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| One of the main walking trails at the Norris Reservation in Norwell. |
It’s a big year for
anniversaries, at least in the realm of land conservation. Massachusetts
Audubon celebrated its 100th birthday this year, as did the National
Parks Service. 2016 also marks a milestone for The Trustees (formerly The Trustees of Reservations), a land trust here in the Bay State that currently oversees 115
properties and well over 25,000 acres. The Trustees has the longest history of these
three, with 125 years under its belt thus far.
As part of its yearlong
celebration, The Trustees is offering free admission to its properties on certain
holidays this fall. On Veteran’s Day (Friday, November 11th) all
veterans, active and retired military, and their families are invited to visit
any of The Trustees' properties for free. And on “Green Friday” (November 25, the day
after Thanksgiving), admission to all of The Trustees’ outdoor properties is free for
everyone; free parking too! The Trustees is joining REI and other earth-friendly
organizations to encourage people to skip the mall on Black Friday, and “Opt
Outside” instead.
There are eight Trustees
properties on the South Shore so far. These include Two Mile Reservation in
Marshfield, The Norris Reservation in Norwell, and The Holmes Reservation in
Plymouth, as well as the Lyman Reserve in Plymouth, Wareham and Bourne, World’s
End and Weir River Farm in Hingham, and Turkey Hill/Whitney & Thayer Woods in
Cohasset and Hingham. Some of these are quite impressive, others more
understated, but all are worth your time for a visit, especially if you're in
the mood for a scenic walk.
In addition, there
are Trustees properties statewide, from Dune’s Edge campground in Provincetown to
Field Farm and Mountain Meadow Reserve in Williamstown. There are six
properties on Martha’s Vineyard alone, another on Nantucket, and quite a few on
Cape Ann and Cape Cod. No matter where you go in Massachusetts, there is a Trustees
property nearby. Some of these nature preserves are on mountains; others are
beachfront. There are historic estates with formal gardens, as well as restored
and working farms. There’s even a place to view dinosaur footprints! You can locate
them all – using various search options – by visiting the The Trustees' website. http://www.thetrustees.org/places-to-visit/
The organization
that became today’s Trustees got its start around 1890. Charles Eliot, a landscape
architect, noticed that the landscape around Boston was quickly transforming
from rural to industrial. He saw the virtue of setting aside certain “special
places” in the same way the Boston Public Library and the Museum of Fine Arts –
both founded around that time – made books and artworks available to the public.
More importantly, these lands would be protected for posterity, to be enjoyed
and appreciated by successive generations.
Thanks to Eliot’s
campaign, in 1891, Massachusetts Governor William Eustis Russell, signed an act
into law that would do just that. The Trustees for Public Reservations was
created, for the purpose of “acquiring,
holding, arranging, maintaining and opening to the public, under suitable
regulations, beautiful and historical places and tracts of land within this
Commonwealth.”
The
first property acquired (1892) was Virginia Woods in Stoneham, which was later
transferred to the Metropolitan District Commission. The places that have been
with TTOR the longest are Mount Ann Park in Gloucester and Rocky Narrows in
Sherborn, both dating to 1897. Collectively,
the 115 properties that The Trustees currently maintains represent quite a lot of
behind-the scenes effort. Welcoming a piece of land into the fold generally
requires years of work – bringing together landowners and funding sources to
complete acquisition, and then preparing the property for public use. Not to
mention maintaining it! Do yourself a favor and check out one of The Trustees’
properties this fall.
Another
way to mark The Trustees’ anniversary is to put some mileage on your walking
shoes or hiking boots. Its’s Hike 125 Challenge encourages you to tour its properties
on foot by logging 125 Trustees trail miles through December 31. There is a webpage
dedicated to marking your progress, and there will be special prize drawings
for different levels of achievements. Plus anyone completing the challenge receives
a custom car sticker and bragging rights. For more information, visit http://www.hiketrustees.org/
by Kezia Bacon, October 2016
Kezia Bacon's articles
appear courtesy of the North and South Rivers Watershed Association, a local non-profit
organization devoted to the preservation, restoration, maintenance and
conservation of the North and South Rivers and their watershed. For membership
information and a copy of their latest newsletter, contact NSRWA at (781)
659-8168 or visit www.nsrwa.org. To browse 20 years of Nature (Human and
Otherwise) columns, visit http://keziabaconbernstein.blogspot.com
