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Stewardship

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Volunteer Spotlight: Rachel Thilbeault

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By Eamon Horrigan, Land Stewardship Coordinator

Recently, Wildlands’ Land Stewardship Coordinator Eamon Horrigan sat down with long-time Brockton resident and Wildlands volunteer, Rachel Thilbeault, to discuss Brockton Audubon Preserve and her volunteer work at Wildlands:

How did you first discover Brockton Audubon Preserve and Wildlands Trust?

When I moved here, I realized right away that there were walking trails back behind my house. The trails were the same as they are now, apart from the trail with a boardwalk leading out to the [utility] easement. A friend from Brockton told me about Wildlands’ work at Brockton Audubon about 4 years ago.

How many years have you been involved with the property?

It has been 31 years since I first moved to Brockton and walked the trails back there. In 2005, I helped certify the vernal pool on the preserve by proving the presence of spotted yellow salamander juveniles in the pool.

A 20-foot-high glacial erratic can be found in the northeast section of the property.

What is your favorite thing to do while out on the property?

Watch for wildlife. [I’m] always looking to see animals like foxes and owls.

Do you have a favorite spot on the trails?

The huge glacial erratic at the trail intersection out there. It is amazing the way that is balanced. It looks like one of these days it is bound to fall over.

What is the coolest wildlife sighting you’ve had at the preserve?

Probably a great horned owl. It was perched on a large white pine tree and I was shocked by how large it was. I also saw two yellow spotted salamanders under a log, which was another cool sighting.

Do you have a favorite time of year to visit?

In the spring, when all the flowers are in bloom and before the leaves on the trees come out. I love to see all the violets around the vernal pool. I also really like to see the yellow of the marsh marigolds and the May apples that bloom on the right side of the trail near the parking area.

What is the most memorable moment you’ve had at the preserve?

Leading my first hike because it was nice to take people out and show them around. I liked having the chance to show people they can escape the rat race of the city and spend a couple hours relaxing in the woods.

What is it like being a volunteer hike leader with Wildlands Trust?

Well, it feels good to show people what is out there and makes me feel proud to have open, public land in Brockton. I think it is a privilege to have an opportunity to escape the hectic city.

A toad, one of many species found at the preserve, rests on the forest floor.

Do you think that property usage has increased since you first got involved or stayed relatively the same?

Definitely more people have been going out there. Many dog walkers. I talk to plenty of people who remark on how they did not know this [preserve] was out here. Whenever I am doing trail work or picking up trash, people are interested and ask what I am doing out here.

In addition to leading hikes, you’re also an Adopt-A-Preserve (AAP) volunteer at Brockton Audubon, what is your favorite thing about AAP?

Going out [to the preserve] with the company of my fellow, friendly Brocktonians, Cynthia and Alan. It’s a chance to tell stories about how Brockton once was.  

Do you have a favorite Wildlands property to walk outside of Brockton Audubon?

Great River Preserve in Bridgewater. It’s a great place to ride bikes and it’s nice to sit at the benches by the water and take a rest after a bike ride.

Outside of Wildlands, are there any other trails you also like to hike?

Borderland State Park (Easton, MA) and Blue Hills Reservation (Milton, MA). Borderland has a lot of pretty trails and a nice mixture of terrain; really flat trails and more hilly ones. Blue Hills is great because of the Skyline trail, getting to see the weather station there, and climbing Buck Hill for a view of Boston.

 

Thank you to Rachel for sitting down and speaking with me about her experience volunteering at Widlands Trust and Brockton Audubon Preserve. If you’d like to learn more about Wildlands’ Adopt-A-Preserve program or any other volunteer opportunities at Wildlands, visit our volunteer page at: wildlandstrust.org/volunteer

Wildlands’ Volunteer Spotlight Series showcases the interests and experiences of Wildlands’ dedicated volunteers. If you’d like more information on volunteering with Wildlands, please visit our volunteer page or contact us directly.

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Wildlands Teams Up with Sierra Club for Volunteer Service Week

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By Stewardship Manager, Erik Boyer

Sierra Club volunteers and Wildlands staff pose for a group photo at Myles Standish State Forest.

