Seasonal Land Stewards Hone Skills at STC

By Thomas Patti, Communications Coordinator

Late last month, our burgeoning Stewardship Training Center (STC) reached a major milestone in its mission to build land stewardship capacity across the state. 

On June 26 and 27, Wildlands Trust hosted its first Seasonal Land Steward Training at the STC. Ten trainees, each holding a land stewardship role this summer with a city, town, or environmental nonprofit, converged on the STC from across Massachusetts to gain invaluable conservation skills and expand their professional network. The program, reviewed positively by participants, marks the first in hopefully a long line of initiatives at the STC to support the sustained care of conservation lands, especially during peak periods of human use. 

“I am extremely excited to have had the opportunity to bring this group of seasonals together,” said Wildlands Stewardship Coordinator Zoë Smiarowski. “I think all of the participants worked extremely well collaboratively and learned from each other and the instructors in the most positive way.” 

The training began bright and early on Monday morning with a group hike and trail maintenance workshop at our Halfway Pond Conservation Area, the setting of the STC. Leading the workshop were Mary Doucette of the Buzzards Bay Coalition and Colleen Andrews of Mattapoisett Land Trust. Around midday, Mary and Colleen were joined by Zoë to teach trainees how to care for stewardship tools. After lunch, trainees honed their invasive plant identification and removal skills through a presentation and hike led by Kelly Barber of Barnstable Land Trust.  

Kelly Barber of Barnstable Land Trust leads an invasive plant identification walk.

On Tuesday, Chris Crowther of Certified Rescue Courses trained program participants in first aid and CPR. Trainees then learned to build wooden benches during a carpentry workshop led by Wildlands staff. Finally, Nate Cristofori and Michael Cahill of the Plymouth Department of Marine and Environmental Affairs presented to the group about interacting with the public on conservation land.  

“I look forward to continued and new collaborations with the wide range of talented conservation professionals and volunteers in the region,” Zoë said about the STC. “I feel extremely fortunate to be a part of the community here in Southeastern Massachusetts and I'm excited to see all the creative projects that come together for the betterment of our lands and waters.” 

Thank you to all who attended our program, and to the guest instructors for providing their passion and expertise! Wildlands Trust looks forward to working with these and new partners as the STC marches forward in its first full year of operation.  

To learn more about the STC and browse upcoming events, visit our Training page. 

Click through the gallery below to view more photos from the 2023 Seasonal Land Steward Training. 

Kelly Barber of Barnstable Land Trust leads an invasive plant identification walk.

Kelly Barber of Barnstable Land Trust leads an invasive plant identification walk.

Kelly Barber of Barnstable Land Trust leads an invasive plant identification walk.

Kelly Barber of Barnstable Land Trust presents on invasive plant identification and removal.

Colleen Andrews of Mattapoisett Land Trust and Mary Doucette of the Buzzards Bay Coalition demonstrate trail and tool maintenance.

Trainees practice trail maintenance.

Carpentry workshop at the STC.

Carpentry workshop at the STC.

Carpentry workshop at the STC.

Carpentry workshop at the STC.

Carpentry workshop at the STC.

Carpentry workshop at the STC.

Carpentry workshop at the STC.

Corporations for Conservation: Wildlands Trust Gets South Shore Businesses Outdoors

Creative cross-sector partnerships a win-win-win for ecosystems, communities, team morale

By Thomas Patti, Communications Coordinator

REI Hingham and Wildlands Trust staff pose outside of the Stewardship Training Center in Plymouth.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Plymouth, MA — On April 19, Wildlands Trust welcomed REI Hingham staff to its new Stewardship Training Center (STC) in Plymouth for a volunteer workday. Wildlands Trust is eager to engage more corporate partners in conservation and community service as the STC embarks on its first year serving land stewardship volunteers and professionals from across the state.

The April workday marked REI’s fourth volunteer engagement with Wildlands Trust, including its third at the STC. Paul Vicino, softgoods lead at REI Hingham, began organizing the staff outings when similar company-led events were phased out.

“I was already a volunteer with [Wildlands Trust], so I thought I could get some people to help with the new trails,” Vicino said. “We also wanted to celebrate Earth Day while giving back to our community.”

Among other tasks, the REI staff completed gardening projects around the STC and helped build new walking steps between two trails.

“It’s a good team-building and community-building activity,” added Debbie Hill, operations lead at REI Hingham. “The staff that participates feels connected, and we talk while we’re doing it and get to know each other a little better. All of us who work at REI know how important it is to help be good stewards of our environment.”

REI Hingham and Wildlands Trust staff complete gardening projects at the Stewardship Training Center.

The STC, acquired by Wildlands Trust in 2022, sits within a 460-acre conservation area surrounding Halfway Pond in South Plymouth. Wildlands Trust aims to work with town, state, nonprofit, and corporate partners at the STC to advance skill development and address land stewardship needs throughout Massachusetts. To learn more about the STC, visit wildlandstrust.org/training.

“I appreciate the enthusiasm you all bring to our trails,” Vicino concluded. “Not to mention lunch. We’ll do something again with Wildlands, for sure.”

To schedule a corporate workday at the STC or a different Wildlands Trust preserve, contact Stewardship Coordinator Zoë Smiarowski at zsmiarowski@wildlandstrust.org or 774-343-5121 x109.

About Wildlands Trust: Wildlands Trust is one of the largest and oldest regional land trusts in Massachusetts. Since 1973, the Plymouth-based nonprofit has helped protect nearly 14,000 acres of natural and agricultural land across Southeastern Massachusetts, keeping local communities healthy and connected to the natural world. Visit wildlandstrust.org for more details.

