat. We require that staff undergo safety training and always work in pairs when using these powerful tools. This important training is one of four pilot programs Wildlands will offer at our new Stewardship Training Center for land conservation professionals this year. Stay tuned; more about the Stewardship Training Center will be shared with our members in this spring’s print newsletter.