This past August, twenty-four volunteers from the Sierra Club joined Wildlands Trust for a week of service on some of our trails on the South Shore. The group consisted of volunteers from all over the country who dedicated their time from August 5 – August 9 and helped improve the trails at Wildlands’ Tucker Preserve and the Equestrian Loop at Myles Standish State Forest. This is the fourth year of this partnership, which focuses primarily on volunteer work at Wildlands but has included service projects with the town of Plymouth and the Friends of Myles Standish.

This year, for the first time, we spent a day outside of Plymouth on the Indian Head River in Pembroke and Hanover. The first day, the group spent the day cutting back trails on the Indian Head River Loop (IHRL), a trail that passes through the towns of Pembroke, Hanover, and Hanson. A good portion of this work took place on Tucker Preserve, which is one of the entry points to the IHRL. A group also assisted a local Boy Scout for his Eagle Scout project, where they opened up the trails at the town of Hanover’s Iron Brook Mine Trails.

Sierra Club volunteers working together on a trail in Plymouth in 2017.

At the end of the week, the group worked with the Friends of Myles Standish and helped cut back vegetation on portions of the Equestrian Loop. Volunteers cut back the dense understory scrub oak and bayberry from the trails and cleared fallen trees with handsaws. Over 3 miles of trails were cleared over the course of two days!

Thanks to the efforts of Zehava Rosenberg and Madeleine Zember, two Sierra Club volunteers, over 20 volunteers come to Plymouth for a weeklong service trip each year. Due to the help of the volunteers this year, hikers will be able to enjoy these trails this fall. If you would like to learn more about the Sierra Club’s service trips, check out: content.sierraclub.org/outings/volunteer-vacations. For information on how you can volunteer with Wildlands Trust, visit our website at wildlandstrust.org/volunteer.

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Youth Unplug for a Summer of Service

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By Outreach and Education Manager, Rachel Calderara

Another July has come and gone, and with it, another Green Team program has ended, but not before 26 amazing teens put in over 700 hours of volunteer work on the protected lands of Southeastern Massachusetts.

Green Team 1 crew members get their hands dirty at Bay End Farm.

What is Green Team?

2019 marks the fifth year of Green Team, a keystone program in Wildlands’ Youth Unplugged Initiative. Green Team is an interactive opportunity for teens to engage in environmental learning through volunteerism. After applying to the program in the spring, each applicant goes through a thorough interview process in hopes of being offered a spot on the team. Only those who have proven their interest and motivation to work hard in the outdoors with their peers are accepted onto Green Team. This year, we accepted 13 middle school-aged crew members into the 1 week Green Team 1 program, and another 13 high school-aged crew members into the 2 week Green Team 2 program.

What does Green Team do?

Each day, the Green Team travels to various sites across the region to work on relevant, hands-on environmental projects with professionals in the field. This year was one for the books with more crew members, more hours, and more projects than ever before!

Green Team 1 Projects:

  • Trail clearing at Mass Audubon’s Great Neck Wildlife Sanctuary (Wareham)

  • Invasive species removal in the pastures at Soule Homestead (Middleborough)

  • Organic vegetable farming at Bay End Farm (Bourne)

  • Restoring the community garden pathways at Wildlands Trust’s headquarters (Plymouth)

Green Team 2 Projects:

  • Farm animal husbandry at Soule Homestead (Middleborough)

  • Organic farming and greenhouse restoration at Round the Bend Farm (South Dartmouth)

  • Trail maintenance at Northeast Wilderness Trust’s Muddy Pond Preserve (Kingston)

  • Picnic table and bench building for trails at Wildlands Trust’s Emery Preserve (Plymouth)

  • Blueberry harvesting and pruning at Cornish Fields Farm (Plymouth)

  • Garlic harvesting and processing at Bay End Farm (Bourne)

The service days are sprinkled with educational activities like tick safety talks, birding walks, farm tours, meditation, yoga and more. On the final night of Green Team 2, we take the team on an overnight campout where they enjoy dinner, a night hike, and a campfire.

Green Team 2 after harvesting garlic at Bay End Farm.

What’s next for Youth Unplugged?