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Seasonal Restrictions in Effect at Shifting Lots Preserve

By Thomas Patti, Communications Coordinator

Symbolic fencing at Shifting Lots Preserve. Photo by Jerry Monkman.

Shifting Lots Preserve in Plymouth could be considered prime real estate for people and wildlife alike. For people, the warm sand, cool waters, and quintessential South Shore views make the Wildlands Trust property and adjacent Ellisville Harbor State Park a can’t-miss summer destination. For wildlife, the preserve’s salt marsh estuary, sand dunes, and migrating barrier beach provide crucial habitat to an intricate web of aquatic and terrestrial species. Ensuring that Shifting Lots remains a place for all species to enjoy requires seasonal adjustments to how we humans engage with the property.  

In late March, volunteers and staff from Wildlands Trust and the Friends of Ellisville Marsh installed symbolic fencing around the historic nesting area of Piping Plovers within the preserve. This fencing, composed of simple wooden stakes and twine with bright-colored educational signs, may not provide much of a physical barrier between shorebirds, people, and predators, but it can help alert beachgoers to the small, sandy-colored birds that are otherwise almost impossible to spot. Alongside habitat loss from beachfront development and predation from gulls, raccoons, and other species attracted to nest sites by food waste and garbage, Piping Plovers face death and nest failure from more direct human conflict, including pedestrians and offroad vehicles trampling eggs and unleashed dogs frightening parents and chicks. Consequent population declines have contributed to their protected status under both the state and federal endangered species acts since 1985. 

Volunteers of Wildlands Trust and the Friends of Ellisville Marsh installed fencing at Shifting Lots in late March.

However, the dedicated efforts of local, state, and regional organizations and agencies have demonstrated that a little intervention can go a long way toward protecting these vulnerable shorebirds. Over the past four decades, symbolic fencing, nest monitoring, and public education have contributed to a sevenfold increase in Piping Plovers in Massachusetts, from 135 pairs in 1986 to 956 pairs in 2021. Collaboration among conservation groups—including the longstanding partnership between Wildlands Trust, the Friends of Ellisville Marsh, and Mass Audubon’s Coastal Waterbird Program—has proven particularly effective at securing the space that Piping Plovers need to thrive along our shoreline.  

For plovers to continue calling our region home, we all need to do our part! Please obey all signage at Shifting Lots Preserve, especially by keeping out of fenced areas. Every year between May 15 and September 15, the Shifting Lots parking lot is closed in order to moderate visitation during peak breeding season. Vehicles may drop off passengers at the parking lot gate and park at Ellisville Harbor State Park, a short walk from Shifting Lots. 

Piping Plovers.

Thank you for helping us uphold our duty to protect the vulnerable wildlife of Shifting Lots Preserve. If you observe vandalism or other suspicious behavior on the property, please take photos or videos and notify the Plymouth Police Department and/or Wildlands Trust at info@wildlandstrust.org or 774-343-5121. For your safety, please do not approach any active or hazardous situation. 

To learn more about shorebird conservation at Shifting Lots Preserve and beyond, check out this 2021 webinar presented by Wildlands Trust, Mass Audubon, and the Friends of Ellisville Marsh.

Eagle Scouts Make a Difference!

Read Time: 3 min

Along with our other volunteer opportunities, Wildlands Trust often works with scouts looking to complete their Eagle Scout service projects. An Eagle Scout service project provides scouts with planning, fundraising, and managing experience. Past Eagle Scout projects you may have seen include the Little Free Library at Willow Brook Farm in Pembroke, and the interpretative signage at the Indian Head River Trail in Pembroke/Hanson/Hanover. This summer we had two scouts complete their projects at our properties! 

For his Eagle project, Eagle Scout candidate Noah Sherman installed 15 new signs at Halfway Pond East Conservation Area in Plymouth. The trail system on the east side of this preserve can be confusing at times, so reworking the signage was a really helpful project for Noah to take on! The new signs are easy to read and make navigation much easier for preserve visitors, and we are very delighted that Noah was able to install them this summer. Between the new signage on the east side and the brand-new Leona’s Loop on the west, Halfway Pond has plenty of great new reasons to visit!  

In addition, Eagle Scout candidate Max Cunniff built a 20-foot-long bridge across the Drinkwater River at town-owned Melzar Hatch Preserve in Hanover. Max made sure that the bridge was high enough for vegetation flowing down the river to pass under it. He also took great care to make the ramps onto and off the bridge flush to the ground. He and his friends enjoy biking on the trails and the previous bridge was very difficult to bike over. This new bridge is already much more accessible for all and has received high praise from members of the Hanover community. Wildlands Trust is thrilled that Max made this exceptional bridge for our preserve! You can see and the new bridge at Melzar Hatch. We expect it to be there for a very long time though, so there’s no rush! 

We have some other Eagle Scout projects in the works, including Chickadee boxes at Great River Preserve in Bridgewater, and Blue Bird boxes at Sylvester Field in Hanover. If you are interested in completing your Eagle Scout Project with Wildlands Trust, contact our Stewardship Coordinator Zoë Smiarowski at zsmiarowski@wildlandstrust.org. 

Thank you again to Noah for the signage and to Max for the bridge! 

Eagle Scout candidate Noah Sherman installing new signs at Halfway Pond East Conservation Area in Plymouth.

Eagle Scout candidate Max Cunniff standing on the newly completed 20-foot-long bridge across the Drinkwater River at town-owned Melzar Hatch Preserve in Hanover.