New Garden in the Old Foundation

By Outreach and Education Manager Rachel Calderara

If you have ever visited Wildlands’ headquarters at Davis-Douglas Farm (DDF) in Plymouth, you have likely wondered about the old granite foundation in the middle of the field. These blocks of granite are what remains of the 1890s barn that stood for about 100 years before collapsing. Since Wildlands acquired Davis-Douglas Farm in 2011, we have made a number of transformations to turn this land into our new headquarters, including restoring the old farm house to make a unique office building and erecting the Community Conservation Barn for community gatherings, which is complete with a three bay garage and woodshop for our stewardship needs. The foundation remained a relic of interest for staff and visitors alike, a beautiful granite structure in the middle of our headquarters that was unused and unsafe to enter.

For years we brainstormed ways to use this foundation, which would complete phase four of the Davis-Douglas Farm transformation. Finally, we found the answer when landscape designer Love Albrecht Howard came to us with the idea to build a demonstration garden with plants native to New England. We worked once more with Jerry Richmond, who has been a great partner throughout the DDF transformation. To prepare for its transition to a garden, Jerry and his team filled the foundation, removed a section of granite to create additional handicap parking, and repurposed this granite to build a beautiful staircase entrance from the lower field. The upper entrance was modified so a wheelchair can enter without difficulty and traverse the pathway that leads to a wide semi-circle seating area with granite benches.

On November 2 and 3, volunteers gathered to bring the garden to life under Love’s direction. We want to thank volunteers Caroline Chapin, Sarah Geer, Nina Pollock, Marilynn Atterbury, Charlotte Russel, Margi Delafield, Elaine Lackey, Lois Post, Lucy Hutchinson and Susan Wolfe for their help with planting, and to those who helped water the garden regularly in the following weeks. And of course, we want to thank Love Albrecht Howard, whose vision, hard work, and dedication to wild spaces was the driving force behind this project.

We encourage you to check out this new demonstration garden on your next visit to Davis-Douglas Farm. The garden is designed for there to be new plants of interest in bloom throughout the year. The plants did well establishing their new home this fall and we are looking forward to watching the garden blossom next year!

The Great American Outdoors Act Passed!

By Membership and Communications Manager Roxey Lay

Last month, on August 4, 2020, the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) was signed into law. If you’re unfamiliar with the Act, it has two main parts: 

1. It establishes the National Park and Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund, which provides $1.9 billion annually for the next five years ($9.5 billion total) for “priority projects that address the maintenance backlog at National Parks Service facilities, including campgrounds, picnic areas, roads, trails, and other critical infrastructure.” [1]

2. It permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) with $900 million annually “to invest in conservation and recreation opportunities across the country.” [1]

Ja Mar Farm in Middleborough was acquired, in part, with a LWCF grant.

Established in 1965, the Land and Water Conservation Fund was created “to protect national parks, areas around rivers and lakes, national forests and national wildlife refuges from development, and to provide matching grants for state and local parks and recreation projects.” [2] Authorized with a budget cap of $900 million when it was established, funding for the LWCF required annual congressional approval; however, this budgetary cap was only met twice due to large portions of its funding having been redirected to non-conservation projects year after year. Now, thanks to the passing of the GAOA, no approval is required and the LWCF will automatically receive its full funding annually.

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The Shifting Lots Preserve trail map shows its proximity to Ellisville Harbor State Park. (click to enlarge)

The passage of this Act is a huge win for the conservation community. The permanent funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund directly affects the work of state and regional land trusts to preserve and protect natural resources and landscapes across the country. 

Over the last 50 years, Massachusetts has received $236.4 million through the LWCF. [3] Its grants have funded countless projects and initiatives, including the acquisition of Ja Mar Farm in Middleborough, a project Wildlands assisted on, and Ellisville Harbor State Park, which sits adjacent to Wildlands’ Shifting Lots Preserve; together, they protect a salt marsh estuary that provides habitat for numerous fish species.

Massachusetts contains just under 5 million acres of land, however, only 25% has been protected. [4] Having access to grants like those offered through the LWCF helps ensure organizations like Wildlands Trust can continue to protect critical habitat and natural resources throughout our region and state, and keep our communities connected to the natural world for years to come.

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[1] https://www.nps.gov/subjects/legal/great-american-outdoors-act.htm

[2] https://www.lwcfcoalition.com/about-lwcf

[3] https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58a60299ff7c508c3c05f2e1/t/5e38309f2eda97527170d4db/1580740768044/Massachusetts+fact+sheet+1.27.20.pdf

[4] https://www.massaudubon.org/our-conservation-work/advocacy/shaping-the-future-of-your-community/publications-community-resources/losing-ground/previous-editions/losing-ground-fifth-edition/fast-facts

Volunteer Spotlight: Marilynn Atterbury

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. 