Three weeks of Green Team are a whirlwind for staff and crew members alike, leaving us all thoroughly exhausted yet still wishing for more time together. These ambitious teens will not rest and we are left feeling like there is more we can do to keep encouraging their interest in the outdoors. This nagging feeling, along with numerous requests from the crew for continued volunteer opportunities, prompted us to pilot a new program we’re calling Service Learning Saturdays. Once a month, all Green Team alumni are invited to our Plymouth headquarters to work on projects ranging from invasive species removal to gardening and more. During the first Service Learning Saturday on August 24, four crew members helped us pull out overgrown invasive vegetation at both the barn foundation and the old oak tree.

The teens we have the pleasure of working with are intelligent, kind, caring young people who give us hope for the future. We thank them for another wonderful year of Green Team, and look forward to Service Learning Saturdays this fall!

Follow us on Facebook for Service Learning Saturday pictures and updates at: facebook.com/wildlandstrust.

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Volunteer Spotlight: Brian Vigorito

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By Stewardship Manager, Erik Boyer

For the past three years, Brian Vigorito has volunteered at Willow Brook Farm Preserve in Pembroke through Wildlands’ “Adopt-a-Preserve” program. He is a regular at Wildlands’ Trailblazer projects and is one of our Hike Leaders. He is an avid hiker, birder, photographer and self-trained naturalist. Learn more about him and why he volunteers with Wildlands in my conversation with him below:

Brian smiles for the camera during a Trailblazers day at Willow Brook Farm.

How did you first get interested in spending time outdoors?

I always played in the woods as a kid and hiked, but got away from it as I got older. Several years ago, I noticed there was a nature preserve [Willow Brook Farm] five minutes from where I live in Pembroke and started hiking there a few times a week. Around three years ago, I decided that I was interested in helping Wildlands at Willow Brook Farm and reached out to them to become a volunteer. I became interested in birding and photography just the last few years after attending Wildlands’ programming. 

What is the most unique species of bird you have seen anywhere?

A Great Black Hawk, which I observed last year in Portland, Maine. 

What is the most unique species that you have seen at Willow Brook Farm?

A black burnian warbler. I saw it on the Harry and Mary Todd Trail loop in the shrubland area, which is a great birding spot. After I first started getting into birding, I learned about an app called INaturalist which allows you to upload photos and submit your identification at an area. This is how I started to get into photography.

Photo courtesy of Brian Vigorito.

I recall that you had one particularly odd photo that reminded me of an awkward meeting of distant relatives, what’s the story behind it?

I went out to Shifting Lots Preserve on a cold and windy early spring day and observed a snowy egret and two little blue herons hunkering down on the edge of the marsh trying to stay out of the wind.

What is your favorite part about “Adopt-a-Preserve”?

That I can go five minutes from home to walk Willow Brook Farm and I can do it when I’ve got time, and it’s nice that it’s an open-ended experience.

What is your favorite trail work memory?

I would say building the new trail through the forest of green briar in the middle of the summer. It was impressive to watch Owen Grey mow down a 7-foot wall of briar.

What is your favorite thing to do while out on the property?

Definitely ID’ing organisms. I have identified 189 species at Willow Brook. This includes 94 species of birds, 8 mammals, 4 reptiles, 6 amphibians, 34 insects, and 47 plants.

What is your favorite trail work tool?

It would definitely be hand pruners. I’m a detail oriented person and it’s enjoyable to fine tune the trail behind the power tools.

What is the strangest item of trash you have picked up?

A 10-foot metal pipe during a beach cleanup at White Horse Beach in Plymouth.

What is your favorite spot on the trails at WBF?

The observation overlooking Herring Brook. It’s a great birding location and it gives you the best view of the property.

What’s the best time of year to visit Willow Brook?

The winter, it’s especially a great walk just after a snow fall as you can follow all of the wildlife tracks in the snow.

What is the coolest critter you’ve found out there?

A four-toed salamander under a log.

What is your favorite Wildlands property to visit outside of Willow Brook?

Shifting Lots, it’s my go-to spot for good birding – especially shorebirds!

What would you tell anyone who is thinking about volunteering with Wildlands?

You get to meet a great community of people at projects and other events. Adopt-a-Preserve is great because you can do it at your own pace and on your own time.

Want to Volunteer through Adopt-A-Preserve?

Wildlands’ Volunteer Spotlight Series showcases the interests and experiences of Wildlands’ dedicated volunteers. If you’d like more information on volunteering with Wildlands, please visit our volunteer page or contact us directly.

