By Outreach and Education Manager Rachel Calderara

Four years ago, Marilynn Atterbury walked into my office at Davis-Douglas Farm (DDF), wondering who we were and how she could get involved. She would spend the next four years making DDF a better place for staff and visitors alike.

From gardening to serving on the board of directors, Marilynn has gone above and beyond in her service to Wildlands Trust. If you have ever been to Davis-Douglas Farm, you will have noticed the well-maintained native pollinator gardens buzzing with life year-round. Working with Wildlands’ gardener, Kim Goggin, Marilynn has been instrumental in watering, weeding, expanding and caring for the gardens surrounding the office and Barn. Twice a week she is outside my office window filling up watering cans at the spigot, cheerful as ever.

This past year, Marilynn worked with AmeriCorps members Hayley Leonard and Eamon Horrigan to design and plant a new pollinator garden bordering the community vegetable garden on the north side of the property. In the fall of 2019, she helped lead multiple youth volunteer workdays to dig up the grass, mulch, prep and line the new garden with repurposed bricks. Marilynn propagated and raised native plants at her home for this new garden and worked with Eamon to plant them, along with milkweed plugs, this past spring. She provides continual care for this garden and plans on adding more plantings next year. 

Besides garden maintenance, Marilynn always strives to improve DDF with new, simple projects to enhance the aesthetics and functionality of the property. She recently utilized granite blocks donated by Wildlands’ office manager, Wendy Jones, to help protect our beautiful sourwood tree. In August, Marilynn and stewardship staff members, Hugh, John and Owen, circled the tree with the blocks and filled the area with a layer of mulch to protect the tree’s shallow roots. This autumn, be sure to come by and see the sourwood’s stunning yellow foliage! 

What’s next for Marilynn? There’s no end in sight for this firecracker. Marilynn is more than a volunteer at DDF, she is an integral part of our community. In 2017 she joined Wildlands’ board of directors, currently serves on the Program Committee, is a regular participant at programs like Mindful Meditation and guided hikes, monitors Wildlands’ Shifting Lots Preserve through the Adopt-a-Preserve program, is a Friend of the Barn volunteer, and is a friend to all who know her. Her bright disposition, significant knowledge and expertise, and can-do attitude bring so much to our community and we are forever grateful that she decided to pop into the office all those years ago.