Wildlands Trust
Stewardship Training Center

Advancing land conservation through skill-building for volunteers and continuing education for professionals

 
Bird's-eye view of Halfway Pond and lush green forest

Halfway Pond Conservation Area, Plymouth

 

New and expanded funding for land protection is good news. However, the care and management of these lands will be left to an already stressed and under-resourced land stewardship system. Strapped stewardship resources are the norm at our National and State Parks and on our townlands and land trust properties. Without more funding and innovation directed toward caring for land, we risk an erosion of public confidence and the degradation of the biological and social values we seek to protect.

Wildlands Trust will launch the Stewardship Training Center (STC) in 2024 to help bolster stewardship of conservation lands. Wildlands and partners will offer a wide range of training programs at the STC to

  1. help municipalities and land-holding organizations build much-needed stewardship capacity and

  2. encourage continuous learning for professionals working in land protection.

Wildlands will make the STC available to organizations wishing to host trainings and meetings. We will offer an affordable fee structure to encourage the use of this accommodating facility by partners.

adult wearing safety helmet and glasses, using a chainsaw to cut up a downed tree

Wildlands Trust’s Erik Boyer clearing a tree from a trail

Upcoming Programs

  • May 8: Vernal Pool Conservation Workshop

    Learn how to incorporate vernal pool habitat into the protection and stewardship of conservation land in this classroom- and field-based workshop. Register here.

  • June 10 & 11: Seasonal Land Steward Training

    Get your seasonal land stewards trained up on core skills, including first aid & CPR, basic carpentry, invasive plant ID, and trail & tool maintenance. Instruction from the Buzzards Bay Coalition, Wildlands Trust, the Town of Plymouth Natural Resources Department, Sudbury Valley Trustees, and Mattapoisett Land Trust. Register here.

  • June 14: Free-Flowing Network: Dam Removal Conversation and Community-Building

    If you own, manage, or are considering acquiring a dam, but are unsure where to start with dam removal, you're not alone! Join our Free-Flowing Network to voice your questions and concerns and hear from field experts about dam removal. Let's keep the stories and ideas as free-flowing as the rivers! Register here (free).

Sign up for our email list to be the first to hear about new opportunities.

  • Wildlands Trust is developing a core curriculum to assist municipalities and small land trusts recruit, train, deploy, and recognize volunteers. Programming content will include:

    • Establishing a Town Trail Committee

    • Recruiting, Training, and Managing Volunteers

    • Communications and Recognition to Ensure Volunteer Engagement

    • Safe Tool Use and Maintenance

    • Trail Building 101, 201, 301

    • Invasive Species Management

    • Chainsaw Use and Safety (Certification)

    • Basic Bridge and Boardwalk Building

    • Establishing Citizen Science Programs

    • Wilderness First Aid

    • Woodworking for Land Stewards

    • Wildfire Risk Reduction

    • Forest & Woodland Management

    • Lake, Pond & Stream Ecology

    • Basics of Permitting

  • Halfway Pond Conservation Area is an ecological gem in South Plymouth, complete with pine barrens, wetlands, mixed-oak forests, and a shoreline on idyllic Halfway Pond. With support from private donors, Wildlands purchased the last remaining private parcel abutting the preserve, which now totals over 550 acres. Combined with its big sister to the west, Myles Standish State Forest, and its little sister to the south, Halfway Pond Wildlife Management Area, these properties comprise the most expansive protected public open space in Eastern Massachusetts.

Outside view of the Stewardship Training Center

  • The Stewardship Training Center is housed in a 12,000-square-foot building, the former estate of prominent cranberry grower LeBaron Russell Barker. Lodging and meals will be available for overnight program participants in the Barker Estate, which includes the following amenities:

    • Two full kitchens

    • 14 bedrooms

    • 40 beds

    • Nine bathrooms

    • Large dining room

    • Double Parlor Classroom for up to 60 people

    • Elevator to all four floors

    • Break-out rooms

    • Patio and Porch Spaces overlooking Halfway Pond

    • Outdoor Training Spaces

    • 30’ by 50’ timber-frame pavilion (to be constructed)

    • Fully equipped woodshop

    • Laundry center

    • Pond Access

    • 12 miles of hiking trails

    • Biking trails

    • Cross-country ski trails

    • Car-top boat access to Halfway Pond

    • Fishing

    • Birding, Wildlife Watching, and Nature Study

Group of adults with a golden retriever dog standing outside under a carport

Members of the advisory committee at a meeting in December 2022

  • A statewide advisory committee is working to set this important new initiative's strategy, programmatic content, and policies.

    Buzz Constable (Chair)
    Attorney, Former President, Mass Land Trust Coalition 

    Fran Blanchard 
    Vice President for Stewardship, The Trustees

    Paul Bruce
    Corporate Advisor 

    Paul Catanzaro
    Professor, UMass Amherst, Department of Environmental Conservation 

    David Gould
    Director, Marine & Environmental Affairs, Town of Plymouth 

    Joe Grady
    Former Conservation Agent, Town of Duxbury 

    Karen Grey
    President, Wildlands Trust  

    Molly Jacobs
    Vice President for Environmental Education & Outreach, Manomet 

    Bernie McHugh
    Founder, Mass Land Trust Coalition
    President, Montana Audubon 

    Mark Robinson
    President, Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts 

    Dr. Mark Russo
    Board Member, Wildlands Trust 

    Tim Simmons
    Restoration Ecologist, MA Natural Heritage & Endangered Species
    Program Director of Science & Stewardship, The Nature Conservancy MA 

    Zoë Smiarowski
    Stewardship Coordinator, Wildlands Trust 

    Skip Stuck
    Stewardship Volunteer, Wildlands Trust 

    Jason Zimmer 
    District Supervisor, Mass Division of Fisheries & Wildlife 

    Ona Ferguson
    Consensus Building Institute

For more information, contact:

Zoë Smiarowski
Stewardship Programs Manager
trainingcenter@wildlandstrust.org
774-343-5121 x109

To receive more information about the opportunities available at the Stewardship Training Center, sign up for our email list.

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