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Volunteer Spotlight: Mike Arsenault

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By Stewardship Manager, Erik Boyer

Michael Arsenault, of Marshfield, is Wildlands’ first Adopt-a-Preserve volunteer at Hoyt-Hall Preserve. Adopt-A-Preserve is a training program in which volunteers help Wildlands monitor the most highly visited WT properties through monthly preserve visits and submitting online reports. Mike has volunteered his time over the last few years and enjoys going out to the preserve on a weekly basis. Mike assists us with everything from leading hikes to being our photographer at events. Recently, I sat down with Mike to find out more about why he enjoys working with Wildlands:

How did you first learn about Wildlands Trust?

In the spring of 2016, I caught a glimpse of a group clearing vegetation from a pull-off on Careswell Street in Marshfield. I was curious to what was happening so I pulled in and learned that an area was being cleared for a future trailhead parking lot. I, being a lifelong hiker and outdoor enthusiast, was excited to learn about the soon to be built 2-mile trail loop that would traverse around the perimeter of Long Tom Pond, an area that I had always been curious to explore. At that point I tagged along to help on multiple trail work days, where I assisted with building the trail and constructing bog boards on the wet areas of the trail.

Mike Arsenault and Wildlands’ Outreach and Education Manager Rachel Calderara check out the trees at Hoyt-Hall Preserve.

How did you first get introduced to hiking?

I started hiking at an early age when my father would take me for day hikes in the Blue Hills to explore. I was also a member of the Boy Scouts and we would go to Camp Dorchester in the Blue Hills for camping outings.

What is your favorite trail work memory?

One of my favorite memories is at Hoyt-Hall, where a Great Horned Owl watched us redirecting a trail during a Trailblazer project and then subsequently seeing the owl while out on hikes on the property.

What is your favorite spot at Hoyt-Hall?

The portion of the trail that runs [along] the earthen dam that follows the southern portion of the loop and all of the signs of human use of the land that are noticeable during a hike, such as the access road around the old cranberry bog that is now a red maple swamp, the well that water was drawn from for irrigating, and the foundation of a windmill.

What is the best time of year to visit?

The best times of year to visit is the winter after a light snowfall and in the fall as red maples throughout the property change to a brilliant red.

Mike Arsenault and Wildlands’ Stewardship Manager Erik Boyer look out over Long Tom Pond at Hoyt-Hall Preserve after performing trail work.

What has kept you involved at Hoyt-Hall?

Being part of the trail establishment and the evolution of the property to one of the most visited Wildlands Trust properties. I feel a deep connection with the land and I am constantly impressed seeing other hikers picking up trash during most of my hikes. I enjoy  keeping trails safe and accessible to hikers and helping connect other people to the natural beauty that is around them.

What is your favorite aspect of trail work?

I would say being part of the raking crew as we get to visually make the trail look complete and it’s a good way to be productive and still chat with other volunteers.

What is your favorite Wildlands Trust property to hike on outside of Hoyt-Hall?

Great Neck Preserve in Wareham. It’s close to a 4-mile hike and you get such a variety of views as the trail gives you views of a salt marsh, sheep farm, pond, and forest.

What advice would you give to anyone interested in volunteering with Wildlands through the “Adopt-a-Preserve” program?

My advice to anyone who is thinking about becoming a volunteer with Wildlands Trust is simply to just try it out, no matter your background, any amount of your time that you can give is valuable. I’ve felt a sense of support throughout the years from Trust staff and I feel that I’ve been part of a community with my fellow volunteers.

 

A fun fact Mike shared with me during my time with him, this past Christmas Mike received the perfect present from his grandchildren that tells it all: A t-shirt with “Hoyt-Hall Trail Guide” blazed on the back. Thank you to Mike for sitting down and speaking with me about his experience volunteering at Widlands Trust. If you’d like to learn more about Wildlands’ Adopt-A-Preserve program, visit our volunteer page: https://wildlandstrust.org/volunteer

Wildlands’ Volunteer Spotlight Series showcases the interests and experiences of Wildlands’ dedicated volunteers. If you’d like more information on volunteering with Wildlands, please visit our volunteer page or contact us directly.