O’Donnell Preserve to open on July 24
On Saturday, July 24, the public is invited to a new nature preserve to be opened by the Attleboro Land Trust. The 14-acre Joseph and Margaret O’Donnell Nature Preserve is located on Bishop Street. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will begin at 10:00 am to thank Dr. Robert B. O’Donnell, who donated the land in memory of his parents. Attendees should park and gather in the Finberg Field parking lot on Bishop Street next to the preserve.
After the formal ceremony, Evan Foster will lead a guided walk of a new 0.7 mile trail which leads through red maple and pine forests and past wetlands to a stand of beech and birch trees. The opening of the O’Donnell Preserve and trail is one of several projects completed by Foster during a seven-month term of service with the land trust under the TerraCorps program, which is affiliated with AmeriCorps. The project included photographic and GPS documentation of the baseline condition of the property, a property management plan, and a trail map generated using a digital geographic mapping system that Foster built for the land trust.
Rain date for the event is Sunday, July 25, at 1:00 pm. Event updates will be posted on this website.
A most agreeable feathered favourite
Visitors to the Deborah and Roger Richardson Nature Preserve will notice something new: six birdhouses designed specifically for Eastern Bluebirds. This beautiful bird migrates south for the winter and returns in the spring. The birdhouses were made by Scout Eric Carey in 2014 as part of an Eagle project and placed in the meadow at the Nickerson Walking Woods Preserve. However, not many bluebirds took residence in them.
This year we decided to move the birdhouses to the Upper and Lower Hayfields at the Richardson Preserve, where bluebirds are more common. (Thanks to the volunteers who made this happen!).
Male Eastern Bluebird – Photo by Lee R. DeHaan
John J. Audubon wrote admiringly of the bluebird as follows: “It adds to the delight imparted by spring, and enlivens the dull days of winter. Full of innocent vivacity, warbling its ever pleasing notes, and familiar as any bird can be in its natural freedom, it is one of the most agreeable of our feathered favourites.”
Spring is Here! – Blog Post #4
View of the Anthony Lawrence Wildlife Preserve.
My walk began with a deep inhale while starting down the Anthony Lawrence Wildlife Preserve trail. The air was crisp and refreshing as the sun streamed through the trees hitting the ground to create a light show. The transition from winter to spring was unfolding before my eyes. The daily temperatures were rising, the buds on the trees were unfolding, and the birds were coming back to sing their songs. The excitement was in the air as the trees, birds and animals were beginning to stir. Life had hit pause for the harsh winter, but now everything seemed to dance and smile once again. The silence that we all often experience during winter was muted by the sounds of spring. The birds complimented one another without much effort and created a beautiful song. One of the great wonders of springtime is when the frogs and salamanders make their move towards the vernal pools to lay their eggs. During this time, it is hard to miss their loud noises. If you ever walk by a vernal pool during this time, then you will most likely hear the frogs signaling the start of spring.
Buds developing as spring comes.
Now, it isn’t just the frogs, trees and birds that begin to stir with excitement, but humans are also beginning the spring dance. When I feel the warmer temperatures and sun hitting my face, a sense of inspiration overcomes me. My productivity, happiness, and motivation increase greatly. The Land Trust work relies heavily on this inspiration to create the positive impact on our communities. How interesting that this inspiration comes from the very thing that we are trying to protect: nature. My hope for all of you is that you feel inspired to get involved. The change that we need to ensure a healthy future starts and ends with your motivation to get involved. My challenge for you is to get involved with your community with something that you are passionate about. The energy and excitement that you bring to the table could be the spark that ignites real change. Once you get involved, bring someone along with you to show them the work that you have been doing. Spring is a time for action. The sun is out, the warm temperatures are here and the leaves are showing their colors. Join the excitement and get out there!
Skunk cabbage growing where it grows best!
New TerraCorps Member for the Attleboro Land Trust – Evan Foster
Riding my bike in the Adirondacks.
My name is Evan Foster, and I will be serving as the TerraCorps member at the Attleboro Land Trust for the next several months. TerraCorps members are a part of the larger AmeriCorps National program whose mission states “making service an indispensable part of the American experience”. TerraCorps service members are placed in community-nonprofits across the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The TerraCorps mission is to engage and mobilize future leaders to get involved with local communities and conserve land for both people and nature. Equity is at the heart of what TerraCorps strives to achieve. TerraCorps members understand that individuals in underrepresented communities do not have the same access to these public lands and aim to create opportunities for those communities to experience them. The future of land conservation lies in the same goal of making land more equitable. To understand more about the TerraCorps mission, I highly recommend visit their website to read more: (https://terracorps.org/equity-in-land-conservation/).
Skiing at Jay Peak Resort in Vermont.
Growing up in Boxborough, MA in a family that highly valued outdoor recreation, my passion for environmental work was formed at a young age. My childhood experiences ranged from skating on a backyard rink to attending a canoe summer camp in Canada to swimming in the local pond to running cross country in high school. I developed a love for the outdoors, and it has shaped everything that I have done so far. When it was time for me to think about attending college, I landed on the University of Vermont because of its strong environmental program. Living in Burlington, Vermont gave me access to an endless number of outdoor activities including cross country and downhill skiing, snowshoeing, road/mountain biking, rock climbing, and numerous hikes throughout the Green Mountains. My degree in Environmental Science was complimented and enhanced by all of these activities. I soon discovered another passion of mine through my Geospatial Technologies minor which involved using satellite imagery for a variety of reasons including creating maps, analyzing spatial data, and much more. I continued with this passion into my undergraduate job at the Spatial Analysis Lab where I gained experience creating Land Use/Land Cover maps for cities and towns across North America. I developed an indispensable skill that I hope to bring to the Attleboro Land Trust. I am extremely excited to be serving with the Attleboro Land Trust and am ready to put my education and knowledge to use! Feel free to reach out to me if you have questions or want to get to know me better (evanfosteralt@gmail.com). Happy winter!
News About Your Land Trust and More
Click below to read our monthly electronic newsletter, intended for distribution over social media, that includes news of what is happening at our conservation properties, as well as general conservation topics. There are also articles on Attleboro history, with a focus on the Barrows Farm (now the Richardson Preserve) and what seasonal tasks the Barrows family might have been working on as they derived their living from this land 300 years ago. News of the Attleboro Community Garden is also a regular feature.
This publication is being produced by the Education and Outreach Committee of the Attleboro Land Trust, local volunteers, and some of the classes at Attleboro High School.
Contact us if you would like to subscribe to the email version of this newsletter.