Marilynn and the stewardship staff pose for a picture after installing granite blocks to protect a sourwood tree at DDF.

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. 

A Farewell and Thank You to Wildlands Trust

It is amazing how fast 11 months can fly by. It feels like only a couple weeks ago I moved from central New Jersey to begin my AmeriCorps service term with Wildlands Trust as a land stewardship coordinator. A highlight of my time at Wildlands has been the tremendous variety of landscapes at the preserves I have been fortunate to steward. From the hemlock groves of Tucker Preserve in Pembroke to the wide, open meadows of Great River Preserve in Bridgewater and so many more. I have appreciated the delightful mixture of habitats that I have been exposed to throughout my time here. 

When I started at Wildlands, I thought that much of my time would be devoted to managing trails, but the position offered a much wider range of experiences. Tasks such as building benches or training new volunteers, while at first challenging, developed into new skills through the aid and supervision of friendly Wildlands staff. I most enjoyed the ever-changing variety of responsibilities because it has made me a more flexible and open-minded individual.

Leading the way through Stone Farm Conservation Area at Brockton Nature Festival (October 2019).

This fall, I will be attending Duke University’s environmental management graduate program with a concentration in ecosystem science and conservation. Throughout this exciting new chapter, I hope to continue deepening my knowledge of our surrounding habitats and how to best protect them. I owe Wildlands a lot of credit for helping prepare me for this new experience. 

I would like to thank those who supported me throughout my service term. First off, I would like to thank the entire Wildlands community for being welcoming and supportive throughout this chapter of my life, especially Erik Boyer and Conor Michaud for being supportive supervisors. Thank you to the Brockton High School Envirothon team, a fun and bright group of students, who invoked a feeling of nostalgia from my own high school experience. Thank you to Rachel Calderara, Joyce Voorhis, Melissa Kelly and Hayley Leonard, who also support the Envirothon team. Thank you to the TerraCorps staff as well, especially Mackenzie Sains, Hanna Mogensen and Marissa Patterson, who were always helpful in guiding me towards the goals of my service. 

I would like to also give an immense thank you to all the volunteers I worked with on work days or Adopt-A-Preserve trainings. You are invaluable to the execution of Wildlands’ mission and I had a blast getting to know such an interesting, eclectic group of people. Although this is a farewell for now, I am confident I will return to walk some of the many scenic trail systems, see past co-workers and reconnect with volunteers. 

- Eamon Horrigan

Brockton Youth Shine Bright Despite COVID-19 Challenges

By Outreach and Education Manager Rachel Calderara

The 2019/20 Envirothon team tours the Taunton River Desalination Plan (winter 2019).

Since 2015, Wildlands Trust has sponsored and coached the Brockton High School (BHS) Envirothon team. The team heads to the Massachusetts Envirothon each May, where they compete with high schools from across the state in forestry, wildlife, soils and water, and present a current issue research project on a topic that changes each year. Over the years, the team has earned some impressive accolades, including winning first prize for their current issue project on working with nature in watersheds in 2018. Our partner at BHS, science teacher Joyce Voorhis, received the Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Energy and Environmental Education in both 2017 and 2019 for her work with the Envirothon team. 

Although 2020 brought unique challenges for Envirothon and the Brockton team, they managed to shine bright in the face of adversity. When the 2020 Massachusetts Envirothon was cancelled, the organization challenged teams to a video contest in place of the competition. Five students from the BHS team – Alyce Watt, Logan Coughlin, Erika Fernandes, Christina Giusti and Sofiyat Bello – stepped up to the challenge and created an 8-minute video about the water issues facing their city and their thoughts about COVID-19 and the environment both at home and around the world. Brockton High School was one of only five teams to submit a video for the challenge, earning them a $250 gift card to Forestry Suppliers. You can watch their video presentation here:

 

This summer, another unique opportunity arose, this time for alumni of the program, when they were invited to speak at a Watershed Action Alliance of Southeastern Massachusetts (WAA) virtual meeting. Wildlands Trust Outreach and Education Manager Rachel Calderara worked with WAA Coordinator and Outreach Manager Dorie Stolley to assemble a panel of three inspirational women to share their perspectives on the environment with WAA for their “Learn Along” series on environmental justice. Brockton High School Envirothon alumni Lily Green, MaryKate Clark and Nicole Mejia shared their unique experiences and spoke of the significant impacts that environmental education has had on their lives. You can watch WAA’s recording of the Zoom meeting here:

At Wildlands Trust, our commitment to environmental education in the city of Brockton remains strong despite the challenges of this pandemic, and we look forward to getting back to work with the students this fall, whether in person or online.