Nature Walks & More: What’s New on the South Shore

The new dock (and my new paddle board) at Peter Igo Park in Brant Rock.

I’ve been writing this nature column for almost twenty years now. Thank you for reading it!

It seems that there is always something new to report – conservation land acquisitions, trail development, unusual occurrences like last year’s snowy owl “irruption.” While many of these topics are worthy of complete articles, and it’s likely I will follow up on them later in the year, I’d like to take this opportunity to get caught up on some noteworthy happenings from this past year.

• This summer Mass Audubon’s North River Wildlife Sanctuary (2000 Main Street, Marshfield) opened a new sensory trail. Designed for people who may not be able to enjoy a typical walk in the woods, the half-mile loop is ADA-compliant -- lined smoothly with gravel for easier walking or wheeling. It includes a post-and-rope guided trail, tactile displays for people with impaired vision, and signage in both large print and braille. Visitors are encouraged to use all of their senses to experience the outdoors – such as listening for birdsong, noticing the various scents in the air, or touching the bark of a tree.

• Also in Marshfield, good news for paddlers! The construction of a new dock at Peter Igo Park is complete. This means that kayakers, canoeists, rowers, and stand up paddle boarders, among others, now have easy access to the Green Harbor River (parking too). Check out this recently rehabilitated 17-acre park at the intersection of Dyke Road (Route 139) and Marshall Ave.

• “The Pathway” in Norwell is a project that has been unfolding over the past few years. A network of paved cycling/walking trails, sidewalks and boardwalks, The Pathway provides an alternative to crossing town via Route 123. If you park near the Norwell Middle School (328 Main Street), you can travel more than a mile in either direction – west to the high school or east to the Norris Reservation.

• There are a few conservation properties clustered together in Scituate’s West End, including the Bates Lane Conservation Area and the Litchfield Preserve. I had planned to write about this area for this month’s column, but the guided walk I’d signed up for was cancelled due to heavy snow and falling branches. I do hope to get there soon, so please stay tuned! These properties are located on Thomas Clapp Road. To park, look for a sign for Bates Lane and the Carl Pipes Memorial Trail. A second parking area is located at the Mount Hope Improvement Society building. There are a number of well-marked trails, plus the occasional wooden bench, a boardwalk style bridge, and a landmark known as Tepee Rock.

• In Plymouth, the Wildlands Trust has so much to offer. This past year the organization relocated its headquarters to the Davis-Douglas Farm and expanded its Halfway Pond Conservation Are to 418 acres. Nearby are the Six Ponds Preserve, the Emery Preserve, the Shifting Lots Preserve, and the South Triangle Pond Conservation Area. I’m hoping to explore several of these properties in the coming months, and I’ll report back to you with details. In the meantime, you can explore them on your own. Visit wildlandstrust.org for visitor information.

by Kezia Bacon

February 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

New Ideas for Fall Walks

We are fortunate to have so many different conservation areas here on the South Shore. Thanks to the good work of the Trustees of Reservations and the Wildlands Trust of Southeastern Massachusetts, the amount of open space in our region that is accessible to the public continues to grow.

All fall approaches and the weather becomes cooler, I find myself drawn to taking walks in the late afternoon. Judging from the “crowds” (if you can call them that) I encounter at Marshfield’s Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary, Kingston/Duxbury’s Bay Farm, and Norwell’s Norris Reservation, I am not alone.

But this season, rather than visit my old favorites (as much as I love them), I’d like to try some new walks. Recently I consulted Jessica Schultz, the Director of Stewardship at the Wildlands Trust, for recommendations on some new places to visit. Maybe I’ll see you there this fall!

Tucker Preserve, Pembroke: Sidney and Harold Tucker donated this 78.6-acre property to the Wildlands Trust in 1993. You can access it via the Indian Head River Conservation Area, at the fish ladder in Pembroke. From West Elm Street, walk from the parking area along the south side of the river and into the woods. Once you reach the footbridge that crosses over a stream, you have entered the Tucker Preserve. The property extends from there along the river, as far as the island. There is a loop trail with a couple of spur routes. Beyond that is private property, so mind the No Trespassing signs. (1 hour)

Striar Conservancy, Halifax: This 164-acre preserve along the Winnetuxet
River was donated to the Wildlands Trust in 1999 and 2000 by Steven and Brian Striar and Soozen Tribuna, and purchased in 2001 with help from L. Knife and Son, Inc. and the Sheehan Family Foundation. Access is off of Route 105, also known as Thompson Street, about 2 miles south of Route 106. There is a parking area at the trailhead. The trail meanders along the river corridor to a former millpond and a field beyond. Trail maps are available on site. (1 hour)

At the Striar Conservancy in Halifax.

Halfway Pond Conservation Area, Plymouth: This 409.6 acre area is comprised of numerous smaller land donations and purchases over the last 20+ years. Access is available at several locations, but the primary trailhead parking area is on Mast Road, about 2 miles south of Long Pond Road. Trail maps are available on site. There are many trails throughout the property, and visitors can also paddle kayaks or canoes on the pond, or simply walk the road along the shore. Unlike many ponds in the Plymouth area, Halfway only has a handful of homes on its shoreline, so it feels wild and remote. This area abuts Myles Standish State Forest, with additional hiking opportunities. (2 hours)

Phillips Farm Preserve, Marshfield: This 40-acre property was purchased through the generosity of multiple donors in 1999. Together with the Town of Marshfield’s Union Street Woodland and Corn Hill Woodland, and the New England Forestry Foundation’s Nelson Memorial Forest, all adjacent or within walking distance, it forms a giant open space parcel that could keep you occupied all day. The network of trails that links the separate properties leads you to numerous views of salt marshes and the North River, through hemlock, beech and pine groves, and so much more. The Phillips Farm preserve is accessible from Highland Street, or you can park in any of the adjacent properties’ parking areas – two on Union Street, and one more on Highland.

A terrific resource for more information on walking places and other open space areas on the South Shore is the Wildlands Trust’s publication “Lands in Trust.” You can contact the Wildlands Trust at 781-934-9018 or visit www.wildlandstrust.org

By Kezia Bacon-Bernstein, Correspondent
August 2005

Kezia Bacon-Bernstein'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.